Chapter 69: Terrified (1)
Luna watched me as we walked in the forest. Her face flickered with worry as she stared at me. Even though she tried to hide it, I noticed it all. She wanted to ask. She wanted to say a lot.
We continued walking without saying anything. I quietly sighed. She's probably wondering what's in my mind. She must be worried. She must have expected me to break down because of the situation I was facing now. She's right, though. Not only I felt weak, I was broken, and terrified. But I needed not to show it to her.
When I woke up this morning, I decided to forget what had happened for the meantime. I acted like I didn't care that Lucas was also here and that we've also met a few days ago. Yesterday was the first time Luna saw me crying. And I have no intention of repeating it before her or anyone else. What happened between me and Lucas got me out of track. It wasn't part of the plan so I had to time to set my emotions in check. But that's over now. I needed to focus more now.
“It's lunch time,” Luna spoke after some time.
I watched the dazzling midday sun behind the crowded trees. It’s actually noon. It’s the sixth day of the Linus Cup. Two days of fighting; two days being unconscious. I woke up in the fifth day; resting in the morning and started along the forest again by the afternoon. It’s almost twenty-four hours since we started walking but we haven't met any enemy.
“Let's look for a good place,” I told Luna.
She agreed. There seemed to be no immediate danger around. I have the feeling that someone already passed here and had wiped the opponents clear. It must be the reason of this calm and peaceful air. The atmosphere has this eerie ‘calm after the storm’ feel. We decided to stop over by the two gorgeous pine tree trees.
“Here is fine?” I asked her.
She didn't answer. I turned to Luna and saw her staring up at the tree where we stopped. She was carefully looking at it and seemed to be wondering while still studying it. “No,” she answered in almost a whisper. She was so focused on what she's looking at that she answered unclearly.
“I didn't know there's this kind of tree here.”
My forehead furrowed and followed what she's looking about. I noticed some red berries on the tree I initially thought was a pine tree. I tried to reach the berries on the lower part but was surprised by Luna’s cry.
“Don't touch it!”
I immediately pulled away from the tree. “Okay,” I answered in flabbergasted tone. Once again, I curiously looked at the tree and then at Luna. “What’s up with this anyway?”
She turned to me. “Shia, we've learned about this tree,” she said. “It’s a type of a Yew tree.” Yew tree? With all the things swirling in my mind, how can I even remember some kind of a tree?
“The seeds and leaves of the tree are very poisonous that it can stop your heartbeat. No symptoms, you’ll just drop dead.” I blinked in shock with what she said. Shit. “So as much as possible, let’s stay away from it and most especially avoid any intake.”
I nodded. “Is this how you killed your first opponent?” I asked.
She turned stiff at my question and looked away. “As much as possible I don't want to kill. I’m a healer. Our knowledge is supposed to be used as a cure, not the other way around,” she quietly returned.
I watched Luna. I didn't know where it came from but I want to hug her. She’s still the same Luna that I know. Sweet, compassionate, naïve. She should not be associated in this kind of game. If I only knew there was someone like her in Titan Academy maybe I wouldn't hate that place so much. I wanted to hug her and apologize to her while she's still in front of me because I might not be able to do it in the days to come. I shook myself lightly because of the thought. I must not or she'll get an idea of my plan.
“But we’re in a survival game,” I pointed out. “If we don't kill, we will be killed.”
“I know.”
Until now it wasn't clear to me how she managed in the arena without much of a graze. She looked better than most of us. Perhaps, her great advantage was knowing almost all kinds of trees and plants in this area. She knew every aspects of the forest as much as I do. Even more, she was able to treat my wounds with only these around and some first aid supplies.
“Don't think of it again, we’re together now,” I said. “I’ll do the killing instead if you really can't.”
She stared at me and forced herself to smile. She took something from her bag—a pair of gloves and a small container. These were the items she traded with the points she got from the opponent. She wore the gloves and tiptoed to reach the branch that I reached out before. She carefully pulled on it and then cut off one part. She removed the leaves together with the small berries and then put them into the container.
“I was just lucky, maybe,” she said while still focused with what she's doing. “The guy was not a seer to feel my arrival. I distracted him and for a moment he left his food. I put in the poison. He thought that it must have been an animal so he simply returned and continued eating. A few seconds later, he fell on the ground, mouth frothing,” Luna sighed after explaining. “If it's somebody else, even getting close was impossible."
“Even if it's somebody else, you can still do it in some other way,” I told her. She straightened when she finished her task. “You’re a genius to use a natural poison as a weapon, so never belittle yourself. We are Team Hesperia; we are born to survive this shit.”
She smiled at what I said. “Yeah,” she exclaimed. “A little more and we'll find each other again."
I watched her face full of hope. She's right. We needed to find each other before the countdown. And when that time came, it would be the end of the game for me. And everything will fall back into place.
We looked for a place far from the Yew tree and ate our lunch. I asked where was Luna using the poisonous leaves she gathered. She said that I could use it on the dagger's blade to accelerate the death of the enemy.
We talked a few things while eating. I still have the bread I got from flying monkey girl. She, on the other hand, has the few remaining canned meat from her first opponent and some energy bars. It was good that even in this situation I have someone to share the meal with. When I ate here before, it was the time it struck me hard that I’m all alone.
“What are they doing, you think?" Luna asked while eating. “Have they eaten, too?”
I looked down at my wrist. My members' numbers were still there. It's arranged based on our position. First, for the Captain. Second and third, for Primary Defenses. Fourth number's for the healer. Fifth was for the deceiver and then mine for the last. This was our only way of knowing about each other in this area.
Even Luna was also looking at her wrist. “At least we know they're alive. I know they're okay.”
But not all those who are alive are fine, Luna. There are some who are alive but wish they would rather die.
After eating, we rested for a few minutes before walking again. We're heading to center of the arena. Luna was stranded in the east when the Drift started. There she met her first opponent. On the contrary, I was casted to the south. We both headed to the center of the arena and we almost crossed path. But the girl switch user found me first and everything turned messy afterwards.
Lucas chased Luna down to tell her my condition and where she can find me. Luna admitted that she was doubtful of his intension at first. She didn't know the man in front of her in the first place. The only thing she's rooting for, he didn't attack her as soon as he saw her. She decided to see if Lucas’s words were true so she walked for an hour to the south. When she arrived in the cave Lucas had referred to her, she saw me there unconscious next to the broken tree across the rivers.
Up until now, there's a part of me that I couldn't believe that we've really met whenever I looked at Luna. I was terrified that Luna was the last member I’d see before the countdown.
We walked towards the center of the arena almost the whole afternoon but found no attackers. We're beginning to dread the silence of the surroundings. Gradually, the path we're going down was clearing up. That meant we're nearing the center. And any time from now on we may hear the countdown. We must find our members. The game’s critical phase has begun, where lesser participants was more fatal.
When the night came, we decided to take a break. According to the compass that Luna had taken from her first opponent, we're really close to the center of the arena. We looked for a good spot in the forest to rest. Luna couldn't take a nap up in the tree branches so we chose a quiet place hidden by the lush vegetation. A few hours later, Luna fell asleep with her bag pack as a pillow. I leaned over a tree and slid beside her.
I didn't know how long I’ve rested when I abruptly opened my eyes. I felt something moving around. I stayed unmoving in my place while alertly watching the forest. It was dark and the only light came from the full moon behind the crowded trees. The forest felt alive in this moment. It was an eerie feeling. Like a secret place you’re not supposed to witness.
I watched Luna who's sleeping heavily next to me. I didn't know why but I don't want to sleep. Like I’m waiting for something to take place in the midst of the sinister silence. However, time passed and the surroundings remained silent. Once again, I closed my eyes while still leaning on the tree. I had no idea that the next I'd open my eyes I'd find myself in a surprise.