Hyenas? Weren't they chased and wiped out long ago? How did they survive? Even making a home out of an abandoned planet without resources? What did they eat?
Information about the long erased Hyena clan started swirling in Arella's mind. Hyenas were the most treacherous of all and most importantly, they were carnivorous!
They were different from the vulture clan who ate dead carcasses of animals because Hyenas ate living clan members! They were the most primitive of all the clans. They believed that eating their own people could make them stronger!
During times of crisis, they could even eat their own children! To them, tales of Hyena were equivalent to tales of demons! They were the first who started chasing the cat clan! They devoutly believed that if they ate cat beasts, they would imbibe their unique gifts!
With their obnoxious manner and capricious approach, they soon became an enemy of all. The Royals decreed their death for the safety of all. And since then, nobody has seen any Hyena!
But how did they escape? Arella's mind was troubled with unanswered questions.
"We are here." Andrew expressed clearly. On his face, a shred of anxiousness could be seen.
"Okay. Listen to me. Stay together and don't do anything reckless. Andrew, keep contacting Adrian, I will contact Nicholas." Princess ordered.
Andrew looked at Arella. She appeared calm. He wasn't concerned about Adrian but Arella. If anything happened to Arella, he wouldn't be able to face Adrian ever again. Andrew took a deep breath and started observing the surroundings alertly.
All around them were nothing but mosses and trees. Not one flower bloomed here. The ground was wet and the air hung heavy. A putrid smell covered their senses. It was nighttime. The sky was littered with dark clouds rumbling every now and then.
It appeared as if it could rain at any time. Lightening flashed illuminating the area for seconds before plunging everything into darkness again. Despite having better night vision, the trio found it hard to navigate.
They tied a rope around them, making sure that nobody would go astray in the veil of darkness. They walked stealthily, hiding from anything that could pose a threat.
Maybe it was about to rain, that is why they didn't find any Hyenas lurking around or tracking their scent. The putrid smell was so strong that it could overwhelm any living Beast. But it helped in covering any scent. Even the trio found it hard to smell anything other than the rotten smell.
They had seen the map of Planet X before. It had a few caves and two major rivers. The rest of the plane was covered with trees. Even they didn't know what lurked in the green fields.
The trio decided to stay far away from the rivers. Because it was probably that the Hyenas lived near the water bodies, Arella spread her senses, trying to pick up on any moment, but both her ears and eyes failed to find anything.
The thermal gun in Andrew's hand remained dormant for the entire walk, indicating that there was no warm body nearby. Adrian and Nicholas had a transmitter, tracker, and a camera on them.
But every instrument on Adrian and Nicholas had lost its signal somehow. So the trio decided to move to the last location traced by the tracker. On their way, they came across a lot of small caves. But no sign of life.
The caves were dark and empty without any movements. It was as still as death itself. They checked the first few but then gave up checking the rest. They were all the same. Small, cold, and empty. They kept walking while keeping their eyes and ears open.
"Did you hear that?" A sizzling sound was caught by Arella. She stopped, making the others stop as well.
Andrew and Princess took in their surrounding environment, ready for any sudden attacks.
Sss.
The sizzling sound was heard again. This time, even Andrew and Princess heard it. They alertly observed. Ready to combat if any insect or serpentine like monster, animal, or Beast appears out of nowhere.
Sss… the sizzling sound became more prominent, appearing more frequently. Arella moved her head from left to right and from right to left to catch any movement, but nothing caught her vision.
"Ah!" Andrew groaned lightly. Both Arella and Princess turned toward him, checking his condition, but he looked fine. He was constantly looking at the sky. Arella moved her sight to the sky as well.
Lightning illuminated the area once again. In the flash, Arella noticed a tear drop shaped droplet emerging from the brooding clouds and falling right in front of her leg.
The moss around her leg started corroding swiftly, burning the moss without any trace and producing a sizzling sound.
"Hide."
"Cave."
"Rain."
Three different words came out of three different people all meaning the same thing. They ran toward the nearest cave. It was small, but they managed to fit uncomfortably.
Andrew stretched his arm. Princess Anna had a torch, but they decided not to light it. They didn't want to attract any attention in unfamiliar terrain. Another flash of lightning appeared and they saw the burnt condition of Andrew's arm.
It was badly burnt. The flesh had corroded silently, revealing the bones underneath. It looked gruesome. Princess Anna raised her palm calling forth the healing power, but her powers were like a drop in the ocean.
Though she was a tamer, her expertise lay in strategizing. She could act as a pain reliever but couldn't heal.
"Let me try?" Arella suggested hesitantly. She knew to them, she was a burden, so she tried to remain invisible, not adding to their troubles. But now, when Andrew was so badly injured, she couldn't stay quiet.
"Sure." Princess Anna backed off a little. In her mind, any help would be okay. Arella looked at Andrew for his opinion, but he had his eyes closed with knitted brows. He clenched his teeth to stop groaning in pain or making any noise.
The sound of sizzling and rain became heavy outside. The blooming clouds roared brazenly. Arella closed her eyes, focusing on treating Andrew's wound.
During the night training, Adrian had asked her not to touch the wounds. This time, Arella really followed his words and poured her healing power into his bruised arm.
She concentrated on the wound, trying to repair the broken flesh. A few minutes later, Andrew's frown relaxed. It was too dark, so they couldn't see the process, but Andrew could feel his flesh stretching and connecting itself, creating a layer without any blemish.
He took a deep breath and shook with shock., breaking Arella's concentration.
"What happened? Did I hurt you?" She fluttered her eyes, asking with nervousness.
"No. I am better, thank you. Let's leave it at that." Andrew quickly withdrew his arm, covering it under a layer of cloth. He could still feel a bruise hurting lightly, but other than that, he felt no pain.
He swallowed the shock and remained calm. He couldn't let Princess know that Madam had such top notch skills! If she knew, then nobody could stop them from making Madam their personal healer! A royal healer was nothing but a slave of the royals! No. He couldn't let Princess know.
"Are you better?" Princess asked incredulously. Inside the cave was too dark. She couldn't see anything. Their source of light, the lightning didn't flash. Only the numbing sound of rain was heard.
"Okay." Andrew feigned pain and replied, closing his eyes. Another flash appeared at this time, illuminating his pale features.
Princess Anna thought he was in too much pain. Arella thought that she was useless! She couldn't even heal that burn. Andrew, unaware of their thoughts, was pale because of Madam's shocking healing skills.
It was quiet for a long time. Then, suddenly, a soft beep broke that peace and stillness.
It was from Nicholas's tracker. It was active now, showing his current location, which wasn't far from them!