“Oh, don’t worry about her. First of all, we’ll keep an eye on her. Secondly, she’d never be able to find her way out of here—she’d wander around lost until she ran into somebody. Which leads us to number three: she’s not that stupid.” He raised one thick white eyebrow at me. “You’re not going to go looking for Kyle or the rest of them, are you? I don’t think any of them are very fond of you.”

I just stared, wary of his easy, chatty tone.

“I wish you wouldn’t talk to it like that,” Jared muttered.

“I was raised in a politer time, kid. I can’t help myself.” Jeb put one hand on Jared’s arm, patting lightly. “Look, you’ve had a full night. Let me take the next watch here. Get some sleep.”

Jared seemed about to object, but then he looked at me again and his expression hardened.

“Whatever you want, Jeb. And… I don’t—I won’t accept responsibility for this thing. Kill it if you think that’s best.”

I flinched.

Jared scowled at my reaction, then turned his back abruptly and walked the same way the others had gone. Jeb watched him go. While he was distracted, I crept back into my hole.

I heard Jeb settle slowly to the ground beside the opening. He sighed and stretched, popping a few joints. After a few minutes, he started whistling quietly. It was a cheery tune.

I curled myself around my bent knees, pressing my back into the farthest recess of the little cell. Tremors started at the small of my back and ran up and down my spine. My hands shook, and my teeth chattered softly together, despite the soggy heat.

“Might as well lie down and get some sleep,” Jeb said, whether to me or to himself, I wasn’t sure. “Tomorrow’s bound to be a tough one.”

The shivers passed after a time—maybe half an hour. When they were gone, I felt exhausted. I decided to take Jeb’s advice. Though the floor felt even more uncomfortable than before, I was unconscious in seconds.

The smell of food woke me. This time I was groggy and disoriented when I opened my eyes. An instinctive sense of panic had my hands trembling again before I was fully conscious.

The same tray sat on the ground beside me, identical offerings on it. I could both see and hear Jeb. He sat in front of the cave in profile, looking straight ahead down the long round corridor and whistling softly.

Driven by my fierce thirst, I sat up and grabbed the open bottle of water.

“Morning,” Jeb said, nodding in my direction.

I froze, my hand on the bottle, until he turned his head and started whistling again.