Zach POV

The beast does not show himself for the rest of the night. At some point before dawn, I fall into a deep, dreamless slumber. The singing birds around the cabin wake me up at full daylight.

As I peel back my eye lids, the first thing I notice is the dead silence in the cabin. Sunlight filters into the basement from a window somewhere, but none of it reaches the cage. The darkness suddenly feels suffocating.

As memories of last night floods back, an urgent need to get out surges through me.

"Justin!" I groan.

He appears within moments. His eyes are bloodshot from sleep.

"Morning."

I can...