LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 16: Leader
Azhar slid down a slightly slanted path, but his speed was still quite fast. He was screaming but had no way of stopping his descent.
The others were in similar situations.
BAM
After falling for over hundred of metres, Azhar's feet finally reached the ground, but because of the high speed, his leg was injured as he fell down.
BAM
Before he could get away, Harris fell onto him.
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM...
One after another, all the teenagers fell on top of each other. At the end, Sana fell onto a girl, and before she could move, Vritra fell on top of her.
" Aaaaah G- Get off. " Azhar screamed as he felt the weight of the few teenagers on top of him, since some had slid off to the side.
They all hurriedly stood up. Sana was so startled by the fall that she didn't notice how close she was to Vritra just now, or she would have turned beet red.
" Ughhh M- My leg, is it broken? " Azhar groaned while rolling on the ground. He couldn't stand.
" No, there is just a bruise. Can you stand? " Vritra spoke as he looked calmly at Azhar's leg. He could feel he was even closer to his destination now.
" No, haa I can't stand on my own. How long are we going to stay here? And where is the way out? " Azhar asked as he pushed his body and sat up.
" We need to follow this path, and I am sure we can find our way out of this trap. Then we need to stay here until those rune masters return, after which we can regroup with them. " Vritra explained. His words were as emotionless as ever.
He could have come to this place alone, but there was a reason why he had brought everyone along, since this place holds unknown dangers.
This part of the cave looked bright enough for them to see their surroundings. The walls were made of the same red material.
" We should hurry forward. It would be better to find the exit as soon as we can. But don't make any kind of noise. We have to be careful. " Vritra spoke, gazing at everyone calmly.
The other eight couldn't help but nod; it was like they were being ordered by someone superior, and they agreed without thinking.
Vritra gazed at the backpacks they were all carrying; some of them contained food, while others had the rune masters' belongings.
After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to drop a few of the bags and only carry the important ones.
" We should drop the unnecessary luggage here; our travel would be much faster that way, " he spoke and threw one of the two bags he was carrying.
According to his estimation, the food they were carrying would last around a week for them all.
Without further discussion, they placed some of the bags on the ground after checking the belongings; these bags didn't contain anything important.
Then Harris and one other boy, named Riham, helped Azhar to stand; now, they were all ready to venture into the unknown.
...
They walked for over four hours without encountering anything; they didn't even find any junctions; it was a simple straight path.
Sana was walking behind Vritra.
Even though there were older and stronger boys than him in the group, for some reason, she felt more safe behind him.
Maybe it was because he looked the calmest of all, or maybe it was because of the feelings in her heart.
" Let's stop here and eat; it should be nighttime soon. We will cover some more distance before we set our tents, " Vritra announced, and the group agreed.
They were all tired, both mentally and physically.
" Should we light a fire?" one of the boys asked.
" No, " Vritra said, not giving any further explanation.
Harris helped Azhar to sit down, even though he was injured, but the group still looked towards him to make the choice.
" Lighting a fire here is too dangerous; it might attract some beasts towards us, " Azhar said after a moment's thought.
It would have been better if they were able to cook the meal, but they still had enough materials to fill their bellies, even if it didn't taste as good.
...
After around twenty minutes, the group had once again started to walk forward.
As the veil of the night covered the sky, it got harder and harder for them to see their surroundings, until everything was completely dark.
The group of nine had stopped before the light was completely disappeared and set up their tents.
In their bags, they had four tents and, unlike before, they could use all of them.
After the tents were set, the two girls took one of the tents while the boys divided into groups 2, 2 and 3.
Linda's death still weighed over them all heavily.
From the trail, Vritra was sure that the next day he would finally arrive at his destination, then he would have to separate from the group.
' I feel like tomorrow is going to be even more dangerous than yesterday, ' he thought.
******
The group woke up as soon as the sunlight protruded from the cave, lighting up the red walls.
Even without a fire, the insides of the tents remained hot, but none of them slept well because of various reasons.
" Eat as much as you want for now, we won't be stopping for lunch." Vritra announced after they had put back the tents in their bags and freshened up.
But not everyone was happy to see Vritra suddenly command them all; they were already angry about their situation.
" Why won't we stop? Why should we even listen to you? Even I can beat you in a fight. You are not our leader." Riham shouted, while a couple of other boys shared the same thoughts as him.
"..." Vritra only glanced at him once and then began to eat; he was in no mood for a meaningless argument and there was a reason why he was creating this discord.
" T- That's right, we all ended up here because of you, don't think you can order us around." Another guy matched the tone with Riham.
" There is no need for an argument, we need to travel as much as we can during the daytime, so we will only stop two more times before we set up tents." Azhar spoke, his voice full of confidence and authority.
The two boys instantly quieted down. Despite his injury, Azhar still looked intimidating to them, so they could only nod in silence.
Vritra turned his gaze towards Azhar, who nodded back at him, showing his support.
Sana was looking at this new side of Vritra from the side. She couldn't help but keep staring at him as his silent but formidable image reflected through her clear eyes.
The group ate enough food that they wouldn't feel hungry until a few hours. Then, packing the bags, they once again started to walk.
...
The group walked for over eight hours continuously, and by now, all of their bellies had started to grumble.
" Uhmm, can we stop now and eat? I believe everyone is feeling hungry by now. " Riham spoke, looking at Azhar. He was still not going to listen to Vritra's orders.
"..." Azhar, who was being carried by Harris and Riham, glanced towards Vritra, as if asking for his opinion.
Fsssssshhhhh... Fssssssshhhhh...
" Shhh!! "
Just as Azhar was about to speak, Vritra signalled them all to be silent. His expression suddenly turned serious.
" You are still... " Riham gritted his teeth and was about to shout at the self-proclaimed leader again, but one glare from Vritra was enough to silence him.
" There is something ahead. " Vritra whispered in such a low voice that only a few in the group were able to hear.
The cave they had walked in so far had been around four metres wide and over six to seven meters high, though the size had been gradually increasing.
The group of nine attendants had now arrived at a junction, though the right side seemed to be blocked.
So that only left them with one choice.
Fssssssshhhhh... Fssssssshhhhh...
" Let's check it. " Vritra announced. The atmosphere had suddenly turned serious and dreadful.
Sana unconsciously stepped forward and held the corner of Vritra's robe with her shaky hands.
The frightening scene of Linda dying played in their heads.
All of them held their breath. With silent steps, they approached the junction to peek at the left path.
Fssshhhh... Fssssssshhhh...
Vritra was at the forefront of the group. They stuck to the wall and stopped right before the turn.
Just as he turned his head to glance at the left path, a message popped in front of him that sent a shiver down his spine.
[ Slug Winged Raptor, 4th Gate- mid rank. ]