Abandoned - part 2

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part two of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!

I sit in the water barrel for hours, too uncomfortable to fall asleep, too scared to move. I imagine I can hear voices. My father is surely searching the town, trying to force me to leave whether I want to or not. I can't let him take me. If he drags me away now, I'll never be able to come back, and any chance I have of finding Alex will be gone.
I wonder how long the village elders will allow him to search before forcing him to leave with them. After all, it's not safe here - that's why we're leaving. I'll just have to find Alex fast, then we can both get out of here before the seas rise and swallow our village whole.
Finally, when I can see through the small cracks in the barrel that darkness has fallen, I decide it's safe to get out. My muscles protest at being cramped in a tight ball for hours and I stretch as soon as I am out, trying to work some feeling back into my limbs.
"Right, let's go," I mutter to myself. Even as I make plans to search for Alex, though, I realise that it's stupid. It's dark. I'll never find him now. What I need is a good night's rest and a fresh start tomorrow.
I start to make my way home in the dark. My father packed up most of our possessions, but the bed will still be there, and with luck, a spare blanket.
I never make it home, though. Without any conscious direction from me, my feet take me along a different path, towards Alex's house. I let them. It's been weeks since I saw him, weeks since he mysteriously disappeared in the middle of the night. Maybe being in his house will make me feel closer to him and ease some of the terrible loneliness that has haunted me since he disappeared.
I let myself in with the key I've had for years, making my way to his room by feel in the dark. When I step inside, I immediately know something is wrong. I flatten myself against the wall, trying to see in the pitch darkness. The town is abandoned. There should be no one except me here. Then why do I sense so clearly that there is someone else in the room?
"Cara?"
I close my eyes, suppressing a groan. I was in that barrel too long. I'm exhausted and probably dehydrated, and now my mind is giving me exactly what I want to hear: Alex's voice.
I don't reply, but flop down onto the bed, knowing that sleep is the only thing that will set my head straight.
I bump into a warm body.
I yell in shock and a light flares up. In the split second it is there, I stare at the flame dancing on my palm, lighting up the room but not burning me. Then it goes out... but not before I see who it is I bumped into.
"Alex?" I gasp. I feel him leaning away and light fills the room as he turns up the lamp.
"Cara," he says, smiling broadly, reaching for me.
I fling myself into his arms, hugging him so tightly that my arms hurt.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he murmurs over and over again in my ear. He kisses my forehead and pulls me down on the bed next to him, holding me close.
"What happened?" I ask, staring avidly at him, afraid he will disappear again if I look away.
"I had to," he says sadly. "Magic can only be brought forth when you experience that which you fear most."
"What?" I say blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you see how light appeared in your hands?" he asks gently. "You don't know how to control it yet, but you will. I knew you'd need your magic to defend yourself, but that was never going to happen while I was around. I had to leave, to force your magic to show itself."
"Magic?" I whisper. "I don't have magic..."
"Yes, you do. We both do."
"You too?"
"Yes," he says. "You remember when you fell and knocked your head?"
I nod. "I was asleep for days. The healer thought I may never wake up."
"She was almost right. You woke up because the magic awoke inside me and allowed me to heal you."
I don't say anything. It's way too much to take in.
"I know it's a lot," Alex says gently. "You'll be ok, though. I'll help you. You're not alone, Cara."
"I know," I say, snuggling into him. "Even when you were gone, I knew you'd never leave me."
"As I knew you'd never abandon me. We should get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll explain everything."
"Ok," I mumble. Already, my eyes are drooping. After not having slept properly for weeks - since Alex disappeared - exhaustion overcomes me. I think I hear him whisper something in my ear, but I am already asleep.

To be continued