Liam and Tomlin set up camp as dusk settled over the quarry. They chose a spot against a steep rock face, hoping it would protect their backs and reflect the warmth of a fire. Soon, orange flames crackled and sent shadows dancing among the boulders.
"Not a bad setup," Tomlin said, trying to sound cheerful as he unrolled his bedroll by the fire. "Our first night on the road. Beats my lumpy mattress back home, eh?"
Liam huffed a quiet laugh, sitting on his own blanket. "Debatable. Your snoring might scare off any monsters, though."
Tomlin gasped in mock offense. "I do not snore! Pretty sure that's you." He wagged a finger at Liam, and Liam held up his hands in surrender, a faint smile on his lips.
Their gentle ribbing eased some of the tension. They shared a simple dinner of dried meat and nuts, appetite small thanks to lingering nerves. As twilight deepened, their chatter gave way to comfortable silence. Stars emerged overhead, and a crescent moon cast pale light on the quarry rocks.
After a while, Tomlin spoke softly, eyes on the fire. "That tunnel and tree we saw earlier... you think whatever did that is still around?"
Liam's gaze drifted to the darkness beyond the firelight. The forest they'd left was now an inky wall a short distance away. He didn't want to scare Tomlin, but he wouldn't lie either. "I don't know. Maybe it moved on." He poked the fire with a stick, sending a swirl of sparks upward.
Tomlin nodded and tried to smile. "Well, if it shows up, it'll have to deal with both of us. We make a pretty good team, right?"
Liam met his friend's eyes and nodded firmly. "Right. I've got your back and you've got mine." He nudged at Tomlin's so-called spear. "And you're armed with your fearsome monster-slaying stick."
Tomlin let out a genuine laugh. "Enchanted branch of heroism, plus one," he joked, brandishing it. The two friends chuckled, and for a moment the night felt a little less tense.
Even so, neither could shake the feeling of unseen eyes in the dark. Eventually, fatigue from the day's journey weighed on them. They decided on a watch schedule.
"I'll take first watch," Tomlin volunteered at once, perhaps a bit too eagerly. Truth be told, he was still too keyed up to sleep.
Liam eyed him, then nodded. "Alright. But wake me in a couple of hours. Don't try to stay up all night."
Tomlin gave a mock salute. "No heroics, got it."
Liam settled under his blanket, sword within reach. Despite the uneasy setting, weariness tugged at him. He trusted Tomlin, and he knew he'd wake at the slightest sign of trouble regardless. Within minutes, Liam drifted into a light sleep.
Tomlin stood guard, pacing around the edge of the firelight. The night was quiet except for the crackle of fire and the whisper of wind through distant pines. To keep himself alert, he imagined how heroic he would be if a monster appeared: he'd spot its glowing eyes, alert Liam in time, maybe even land the first strike. The daydream brought a proud grin to his face.
A soft scrape of stone on stone snapped him out of his fantasy. Tomlin froze, heart thumping in his ears. The noise had come from near the quarry's edge, just beyond the firelight's reach.
He strained to listen, holding his breath. For a long moment, there was nothing. Then—a faint clatter of pebbles tumbling down rock. It came from the darkness by the pit.
Tomlin's mouth went dry. Probably just a critter... he thought, though doubt gnawed at him. Gripping his spear, he took a few cautious steps toward the sound, away from the comforting circle of light. "Hello?" he whispered, immediately cringing at how shaky he sounded. He cleared his throat and tried again, a bit louder, "Anyone there?"
Silence. Only the fire answered with a pop.
Suddenly, a flicker of movement caught his eye—a blur of gray shifting behind a nearby boulder. Tomlin's breath hitched. That was no harmless animal. Something lurked just beyond the glow of the fire.
He realized with a lurch that in edging forward, he'd put the fire between himself and Liam. For all his imagined heroics, he suddenly felt very foolish and very alone.
Keeping the boulder in sight, Tomlin began to inch backward toward the camp. "Liam," he called softly, trying not to let his voice quaver, "Liam, wake up."
Across the camp, Liam was already stirring, instincts honed by years of his father's hunting lessons. He sat up, eyes instantly alert when he saw Tomlin's tense silhouette at the edge of the firelight. Liam grabbed his sword, the steel glinting orange in the fire's glow.
Before Tomlin could take another step, a raspy hiss echoed from the darkness. The hair on his arms rose. From behind that boulder, multiple small, luminous eyes glinted in the reflected firelight. They were low to the ground... and getting closer.
Tomlin's voice barely rose above a whisper, but it carried dread. "Liam... it's here."
In the next heartbeat, the night exploded into chaos.