The bloodsaurus had somehow come to the conclusion that the carts must be a monsters challenging its authority.
'How can something so big and strong be so stupid? Please just eat the corpses littered around and go away,' Draco pleaded within his mind.
Sadly, the bloodsaurus didn't think the same way and used its tail to lash at the first cart, sending it flying and scattering into wooden bits.
'Gods above, why do you test me so?' Draco asked.
His mind was becoming more desensitized to the ridiculousness of his situation.
'Think! Monsters hate fire, right. Will burning the second cart suffice?' Draco pondered on a last-ditch plan.
Mustering the last of his mind, Draco focused his magical energies and sent a small burst of flame licking at the cart next to theirs.
The dry wood mixed with monster fat caught fire quickly, the flames crackling and spreading.
Draco knew that fire was a powerful deterrent to most creatures, and he hoped that the bloodsaurus would be scared away by the sight and sound of the flames.
Sure enough, the massive dinosaur let out a thunderous roar and began to back away, its eyes narrowing as it was drawn to the burning cart.
The crackling noise, light, and heat from the fire confused the bloodsaurus.
It even tried attacking the fire, but fire wasn't tangible so it soon gave up, the heat leaving a strange sensation on its skin.
Draco held his breath, praying that the beast would leave them alone.
After a tense moment, the bloodsaurus turned and lumbered back into the trees, its massive form disappearing into the darkness.
It temporarily gave up its spoils for now because it couldn't feel at ease eating when being watched by the fire, which it somehow concluded was another predator it couldn't hurt.
Draco let out a shaky sigh of relief, his body sagging with exhaustion. He had never felt so relieved in his life.
They had survived the ordeal against all odds for now, but he had a feeling that the bloodsaurus was still nearby observing.
Draco managed to crawl from underneath the cart, reached up, and squeezed his brother's hand, a silent gesture of reassurance.
As the flames of the burning cart cast a flickering glow over the now-quiet forest, Draco allowed himself a moment of respite.
He knew that they were not out of danger yet, but for now, they were safe. And that was all that mattered.
......…
Some time passed, and the flames of the burning cart began to die out.
Draco had recovered a small amount of stamina, enough to at least walk around.
Everything ached, but his life was on the line, so what was a bit of pain now.
Thanks to the bloodsaurus rampage, no monsters would approach the area for a while, so he could move around without fear of being attacked within that area.
To bolster the flames a bit more, he brought Vasileios out of the cage; the locks weren't that complicated.
He then pushed the other carts and their contents closer to the burning one to increase the flames.
It was surprising to him that he had the physical strength to accomplish such a feat.
After his rampage, it seemed as though something had been awakened within him, but he didn't have time to dwell on such a thing.
After increasing the fire, he found a good tall tree and climbed to the top along with Vasileios.
Now secured at the top of a tree, they were less likely to be spotted by smaller monsters.
"Come lay on my lap and rest," Draco instructed Vasileios.
He could see his red eyes from crying a lot and his body reacting to any sudden sound.
Vasileios listened and soon fell asleep in the comfort of his brother, his young mind exhausted from the entire ordeal.
Draco was also tired and wanted sleep, but he couldn't; he had to keep watch for any sudden attacks.
Additionally, there was no way he could fall asleep with bones aching and muscle spasms, or so he believed.
The full moonlight reflected onto the greenery of the forest, but that wasn't the only source of light.
The ethereal shine of the fireflies, the cool refreshing breeze, and the sound of the crickets would have painted a beautiful scenery if not for the sudden cries of the wildlife.
Every new sound put Draco on the edge because he didn't know what it was; his eyes kept darting around, always surveying his surroundings.
Draco didn't know how long passed, but constantly being on alert has begun to wear at his little energy reserves.
His biggest nemesis had come to be sleep; his eyes slowly drooping and at the edge of shutting close every minute.
He even began hallucinating and hearing sounds that weren't there.
At some point, he had stopped feeling pain, not just pain; he couldn't feel much of anything anymore.
'Stay awake, you have to remain awake till help comes,' Draco repeated within his mind.
His senses began to weaken, the sound of the forest drowning out into the background of his mind.
His vision was blurring, and his balance atop the tree began wavering.
'No, not now. I can't fall,' Draco pleaded with his body to hold out just a bit more.
Roooooooooaar !!
A sudden loud roar jolted Vasileios awake from his sleep. He nearly fell from Draco's lap but managed to hold on.
"Why, just why now? Are we to die like this?" Draco muttered in resignation.
He recognized the Roar; it was from the bloodsaurus.
He was already on his last legs and couldn't muster up anything. Even thinking had become a chore.
......…
Early in the afternoon of the previous day, Chise had noticed that Draco and Vasileios were missing from lunch.
So she decided to look for them but couldn't find them anywhere, making her concerned, they both never missed lunch.
She then began asking the people around the house, but no one had seen them for a while.
She told her mother who joined the search, and by late-noon, the house had gone into full panic about the two missing kids.
A search was immediately put out, and by early evening, they had narrowed down the suspects and found a trail leading to the forest.
John felt responsible since he was the one in charge of watching the kids that day.
So he was the one who searched the hardest, and his effort paid off.
John had found Vasiliki's butterfly hairpiece at the entrance of the forest area along with a hidden trail.
The slave traders were a bit sloppy in covering their tracks into the forest.
Marcus, Anita, John, and Rita immediately geared up and began their hunt.
It was hard following the trail at night in a monster-infested forest, making them lose the trail.
After hours upon hours of searching, a glimmer of hope arrived. Monsters in the forest suddenly became very active.
Some were going somewhere, while others were retreating.
Something had disturbed the forest, and it must have been the slave trader is what they wanted to believe.
It was better than aimlessly walking around in the forest.
Tracing the source while fighting monsters in between, they progressed until they ran into a bloodsaurus.
It seemed to have multiple injuries as if it had recently battled with something or someone.
"You two go ahead; we can handle this ourselves," Anita suggested.
They were close to the source of the disturbances; she also smelled burnt wood carried by the wind, meaning that a person was involved.
She thought that the bloodsaurus might be a tamed creature sent to stall them while the mastermind made away with her grandchildren.
"Alright, we will go ahead. After getting the kids, we will return and help," Marcus replied before darting ahead with his wife, Rita.