As they advanced towards the eastern part of the forest, the spacing between the trees seemed to increase. This easened their movements through the forest thus moving through the forest became faster than before.
Since the mishap that was caused by the beast a while ago, they had not met any other beast on their way for a period of more than one hour.
This was a clear indication that these parts of the forest weren't that infested by fierce beasts like the one they met initially. But still, Jean remained vigilant despite how peaceful their journey had been for the past hour.
Just at that moment, Jean decided to clear his doubts.
Clearing his throat to get Casper's attention, Jean lingered.
"Did you choose this route on purpose or what?"
Momentarily tilting his head back, Casper snorted.
"Why do you say so?"
"Because these parts are somewhat safe than I expected."
Jean replied with a curious face.
"I must say that you are right and wrong at the same time."
Upon hearing this, Jean was in a stupor. He found it hard to comprehend what Casper was alluding to.
While still in his stupor, Casper resounded once again.
"This area is truly safe as you say, but at times, this area can turn out to be the most dangerous within this forest."
Pausing for a moment, Casper continued...
"Just imagine, if the rest of this forest is insecure, there are high chances that the weaker beasts will flee to these areas since they are safer. But when the strong beasts lack food, they will move to these areas to devour the weak beasts since they are the ones that provide them with enough food and they are easy to capture unlike their strong peers.
"So, the moment such beasts enter this area, the area automatically becomes unsafe. But since these strong beasts like protecting their territories, they always leave immediately they satiate their hunger and return to their territories. And that's the period these parts become safe.
"While on the idea of me choosing this part on purpose, I must say that it is just a coincidence. It wasn't my idea to use this route to avoid encountering the fierce beasts in the forest, it is just that where we are headed is located in this direction."
For a moment, Jean seemed to understand how lucky they had been in the past hour.
'Could there be some chances that the strongest beasts are yet to enter these territories? Does this imply that the beast we encountered is among the weak beasts?'
Jean mused.
"Are we likely to encounter the fierce beasts on our way?"
Jean asked after a short moment of silence.
"Why do you think I didn't arm myself with weapons when we left the house?"
As Jean was about to respond to Casper's question, the guy continued.
"The answer is simple. These aren't the periods that the animals enter the area. Although they attack in shifts, these are those periods when these parts are the safest they can ever be. So, no need to worry yourself about our safety. I think the beast we encountered a while ago must have stressed you to some extend. Just to assure you, that's one of the weak beasts that occupy these parts of the forest."
As soon as Jean heard this, he shuddered.
'Weak! If that is a weak beast, then what about the strongest?'
Jean mulled over.
At this point, he was dreadful at the sight of meeting the strongest beasts in the forest. He couldn't imagine himself standing his ground while facing such strong beasts.
He had never fought a fierce battle in his life. Although that didn't suggest that he was a weekly. He just preferred avoiding trouble whenever there was a sign of one.
Although he had witnessed hunting while in the village, he couldn't participate in it since he was too young for that. So, he couldn't be that confident in facing fierce beasts especially in such a foreign environment.
"Is your friend's house also located within the forest?"
Casper asked as a glint of curiosity flashed in his grey eyes.
Lingering for a moment, Casper let out a chuckle.
"No! He leaves outside the forest like the rest of the humans."
When Jean heard this, he almost cursed out loud.
'Humans! Is he implying that the reason he resides in the forest is because he isn't human as the rest of us?'
With that thought in mind, Jean was compelled to ask this weird question.
"So, you living in the forest doesn't make you human as the rest of us?"
Jean asked nonchalantly.
Casper had not anticipated the possibility of Jean asking him such question. Therefore, the moment he heard this, he was shocked.
"That...that's not what I was trying to mean. What I meant is that apart from me, I have never heard of any other person residing in this forest. Although there are some possibilities that there might be some other people like me within the forest, the truth that remains is that I am yet to meet them."
Since Jean had asked him that weird question on purpose, he just smiled gently. He just wanted to get on the nerves of the guy, and it seemed to have worked out since the guy seemed perplexed at the ask of the question.
As soon as Casper had answered Jean's question, silence settled between the two.
During this conversation, never for once did the bike slow down. So, by the time they were getting to the end of it, they had covered a huge distance.
Since the beginning of their journey, it had already passed more than two hours, and the end of the forest wasn't showing any sign of getting near. This explained how extensive the forest was.
Jean was getting impatient with the unending forest. It was like they were trapped in a maze that was taking them in circles.
"How long are we going to be moving in this forest?"
Jean asked after a long silence.
Heaving a sigh, Casper replied.
"When I told you that it was a three days journey you thought that I was joking. However, feel lucky for using a bike instead of tracking."
During this moment, Jean felt a pang of headache. Casper's provocative statements were daunting. All he wanted at the moment was a direct answer to his question. So, the guy choosing to remind him about how long the journey was, it was just like adding insult to the injury.
Just at that moment, Casper continued.
"You have to thank your stars for being lucky to use the bike to get to your destination. Else, you will be having a hard time in this forest since you would have been forced to spend more time here. And you know what that means...meeting the fierce beasts on your way."
Casper said in a voice full of contempt, clearly mocking Jean without hiding.
Jean on the other side, didn't see the need of exchanging words with the guy, after all, he was right that he was lucky to be sing a bike to move through the forest.
Unsatisfied by Casper's reply, Jean was compelled to repeat his question.
"How much time is remaining before we are out of this eerie place?"
Lingering for a moment, Casper scoffed.
"Thirty minutes I guess."
When Jean heard this reply, he sighed out of relief. Although thirty minutes was still a long time, the best thing was that at least for now, he had an estimate time before he could be out of the dreadful forest.
He then nodded in acknowledgement as he hoped for the best.
Ten minutes later, the atmosphere in the forest seemed to be changing. The odourless atmosphere now started smelling a mixture of multiple alluring scents.
The wind then seemed to have increased its speed. It was as if they were heading in a storm.
The more they advanced forward, the stronger the wind blew.
The tree structure seemed to also change. Unlike a few kilometres back, the trees at their current location seemed gigantic with wide branches that formed an umbrella like apex. Undergrowths seemed to fade away as the were replaced by bared ground.
Noticing these changes, Jean pried on Casper, and when he noticed his indifferent expression, he sighed.
Albeit the surroundings seemed attractive, it was somewhat difficult for Jean to assume the area was equally safe.
Fifteen minutes later, Jean started hearing some familiar sounds.
'That sounds like a flowing stream...'
Just at that moment, he leaned to the side and looked past Casper.
Noticing his action, Casper snorted.
"What are you trying to do?"
Casper asked.
"Checking the source of the breeze."
Jean blurted out.
"If you see it, please don't forget to show me, too."
Casper answered in contempt.
Pouting out of frustrations, Jean assumed his initial position and gulped.
It seemed that he had done a mistake when he tried to provoke Casper with his blunt statement. The guy responded appropriately and returned the provocation with equal measure.
Just as he was still sulking on the matter, he saw a parting in the middle of the forest just a few meters away from them.
Just at that moment, the bike slowed down.
When he looked further, he noticed a deep shaft running across their path approximately fifty meters away.
Along their path, there extended a concrete bridge that seemed old and dilapidated that was barely hanging in place.
As soon as the got to the edge of the bridge and stopped, he noticed a huge stream flowing under the bridge and within the deep shaft from the left towards the right. At its banks, there were multiple flowers of different shapes, species and colours. The trees at the edge of the stream were tall and gigantic.
The silvery surface of the stream water reflected the sun's rays in multiple directions. The scent that Jean had felt a while ago seemed stronger in this area. A clear indication that this was where it originated from.
The stream was approximately forty meters wide and the winds seemed to be strong in this area. The two remained seated on the bike as their hair swayed in the blowing wind.
Just as he was still marvelling at this beautiful scenery, his sight caught something strange to the furthest left part of the stream.
There was a group of beasts, at the banks of the stream that seemed to be staring at them.
p(^-^)q