Here's the continuation of your story, bringing the total toward 2000 words and adding the safe hiding spot and food-sharing scene as requested:
The forest beyond the dungeon was dense with mist, trees standing tall like watchful sentinels. The group didn't stop running until their lungs burned and the sounds of the collapsing ruin were nothing but distant echoes.
"We need shelter," Eryan gasped, bent over with her hands on her knees. "Somewhere he can't find us."
Regulus scanned the woods, pointing toward a sloping hill covered in moss and vines. "There. Looks like an old watchpost or cave."
Sure enough, nestled between tangled roots and fallen stone was the mouth of a narrow cavern, barely wide enough for one person at a time. But it opened up inside—roomy, dry, with a few broken crates and signs it had once been used by travelers or scouts long ago.
Kajala threw himself onto a flat rock with a dramatic sigh. "Alright. Official vote: this is our new base of operations until I stop shaking."
"I second that," Rika said, dropping her bag and sinking to the floor. "We're alive. Somehow."
They sat in silence for a moment, the weight of what they'd just survived pressing on them like the very rubble that had crushed the Rotten Knight. No one said it, but they were all thinking the same thing—he was still down there, waiting.
Rei leaned back against the stone wall, staring at nothing. He could still feel the knight's stare, still hear that voice—you hear my voice when you sleep.
"Alright," Eryan said, trying to break the tension. "Let's eat. We're not going anywhere tonight."
"I'm starving," Kajala groaned. "Okay, what'd everyone bring?"
Regulus unslung his pack and pulled out a cloth-wrapped bundle. "Dried meat. Nothing fancy, but it'll keep you standing."
Kajala looked unimpressed. "You brought a brick of sadness."
"It has flavor," Regulus protested.
"Yeah. Salt."
Rika opened her small satchel and carefully unwrapped a tight bundle of paper. Inside were sliced berries and thin strips of sweetbread. "I traded with a merchant before we left town. Figured we'd need something other than soldier rations."
Kajala's ears perked up. "Okay, now that looks edible."
"I planned for emergencies," Rika said with a smirk.
Kajala rummaged through his own bag, pulling out a tin container with a proud grin. "Behold: roasted nuts, dried apples, and—drumroll—cheese cubes. I even have toothpicks."
"You brought cheese?" Eryan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Cheese is fuel for greatness."
Rei blinked, as if just realizing he still had his pack. He pulled it into his lap and opened it, quietly. Inside was a small pouch of rice balls, neatly wrapped in leaves, and a container of pickled vegetables.
"wow there no crumbled," he said softly.
Kajala leaned over. "Yo, those look homemade. That's cheating. I want some."
"You can have one," Rei said, offering it.
"Legend," Kajala said, snatching it with a reverent nod.
They passed the food around, sharing what they could, swapping bites and trading tastes. The cavern, once cold and looming, started to feel a little warmer—just a flicker of comfort in the dark.
Eryan chewed thoughtfully, looking at Rei. "So. Back there… what did he mean? About dreaming of him?"
Rei swallowed slowly. His voice was low. "I don't know. I've had nightmares since I was a kid. Same place every time—dark corridors, dripping stone, a voice calling to me. Sometimes I see a figure in the dark. Red eyes. A blade dragging behind him."
Rika's expression hardened. "That's not a coincidence."
"No," Rei said. "And the worst part? Every time I get close to him in the dream… he says the same thing."
He looked around at them. "You already belong to me."
Silence settled again. Even Kajala didn't have a joke for that.
Regulus broke it with a grunt. "Then he knows you. Or wants you. Which means we need to figure out why—and fast."
Eryan leaned back, rubbing her arms. "He's not just some cursed knight. He remembers. He talks. And that armor… it's not just physical. Magic's sewn into it. Old, evil magic."
"He's not supposed to exist," Rika said. "I've read stories about knights of the deep. Forgotten warriors bound by hatred and loss. But none of them ever come back."
"He didn't come back," Kajala muttered. "He never left."
They ate in uneasy silence for a few more minutes. Outside, the wind picked up, whistling through the trees like distant cries.
Rei set down his last rice ball. "If he's connected to my dreams, maybe I can find something out. Maybe there's a reason he called me out."
"You're not going back in there alone," Regulus said immediately.
"No," Rei agreed. "Not yet. But I think we all need to prepare. Because I don't think this ends with one ruined dungeon. I think we were the first. Not the last."
Kajala stood up, stretching. "Great. First we survive a living corpse knight, and now we're fighting nightmare prophecy things. Awesome."
"You could stay behind," Rika teased.
"Please," Kajala sniffed. "I'm too curious to stay behind. Also, I still owe that guy a knife to the eye."
Eryan smiled faintly. "We should rest. Rotate watch. We'll need our strength."
They arranged their packs, made makeshift beds out of cloaks and cloth. Rika volunteered for first watch, perched near the cave mouth with one of her daggers resting on her knee.
As the others drifted into exhausted sleep, Rei lay on his side, eyes wide in the dark.
Somewhere, deep beneath the ground, buried under stone and shadow, a nightmare stirred.