Everyone settled down once again, more cautious this time around. None of them kept their eyes off each other.
If one were to make an unanticipated move, they'd be restrained in a heartbeat.
Soon, everyone finished up the meal that had now been overcooked and tasteless. Taking out their tent and setting it down.
The tent seemed bigger than the last. It was bright red in color and looked as if it could accompany up to 5-7 people, it was as large as a room in a regular house.
Ophelia cried herself to sleep in Zane's arms outside. He gently carried her up and into the tent, putting her down and placing a blanket over her.
They had already decided who was going to be on the night shift first, and it was Kai who willingly volunteered.
However, Anne opted to stay outside for a while more. Using the excuse of 'The forest was too dangerous for a child to be alone.'
Once Anne heard the rustling sounds inside the tent stop and the familiar deep yawn of Zane's. She then turned her attention back to Kai.
"You've been suspicious from the very start." Anne whispered, leaning in. "Your uncle is probably made up too."
Kai continued smiling, he tilted his head. "So what?"
"You're a good liar, aren't you?" Anne tied her hair up to a ponytail. "The other two may be soft hearted but I can't say much for myself. Despite how many times I tell myself that killing Gerald was compulsory.."
Despite knowing Anne for such a short period of time, Kai had grasped onto her personality finally. And he knew what she was going to say next.
"I hate you with all of my heart. Gerald died..because of you." Anne's voice was still in a whisper but it felt as if it was getting louder with every word she spoke.
"Because of me? You're deluding yourself." Kai stated, taking a water bottle from his void ring and pouring it over his hand.
"I'll.. kill you. I definitely will before we leave here. You'll die a much worse death than Gerald." Anne's voice was filled with utter determination. She had no doubt in what she was saying. She was sure of her wishes.
Kai let out a small chuckle. "I'm looking forward to that." He wasn't alarmed one bit. For she had three strikes already. And that was all he needed.
Anne frowned and went inside the tent, zipping it up and locking in from the inside. She felt as if she had just been fooled around with.
Unlike what they had arranged for the night shifts, Kai stayed up all night and only woke them up in the morning. He determined that by looking at the sky that has now been brightly lit with an orange flare.
Everyone woke up and was surprised by how long they had been sleeping.
Zane especially was mad at Kai for not waking him up halfway for his shift. He couldn't let a kid do all the work, and the kid didn't even get any sleep, how was he still awake?
On the other hand, Anne didn't say a word. She just packed up the tent and got ready to leave.
Venturing forward blindly, everyone hoped to find a sign no matter how small, that indicated that they were indeed on the right path.
Rocky paths began appearing, moses grew on it as if it was their true home.
Random pieces of bones appear in the forest, all scattered and bitten into. No bones stayed intact.
At one point, all the rotting corpses and bones started appearing frequently..The forest seemed to take on a darker atmosphere again all of a sudden.
Trees began to arrange themselves in a neat manner, all of them were parallel to each other and were of the same height. Coincidentally, there was a large pathway in the middle, perfect for walking through.
"Is it man-made?" Ophelia asked, getting rather suspicious. But who in their right state of mind would build something like this here? And strangely all of it looked so clean and well taken care of.
Zane halted, his ears perked up. He took out his swords' and crossed it in front of him. "Stay back!" He yelled.
The other two immediately followed his instructions. They stepped back and got into position. It was a little different from usual as one member was gone but they would have to make do for now.
Anne looked behind and saw Kai standing still and staring a head. His eyes are not focusing on anything. "Stand behind Zane. I know you can fight."
"What? He's just a kid!" Ophelia complained, lowering her wand.
"You saw him. You saw how he fought Gerald." Anne stated, not keeping her eyes off the front. She didn't see anything but she could feel something ominous ahead. And she was sure Zane knew it too.
Ophelia shut her mouth as she guiltily watched Kai step forward in front of them. They were adults and were meant to protect the younger ones, not force them to fight.
"You can stand back and watch.. we'll take care of this." Ophelia offered, lightly tapping him on the shoulder.
Kai jolted and glared at the person behind him. He bit his tongue and forced a smile. "No. It's fine. I can't be dead weight, can I?"
"O-okay. Alright." Ophelia answered. She retreated her hand and returned back to her original position. She could've sworn Kai glared at her. But she couldn't be sure. It all happened so fast.
"Quiet please." Zane murmured, squatting down and placing one hand on the ground as he felt the ground shift by the weight of something heavy. It wasn't moving by footsteps but rather, slithers.
What they were looking for was ahead.
"The snake is ahead. Should we go or do you guys need time to prepare?" Zane declared, more serious than ever. He didn't look away or move. If he did, he'd lose track of where that monster was. He could hear his heart beating louder than the tremor of the ground.
"Ahead. We move forward. We can't stop now." Anne answered, drizzling an absurd amount of poison on the tip of her bow. She wanted her first hit to be a killer.
And so they advanced. Once they did, they reached a large gate. And around it were tall trees that showed no way in or out.
The white gate was decorated with designs of large snakes entangled with each other. The eyes of the snake designs seemed so realistic. As if they were real.
The eyes resembled the color of the jewel, citrine. Shifting from a transparent and clear yellow to the brightest shade of gold.
The gate clicked loudly without anyone touching it. The eyes of the snake designs glowed and shimmered before it went dull.
The gate creaked and slowly opened outwards. Revealing a large plain field stacked to the brim with bones. It piles up endlessly. No inch of meat was left behind on those bones.
In the middle of all the mess, laid a snake. No words could describe how large it was neither could any words describe how ethereal it seemed.
It's white snowy like scales gleamed marvelously as if polished on a daily basis. It's scales had no imperfections nor stains. No normal person would believe it was a monster. It seemed more like a reptile god they'd worship.
The white snake slept peacefully. Unaware of the danger that crept up on it.