LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 9: The Road Ahead
Chapter 9: The Road Ahead
The morning sun seeped into the fortress city, but the eerie silence made it feel lifeless. Denver and his friends were busy packing, each lost in their thoughts. The recent events had left them pale and scared, a lingering fear reflected in their hollow faces.
Priyanshu: "Food, check. Magical books, check. But I can't stop thinking... What if we aren't prepared enough for what's out there?"
Sam: "We'll never be fully prepared," she muttered while sitting cross-legged, attempting to focus her mind. "I can't even control my powers properly. What if I… mess up again?"
Denver (standing near a dusty photograph of his parents): "We don't have a choice. Staying here isn't an option." He paused, staring at the picture. "But what if my mother really killed my father? I need answers."
Kartik entered, dragging a bag filled with gadgets and a few books he'd scavenged from the basement.
Kartik: "Hey, any of you even thought about how we're going to get out of here? That car in the basement—does anyone even know how to drive it?"
Denver: "I've driven before. Not well, but enough to move us."
Kartik: "Good luck with that. We're forgetting something important—it's not going to run on magic. That thing needs petrol, and there's no petrol pump in this world."
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
Priyanshu: "Then how did your father use it, Denver? If he had it, he must've stored petrol somewhere."
Kartik: "Exactly! And if physics works the same here as in our world, there's got to be a stash nearby. We just need to find it."
Denver nodded. "Alright, let's split up and search the house. Look everywhere. If my father thought to keep a car here, he wouldn't leave it useless."
---
The group scattered across the house, checking every corner. Kartik was flipping through bookshelves when he stumbled upon a small, dusty book.
Kartik: "Guys! I found something!"
The others rushed over.
Kartik (excitedly): "This book has spells to locate hidden resources. If I'm reading this right, we can use it to find the petrol."
Sam: "A spell to find petrol? That's… oddly specific."
Kartik: "Hey, we're in a magical world, remember?"
He read the spell aloud. At first, nothing happened. Then the floor trembled, and a hidden trapdoor revealed itself.
Priyanshu: "Well, that's not terrifying at all."
Inside the compartment, they found a container filled with petrol.
Kartik: "Told you he'd have some stashed away."
Denver (smiling slightly): "Good work, Kartik."
They filled the car's tank and loaded the rest of the petrol into the trunk. Denver turned the key, and the car roared to life.
Priyanshu (relieved): "Finally, something works in our favor."
---
As the car rolled through the desolate streets, a heavy silence filled the air. Priyanshu, sitting in the backseat, couldn't shake the growing unease.
Priyanshu: "Hey, guys… I've been thinking about the spell we cast in the last city."
Sam: "What about it?"
Priyanshu: "The walls fell right after we used it. What if that was our fault?"
Denver glanced at him through the rearview mirror, his jaw tightening.
Denver: "You think we destroyed the city?"
Priyanshu: "I'm not saying we did it on purpose, but… what if we miscast it? Spells are tricky, right? One mistake could've caused it."
Kartik sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, we don't know anything for sure. If you're so worried, why don't we test it?"
Denver (hesitant): "You want to risk another city just to test a theory?"
Kartik: "If the spell doesn't do anything, we'll know we aren't responsible. If it does… well, better to know now, right?"
Reluctantly, Denver stopped the car just outside the city gates. Kartik retrieved the spellbook, his hands trembling slightly as he flipped to the page.
Kartik (looking at the others): "Ready?"
Priyanshu: "No. But let's do it anyway."
They formed a circle, and Kartik began to chant the spell. When he finished, they waited in tense silence, their eyes fixed on the city walls.
Nothing happened.
Sam: "So… it wasn't us."
Priyanshu: "Or we didn't cast it the same way as before. What if we're just bad at spells?"
Kartik frowned, looking back at the book. "Spells are precise. One wrong syllable, one missed word, and the result could be completely different."
Denver (determined): "Then we'll have to be more careful from now on."
Sam: "If it wasn't us… then someone else is responsible."
The thought sent a chill through them all. They climbed back into the car, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on them. Denver tightened his grip on the wheel, his resolve hardening.
Denver (to himself): "Whoever's behind this… we'll find them. And we'll stop them."
As the city faded into the distance, their journey took on a new urgency. They had no idea what lay ahead, but they would face it together