Page 66 of In Darkness and Dank

Kittisak never saw Denninger or Bissell again. He didn’t know if Bal and the other Rife had drowned or eaten them or both, and he honestly didn’t care. They were murderers, and they deserved whatever happened.

Well, technically Denninger and Bissell were only murderers if Shu didn’t make it…

Fuck, he had to quit thinking like that.

Shu was going to be okay. He just had to be.

Zimm, surprisingly, had caught the attention of Shu’s second youngest sister, Kula, and she and the other Rife decided to spare him. They had taken his change of heart into consideration and how he’d also tried to help Shu. Kula had taken charge of Zimm, and she kept him quite busy around the newly erected camp.

Zimm didn’t seem to mind being bossed around by her one bit.

Browning recovered and was up and moving around by the next day. The infection in his leg vanished, and he spent his time helping out whenever he could when he wasn’t running tests. He believed he’d found the perfect acidophilic bacteria, and he was hoping to use the residue from the disintegrating egg shells to create a proper growth medium to take it back home.

Although Kittisak was happy for him and the amazing discovery, it was hard to be excited when Shu still hadn’t woken up.

By the third day, Kittisak didn’t think he could cry any more even if he wanted to. Everything hurt, and he was nauseated with the threat of certain heartbreak and grief. He had no idea what he would do if he lost Shu, and he certainly had no intention of returning home with Browning.

There was no way Kittisak could leave.

Even if…

Kittisak didn’t let himself finish the thought.

He finally dragged himself away from Shu to bathe in the waterfall. Shu’s sisters had been staying with them in shifts so Shu was never alone. Right now it was Bal, and she’d urged Kittisak to go take a break.

Just as well because Kittisak was certain he smelled worse than that damn mud. He needed to wash away the filth of his own misery and clear his head. He’d been doing nothing but snuggling next to Shu, watching his chest to make sure he was still breathing, and crying.

So much fucking crying.

He surprised himself with how angry he was for being so emotional, though he knew the pain he was in betrayed nothing but how much he really did care about Shu.

There were moments when Shu took longer than normal to inhale, and Kittisak died over and over again in those grueling seconds. He had never been so drained before, and thinking of other times in his life that he’d been upset felt cheap now.

Being stressed over midterms or worried about getting caught with some weed was nothing compared to worrying about his monstrous boyfriend never waking up again.

Kittisak stood under the waterfall longer than he needed to, taking some time to clear his head. After he’d been shot, it had taken him a while to wake up even with the magical mud. Shu just needed more time, that was all, and Kittisak was determined to wait. He didn’t care how long it took.

He was going to be with his beautiful Rife, the creature of his dreams, and he had already made up his mind that he was going to stay. He’d figure out how to explain it to Browning and get a message to his parents, he’d obviously give up on college, and…

A noise startled him.

It was very loud, especially to have been heard over the waterfall, and that’s when he realized it was also very close.

Kittisak stepped forward.

Someone had tripped over a cluster of fallen branches making their way up to the rocky ledge beneath the waterfall.

It was…

“Shu?” Kittisak stared.

Shu was walking slowly, but he was there. He was standing now, his hand clutching the mud packed over his chest. He smiled when he saw Kittisak. “Kitty!”

“Shu! What are you doing?” Kittisak scrambled over to him, nearly slipping on the slick rocks. “You shouldn’t be walking around yet!”

“Wanted see Kitty,” Shu stubbornly countered as he continued to surge forward to meet Kittisak.

“You idiot!” Kittisak launched himself into Shu’s arms, and he didn’t even care about the smelly mud or how it was smearing over him. He squeezed Shu tight, his eyes filling with tears. “You big, beautiful idiot… Fuck.”

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