Claire's grip on the combat knife was getting lighter with each passing hour. At that point, it was just dangling from her fingers as a sorry excuse for a weapon. A fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks, damping the already soaked neckline of her tank top. She wiped off her tears again and hugged her legs closer as her eyes remained glued on the only living soul around her. Five feet away from her, against the stone-cold wall was sitting Liam, unconscious and rearing a dubious fever.

His breaths were brief, lips dried. His pale demeanor appeared paperwhite against the ominous purple backdrop making him appear like a beautifully sculptured mannequin. Marvelous but lifeless.

Claire got up and checked his temperature for the umpteenth time, all the while holding on to the knife.

106°F

Still high enough to damage his brain

She took the wet handkerchief from his forehead and her wet shirt from his torso, drenched them in the stream again and placed them back on him.

Claire bit her lower lip. She did not know what to think of him. Her shoulder strap was still crunched with his dry blood but her last encounter with him was also fresh in her memory. While he guided her to a safe place before things took turn for worse outside, he also threatened to kill her over it.

Claire did not want to dwell in it for now. Weighing the good against the bad, she wished with all her heart that he would wake up but somewhere in her mind, she also wished not before help came their way but that wish started to feel like a verdict for his death as more time passed by. They had been stuck there for 8 hours now. The scenario outside was not a promising one. It was still the same. Murky and dark. The fog was still hanging like a vengeful spirit swore to assassin anyone entering its territory. Claire knew the others would come to rescue them. If not for her, at least for Liam the Nixs would come. But she also knew they would not be able to make it at least for the next 2 to 3 hours. She just did not know if Liam could hold himself till then.

But it just did not make any sense to her. Claire stitched his cuts and dressed his wounds perfectly. She could bet it was not an infection that was causing this fever. In fact, she knew no infection would cause such high fever so fast without prior engagement which she was pretty sure Liam did not have given he appeared perfectly asymptomatic throughout the whole day. His cuts were not severe enough to cause such pain too. At least not for him, she thought, observing his well-tuned body. Deeper scars ran across his abdomen than the ones she stitched today.

Then what is it?

Earlier while dressing his wounds, Claire realized what seemed off to her previously. They were caught literally at the epicenter of two massive explosions but none of them got licked by the fire. At all. Not even the slightest. While she was creepily unharmed, Liam just got wounds and cuts from crushing on the ground and not a single scorched wound. Not even when Claire saw his clothes burning right on his torso. And that was humanly impossible.

And that was not the only thing bothering her. Now that she looked back she realized Liam had unresolved issues with heat. She did not put much thought into it back then but now that she replayed it in her mind, it was bizarre. When she spilled boiling water in their kitchen, she vaguely remembered him holding the bowl right off the stove with his bare hand and standing on the spilled boiling water. Her leg was sore from it for days even though she wore jeans.

And he was standing on it barefoot. How!

His palm was hot even then. Just like today. Claire wondered if Jennifer meant it literally when she said he was the hottest man around.

Claire checked her watch, got up, took the wet clothes again and repeated her action. She placed them on Liam and looked at him with guilt and remorse. Even unconscious, he looked vigilant. Like he was guarding some deep secrets in him and a thought crossed her mind drawing a fine smile on her face. For the first time in a whole while.

'Liam' does mean Guardian in Irish

If it was not for him today, she would have rained from the sky just like he said. In a way, he did protect her from her raddled fate, something that she brought upon themselves, most preferably the whole forest too. Claire's eyes started pooling up as she kept looking at Liam's frame lying against the stone-cold wall, drained and dejected. The wave of guilt that subsided for a while splashed up at the pit of her stomach again.

If only I weren't a sobbing nutcase

Claire wiped off her tears for good this time. Clearly crying and whining was not going to take her anywhere. She tried focusing on what she had in hand and what she had to do. So far her concerns were three -

Keeping Liam alive till help came

Getting out of here

And

Figuring out what the hell is going on and trying to get back to her life if possible

Claire sighed. Jennifer and Lynx made it pretty clear that it was not going to be any time sooner but Claire was a trier.

She opened up a packet of chips that they brought and chugged one in. Her appetite had been long gone but the energy she needed. She tried summing up in her head what she had so far. She knew they were Nixs now. Now out in punishment and would be returned to the base once they were done here.

Then what?

Most probably they would still be watched and studied till there was nothing else to know.

So I have till then to figure out what's going on

She chugged another one. Claire could not quite put her finger on it but something was off about these people. She noticed yesterday the murderous claps of thunders in the forest but there was no rain, no cloud nothing. This was not the season to either. Today right before the mines exploded, she heard something similar. Not quite the same but close enough. The rains started soon after.

Then?

Then I acted like an idiot

Claire shook her head. Now was not the time to entertain negative emotions. She tried counting the things she did not get. She did not get how they survived the fire. She did not even get how the fire was even lit in the cave.

Claire looked at the brilliant violet flame gently burning on a rock. No fuel. No starters. No nothing. It was just burning bright, illuminating the whole cave in a ghostly light which made her click her tongue. She knew potassium produces violet flame but this was too bright and too pure a flame to be of potassium. The shade just was not right.

Even if it was though

Potassium is a highly flammable metal if not controlled. She did not see any means as to how it was so uniform and right.

Claire snapped out of her train of thoughts as she noticed movements at the corner. Liam was awake.

She quickly sprang beside him and helped him shift comfortably in his position, completely forgetting all the different points she noted in her mind to hold the knife against him if he woke up. And apparently, it did not seem to be necessary.

Claire checked his temperature again. It was 102°F. Not the best number but appeasing enough than his previous records. She looked at him with concern. His temperature had been high for way too long, long enough to permanently affect his brain but...

Claire bit her inner lip. She was at a loss what would be the right set of questions to test that. She had never come across a situation as such. And she took a bit too long to realize that.

"Like what you see?" Liam said with a weak grin which took her few seconds to realize what he meant.

Claire mouthed a sorry and backed off few feet away from him and hugged herself. Her cheeks were flushed.

His brain is just fine

Claire checked with her seeing him use sarcasm.

"Hey I was just pulling your leg," Liam affirmed giving an apologetic smile, "turns out I'm substantially incapable of keeping my sarcasm in check irrespective of gender, time and situation."

Claire gave out a nervous laugh without looking him in the eyes. She suddenly realized that she was just on her tank tops and jeans and her shirt was sprawled on his lap. She used it as a wet blanket to reduce his fever.

Which clearly is suggesting all the wrong ideas

She felt vulnerable and naked. But unlike her, Liam did not linger his eyes on her more than politeness allowed him, neither did he show any sign of reducing the gap between them. He just leaned against the wall and looked outside, " How long have I been out?" he said rubbing his temple.

" Um..nine hours now."

" Damn!" Liam clicked his tongue.

The cave plummeted into silence once again. Except for the white noise of the flowing stream, the cave bore a booming silence.

" Thanks for saving me out there today," Claire mumbled, more to herself.

" Hmm. No problem," he responded without even opening his eyes.

For a while, no one spoke a word. Claire feared he might slip into unconsciousness again but she had no idea how to keep his brain activity going.

" Um...you wanna eat something? You should. You did lose blood today."

" No problem."

" Water?"

" No worries."

Claire was not even sure if he was actually minding what she was saying. She needed him to keep talking or responding at least till help came which she was pretty sure was on their way.

The fog has lifted a lot

She needed a question that would at least keep his brain a little bit active.

" You recognized panic attack so fast today," Claire tried to sound as casually as she could," I mean.. not everyone knows it."

" Hmm. My mom used to have them," he said in a low tone. But his response stopped just as abruptly as it started.

Claire waited for him to clarify further but he just did not. He seemed really distant at the moment. Like he put up a wall around him which just could not be penetrated. She was hating herself for doing this to him when she knew how much exhausted he was but she knew it was important. She knew she had to do it even if it meant making a fool out of herself. But the gift of the gab was not something that she had. It was more Derek's department in the trio. But she had to try.

Come on. Think!

But nothing crossed her mind.

Claire decided

If you're not gonna tell me about you, I'm gonna tell you about me

She breathe in and started talking without even thinking much, " You see," Claire said hugging her legs,

"I'm scared of the dark. Always have been. Right after the war ended and the Phoenix was building its place in the world, some Nixs were sent into our village to subdue any rebels against their alliance. They were killing everyone left and right without much thought really. My mom, to save me from the Nixs, hid me in a small chest when they raided our area. But amidst all the chaos, it got locked. I heard my parents scream while getting shot at from the chest...and I sat there and...

She had no idea why this, of all things, decided to be replayed in her brain but it was like her mouth grew a brain of its own. She just could not stop.

"and I knocked and I kicked and there was no air and I....and I...".

Claire felt a lump in her throat as her sobs started getting out of her control. She dropped her head on her legs but just could not control her convulsion. She was shaking like a thin leaf as her words got stuck in between her sniffles.

" So I wasn't always this reckless okay? And I did not hurt you intentionally today. I would never do that. To anyone. Not even to a Nix. Who would do that? But now we're all failing the task because of me and you're hurt. Also because of my foolishness and now we're stuck here and you have a fever and I just can't bring it down? I mean... why can't I bring it down? I did everything I could and now you won't talk to me. Maybe you hate me. I hate me. Everyone should hate me...and I..."

Claire did not realize when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. They were warm. Not too rough, neither too reluctant. Just firm enough to cradle her as she lost control of herself completely. She buried her head deeper on his chest and cried her heart out. Liam did not utter a word. He let her shed off everything that she had buried so deep in her for so long.

Claire finally calmed down a little. Her sobs were now whimpers and her shaking had stopped.

"Hey sunshine look at me," he said patting her head. His voice was timid but toned enough to make her know he meant it. She looked at him with puffy eyes like a kid.

"I'm not angry with you. I shouldn't be. We don't control our fate. If something is meant to happen, it will happen no matter what you do. That's what I always believe. No one knows what's gonna happen next. So there's no use in saying you could have done anything differently at all. Besides, I know you have no control over it. Like you can't tell when you'll get hungry, you can't tell when you're gonna get panic attacks either. No one can and it's absolutely fine, you know?"

Liam wiped her tears off. He was on his knees in front of her, his blue green eyes tired but intense. She could tell he meant every word that he said. And for some reason, she did not feel embarrassed anymore. She never spoke of this incident out loud. Ever. It was only while she was saying it out so loud that she realized where her panics originated from. But her euphoria soon got punched by a pang of embarrassment and panic when she heard someone clear her throat.

They both turned their head. Rayo was standing at the entrance with a mine shell in her hand in her usual cool demeanor.

"I'll be outside when you guys are ready," she said without even flinching a muscle and turned around to disappear in the night again.

Liam casually stood up and walked outside giving her a smile but Claire felt like banging her head against the wall. She knew what it looked like. Liam was under-clothed, her shirt was sprawled at a distance and she was hidden behind his frame, in a tank top and with her tears smeared all over him. She cringed at the thought of it and felt like crawling in her skin.

Can this day get any worse?!