The next morning Grub left his camp with a simple goal in mind—He needed water.

  The list he had written in his journal the previous day had not left his thoughts since he closed the book. Food would last for a little while. A shelter was already established. Observation of the lizard settlement could continue from the trees for as long as he remained careful.

  But water was different. Water was something a person needed every day. Miss it once and the body began to complain. Miss it twice and the body began to fail. Miss it three times and the body won’t do anything at all.

  Grub moved quietly through the forest, keeping low as he searched the terrain around the outer edge of the lizard settlement. He had no intention of straying too far away from the camp he had just discovered. The entire reason he had come here was to observe them. To study them. To understand their language and their culture.

  But observation would be meaningless if he died of something as simple as thirst. The sounds of the camp faded gradually behind him as he moved deeper between the trees. The faint clanging of metal and distant voices slowly became nothing more than muffled echoes swallowed by the forest.

  Grub walked slowly, eyes constantly scanning the ground and the slopes of the land around him. He had spent enough time surviving in the wild now to understand that water rarely appeared randomly. It followed the shape of the terrain.

  It could be found in low ground or around specific plants. Even insects sometimes gave away the presence of water long before it could be heard. But the forest refused to cooperate. He searched for several hours.

  Several shallow depressions in the earth hinted that rainwater collected there during storms, but none held anything more than damp mud and scattered leaves. A few patches of moss suggested that water might occasionally seep through the ground beneath the soil, but the earth itself remained too dry to sustain a true stream.

  The only reliable water source he knew of remained the same one he had seen the lizard soldiers using earlier but that one was not an option. If he drank there, his tracks would eventually be noticed.

  If his tracks were noticed, someone would follow them. And if someone followed them— They would find him.

  Grub stopped beside a patch of moss-covered stone and wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The morning had grown warmer as the sun climbed higher above the canopy, and the constant walking had begun to tire his already strained leg. He leaned against a nearby tree for a moment, letting the trembling muscle settle before pushing himself upright again.

  His eyes scanned the surrounding terrain one more time. That was when he noticed the cave.

  It sat halfway along the side of a rocky incline, partially hidden behind tangled roots and thick vines that had grown down from the cliff above. At first glance it looked like nothing more than a deeper shadow in the stone wall. But shadows rarely stayed that dark when the sun stood high overhead.

  Grub studied the opening for a long moment before approaching. The cave mouth was narrow but tall enough for a person to walk through without crouching. Cool air drifted faintly from within, carrying the damp scent of stone and minerals. Caves were unpredictable places. Sometimes they held nothing but empty tunnels carved by water long ago.

  Other times they held dangerous creatures that preferred darkness. Grub rested his hand on his belt and listened carefully for several seconds. Yet he heard nothing there was just the emptiness of silence.

  So he stepped inside. The light faded quickly behind him. Within only a few steps the cave swallowed most of the sunlight, leaving the entrance as a pale glow behind him while the deeper tunnel disappeared into shadow. The air felt noticeably cooler here, the temperature dropping enough that goosebumps rose along his arms. The faint drip of water echoed somewhere deeper within the stone. That alone was enough to keep him moving forward.

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  Grub walked slowly through the tunnel, one hand trailing along the cave wall so he could maintain balance as his eyes adjusted to the dimness. The floor sloped downward slightly beneath his feet, scattered pebbles shifting softly under each careful step.

  Something about the cave felt… wrong. Not dangerous exactly. It just seemed strange to Grub.

  The silence inside the cave had weight to it. Every movement he made seemed louder than it should have been. Each step echoed faintly, bouncing off the stone walls before fading into the darkness ahead.

  Then he heard it—water. A steady rushing sound drifted from deeper within the cave.

  Grub’s pace quickened immediately. He moved farther down the tunnel until the narrow passage suddenly widened, opening into a large natural chamber carved by flowing water over countless years. A river ran through the cave. The underground stream cut through the center of the chamber in a narrow channel, the water flowing swiftly between smooth stone banks worn down by centuries of movement. Thin beams of sunlight filtered through cracks in the cave ceiling far above, reflecting faintly off the surface of the water.

  Grub stood there for a moment. Just staring. He hadn’t expected something like this. He approached the river carefully and crouched beside the edge, studying the current closely. The water looked clear. Smooth stones were visible beneath the flowing surface, their shapes distorted slightly by the current. No strange discoloration floated through the stream. No oily sheen clung to the surface.

  Still, appearances meant little. Grub had learned that lesson early. He studied the water for several minutes before touching it. First he dipped a single finger into the stream. The water seemed safe. It was rushing fast and had no abnormalities to it. He waited. Nothing happened. After another moment he lowered his hand fully into the water and swirled his fingers through the current. Still nothing. Satisfied, he removed the container from his pack and lowered it carefully into the river, allowing it to fill slowly before sealing it again.

  Even if this underground river eventually connected to the same stream the lizards used above ground, the cave itself was hidden well enough that no one would ever notice him using it. The entrance remained concealed. The sound of the water never reached the forest outside. It was perfect.

  Grub sat back against the stone beside the river and exhaled slowly. Then he realized something. The last time he had actually washed himself had been back on the ridge. Days of traveling through the forest had left dirt, sweat, and dried blood clinging stubbornly to his skin. The grime had worked its way beneath his fingernails. Even the smell of himself had become unpleasant. The cave was quiet and hidden. And the water looked clean.

  Grub glanced once more toward the tunnel behind him before making a decision. He stripped down slowly, folding his clothes carefully and placing them on a dry rock beside the river. The cool cave air brushed against his skin as he stepped closer to the water. Then he slowly lowered himself into the stream.

  The warmth surprised him. It wasn’t hot. But it wasn’t cold either. He dared to say that it was just right.

  The underground water carried a gentle warmth that spread through his muscles as he settled deeper into the current. Grub let out a slow breath. For the first time in days his body relaxed. The tension in his shoulders eased. The ache in his ribs dulled slightly beneath the warmth of the water. Even the tight burn along his injured leg softened enough that he could stretch it carefully beneath the current without immediately regretting the movement. He leaned back against the smooth stone wall and closed his eyes.

  This part of the river could be used for washing. The upstream section could remain untouched for drinking. Separating the two would lower the chance of contamination. Grub made a mental note to write that down later.

  For several minutes he simply sat there, letting the warm water wash away the dirt and exhaustion that had accumulated during his time in the forest. Then the cave growled. The sound rolled out from deeper within the darkness.

  Grub’s eyes snapped open instantly. Something moved in the tunnel beyond the chamber. Heavy footsteps scraped across the stone floor, each step slow and deliberate as whatever lurked deeper in the cave approached the river. Another growl echoed through the chamber. The sound vibrated through the stone walls.

  A creature stepped into the faint light of the river chamber. It was large. Much larger than the animals he had encountered in the forest above. Its body stretched low to the ground on thick limbs, muscles shifting beneath dark hide as it moved forward cautiously. Long claws clicked sharply against the stone with each step. The creature’s eyes locked onto him immediately. And it growled once again.

  Grub stared back at it from the river. Completely naked. And completely unarmed.