Annie lay down on the other side of the bear corpse, and sleepiness quickly washed over her. A few minutes later, she too drifted off into a sweet dream.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard a 'crack'—the sound of a branch snapping. Annie jolted awake, all sleepiness gone: 'Someone outside stepped on the dry branch I put there!'
The dry branch was an alarm trap she had deliberately set.
She sat bolt upright, her first glance falling on the bamboo tube stuck in the cave wall. Confirming it was still intact, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Unconsciously, she placed great hope in the bamboo tube Rosen had painstakingly crafted, even though she still didn't know its purpose.
She turned to look outside. The sky was already beginning to lighten, and early birds were chirping. She had slept for at least four hours. She touched her stomach; the wounds had scabbed over, and the stomachache was gone. Her injuries were basically healed.
She looked towards Rosen again, and there he was, fast asleep, clutching the bear carcass's hind leg.
'What a strange little fellow.'
Just then, the light inside the cave dimmed, and a figure appeared at the cave entrance. Immediately following, a seductive, melodious voice rang out: "Oh, beautiful ladies, so you were hiding here. I've been searching for you for quite a while."
Annie was quite experienced in wilderness survival. Soon after entering the forest, she found a dry, warm cave. A bear was sleeping inside. She quietly crept in and pierced the bear's brain with a single sword stroke.
Aside from a strong, pungent smell, everything else in the bear's den was fine. The dead bear even provided a warm pelt.
By this time, Rosen was exhausted and could barely walk. He was dizzy and could barely think straight. His eyelids were drooping. After confirming that he was safe, he lay down next to the still-warm bear carcass and fell asleep within half a minute.
He had a dream.
In his dream, he slept soundly. When he woke up, he found himself lying on his soft, large bed in his apartment. Golden sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, bathing the blankets in warm, cozy sunlight.
The blankets smelled warm and fresh, freshly changed by his mother a couple of days ago when she came to school. Thinking of his mother, Rosen could hear her nagging voice echoing in his mind.
'You're such a grown-up, and you still haven't learned to tidy your room! It's such a mess! I don't know which girl would like you.'
'Why are there so many fast food containers? I'm telling you, eating too much of this stuff isn't good!'
'Rosen, I'm telling you…'
'Mom~ I know~' Rosen replied subconsciously. Then, a slight thought struck him: 'Huh~ Am I back on Earth?'
Rosen jolted awake, sitting up in bed and turning his head to look around. But the moment he moved his head, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. He instinctively reached up to cover it, and looking around more closely, the warm, fragrant blankets had transformed into a bear carcass reeking of a strong, pungent stench; the golden sunlight of his dream had become a small bonfire; and the apartment of his dream had become a dark, cramped bear den.
A deep sense of loss washed over Rosen: 'My sudden disappearance must have driven my parents mad. And my grandmother, she's almost 80, I absolutely can't let her know what happened to me.'
His thoughts were still in the middle of a dream, his mind replaying memories of his life on Earth, and he froze for a moment.
'You're awake?' came a voice beside him; it was the hunter, Annie.
Rosen snapped out of his reverie and looked in the direction of the voice. He saw the tall, agile female hunter sitting at the entrance of a cave, a dagger in her hand, bleeding a wild rabbit.
She was very careful. To prevent the scent from spreading, she had dug a pit nearly 20 centimeters deep, throwing the rabbit's blood and entrails into it, leaving only the rabbit skin.
After the blood had drained, she filled the pit back in, carefully covering it with fallen leaves and twigs.
Rosen saw Annie skewer the rabbit with a fresh twig, rub salt on the meat, and prepare to roast it over the campfire. He said, "There's flour in the bag. Add some salt water to make dough, wrap it around the rabbit meat, and roast it. The rabbit meat will be very tender and delicious."
Annie did as he was told, then scoffed, "You're such a rich kid, even on your run, you didn't forget to bring some goodies. This kind of fine white flour costs 10 rand a pound!"
"Hehe," Rosen chuckled, not arguing, and asked, "Annie, how's your injury?"
Annie turned and smiled slightly at Rosen, the firelight illuminating her radiant face. "It's healing well, it doesn't hurt much anymore."
"Oh, that's good." Rosen glanced at the sky outside the cave; it was still pitch black. He asked, "How long did I sleep?"
"Not long, maybe a little less than two hours. It's still a while before dawn," Annie said.
"Two hours? That's perfect timing." Rosen nodded. He estimated the safe time was only three hours. If the vampire Viken didn't give up the pursuit, he could come knocking at any moment after an hour.
One hour remained of safe time. After an hour, the vampire Viken could come knocking at any moment.
"Annie, do you still have any silver powder?" Rosen asked. Two hours of rest had been very effective. Although his body hadn't fully recovered, he felt much better than when he had just been bitten. His head was still a little dizzy, but it no longer hindered his thinking.
"I still have some."
"What about the silver grains?" Rosen asked again.
"There aren't any silver nuggets readily available, but there are plenty of silver wolves in the money box. I can cut them out for you with my dagger. How big do you want?"