Miriam ran through the ruins for a while before stumbling into a small corner of a wall that had once been a house. It had no roof, so her view was clear but all she could see of the sky was darkness. Through what may have once been a window, she could see a tower rising above the other ruins, leaning heavily to one side.

Too much had happened and, though she tried to make sense of the day, she was soon asleep.

She woke up shivering with no idea how long she had been sleeping. Her stomach felt depressingly empty and the sweat that had gathered on her skin while running had turned cold.

She was shivering so badly she considered for one groggy moment if that was what had woken her up. Then she realized she could hear a noise, a rustling sound.

She got up and followed the shuffling noise. It was coming from around the corner. She followed it towards a piece of the ruins, a small shed maybe, that still had a roof.

A light flickered from inside, throwing a warm yellow and orange glow on the walls.

She couldn't see the fire yet, but seeing the light from it made her clutch her t-shirt and feel the cold that bit her skin even more. She peered in the doorway of the shed and saw a stranger sitting by the fire, warming himself.

Surrounded by papers, the young man sat on the floor. He was picking them up, scanning quickly and throwing them away in disgust. Some of them fluttered into the fire he had made in the corner.

His face was dirty, and he was too young to be so bald. Miriam guessed that he was about her age, maybe a year or two older.

Considering the heavy hiking boots, combat pants and a leather jacket, the worn patches on his clothes could be just a part of the style. So could the shaved head.

He hadn't noticed her in the doorway yet so she continued to look at him. He was dark and had intense eyes. He was slim, but there was some lean muscle. Miriam mentally wished that she was that toned.

Although right then she would have settled for being as warm. She walked into the room and went towards the fire. Her fingers and face felt numb from the cold.

He looked up, at the doorway where she no longer was. He wore an earring in his right ear but none in his left.

It was a silver ring from which dangled a teardrop shaped red gem. The gem was glowing slightly and reminded her of lights people put on Christmas trees.

She was just to the right of him but he gave her no acknowledgment of having seen her. Instead, he looked alerted and cocked his head so his ear faced the doorway like a dog listening for footsteps near where the food was kept. Miriam looked at the papers.

Over and over again she saw the words 'circles' and 'dagger'. He stood and walked passed her to stand in the doorway and peer outside, giving her an even better view of the papers. The handwriting was messy and rushed but she could make out a paragraph.

Once again I have been led to the wrong place. Yet, once again, I find that I am fascinated by the ruins that surround me. This town was full of life not too long ago but it looks like it has been uninhabited for hundreds of years. Many of the pieces I have found are damaged beyond repair and soon the histories and stories they hold will be lost. It pains me that I cannot stay and document it all before it is lost but I dare not stay. It would take years and the circles are waiting for me. I have to get to them.

Miriam began to wonder if he was blind when he passed her again without even glancing her way. His brown eyes didn't look cloudy. Instead, he picked up a bundle of pages and began to look at them, flicking his eyes up to the door every few seconds. Not blind then.

Miriam stood in the doorway again and looked out. She couldn't see any sign of her double. She examined the boy again. He was stronger than her, definitely. He was also the only person she had seen outside of her kidnapper in this place.

Miriam had no choice. She would have to ask him for his help.

__________________________________

Davis hadn't been in the ruins long. He had heard a rumor that Jace was here; had nearly been killed getting here.

The rumor was right, the papers proved his brother had been here and not too long ago by the look of the campfire Davis had reused. Jace wouldn't have left the papers behind unless he was in a hurry.

They hadn't caught him yet, Davis knew. He would have heard if they had. And he had been where Davis was now less than two days ago. Two days!

Davis had been too late to catch him. Again. Now he was looking through the papers hoping to find some clue of where Jace was heading next. It would be much easier if he could read.

That was just another thing he had lost on that day. Everyone else had that, and many more things, as an advantage.

Prendre had nearly caught Davis a few days ago. Throwing his old friend off the scent was getting harder and harder. He couldn't afford to stay here very long. He would need some time to recharge before he could face Prendre again.

He focused on looking for visual clues. So far he had found nothing but a map, older than the last shift. Meaning it was useless. A noise drew his attention to the doorway. He stood up and walked to the door. The ruins had become home to all manner of beasts, many of them very large and very much meat eaters.

On the way to these ruins, he had seen signs of the Eaters. He had avoided the lure but that was no sure thing. He had never known an Eater to come inside any ruins though. With no eyes, the animals relied on their hearing to catch prey. An echoing place like the inside of a dead city would not appeal to them.

More than likely, the snake-skinned wolves or other large lizards would be lingering in the dead city. Most would be afraid of fire, so Davis's campfire could offer some safety. The ones he was worried about were the Spitters.

They traveled in groups and spat poison up to five feet away. They wouldn't even need to get close to the fire. All they had to do was spit at him, watch him die and wait for the fire to burn out to get their meal. He touched his arm, where a scar reminded him of the last encounter he had with Spitters.

He peaked around the corner. Nothing. He had thought he heard something earlier as well, crashing and someone yelling. Maybe the ruins were messing with his mind. The ruins were too close to the graveyard, everyone said it. He had heard stories about ghosts and voices coming to people who came here. Maybe, hopefully, that was why Jace left.

Davis left the doorway, annoyed and relieved that nothing was there. He grabbed a pile of pages.

Still, he couldn't help but look at the door every few minutes. Crazy as it sounded, he kept thinking he saw something move in his peripheral vision every time he looked back to the pages. The idea of ghosts had now taken a very large part of his brain. He couldn't concentrate.

He had heard the stories of a beautiful girl in the ruins who was looking for her lost love. She called to men, lured them to her while mistaking them for that man she had lost. Then when they got close and she realized they weren't him, she ate them while they were still alive.

He had heard the story of the lady of the forest who took people in and let them live safely only so she could kill them for food for her trees. The women in those stories were always beautiful and sad. He could understand why people would want to go with them, to help them.

"Hello."

The girl appeared in the doorway like mist deciding to be solid, covered in blood and dirt. Davis stared, mouth agape in horror.

"I'm lost. Can you help me get home? Please?" she pleaded.