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The shriek we heard sent shivers down my spine, and I felt it reach my soul. It sounded like a distant memory I couldn’t quite conjure. It reminded me of my own agonizing screams just the night before. Remembering the pain-filled nightmare gave me another chill, but I suddenly found myself sprinting towards the sound, ignoring the soreness in every step.

“Aura,” Elias called to me. “What are you doing?”

“We have to help her,” I exclaimed.

“No, we do not,” he argued.

I paused and turned to face him. “Someone is clearly in trouble. I am not going to just stand here and do nothing!” I pivoted back around and continued running towards the direction of the scream.

I felt Elias come up behind me and grab my arm. I turned to face him. “We don’t know who or what it is. It could be some sort of trick. Let’s think about this,” he pleaded.

I pulled my arm from his grasp and shot him an angry look. “Let go of me,” I said through gritted teeth, still feeling the anger of our interrupted conversation.

He did as I said. We stared at each other for another moment, his eyes telling me to reconsider. The scream erupted again, this time more frantic. I did not wait for further confirmation as I turned and began jogging towards it, Elias at my heel.

As we headed towards the noise, I began to hear a woman sobbing. Mumbled words that were too distant to understand cried out between sobs. We stalked closer and closer and I could begin to barely make out the words of the woman.

“Nadia, please!” I heard her exclaim. “Open your eyes! Oh gods, oh gods. Somebody help!” The last two words came out as another scream.

I quickened my pace and pushed through a waterfall of vines, Elias’s heat radiating close behind me. As I made my way through the foliage, I could finally see the source of the cries. A woman with bright red hair crouched over the body of a child, her arms trying to shake the unconscious girl awake. The woman faced away from us, her curly hair cascaded down her back in long ringlets. She hadn’t turned towards us when we entered into the small clearing, and I knew she hadn’t heard us yet.

“Are you okay?” I said aloud to announce our presence.

The woman flung wildly around and stared at me with wide eyes. She reached over towards the ground next to her and grabbed what looked like a small sword. “Stay back!” she shouted, the tip of her sword pointed towards us. A small growl emitted from Elias’s throat, and the woman’s gaze turned to him. Her eyes widened even further, and her sword now danced back and forth as she couldn’t decide who to point it at.

“Were you not just screaming for help?” Elias said, a strangedarkness in his voice.

She gulped, her hands tightening around the sword.

“It’s alright. We’re not going to hurt you,” I assured her. She turned back to me, but she did not lower her weapon. I looked down at the body on the ground. The unconscious girl looked like she was no older than eleven or twelve, while the woman standing could have been my age. Sisters, maybe? The younger girl’s hair matched the other’s curly texture, but was a darker shade of red than her older counterpart. I watched as the young one’s chest rose and lowered with shallow, uneven breaths.

“Is she hurt?” I asked. The woman remained uneasy, her sword still raised in our direction. Her eyes remained fixated on Elias, clearly more wary of him than of myself. “He’s not going to hurt you,” I repeated. “Please, let us help.”

The woman looked over to me once again. “She…she ate some berries and then fainted. I can’t wake her up,” she said as she stifled back sobs.

I started to walk towards her, but the woman’s sword remained fixed in its defensive position. Elias growled again and I turned to look at him. “Elias. Be at ease,” I demanded. His gaze darted between me and the sword that pointed at me, but he did as I said. His shoulders relaxed and he took a step back, raising his hands to his shoulders with his palms facing out to show he was not a threat. I turned back to the woman and she began to lower her sword.

“May I take a look at her?” I asked calmly. The woman nodded, and a tear slipped from her eye.

I walked over and knelt next to the girl, truly her sister’s small doppelganger. I wondered if they shared the same blue eyes too.

“The berries she ate…” began the elder sister. “I think they came from that bush over there.” She pointed towards a small bush with dark purple leaves and white flowers. The berries were a deep redcolor. I did not recognize them.

“Elias,” I called to him and he stepped towards us. “Do you know what they are?”

He looked towards the bush but shook his head. “I have not seen them before,” he spoke. The woman let out a small cry of exasperation.

I turned to her. “It’ll be alright,” I said to her, also trying to convince myself. I looked towards Elias again. “In my pack, there’s a book on wild plants. Can you get it?” I asked him.

Elias’s eyes darkened. “And leave you here?” he argued.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Please.” His eyes remained fixed on mine, but I did not budge. “Please,” I whispered again. I trusted him. I trusted him to do the right thing. Trusted that he wasn’t the horrible person he made himself out to be.

With hesitation, Elias gave a defeated nod then turned to head back to our camp. The woman also watched as he walked out of view.

“What is your name?” I asked the woman, attempting to distract her from the desperate situation.

She looked back at me. “Magda,” she answered. “This is my sister, Nadia.” Magda let out another small sob as she looked down at her smaller half.