Awakened

Awakened

His vision slowly returns as he awakens from his slumber. A blinding light floods his eyes, making it difficult to find his bearings. After a moment his sight begins to focus, and he realizes the light is the sun hanging high above him. Its heat beats down mercilessly, already burning his exposed skin. His throat aches with unbearable dryness after going so long without water, though he has no idea how long he had been unconscious.

As his senses return, he realizes he is lying on a beach. The steady wash of water laps only a few feet from his head. A few hundred feet away, a dense tree line rises and stretches into a vast jungle. The towering trees sway gently, alive with the constant chatter of wildlife. Shadows of birds dart from branch to branch high in the canopy. Along the edge of the jungle stand several coconut trees, and deeper within he can make out what appear to be fruit-bearing trees.

He slowly climbs to his feet and takes in his surroundings. Turning toward the ocean, he sees nothing but the endless blue stretching to the horizon. The sharp smell of salt water assaults his nose as the rough sand grinds beneath his feet. It is the direction he came from, where his ship was swallowed by a murderous storm.

He pulls his attention away from the sea and walks toward the edge of the tree line, trying to see deeper into the jungle. As he moves, a dull ache spreads through his body, soreness left behind by the storm. He peers into the dense growth but sees little beyond layers of thick trees and tangled shadows. The jungle air is thick and humid, and the sounds of unseen creatures echo from the shadows. After a long moment of hesitation, he slowly steps into the jungle.

As he moves through the jungle, he notices the wildlife around him, several kinds of birds, small lizards, and other tiny creatures darting through the undergrowth. While wandering deeper into the jungle, he suddenly comes upon a great waterfall pouring over a cliffside. He stands at the base of it, staring upward as the water plunges nearly a hundred feet from above. It crashes over jagged rock and spills into a large pool below. The roar of the waterfall fills the jungle, and a cool mist drifts through the air around him. He moves closer to the pool and studies the dark water, realizing it is far deeper than he can see.

He slowly kneels beside the pool and cups his hands, bringing the fresh water to his lips. The cool water runs down his throat, easing the painful dryness that had gripped him since he awoke. After drinking for a moment, he lifts his head and looks around. A long moment passes as he studies his surroundings and realizes he is standing in a clearing. Tall grass grows around the pool while the trees stand farther back, forming an open space roughly thirty feet wide.

He notices the sky beginning to darken as the sun sinks behind the trees. After thinking for a moment, he decides it would be best to stay here for the night. Using what light remains, he prepares a place to rest with his back against the stone wall. He gathers rocks and forms a small ring for a campfire. Placing a stick against a larger branch surrounded by dry leaves, he spins it steadily, working to build enough heat to start a flame. After nearly half an hour of effort, a small ember finally catches, and he carefully feeds it with leaves and small twigs. Within minutes the fire grows strong and steady. He sits down, leaning against the stone wall with the waterfall pouring into the pool to his left. After several hours, exhausted and with nothing to cover him, he eventually falls asleep beside the fire.

After a few hours pass, he stirs from his sleep and looks around. The fire still burns brightly, just as strong as when he fell asleep. A thick fog now hangs in the clearing, making it difficult to see beyond thirty feet. He can barely make out the tree line and only half of the pool. The waterfall continues to roar steadily as water pours over the cliff into the dark water below.

He turns his gaze back toward the tree line straight ahead of him and notices something. Deep within the shadows of the trees, two faint red dots stare back. He watches them for a long moment, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. Slowly he realizes they are not dots at all, but glowing red eyes fixed directly on him. He cannot make out the creature’s shape, but he knows one thing, it is not human. It is some kind of beast.

The man slowly rises to his feet, staring deeper into the thick brush as he tries to get a better look. A low growl begins to rumble from the darkness, deep and heavy with the weight of a large beast. The red eyes lower slightly, and he sees the powerful shoulder blades of the creature begin to rise from the shadows.

The beast bursts from the brush in a dead sprint toward him at an unnatural speed. As it charges into the clearing, he sees the creature clearly, a giant black panther, easily twice the size of any he has ever seen. He tries to turn and run, but before he can move the panther is already upon him. The last thing he sees is the creature’s massive jaws and rows of teeth lunging straight toward him.

He suddenly snaps awake, jumping up from where he had been lying. The bright glow of the sun blinds him for a moment, and it takes a few seconds before he realizes it is daytime. He quickly looks around for the panther, but there is no sign of it, or the fog that had surrounded him during the night.

He slowly realizes it had only been a nightmare, there is no giant black panther. If the panther had been real, he would already be dead. He shifts back against the stone wall behind him, leaning heavily against it. Looking down, he sees his hands trembling badly. His heart races far faster than it should. The nightmare had frightened him more than anything he has ever experienced. He takes deep, heavy breaths, trying to steady his heartbeat and calm himself. Time passes slowly, but eventually his breathing begins to settle.

The day passes much like the one before it. He spends hours searching the island as far as he can, hoping to find any sign of people who might rescue him. He comes to a rocky cliff where he can see that there is no other islands or land in sight of this island. As the sun begins to sink and much of the day is gone, he turns back toward his small camp near the waterfall. Exhausted from the long search, he quickly makes it back and falls into a deep sleep.

He opens his eyes and jolts awake, startled to realize he is no longer in his camp. Instead, he is standing on the rocky cliff he had discovered the day before, the stone surface dropping sharply down to the water that connects to the open sea. He quickly looks around in confusion, wondering how he got here and why.

He notices the sky darkening beneath massive thunderclouds as lightning rips through them. The wind howls across the cliff, making it difficult for him to keep his balance. Rain pours down, quickly soaking his clothes and weighing them against his body. He looks around in confusion, trying to understand what is happening. Then he freezes. Standing at the very edge of the cliff, barely half a foot from the drop, is a lone figure.

He stares at the figure, struggling to make out its details in the darkness of the storm. Slowly, he begins to see more and realizes the shape is that of a child. At first he thinks it must be a trick of the storm and shadows, but then a chilling realization strikes him, the small figure has no head. It stands perfectly still at the edge of the cliff like a statue, a neck rising upward with nothing upon it. Lightning flashes, briefly illuminating the empty space where a head should be.

He stands frozen, unsure how to react and confused by what he is even seeing. Several seconds pass as nothing moves except the flashes of lightning tearing through the storm around them. Slowly, he begins to step forward, trying to get a better look. As he draws closer, he sees the figure is wearing a white nightgown. Dark ravens stitched from string spread across the fabric, their shapes stark against the pale cloth. The wind lashes the gown as rain pours down, pressing the soaked fabric against the small, unmoving body.

He moves within twenty feet of the figure before suddenly stopping as a lightning bolt slams into the cliff about fifty feet away. The violent flash and crack of thunder steal his attention for a moment. When he turns his gaze back toward the child, he is completely caught off guard.

His eyes widen in horror as something begins to emerge from the child’s neck. Giant ravens burst forth, one after another, as if they are being released from a cage. A whole flock pours from the empty neck where a head should be. He stands frozen, breathless and too stunned to act. The ravens keep coming, impossibly squeezing through the narrow opening as they erupt into the storm. One by one they disappear into the dark clouds above.

He stumbles backward, struggling to keep his balance as a blinding flash of lightning fills the sky. The sudden light steals his vision, and he loses his footing, falling hard to the ground. For a moment he can see nothing. Rubbing his eyes, his vision slowly returns and he looks up toward where the child had stood. To his complete shock, the figure is gone, and so are the ravens.

The child-sized figure is gone. In its place now stands a giant wolf with pure white fur and bright icy blue eyes. The massive creature faces him, baring its teeth as its hackles rise. A deep, rumbling growl rolls from its chest.

He slowly rises to his feet and begins to back away, but suddenly stops when he hears another low growl behind him. Quickly turning around, he sees another massive shape emerging from the storm. It is a giant black panther, nearly as large as the wolf. Its bright red eyes glow in the darkness, the very same eyes from the panther in his nightmare.

The two great beasts begin to circle him, their growls rumbling through the storm. He turns back and forth between them, completely unsure of what to do. The choice is made for him. Suddenly both beasts burst into action and leap toward him at the same time. With nowhere to run and nothing to defend himself with, he can only watch as they crash down upon him.

Just as the beasts are about to strike, he snaps awake and bolts upright from where he had been sleeping. His heart pounds as he quickly focuses on steadying his breath, repeating to himself that it was only a dream. Slowly his breathing begins to calm. Leaning back against the stone wall beside the cliff where he had been resting, he closes his eyes as the trembling finally fades from his body.

He looks up at the sky and sees the first light of day beginning to break. Lowering his gaze toward the tree line, now fully rested, his heart suddenly skips a beat. There, watching him from the edge of the jungle, sit the wolf and the panther. Both beasts are calm, sitting quietly without the growls they had shown before. His first instinct is to run, but he hesitates when he realizes they are simply watching him.

Slowly he pushes himself to his feet, using the rough stone wall behind him for balance. He stares at the two beasts, confusion written across his face as he struggles to understand what is happening. His patience begins to wear thin.

“What do you want?” he demands angrily.

He remains where he sits, waiting to see what they will do.

The giant wolf speaks slowly, its voice deep and rumbling like distant thunder. “You have passed the first two trials.”

The man’s eyes widen in shock as he hears the wolf speak. His surprise deepens when the panther speaks as well, its voice similar but lighter in tone, carrying a faster and distinctly feminine sound. “You have one more trial to face.”

The wolf looks at him again, its deep voice rumbling softly. “Stay strong.”

He steps forward, beginning to speak, but stops when the beasts suddenly vanish before his eyes. In the blink of an eye they are gone, leaving him alone in his camp. Slowly he walks to the spot where they had stood and searches the area. After several moments he finds no trace of them. He stands there in silence, completely speechless about what had just happened.

He thinks about what the creatures had said, still unsure what they were even talking about. He has no idea what the wolf or the panther could possibly want from him.

As daylight breaks, he makes his way back to the beach where he first arrived. When he reaches the shore, he stands quietly and looks out across the endless ocean that brought him here, staring at the water for a long moment.

As daylight breaks, he makes his way back to the beach where he first arrived. The walk takes him about half an hour. When he reaches the shore, he stands quietly and looks out across the endless ocean that brought him here, staring at the water for a long moment.

He notices something lying out on the sand, though he cannot quite make out what it is. He walks a little closer, and his eyes widen in shock as the shape becomes clear. A man lies in the sand, face down near the water’s edge. The figure appears human, but it is difficult to make out any details.

He rushes over and quickly turns the man onto his back. The stranger looks somewhat like him—pale skin, a strong build, and short black hair matted with dirt. The man wears a ragged white shirt and worn brown pants. From his clothing, it is clear he is a sailor, though from what ship Jorah cannot tell. He studies the stranger carefully and realizes he does not recognize him, confirming that the man was not part of the crew from his own ship.

He lightly slaps the man’s cheek, trying to wake him. “Hey… wake up. Wake up,” he calls out. The man gives no response at all.

He lowers his ear to the man’s chest, listening carefully for a heartbeat. At first he hears nothing, but then he catches a faint rhythm. Relief washes over him when he realizes the stranger is still alive. Grabbing the man by the arms, he begins dragging him back toward his camp.

A few hours pass before the man slowly begins to stir, pushing himself into a sitting position. Seeing him wake, the first man quickly rushes over with a waterskin filled with water. He helps the stranger drink as the man desperately gulps it down. After a moment the man coughs, the water harsh against his dry throat. He tries again, drinking more slowly this time. The first man then steps away briefly, returning with a few pieces of dried meat and offering them to the stranger.

As he returns with the dried meat, the man finally speaks, his voice raspy and dry from the sun. “Where am I?”

He simply answers with. “I don’t know where we are, but I just know that we are on an island.”

The man looks at him in confusion and asks, “Who are you?”

He lowers himself back into a sitting position and offers his right hand. “My name is Jona,” he says.

The man slowly reaches out and offers his hand as well, though a bit hesitantly. He takes Jona’s hand and shakes it weakly. “I am Arron,” he says.

Arron glances around Jona’s rough camp before asking another question. “How did you get here?”

Jona looks toward the beach as the memory returns to him. “We were caught in a storm,” he says slowly. “It sank the ship I was on and left me stranded here.” He starts to say more, but the words catch in his throat. After a moment, he simply falls silent.

Arron looks at him in confusion and asks, “Have you found a way off this island?”

Jona shakes his head slightly. “No… not yet.” He hands Arron another piece of dried meat, which the man takes eagerly.

Arron nods, showing he understands the answer. His voice sounds a little stronger now after drinking more water. “Do you have a plan to get off this island?”

Jona nods slightly. “I’m planning to start by cutting wood and building a raft.” He looks back at Arron and asks, “What happened to you?”

Arron replies, “I was aboard a galley from the city. Same as you, we were caught in a nasty storm that destroyed our ship. I was left drifting alone at sea until I finally saw this island.”

Jona nods in understanding as he stands and begins gathering his things. “In that case, I’m heading back to the beach to start working on the raft,” he says. “You should stay here and rest until you’re feeling stronger.”

Arron nods in understanding and slowly walks over to the pool of water. Jona begins heading out of the camp, but just before leaving he turns back. Looking at Arron, he asks, “Will you be okay by yourself?”

Arron nods in confirmation. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Jona starts to head out again, but Arron stops him. “Can I ask you something?”

Jona turns back and walks toward him, nodding. “Yeah. What is it?”

Arron looks down at his hands before speaking quietly. “Have you had any strange dreams?”

Jona looks at him suspiciously before answering. “I’ve had a few over the last few days.” He waits quietly for Arron’s response.

Arron slowly looks up at him and says, “Have you dreamed of a mansion of shadow hidden somewhere in the jungle?” He finishes with a blank expression, waiting for Jona’s answer.

Arron slowly looks up at him and says, “Have you dreamed of a mansion of shadow hidden somewhere in the jungle?” He finishes with a blank expression, waiting for Jona’s answer.

As Jona finishes speaking, Arron scowls briefly before quickly composing himself. “That’s all,” he replies. “I’ll be fine here. Go work on the raft.”

Jona looks at him suspiciously but forces himself to push the thoughts aside. He starts to walk away, giving Arron one last concerned look before disappearing into the forest, heading toward the beach to begin work on the raft.

Jona reaches the beach and immediately begins working on the raft, cutting down small trees and dragging them toward the shore. As he works, he thinks about the fact that he is no longer alone, another survivor now shares the island with him. Something about Arron seems strange, but Jona reminds himself of what the man must have endured. Pushing the odd question from his mind, he decides he is simply grateful to have someone else around. For now, he focuses on the work before him.

After a long day of work, Jona feels he has gathered enough logs to begin building the base of the raft. He decides that can wait until tomorrow, noticing there are only a couple of hours left before sundown.

Jona makes his way back quickly, eager to speak with Arron again. As he enters the camp, he calls out, “Hey, I’m back.” He stops suddenly when he realizes the camp is empty. Stepping further inside, he drops a few of his items and calls out again. “Arron, where are you?”

His call is answered only by silence. As he continues searching the camp, something in the dirt catches his attention. A pair of human footprints lead away from the pool and into the jungle. Without thinking about anything else, Jona follows the trail into the forest in search of Arron.

Jona runs through the jungle searching for Arron, unsure where the man has gone. He continues following the footprints, which remain easy to track along the forest floor. It doesn’t look like Arron is trying to hide them, instead, the trail suggests he is moving with purpose toward something. Jona has been following the trail for nearly half an hour when the light begins to fade as the sun sinks toward the horizon.

Jona suddenly stops as thunder rumbles through the sky above him. He looks up and sees dark storm clouds rolling in at an unnatural speed. Confusion crosses his mind as he wonders how the storm arrived so quickly without him noticing sooner. As he stares upward, the rain suddenly begins pouring down over the jungle. Within moments his clothes are soaked, the weight of the water dragging them heavily against his body.

Jona focuses his attention and continues following Arron’s footprints through the jungle. After several minutes he reaches the end of the trail and steps out of the tree line.

Before him stands the same cliff he had seen before, the one from his dream.

The scene is exactly as he remembered it: storm clouds swirling overhead, rain pouring down, and lightning flashing across the dark sky.

Unlike before, when a child-sized figure stood there, it is now Arron at the edge of the cliff. His back is turned toward Jona as he faces out over the raging sea below. Seeing him, Jona shouts over the howling wind. “Arron! We need to get back to the camp now!”

Jona receives no answer at first. Slowly, Arron turns toward him, seemingly unfazed by the raging storm. Jona freezes as he sees the man’s face. At first it looks as though Arron’s eyes have turned black. But as Jona stares closer, he realizes the truth, there are no eyes at all.

The sockets are empty, gaping holes filled with swirling shadows of black and deep purple, like portals opening into a dark void. The skin around the sockets appears torn away at the edges. Normally there would be blood or bone beneath torn flesh, but instead there is only shadow. Thick black ooze slowly drips down Arron’s face from where his eyes should be, trailing down like dark tears.

A wave of fear fills Jona as he stares at the man before him. Still, he forces himself to speak, though the words come out hesitant and uncertain. “Arron… are you okay?”

Arron finally speaks. His voice is raspy and wrong, nothing like it was before. There is something unnatural in it, something filled with cold spite. “The master must be freed.”

As the words leave his mouth, another voice echoes them from somewhere deeper within him. The second voice is darker, sinister, and almost playful, as if it enjoys the sound of the words. Arron speaks again, and the echo follows. “And you will be the first sacrifice for his freedom.”

Jona’s eyes widen as he throws his hands up. “Hey… slow down!” he yells.

Quickly, he scans the ground around him for something he can use as a weapon. Off to his left he spots a rock large enough to grip in one hand. Without taking his eyes off Arron, he slowly shifts his position toward it.

Arron begins walking toward Jona, his posture tense and threatening. Jona shouts again, trying to reach him. “Arron, what are you doing? Let’s just talk this out!”

The only response Jona receives is that same distorted voice, echoing behind Arron’s words. “You will die.” Before Jona can react, Arron suddenly bursts into motion, lunging straight at him.

Jona turns toward the rock, but Arron moves faster than he expected.

The man grabs Jona by the front of his shirt before he can reach it. Jona barely has time to react before Arron lifts him effortlessly off the ground, holding him high in the air. With unnatural strength, Arron spins and hurls Jona away from the tree line.

Jona slams hard onto the stone of the cliff, rolling several feet before finally stopping just a few feet from the edge. He glances toward the drop with a horrified expression, realizing how close he came to going over.

Quickly, he looks back at Arron. The man stands about fifteen feet away, already walking toward him again in a slow, threatening manner.

Jona scrambles back to his feet, raising his fists in a defensive stance. Without hesitation, he rushes forward, closing the distance and throwing a punch. His fist connects hard with Arron’s face, snapping the man’s head sharply to the side. A moment later Arron slowly turns back toward him, glaring with those hollow, shadow-filled sockets.

Before Jona can react, Arron grabs him by the throat with one hand. Jona is lifted straight off the ground once again. With terrifying strength, Arron hurls him down onto the stone of the cliff, sending him crashing several feet away from the edge.

Jona slams hard onto the rain-soaked stone of the cliff, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. A surge of pain shoots up his back and spreads through his entire body. For a moment he lies there helpless, the shock of the impact leaving him temporarily paralyzed as he struggles desperately to draw in air.

Arron drops down over him, quickly locking both hands around Jona’s throat.

With terrifying strength, he begins to squeeze, pinning Jona against the stone. Jona struggles desperately for breath as Arron slowly chokes the life from him. He begins striking at Arron, throwing desperate punches, but the man doesn’t react to any of them. Jona’s blows quickly grow weaker as darkness creeps into his vision, the lack of air and the crushing grip draining his strength.

As the darkness begins to close in, Jona feels himself slipping into unconsciousness.

In horror, he stares into Arron’s unholy eyes. But nothing stares back. Only an empty, cold void.

In that moment, Jona realizes the truth. This is it. This is the end.

As the air leaves his lungs, Jona feels his mind beginning to fade. His life flashes before his eyes. Memories race past him one after another, as if he is reliving his entire life in the span of only a few seconds.

Suddenly, something bursts into view from the left. It moves too fast for Jona to see clearly, only a flash of black and orange. The shape slams into Arron with tremendous force, knocking both of them away and rolling out of sight to the right. As Jona struggles to pull air back into his lungs, he hears the sounds of a violent struggle nearby. Still lying on his back, he listens as something growls—a deep, animal sound that reminds him of a large cat.

The sound confuses him at first—it is deeper and heavier than he expected, like the growl of a large cat.

Jona quickly pushes himself into a sitting position and looks toward the struggle. He rises just in time to see the fight reach its end. Standing over Arron is a massive cat, a tiger.

The tiger lunges forward and clamps its jaws around Arron’s throat. Its body blocks most of Jona’s view of the final moment, but he sees enough. Arron’s body suddenly goes limp as the tiger finishes him.

Still filled with terror, Jona quickly scrambles to his feet and turns to run in the opposite direction of the tiger.

Just as he begins to move, lightning crashes into the ground about twenty feet in front of him. The force of the strike knocks him backward, sending him crashing hard onto the stone once again. The blinding flash leaves his vision completely white for a moment, and a loud ringing fills his ears, drowning out the sound of the storm around him.

Jona is completely disoriented as everything around him suddenly changes. His vision is still white and his ears ring loudly, but something feels different. The rain is gone. Instead, he feels warmth on his skin, like the heat of a fire or the sun. The ground beneath him is no longer stone but soft, shifting beneath his weight.

He props himself up into a sitting position, his hands sinking into the loose ground. As his vision begins to clear, the burning rays of the sun come into focus. Jona looks around and realizes he is no longer on the cliff. He is standing in a vast desert, surrounded by endless sand stretching farther than the eye can see.

Jona looks around, trying to understand what is happening. As he turns, he suddenly freezes. About thirty feet away lies Arron on his stomach, his head lifted as if he had been looking toward Jona. But Arron is completely motionless. His left arm is stretched out in front of him, reaching toward something unseen. The expression on his face is frozen in pure horror.

Slowly, Jona begins to move closer, unsure why Arron is frozen like this. As he approaches, he notices something strange in the air around Arron’s head. Several small objects spin slowly above him. When Jona gets closer, he finally understands what they are. They are clocks. Seven small clocks orbit slowly around Arron’s head.

Each of the clocks is small—about the size of Jona’s hand—with a bronze casing protecting the mechanism inside. A thin layer of glass shields the clock’s hands, which appear to be made of bronze as well. Along the rim of each clock is a delicate engraving of ocean waves circling the edge. On the back, another image is etched into the metal: a calm ocean line with the sun resting on the horizon.

Jona looks around the vast desert, searching for anything else that might explain where he is or how he arrived here. Finding nothing, he turns his attention back to the clocks and to Arron, who remains frozen in place.

Jona kneels down in front of Arron, but the moment he does something begins to change. Startled, he steps back as the color drains from Arron’s body. His clothes, skin, and hair slowly shift until they take on the pale color of desert sand. Within seconds Arron looks brittle and lifeless, almost like a statue made of dust.

Then, before Jona’s eyes, the body collapses and crumbles apart, breaking down into loose sand that scatters across the desert floor. Jona stares in horror as the man disappears completely. Above the empty space where Arron once lay, the seven clocks suddenly stop moving. They remain suspended in the air, floating silently. Jona stands there staring at them, unable to understand what he has just witnessed.

Before he can think any further about what he just witnessed, another sudden flash of lightning fills the sky. In an instant, Jona finds himself back on the cliff, rain falling around him once again. But something has changed. The rain is no longer pouring as heavily, and the thunder that once shook the sky is now gone.

Jona glances to his left and sees Arron’s body lying on the cliff, the blood still fresh. The dark features are gone, and his face looks completely normal again. The empty void that once filled his eyes has vanished. Near the tree line, Jona notices the tiger sitting quietly, watching him.

He freezes as he realizes the animal is staring directly at him, unsure of what it might do. But the tiger shows no sign of aggression. It simply sits there, calm and still. After a moment, the great cat slowly turns and walks back into the jungle, disappearing among the trees. Jona remains alone on the cliff as the rain continues to fall. He waits there for a long while, trying to understand everything he has just experienced.

After a few minutes, Jona lifts Arron’s body and slowly begins dragging it back toward the camp. The journey takes several exhausting hours, but eventually he makes it. Using what little he has, he digs a grave and buries Arron, doing his best to give the man a respectful resting place.

What happens next no longer surprises him. Once again he slips into a dreamlike state. The night around him is dark, with no light in the sky. The jungle stands silent and shadowed while his campfire burns steadily with fresh wood. Jona slowly sits up. As expected, the giant wolf and panther sit nearby, watching him.

Jona speaks with concern in his voice. “What do you want from me now?” His question is met with silence.

Frustration flashes across his face as he glares at them. “Could you just leave me alone?” he demands. Still, the two beasts give no response. Their silence only makes his anger grow as he stares at them, tired of being haunted by their presence.

The wolf and panther slowly turn their heads toward the place where Jona buried Arron. In its deep voice, the wolf finally speaks. “You buried him… even after he tried to kill you.”

Jona glances toward the edge of the camp where the grave rests. After a moment, he looks back at the two beasts. “I don’t understand what happened,” he says quietly. “But I didn’t want him dead. He didn’t deserve to die.”

The two beasts remain silent for a long moment, as if considering Jona’s answer. Slowly, the wolf and panther glance at one another before turning back to him. The wolf finally speaks, its deep voice calm and certain. “You have passed the third test.”

Before Jona can respond, the dream suddenly ends. He finds himself back in his camp. Judging by the position of the sun, he realizes he has only been asleep for a few hours. Jona pushes himself to his feet and looks around.

He is still alone. Still stranded on the island. He doesn’t understand what has been happening to him, and he has no idea if it is truly over. But one thing is certain. He is still trapped here.