The night was no longer a blanket of quiet stars. It was a canvas of invisible lines, a web of tension pulled taut between the cave and the river. The thrumming from the water was a constant, low-frequency hum in my bones, a heartbeat that wasn't mine. Shi's words echoed in my mind: a dinner bell. We were the first to arrive, but we would not be the last.
"The fire," Shi said, his voice a low growl that cut through the night. "Put it out."
I didn't argue. I kicked dirt over the embers, the hiss and spit of the dying fire a small, pathetic death in the face of the vast, listening dark. The sudden plunge into near-total darkness was jarring. The moonlight, once a gentle, silver guide, now seemed harsh and revealing, casting our hiding place in stark relief.
"We can't stay here," I said, my own voice a strained whisper. "The signal is too strong."
