Chapter 9: Moving On.
Max held the Healer from her shoulders, trying to get her to move. His heart was heavy, but he had to do what was important.
"I'm not going! I'm not leaving Diana here. Just go! Leave me alone." She shouted and cried, refusing to let go of her short time friend who saved her life and stood by her side when she needed someone. Lisa was a girl who easily got attached to people.
'How can one be so attached to somebody they just met?' Zen thought. However, they had to do what had to be done, and fast.
"Who's even going to deal with traps for us? Damn it! It's getting more dangerous by the minute." Alex, who suddenly remembered that Diana, who was dead now, was the one who saved their asses from traps throughout the way, cursed.
"Zen is here for that, don't worry." Sabrina looked at him and said, before she looked at Lisa, pursed her lips, and squatted to her level.
"Lisa." she called. The girl, who was shivering in sadness, turned to look at who called her, and she was met with the passionate face of a woman who had just lost her husband.
"I lost my husband of 23 years just a moment ago; thus, in a way, I can feel your pain, but your friend here wouldn't want to see you dead because of her. She died to protect you, live to show your gratitude." She spoke, her words hitting Lisa's ears like thunder.
She looked down at her deceased friend once more and cried a few more seconds before she put her down, clasped her hands together in respect, and turned, not looking back anymore.
Seeing her resolve, the group moved with her, not caring about anything else.
Zen saw all this and moved towards Dali, patting his back, and once the young man looked up with his pained face, Zen pointed towards the way with his head.
*Gulp*
Dali nodded and got up, looking at the corpses one last time before closing his eyes and moving.
Getting out of the room, the first thing the group of 8 saw was another intersection—a path to the left and one to the right.
Zen, who was leading the way, took one look and pointed towards the left, the group following him as he walked.
There were 3 turns on the left path, all of them to the right.
Zen walked all the way to the last turn on the end of the path and turned before he stopped and turned serious.
"It's another harsh path; you guys have to follow me closely." He said and the group quickly formed a human train behind him.
And through slow steps and precision, they passed the hurdle, only turning left when they reached the end of the path. But what waited for them then was something they didn't expect.
It was a room unlike others; it made them feel as if they were in a simulation and suddenly got access to the real world, but it was nothing but a room, a massive one, that had grass on its ground and a large lake in its middle, not giving them them any idea how they could pass.
This prompted Zen to remember that they had a map, but, it was left on the room, alongside everything else, as they were too shocked and heavy-minded to care about them.
"I will be back in a few; you guys stay here." Zen announced that, without waiting for anyone's reaction, he turned back, planning to get the map.
"Where are you going?" Melissa asked with scrutiny in her eyes.
"I need to get the map." He replied and made the turn, not giving the others any chance to ask him other questions.
The group just looked at each other and either sighed, or shook their heads.
"AAAAAAAAAAA!" While Zen was gone and the group sat on the grassy floor waiting for him, a scream was heard getting louder and louder, seemingly approaching them.
"Someone is coming!" Sabrina shouted as she got up, but Alex quickly calmed her down.
"They're no enemies." He said. His enemy detection skill was not ringing.
Sabrina, thinking to herself that this was the way he guessed they didn't mean any harm when they first met, looked at the entrance, intent on seeing just who was coming.
"Um, Alex." Dali, who was sitting close to Alex, called him as the middle aged man turned to look at him.
"How does your trait work?" he asked.
"It helps me feel the other party's oppression and killing intent by ringing when they're around 50 meters away. If they mean no harm, then it doesn't ring. Why do you ask?" He replied before he threw in his own question.
"Well, you guys' traits are too cool; mine is just useless compared to them." Dali scratched his head with a smile that spoke of his embarrassment and low self esteem.
"There is no useless trait; sooner or later, it will show its worth." Alex smiled and patted Dali's shoulder.
*Fwshhhhhh*
"GOOD DAY TO YOU, PEOPLE!" Not even a second after Alex's words, a blur of sorts appeared through the door, just a few meters away from the group.
It was a young man wearing a white shirt and a black short, his long black hair dancing behind him. He had a wide, confident smile on his face, his black eyes seizing the group, and on his arms, there was the source of the noise, held like a bag.
"Hey, put me down already!" Another young man, looking Dali's age, shouted at the speedy man.
He had black hair mixed with streaks of blue, his eyes showing arrogance and pride, even with his tiny hands moving around in an attempt to get out of his constriction.
"Alright, alright." The speedy man shook his head and threw the boy down.
"Why did you do that?" the boy asked once he got up before he patted his white beach shorts and fixed his black upper body swimsuit.
Before the speedy man could even reply, Zen appeared behind them, the map and a few other things on hand.
"I'm back."
------End------