The moment they descended into the dense forest, the parachute tangled violently with the towering trees. Branches whipped against them mercilessly.

Mila cried out as sharp twigs scratched her arms and face.

Dominic tightened his hold around her protectively, even though his injured body slammed against the branches repeatedly.

Then they hit the ground hard.

Dominic immediately twisted his body and shielded Mila beneath him. His back struck the ground heavily. A painful groan escaped his throat.

"Dominic." Mila panicked.

The parachute cloth was tangled between broken branches overhead.

Dominic’s face had already turned pale from blood loss. His breathing grew rougher.

The stab wound in his stomach had reopened during the fall, and blood continued soaking through the shirt.

Mila’s heart nearly stopped when she saw the amount of blood. She quickly crawled beside him.

Dominic tried to sit up, but his strength was fading rapidly. He pressed a trembling hand against his wound.

"I’m fine," he muttered hoarsely.

But Mila knew he wasn’t.

His lips were losing color. His breathing had become uneven. Even his eyes struggled to remain open.

Fear crashed over her like a tidal wave. If she couldn’t stop the bleeding soon, he would die.

"Stay with me," she pleaded desperately, cupping his cold face. "Don’t close your eyes."

Dominic looked at her weakly and forced a faint smirk. "You sound scared."

"I am scared," she admitted, tears spilling down her cheeks. "So don’t you dare leave me."

She quickly unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers and pulled it off completely. Blood stained his skin horribly.

Mila clenched her teeth hard, forcing herself to stay calm despite the panic choking her. She folded the shirt tightly and pressed it against the wound before wrapping it around his waist firmly to slow the bleeding.

Dominic hissed faintly in pain.

"I’m sorry," she whispered shakily. "I have to stop the bleeding."

Once she tied the cloth tightly enough, she grabbed her phone immediately.

"I’ll call for help."

But the moment she checked the screen, her expression collapsed.

"No signal..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She cursed under her breath helplessly.

At that exact moment, thunder cracked loudly across the sky. Then heavy rain started pouring down and soaked them within seconds.

Mila’s face paled further. "We can’t stay out here."

Dominic could barely remain conscious anymore.

"Dominic, no... You can’t fall asleep here. Get up. We need to find a shelter."

She wrapped his arm around her shoulders and slowly pulled him up despite his weight.

"Stay with me, Dominic," she whispered repeatedly. "Please..."

They staggered through the dense forest together under the storm.

Mud clung to their feet. Rain drenched their bodies completely. Branches scratched Mila’s skin as she dragged Dominic forward desperately.

Under the faint gray glow of dawn, Mila suddenly spotted a dilapidated house ahead.

Her eyes widened.

"There..." she whispered breathlessly. "There is a house."

Hope flickered inside her exhausted eyes.

"It’s okay," she told him quickly. "We can stay there until the rain stops."

She led him toward it.

The building was old and broken, almost swallowed by the forest itself. Parts of the roof had already collapsed. Cracks spread across the walls, creepers crawling up like snakes.

It looked abandoned for years. But it was the only place where they could take shelter.

Mila brought Dominic inside carefully. Rainwater leaked through several holes in the ceiling, but one corner remained mostly dry.

She lowered him there.

Dominic leaned back on the wall heavily, exhausted. Every inch of his body hurt.

Mila immediately checked the wound again.

The bleeding had slowed. But she knew the danger wasn’t over yet. If he didn’t receive proper treatment soon, the wound would become infected. And with the blood loss, his condition could worsen rapidly.

"We’ll leave the forest once the rain stops," she said softly. "We’ll find help."

Dominic nodded weakly. His eyelids already looked heavy.

Time passed. The rain only grew stronger outside. Thunder continued shaking the jungle.

Exhaustion eventually overtook Mila, too. She leaned against Dominic and drifted into sleep beside him.

She didn’t know how long she had slept. When her eyes slowly opened again, bright sunlight had already washed over the jungle.

The storm had passed.

Mila immediately looked at Dominic. Her expression changed instantly when she noticed him shivering.

"Dominic..." she whispered in panic and checked his temperature.

His skin burned beneath her touch. He had a high fever.

Fear gripped her heart again. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, trying to warm him with her own body heat. But his shivering didn’t stop.

"Damn it..." she muttered anxiously.

She had nothing. No medicine. No clothes to cover him. Nothing at all.

"I need to keep him warm. But how?"

She looked around and saw the broken furniture scattered across the house.

"Wait here," she whispered quickly. "I’ll find something to burn."

She hurried around the broken building and gathered wooden planks, old broken chairs, and dry pieces of wood. She dragged them all toward Dominic one by one.

Then she searched Dominic’s pocket and found his lighter. With great difficulty, she managed to start a fire.

Warmth spread across the room.

Mila crawled beside Dominic again and hugged him tightly.

Gradually, his shivering subsided. But the fever remained.

Mila tore the lower part of her soaked skirt and used the cloth to wipe his body repeatedly. She continued taking care of him tirelessly for hours.

By evening, his temperature had lowered slightly. Darkness slowly swallowed the jungle again.

The fire dimmed little by little.

Mila walked out quietly to gather more dry twigs nearby. Just as she gathered a few twigs to pick some up, a low growl echoed through the darkness.

Mila froze instantly. Her blood turned cold. Slowly, she lifted her head and looked around.

Several glowing eyes stared at her from the darkness between the trees. Her breath stopped.

She didn’t wait to find out what kind of animals those were. She immediately turned and ran back toward the ruined house.

But those ferocious things followed her. Their growls grew louder.

Mila stumbled inside the building, her face pale with horror. She turned around and saw wolves.

Five of them.

Mila’s entire body trembled in terror.

Dominic was still weak and asleep. And she had no weapons. Desperately, she grabbed a burning wooden log from the fire and held it toward the wolves with shaking hands.

"Stay back," she cried fearfully.

She waved the burning log wildly. But the wolves didn’t retreat.

Instead, they moved closer. Their glowing eyes locked onto her.

Mila stepped backward slowly, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. Tears filled her eyes.

"Dominic..." she cried out helplessly.