A Parallel Universe

== Chapter: 1 ==
“Selina.” 
I looked up at the mention of my name.
“Yes Ms. Charlotte,” I replied.
“Did you hear what I was saying?” 
I gulped. I was actually studying my surroundings and didn’t focus on anything Ms. Charlotte said.
“I am sorry, Ms.Charlotte. I will try to focus next time.” 
I heard my classmates laughing at me and I looked down. 
“As I was saying, you are free to go wherever you want as long as you have at least one other person with you.”
Great! Just great! Who would want to be my partner? I watched as all my classmates divided into groups and started walking away. 
“Since no one is left, would you mind being my partner,” asked a blond girl with emerald green eyes. 
I actually preferred to be alone like always. But since I couldn’t explore without a partner, I agreed.
“Ya sure. Why not?”
“I am Skyla and you are Selina right?”
“That would be me. It is a pleasure to meet you, Skyla”
“So where would you like to go first?
“We can explore the forest. I mean go deeper and maybe we'll find something interesting.”
“Sounds fun! Let’s get started!”
We started walking into the forest, careful to leave a trail behind us so that we won’t get lost.
“So...how long have you been in this school,” Skyla saked trying to break the silence.
“For five years and this is my sixth,” I replied casually. 
I wasn’t really the open-book type of person. I preferred that personal things stay personal.
“WOW! That is such a long time! This is my first year.”
I heard hushed voices coming from our right. That is really weird. Did someone else explore the forest? All of my classmates seemed to be walking in the opposite direction and they also seemed uninterested in exploring it.
“Did you hear that?”
“The whispering? Yes I did. But I guess we should just keep going.”
“I want to see who it is.”
“I don’t think-”
“I want to. Would you like to come?”
“OMG! You are a hard headed person.”
“Thank you.”
I knew that the quality wasn’t good. I knew that I should try to be a little open-minded but that was who I am and I won’t let anything change me. We followed the voices into a clearing. There was a boy and a girl conversing. But what really attracted me was their hair’s color. Both of them had chocolate brown hair that turned green  in the middle, which was weird.
“We should head back,” the girl said.
“Why? We should investigate some more,” the boy replied.
“Someone could find us. There are tons of humans outside the forest. Anyone of them could find us.”
“Relax. They were just twenty. Plus, who would even think about investigating the forest.”
“Listen Aaren, I am heading home, if you want to tag along then okay. If you want to stay, feel free.”
“You are no fun, Mayla.”
“And you are the most dumb folern I have ever seen.”
Well that was weird. What was a folern and what were two children doing alone in the middle of the forest? Plus, why are they using the word humans? It is not like they are anything else. Are they? There I go again, imagining things that don’t even make sense.
“I think we should go now,” Skyla whispered.
“Not until I understand what is happening,” I whispered back.
“Ugh, fine. We can stay a little longer.”
“You can go if you want to. I am not making you stay.”
“Technically you are my partner. That means that I go where you go.”
I diverted my attention back to the kids. They were still talking about whether they should go home or investigate. Eventually, the boy gave up and decided to go home.
The girl whispered some weird words and then…..a purple portal appeared. I rubbed my eyes once, twice, third but it was still there. They stepped into it and disappeared. Of course since I was curious- and looking for trouble- I decided to follow quickly before the portal closed.
== Chapter: 2 ==
I opened my eyes to find myself standing in front of something that looked like an old  hut -which wasn’t there a moment ago-.
“Where on Earth are we,” Skyla asked, making me jump.
“You FOLLOWED me?”
“Well, I am your partner.”
“SCREW THE PARTNERSHIP!!!! You should have stayed back.”
“Too late for that, I guess.”
“We should hide.”
“Where?”
I heard the door open and quickly grabbed Skyla’s hand and jumped into the nearest bush. It was the same girl that we saw in the forest.
“Anyone here,” she asked.
I put a finger on my lips and signaled for Skyla to set still.
“Come on, Mayla. The food is ready,” someone shouted from inside the house.
“Coming,” she said as she entered the hut.
I got out as slowly as possible, careful not to make noise that will get us caught.
“Got you,” someone said from behind me as a hand clamped over my shoulder.
I turned around to find the girl staring back at me. HOW ON EARTH! I JUST SAW HER ENTER THE HOUSE!!
“You….you’re human,” the girl said in a terrified tone.
“Of course I am. You think I could be something else,” I said sarcastically.
“How did you get here?”
“We followed you.”
“Aaren, come quickly.”
“You can tell your other friend to come out.”
“What friend? I came here alone.”
“No need for you to lie. The bushes are telling me that someone is hiding there. SO she could come out or I could bring her by force.”
“The plants told you?”
“I am an Arborkinetic. Which means that I can control and manipulate plants.”
Skyla walked out of the bushes with a horrified expression on her face. At that moment the boy-Aaren- arrived.
“Humans,” he said excitingly.
“They came here because they followed us into the portal,” she snapped at him
“Trouble,” he replied as the situation started to sink in.
“We are not trouble,” I said
“We should get them far away from here,” the girl said.
“Where,” Aaren asked.
“You could take them to the Ancient Forest,” the girl -Mayla- suggested
“No way I am going there,” Aaren argued
“What is the Ancient Forest and why are you acting like we are a problem? We are humans just like you. Don’t try to play dumb,” I said.
“Me? A human? I would rather die than be one,” Aaren talked in a sarcastic tone.
“Ignore my stupid brother. What he wants to tell you is that we are not humans. We are folerns. We inhabit one of the parallel universes around Earth and come to it each year to gather certain things that don’t live here.”
“Now that is the most funny thing I ever heard.” The comment came surprisingly from Skyla.
“We may look like you in structure but we vary greatly. We have supernatural abilities. I can control plants and Aaren here can blend in with his surroundings so that he can’t be seen. Would you mind showing them,” Mayla said.
“I would be delighted,” Aaren said. With that he started changing colors. Turning blue, green, red, yellow, and many other colors. After a few seconds he was completely invisible. Skyla and I gasped. This was not possible. I reached up and touched the place where he had once been. I felt something solid under my hands. So he was really still there.
“Careful there,” Aaren said as he reappeared. I was touching his arm and quickly drew my hand away.
“You really aren’t humans,” Skyla said.
“Nope. We are folerns and let me tell you, we don’t like humans. If we weren’t responsible for your arrival, we would have reported you and the Leaders would have killed you,” Mayla said.
“Excuse me, I don’t want to die in a weird world,” I moaned.
“Then you have to come with us to the Ancient Forest,” Mayla said.
“What is the Ancient Forest,” Skyla asked.
“The place where the most dangerous live. Even the Leaders themselves are terrified of venturing there. Not many inhabit it, though. Some people say there is only one, others say there are two, and others say there are three,” Mayla said.
“There are only three and everyone is panicking about them,” I asked.
“They are so powerful and would kill just for fun,” Aaren explained.
“And we will go there,” Skyla asked.
“It is the only place that the Leaders would not find you in,” Mayla said.
“Is it possible that we could die,” I asked.
“It is highly likely but there is still hope that you won;t encounter them and they won’t kill you. On the other hand, if you stay here you will be reported and killed,” Mayla said.
“Well, if we would die in both scenarios, we better choose the scenario where there is a tiny chance for survival,” I said.
“Ok. But we won’t come with you. You will be on your own,” Aaren said.
“Yes we will. If the Leaders since that humans are here they were since for the recently activated portals and we will be busted,” Mayla said elbowing her brother.
“Well then, lead the way,” I said. At this moment I knew that things won’t be the same again.
== Chapter: 3 ==
“You are sure that we won’t get caught,” Skyla asked.
“No we won’t. We have entered the Ancient Forest so no one would be here,” Mayla said.
“We finally reached it! My poor legs are aching,” I said sarcastically.
“We can stop here or we can go a little deeper. Just for precaution,” Aaren said.
“But that would make us an easy target for The Dark. We better stop here,” Mayla said.
I was curious about the people who lived here -The Dark-. Were they as bad as Aaren and Mayla said they were? Would they kill her and the others just because they dared enter their territory. I glanced at Mayla and Aaren, their olive skin gleaming under the sunlight. Could I really trust them? 
“We will stay here,” Mayla said.
“In case you don’t notice, we are in the middle of the forest without a tent, sleeping bags, food, and water,” Skyla pointed out.
“We have to get those things,” Aaren asked.
“Yes we sure do. How else would we survive,” I said.
“Like this,” Mayla said as she flicked her fingers. The vines began to unite together and tie each other together. They rose higher and higher without toppling over. The result was astonishing: a large tent made completely of vines. It was woven intricately without the tiniest gap between them. Thick leaves from nearby plants left their stems and trunks and created a smooth floor for us to sleep on. They also seemed to be woven together into a thick carpet, to ensure that the hard floor won’t disturb us.
“This is…...I don’t know how to describe it,” Skyla said amazed.
“Let’s get inside,” Mayla motioned for us to sit inside.
I sat on the leaf carpets expecting to at least feel some rocks and sand grains that were on the ground but instead felt….soft and leathery. 
“So we solved the tent problem. What about the water and food,” I asked.
“The water can be gathered from the plants as for food, there are Ladori and Soranda trees nearby,” Mayla said.
“Those are what exactly,” I asked suspiciously.
“They are fruits and don’t worry, they are safe and delicious,” Aaren explained.
“Why can’t we open a portal like the one we came in and return,” Skyla asked.
This was really logical. How hadn’t I thought of this before?
“I wish that was possible. A portal opens once every five years, allowing us to bring needed materials to our world,” Mayla explained.
“Each five years!! We can’t remain here for five years!! What would happen to our parents,” Skyla asked in concern.
“Time passes differently here and there. On Earth it would probably be a week or so,” Aaren said.
“That is still too much time,” I said.
“There is no other way,” Mayla said.
Mayla brought us some fruits to eat and they were very tasty and delicious. The Ladori tasted like Hakka Noodles while the Sordana tasted like quesadilla. I got to say, I never expected something to be so good. After we ate, we conversed for some time. After we were done, each of us laid down in a comfortable position and slept.
I woke up at the dead of the night. Everyone else was asleep. I tried to sleep again but I couldn’t. I walked out of the tent as quiet as possible, careful not to make noises that could wake Mayla or Aaren. I walked a little around the tent, still thickening about The Dark. “Trust what you see, not what you hear” that was the moral for every bedtime story my mom read to me. Could this quote apply to real life. Each character in a story would follow their instincts and would do the right thing. I made up my mind, I was going to venture into the Ancient Forest and search for The Dark myself.
== Chapter: 4 ==
I was walking in the so-called Ancient Forest. Marking every tree I passed so that I could find my way back. There was a river at the end of the path. Gleaming in the moonlight it seemed to draw me  to it. The more I got closer to the bank, the more I  noticed a distinct shape of someone or…..something. I wanted to stop….wanted to run away but I couldn’t. I  was captivated by the lake. I  drew closer and closer and closer till I  was standing on the lake’s bank. However, I stood away from the figure that I could no longer see it.  I let out a sigh of relief and kept still. I tried again to move but I was frozen in place. My eyes staring at the sparkly water. I tried to move my mouth to talk...but the only thing that came out was a high-pitched scream instead of the words I formed in my head. I kept looking at the water, expecting the figure to appear behind me. But, lucky me, it didn’t. Weird. My scream sure was high and enough to attract every creature's attention. I heard the rustling of bushes and hoped it was Mayla or Aaren. But instead another figure appeared. Their appearances were altered in the water. The only thing I could see was the faint outline of their bodies. The figure setting on the bank however, had a very fading almost invisible outline.
“Look what we have got here,” the second figure said in a young voice., “Another intruder.”
He snapped his fingers and I could move again. I turned around to find myself staring at….no it wasn’t possible…..a boy. He was about my height, with dark skin and eyes that were shades of orange, red, and yellow. The colors were all mixed together that it seemed like a fire was started inside his eyes. His hair was the same fiery colors.
“What are you doing here,” he asked.
“I am lost,” I tried to lie.
“I see,” he said. Suddenly, a flame appeared, hovering in the air above his palm. “And now?”
I gulped. “I...I came here to explore.
“Exploring.  That is a new reason.”
“I am sorry if I disturbed you. I will go back to where I came from.”
“I am not so sure about the second part.”
Without any warnings, a wall of flames erupted around me. The boy walked away and I knew that he would leave me there till I burned to ashes. I closed my eyes and tried to forget everything around me. I started thinking about the good memories I had with my family. I could no longer feel the heat against my skin. I was lost in my memories until I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder 
I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a boy with eyes that were multiple shades of blue. They seemed to be liquid. His skin was as white as snow and his hair was a deep shade of blue and turned lighter as it neared the tips. The other boy was standing next to him.
“Are you okay,” he asked in a soft low voice.
I looked around me and was surprised that the fire was no longer surrounding me.
“Who are you,” I asked.
“Who are you,” the fire boy asked.
“I am Ora,” I lied. I couldn't tell them my real name.
“Well then Silena, you clearly are human. So what brings you to this place,” the white boy asked.
He knew my real name!! What surprised me the most was that he didn’t threaten me like his friend.
“I came here by mistake,” I said. There was something about his voice that made me answer each question truthfully.
The fire boy looked at me  skeptically and I could see sparks flying everywhere around him. For a moment, I thought he was going to erupt into flames
“She is saying the truth. Apparently she and her friend followed two folerns into the portal,” the white boy said.
“How did you know,” I asked.
“That is something for another time. Right now, I want you to tell me why you are here deep in the forest even though the rest of your friends are on the border,” the white boy asked.
“I wanted to find The Dark,” I said, entranced by his voice.
Suddenly, a vine lashed out of the bushes. It moved so quickly that I could swear it was going to lash the white boy.  But at the final moment, he jumped out of the way.
More vines lashed out each one with enough force to penetrate the skin.
Mayla was here to save me!! But where was Aaren? Then right on cue, he appeared directly behind the fire boy. The boy moved swiftly away from him and turned to face him, a ball of fire above his palm. Aaren disappeared again and the boy kept moving the fire ball around. Finally, with a yelp, Aaren appeared. The fire had smoldered him. On the opposite side Mayla was fighting with the white boy.  Vines lashed out at him and he deliberately avoided them. The weird thing was, he never attacked.
“Scared from me,” Mayla said as she commanded another vine to lash out.
“Quite the opposite, I am afraid for you,” he replied, his voice still calm.
“I don’t need pity from you,” Mayla snapped.
“Careful what you wish for,” he said. Five orbs of water appeared around him and he directed all of them toward Mayla.  She dogged them perfectly while lashing vines at him. The problem was, he too was defending and attacking at the same time 
“Let’s end this,” Mayla said as she started calling every single vein. They wove together and created a solid spear. SHe directed the spear at him and threw. He stood still and when the spear reached him, he just touched it. The spear immediately turned to water and splashed on the ground.
“You took your chance. Now I should take mine,” the boy said. He focused into the spot directly beneath Mayla. I watched in horror as a stream of powerful water shot from under her. Carrying her upward and upward until I thought she would reach the stars, then it suddenly stopped. I heard Aaren scream as Mayla plummeted to her death.
== Chapter: 5 ==
This was the end. Mayla was going to die. She will die because of me. I shouldn’t have left the tent. I closed my eyes, unable to see the devastating moments. I wanted to disappear, wanted to return back to my parents. But all of this wasn’t possible. Because of my curiosity, someone was dead. I braced myself for hearing the sound of snapping bones as Mayla hit the ground, but strangely, it never came. I opened my eyes to find a surprising scene, Mayla was sitting on what seemed like a giant water jelly. She was gasping for breath, apparently still terrified of her near brush with death. The boy was standing in front of her, asking her if she was alright. I frowned. Wasn’t that the same person who tried to kill her a moment ago. I noticed that Aaren and the fire boy had stopped fighting and were staring at them. I walked over to where they were standing. Mayla immediately rose to her feet and started dusting off her clothes. 
“Now we can all listen to each other,” the white boy said.
We all looked at him and Aaren rushed to his sister’s side checking if she was okay.
“What do you mean,” I asked him.
“We all started fighting without even understanding the reason,” he continued.
“Well, you tried hurting Silena and you just hurted my sister,” Aaren snapped at him.
“I didn’t try hurting Silena. I was simply asking her for the reason that brought her that deep in the forest. As for your sister, I wanted a scene that will stop the fight. Had I left it to Cyan here, he would have probably burned you to ashes,” he said pointing at the fire boy.
“I don’t care about your noble intentions. My sister is hurt because of you,” Aaren said, pointing to the bruises that covered Mayla’s Arms and face.
“Oh, I am deeply sorry,” the white boy said, “Allow me.”
He moved toward Mayla and Aaren immediately stood in front of her, blocking his way. But then Mayla whispered something to his ear and he backed away. The boy continued moving towards her and created an orb of water. I was about to lounge at him when he started to move it around Mayla’s body. Every bruise or scar it touched immediately vanished. After he was done, Mayla’s skin was back to normal. Everyone stared at him in awe.
“Why did you help them,” the fire boy -Cyan- asked.
“Because they were here to help a friend in need and that is a pretty good reason. I am Cyrus by the way,” he said as he extended his hand to Mayla. She shook it back but I could clearly see she was still shocked by what had just happened.
“Maya,” she said. After everyone was properly introduced I asked the question that was looming in my head. “Are you The Dark?” 
“We are known by this name for some of you,” Cyrus replied.
Mayla, Aaren, and I each took a step back. We were standing in front of the most feared creatures in this parallel universe. Yet, one of them had just saved Mayla. 
“Do you have any objection,” Cyan asked.
“We don't harm anyone. As for the people who came here and disappeared, it was probably because of The Moon Lake. It could also be because of a  Malory, a Phob, or The Huit,” Cyrus said.
“The what,” Mayla asked.
“This forest wasn’t just forbidden because we inhabit it. It was forbidden because of its nature. Everything here is savage, bloodthirsty, and barbarian. This lake, The Moon Lake draws anything toward it and then drowns it. Just to have food. That is what happened to you Silena. If Cyan hadn’t saved you, you would probably be at the bottom of the lake,” Cyrus said.
“Thank you,” I told Cyan reluctantly.
“How come you aren’t affected,” Aaren asked suspiciously.
“Dark or not, this is still water and I am an Aquakinetic,” Cyrus said.
“You are also annoying and weird,” Cyan added.
“And you are powerful and caring,” Cyrus said.
I had a million words to describe Cyan and caring was not one of them. 
‘Where is Skyla,” I asked.
“We left her sleeping in the tent,” Aaren said.
“You guys live in a tent,” Cyan said mockingly.
“And where do you live,” Aaren asked in the same tone.
“In a hollow tree,” he said.
“Are there many around here,” Mayla asked.
“There are about four more,” Cyan said.
“Are they beside yours,” Mayla asked again
“Yes. They are around the perimeter,” Cyan said.
“Can we live there,” I asked.
“Yeah. Probably,” Cyan said.
“So can we go bring our friend and then go with you,” I asked.
“Yes of course you can,” Cyrus said before Cyan could snap at us.
“Thank you,” Mayla said. 
We returned to the tent and woke Skyla up. She was half asleep, half awake as we took her to the lake. We explained to her everything on our way there.  Cyan was tapping his food nervously when we arrived.
“Finally. Took you long enough,” Cyan snapped.
“Can you show us the way,” I snapped at him in return. 
“Follow me,” he said.
We walked after him in silence. I noticed that Cyrus didn’t follow us.
“Aren’t you coming,” I asked him.
“You want me to sleep in a hollow tree when there is a whole lake here,” he said.
“You live in a lake,” I asked, surprised.
“Sure thing. Now good night,” he said.
“Good night,” I replied.
He turned and stepped into the lake. He kept sinking until he was completely submerged in water. I wiped my head and followed Cyan and the others.  Now things were starting to change for the better. Or were they?
== Chapter: 6 ==
“Why didn't you and Cyrus leave this place,” I asked Cyan. 
“It doesn’t concern you,” he snapped.
“Could you try to be the least bit nice,” Aaren demanded.
We had just woken up from the deep sleep in the hollow tree. The place seemed like it was made for living. There were wooden beds with leaf mattresses and quilts, various rooms, and an entire spiraling case of wooden stairs that seemed to reach the sky. It reminded me of the Beanstalk. 
“You come to our living place and make yourself comfortable, and then you start demanding things?! Unbelievable,” Cyan snapped again. Sparks flecked around him, threatening to sting anyone who dared to come nearby. 
“I am out of her,” I said, taking calming breaths to stop myself from screaming in his face. I turned my back to him and started walking away. I marked more trees on our way to the hollow trees without anyone noticing so that I could return back to the lake or even our old tent. I didn’t need anyone with me. I followed the markings back to the lake. I was going to wake Cyrus up and ask him some questions. At least he had no problem answering them. When I reached the lake, he was there. Wide awake and playing with some….. freezing orbs of water. He no longer wore the gloves and scarf he had been wearing when I first saw him. 
“Good morning,” I said.
All the orbs fell to the ground and shattered to a million tiny shards of ice. 
“Good morning. How are you,” he said in a nervous voice.
“I am fine. I came here to ask you about...things related to this place since Cyan won’t answer anything.”
“Tell me about it. He is all snappy and temperamental. Can you just give a second?”
“Yes sure.” 
He disappeared behind some trees and bushes and when he came back he was wearing his scarf and gloves again. I wanted to ask him about the reason he wears them despite the weather being super hot but decided against it. So I settled for the same question I asked Cyan.
“Why don’t you and Cyan leave this place,” I asked.
“Leave? We can’t leave.”
“Why?”
“The Leaders banished us here and blocked us from going out.”
“Is there any way we can end this banishment?”
“Certain people can. But those must have certain qualities.”
“Like what?”
“I have no idea. But it is said that the person chosen will face certain hardships to determine whether they are worthy or not.”
“Why were you banished in the first place?”
"These are enough questions.”
His usually calm and soft voice was now a little shaky. And the air suddenly felt more humid. I knew that I should drop the subject but I was curious. Even though my curiosity nearly killed someone, I gave it a second chance.
“Please just answer this question,” I pleaded.
“This is for another time.” Now the water in the lake was swirling into what looked like a mini cyclone and the air was getting chiller by the second. 
“Just drop the matter,” part of my brain screamed but the other one screamed “If he is reacting this way then this is important”. As usual the second part won.
“If you answer this I won’t bother you with any more questions.”
“I said this should be discussed another time.” 
Dark clouds began to gather in the sky, looking like they were overloaded by water and would release it any second. Water started to seep from the cracks in the soil and rocks. I had a feeling that if I didn’t change the subject right now, I would be flooded and drowned. I would try to ask him another time but right now I should drop the subject and return to the peaceful atmosphere.
“Fine. It will be for another time,” I said, finally defeated.
“Great.”
I waited for a few seconds for the symptoms to disappear but surprisingly, they didn’t. They got stronger. The humidity in the air became unbearable, the cyclone in the lake grew stronger and I had a feeling that if I placed my finger in the water, I would be immediately drowned. The air got so cold I started to shiver. The clouds hanging in the atmosphere began to rain heavily. The seeping water reached my ankle. Everything seemed to take place in a particular area. When I looked around the opposite side of the lake, there was nothing there. No clouds, and no seeping water. I was trapped in an invisible barrier and once more my curiosity had led to negative results.
“Cyrus can you please stop this,” I pleaded, genuinely terrified.
“I am trying!”
“You lost control?!”
“Can you please let me focus.”
I tried to focus on anything else but failed. Everytime I began to lose sense of my surroundings, the low air temperature or the seeping water that was getting higher and higher would remind me.
“DO SOMETHING! I DON’T WANT TO DIE HERE,” I screamed.
“ I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!”
“THIS IS YOUR POWER NOT MINE! YOU LOST CONTROL OVER IT!”
“Let me try something.”
He closed his eyes and I could tell that he was focusing hard. The Darks really were dangerous. But not because they are powerful, because they can’t control it! Then after some minutes, when the water reached my thighs, everything stopped.
The humidity started to drop, the cyclone in the lake stopped spinning, the air temperature began to increase, the clouds stopped raining and began to dissipate, the seeping water stopped, and the barrier vanished. All the gathering water splashed on the ground. It was like a thin sheet of water covering the ground. I couldn’t believe that I was afraid to drown in it minutes ago.
“Selina I am-,” Cyrus began but I interrupted him. 
“I don’t want to hear anything. You nearly killed me. I know why they banished you, because you are dangerous. Not because they want to be the most powerful. All they wanted was to make sure that you don’t cause any casualties.”
With that said, I turned and walked away. Ignoring his calls for me to stop and listen. They were dangerous and the last thing I wanted was to be around someone dangerous.
== Chapter: 7 ==
“Would things be different if I hadn’t heard the whispers from the forest,” I asked myself. “Of course they would. I would be enjoying the last day of my field trip and getting ready to go home. But because of my curiosity, I was trapped in a world where everyone wanted to kill me.” I sighed and got up. I started walking in circles around the tent. I caught a movement in my peripheral vision. I turned around but...there was nothing there. Weird. I could’ve sworn I saw something but all that was there were a bunch of trees and bushes. I shrugged and turned around. At the same moment, I felt something creep up behind me. 
“Who's there,” I asked, alarmed. When I turned around again there was nothing. 
I gulped. There was something wrong with the trees. And then I remembered what Cyrus had said about the nature of The Ancient Forest. There were savage creatures here. I wanted to run and was just moving the muscles of my leg when something caught my ankle. I dropped to the ground with a thud. I turned my head to look at the attacker and to my surprise, it was a tree. One of the tree’s branches had extended long enough to grab a hold of me. It started pulling me toward the tree and I saw its bark open. It was going to eat me! At this moment, I really wished I hadn't left the lake. I screamed for help. I needed someone to rescue me. I didn’t want to be tree food. “PLEASE SOMEONE, ANYONE HELP. HELP HELP HELP HELP.”
Nothing. I was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried kicking my leg so that the branch would uncurl but it held strong. I even tried extending my hand so that I could untie it but of course -given how unlucky I am- it didn’t reach it.
Then I heard a voice, someone calling my name. I focused hard, I knew that voice, Mayla. She could control the tree, she could get me out of here. 
“MAYLA I AM HERE. PLEASE HELP ME,”I screamed.
Now I could hear footsteps. She was near but so was the tree. 
“IT IS GOING TO EAT ME!! HURRY UP!!,” I screamed again.
Now I could hear running. Yes Yes Yes! I was going to be saved. Then I felt something hard fall on my shin. My whole leg went numb and pain shot through it. I glimpsed at it and realized why it hurt so badly, the tree's bark had closed on it. 
“MAYLA!”
And then Mayla appeared. She was panting and seemed to have walked…..or ran a long distance. 
“What on Earth is that thing,” she asked in surprise.
“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT IS! JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE,” I shouted at her.
“But I haven’t controlled anything like it before,” she said hesitantly.
“WELL, TRY TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT! I SAW WHAT YOU DID TO THE VINES. YOU ARE STRONG! JUST FOCUS!!”
“Ok.”
It was a short word but made relief wash over me. I watched as she spread out her hands and curled her palms. What happened next surprised me, her hair began to rise until it was all standing upright on her head. Her eyes glowed neon green as she spoke in a weird language. It almost sounded like she was humming a sweet melody. Little by little, the branch's bark began to open and its branch began to lose. She was doing it! I could now move my ankle freely but I still wasn’t able to get up. The bark’s weight has probably broken some bones. I placed my hands on the soil and started using them as legs. When I was finally at a safe distance, I shouted to Mayla to stop. It took a few moments before Mayla released her hold of the tree and then she immediately collapsed on the ground.
“Are you okay,” I asked.
“Probably. Commanding this tree drained out my energy. I will be fine after a moment.”
“Great! Now we both can’t walk.”
“This gives us time to do a little chit-chat.”
Chit-chat. That was the word I hated the most. Nothing good came out of Chit-Chatting.
“Oh please, not now. We can talk another time.”
“No. What happened with you and Cyrus?”
“Nothing.”
“Really? Honestly, what happened?”
“Well….he..um..lost control….over his…...power.”
“Why was that?”
“Don’t ask me. You should ask him.”
“So you are sure you had nothing to do with it?”
“Yes of course I am sure.”
“Then, why didn’t you ask him for a reason?”
“I won’t ask him for the reason he nearly killed me.”
“You want to tell me that you just interpreted things the way you wanted instead of listening to what he has to say?”
“You make it sound all bad. You weren't nearly flooded nor were you about to drown.”
“That sounds really dangerous. I am sure Cyrus has an explanation.”
“He can keep it for himself. I don’t need it and I think you don’t either. Now I am sure you have regained strength. We should probably get out of here before another creature attacks.”
“You are right, we should get going. But we will continue this conversation later.”
“I won’t be so sure.”
With that said, Mayla got up and slung my shoulder over hers and we started walking back.
== Chapter: 8 ==
“Where were you two,” Aaren asked when we reached the lake.
“We leave her for a second and she finds a way to get caught by a tree branch,” Mayla joked.
“You encountered a Phob. It is really impressive that you escaped given your nature,” Cyan said.
“You should really take courses on how to treat people,” Skyla told him.
He looked at her blankly. Apparently he didn’t know what a course is.
“What’s wrong with your leg,” Skyla asked when she noticed how my leg was weirdly twisted.
“This trunk of the tree fell on it,” I replied bitterly.
“Ouch! That must have hurt! Anyone here can fix it,” Aaren asked.
“The plant girl can,” Cyan said.
“I have a name by the way. Plus, I don’t think I should be the one to do it. Maybe fire boy can,” Mayla told him.
I was starting to like this girl. 
“I can but I am not sure that this human can stand it,” he said.
“Ugh, you are really getting over my nerves. I can stand it,” I snapped at him.
“Okay I will do it. But for your information, if anything happens to you I am not responsible,” Cyan replied.
“Yes sure,” I told him as Mayla helped me sit on the ground.
He walked toward me as a flame erupted from his palm. He bent over me and placed the flame over my leg. I braced myself for the searing pain but nothing could prepare me for what happened next. It was as if fire had erupted throughout my entire body. I could feel it liquefying everything inside and for a moment I thought that I would reduce to a pile of hot magma. Everything was turning hot and I could feel my skin burning. “Please stop,” someone said. It took me minutes to realize that was me. Others spook but their voices were starting to become incomprehensible. Black spots started dancing in front of my eyes. Then all of a sudden, everything turned black.
=== Time Skip ===
I woke up in a dimly lit room.  My head was still groggy and I couldn’t remember what happened clearly. After a few moments, everything came rushing back. I was still alive! I started looking at my surroundings and realized I wasn’t in a room. I was in something that looked like……..a water box. The walls were made of water that was moving calmly. I couldn’t see what was on the other side of the wall. Surprisingly, I was still able to breathe normally.
“GET ME OUT OF HERE,” I screamed.
“Relax. Give your body some time to heal,” a burbling voice said.
I couldn’t really figure out who was talking but I was sure that it was Cyrus since he was an Aquakenitic. 
“I DON’T CARE! I COULD DROWN HERE IF YOU LOST CONTROL ONCE MORE,” I shouted. I waited for a few moments but there was no response.
“Ignoring me, huh,” I said, my tone normal once more.
Now I was stuck in a water box, with no way of getting out except to wait for someone to get me out. That is just great! I looked over at my hands and was surprised to find out that there were no red splotches or burning marks on them. I could move my leg freely like nothing happened to it. I guessed that it was because of what Cyan had done with it. At least something good came out of this torturing process. Now all I have to do is wait for sometime and I will be out of this weird box.
=== Time skip (Sorry but I couldn’t possibly write anything in the time she spent in the box) ===
After what felt like an eternity the walls of the box started dissolving into nothingness. I was now sitting on a bed in my room within the hollow tree. I could now move freely and wasnlt feeling any pain whatsoever. 
“Glad you are okay,” someone said. 
I recognized the soft, calm voice immediately, Cyrus. I tilted my head to face him.
“What do you want from me,” I asked suspiciously.
“Nothing. I will leave now. Don’t bother,” he replied.
“Good. If you encounter Mayla on your way out, tell her that I want to see her.”
“I will be sure to do so.”
That boy was really weird. If someone had told me what I told him. I would probably go ahead and slap that person. After a minute or so, Mayla walked into the room.
“Cyrus said you wanted to see me. Anything wrong,” she asked as she walked into the room.
“I wanted to thank you for saving my life and to make sure that you are okay.”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything and I am fine. Just one more thing, if you really want to thank everyone who helped save your life, I suggest that you thank Cyrus as well.”
“I don’t get why you are defending him. He tried to kill you the first time he saw you. He tried to kill me and I am sure that if we give him some more time he will probably hurt us all. Just to make things clear, I don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
“I won’t push you to do something you aren’t ready for but I just want you to know that without him, you would probably be dead by now.”
She said that and left the room and I could tell that she was angry. But one question kept swarming in my head: “Why did Mayla care for Cyrus so much?”
== Chapter: 9 ==
“How is our heroine doing,” Aaren asked as I walked down the stairs. 
“I would be doing fine if you stopped nagging me,” I told him.
“And how would he stop doing that? Nagging is his speciality,” Mayla said as she entered through the hollow tree’s opening.
“You are finally here! Where have you been,” Aaren asked his sister.
“Just walking around. Nothing important,” Mayla nswered him.
“If you say so,” Aaren said. 
I was about to say something when I heard loud noises coming from outside. It sounded like someone was throwing things on the ground. 
“What was that,” Skyla asked as she came out of her room. Her hair was a mess on top of her head and I guessed she probably just woke up.
“I have no idea. We should probably go check it out,” Aaren said with a hint of excitement. 
“Hey trouble boy, we can’t just get out there without knowing what is attacking,” Mayla told him.
“I think we should leave it to Cyan and Cyrus. They lived here all or most of their lives and they probably know what is going on,” Skyla said.
“Maybe they are just practicing or playing together,” I offered.
“Don’t think so. They probably would have told us if that was the case,” Mayla replied.
“So we will just stay here and wait till someone comes in and enlightens us,” Aaren asked.
“It is for the best. We can still look outside the window you know,” I told him.
“Now that is fun! I am going if anyone wants to come they are free to,” Aaren said as he dashed across the hall to the nearest window. I ran after him. The window was a gap in the tree. It was covered up with translucent leaves. When I looked outside I saw……..creatures made of fire. There were about six or seven of them. They looked like bears, except that instead of fur there were curling strands of fire and their eyes looked like hardened lava. Then I spotted Cyan, he looked all battered up and bruised. Where was Cyrus though? They never left each other. Maybe Cyrus was out there somewhere and I didn’t see him. 
“We have to help him,” Aaren said.
“And how exactly do we do that? Run outside and start screaming at the creatures to obey?”
“That is a good idea but I have a better one. Mayla could restrain those creatures for a while and buy Cyan sometime so that he figures out how he can defeat them. After all, fire is his element.”
“This isn’t really bad but it has one minor flaw. Mayla’s energy will run out from controlling all these plants. It would probably take her time to regain it. Then what do we do?”
“I am sure that by that time Cyan would have defeated them or Cyrus would come and help.”
“You are right.”
We went to Mayla and explained everything to her. She told us that she could control the plants from inside the tree without going out. 
“Do you know where Cyrus is? He should help us too,” I asked Mayla before she started calling the plants.
“I don’t know where he is but I do know a way to communicate with him. Fill a bowl with water and then call his name into it.” she said that as she was controlling the plants. The branches of the trees started to lengthen, the leaves thickened and twisted together, the vines started to crawl on the ground toward the creatures, and then all at once they attacked. Everything under Mayla’s control reached for the creatures and grasped them from many different directions. The creatures broke from their grip easily, but before they could attack Cyan again, others held them. 
I knew that Myla wouldn’t be able to hold them for long. I needed to get Cyrus. Water could extinguish fire, that was what we learned in class. I quickly grabbed a bowl made of twigs and filled it with some water that Mayla and Cyrus had brought. I dipped my head in or I should rather say my mouth and nose and called Cyrus’s name. I backed away from the bowl to catch my breath. I went to check on Mayla and as I thought, she was losing energy and Aaren was steading her. 
“Can you hold a little longer,” I asked her.
“I…..am not…...sure…...but I will……..try,” she said through ragged breath. 
Where was Cyrus? He had to come! Mayla and Cyan needed him! I looked out the window, Mayla’s plants were starting to weaken and  Cyan was starting to get exhausted. 
“What happened? Why did you call me,” someone said behind me. I jumped and turned to find Cyrus standing in front of me. How did he get here without passing the fiery creatures? 
“That is called water teleportation. When did those Pogans attack,” he asked.
“If Pogans mean fiery creatures then that was about ten minutes ago. Mayla is holding the creatures but she is losing power and as you can see, Cyan won’t stand a chance against them.”
“I better help them.”
He said that and dashed outside the tree without even waiting for me to answer or even tell him what was the plan we had in mind. That boy was getting on my nerves! I watched as the plants returned to their original lengths and shapes and the creatures started running toward Cyan. Cyan clearly attempted something to hold them  but judging from how the creatures were still ready to attack him, it wasn’t working. Then at the last possible second before the creatures grabbed hold of him, a water dome appeared around the area he was standing on. The creatures - Pogans - turned their attention to  the Newcomer. Water orbs with different shapes and sizes shot toward the creatures but immediately evaporated when they came in contact with the Pogans’ skin. Another law that we learned in school was: heat could vaporize water. This clearly wasn’t going to work. We needed to get out there and defeat the creatures ourselves but how? A flash dragged me out of my daze. I looked over again to the Pogans and there was a pile of ashes where one of them used to stand. Cyrus figured a way to defeat them! One of the Pognans bounced at Cyrus and extended its fiery claws in his direction. At this moment I thought that Cyrus was going to get hurt or even die and Aaren, Skyla, and I would have to defeat the Pogan by ourselves. But once again I was proven wrong, Cyrus extended his hand toward the pouncing creature and touched it. His hand turned red then blue and the creature roared in pain as it started losing ignite and then it gradually turned to a pile of ashes. Something was different about Cyrus but I couldn’t really put my hands on it. Cyan was now on the ground; he probably used all of his energy and was unconscious. It only took a few minutes for Cyrus to defeat the creatures and then he grabbed Cyan and walked toward the entrance of the tree. I rushed toward the entrance and grabbed Cyan as soon as Cyrus stepped into the tree. 
“You are welcome,” Cyrus said. He was probably upset that I didn’t thank him for saving us. I took Cyan and went up to my room and placed him on the bed. I went down again to check on Mayla but she wasn’t there. Aaren probably took her to rest upstairs. Now where was Cyrus? I wanted to talk with him about what just happened.
== Chapter: 10 ==
“Wait up! I have some questions for you,” I told Cyrus as I catched up with him.
“I am sure you want an explanation for everything that happened but we don’t have time for one,” he replied.
“Why is that? It is not like we are traveling somewhere. We will spend five years stuck in this place and we can’t go anywhere without getting killed. Based on those factors, I am sure we have all the time we need.”
“Those creatures were not inhabitants of the forest. They were created by a folern who is one one of the many who want to kill us. All of the folens know about us and our abilities and they also know that controlling plants is not one of them. Whoever created them will tell every single folern about what happened with the plants and it will eventually reach The Leaders. They will eventually connect it to Mayla and then to Aaren and lastly to you and Skyla.”
“I thought that by being in The Ancient Forest we were safe. Mayla said no one dared to come here.”
“The Leaders won’t but other folerns will. You saw what happened today. We won’t stand a chance against them.”
“You were pretty strong together. Together you defeated the Pogans. I am sure you can do it again.”
“We did defeat them but Mayla and Cyan are in a pretty bad shape. Both of them used all their energy and this is really dangerous. If this happens one more time, they would disappear….for good.”
“Disappear?! This is pretty serious! So do you have a plan or do you want me to help you come up with one?”
“I appreciate your offer but I think I have an idea. The folerns attack here because it is on the borders. If we get deeper into the forest, they probably won’t be able to get us.”
“Then we better hustle. What you said means that we will be the number one target after a short amount of time. One question though, how are we going to leave with two of us injured and unconscious.”
“I could help them heal faster and then Skyla, Aaren, you, and me could work on getting everything ready.”
“If you think it will work then let ‘s do it.” 
For the next two hours we worked on getting everything ready. Which really wasn’t much since we didn’t come with anything. We packed some food, water, and mattresses since Mayla wouldn't be able to use her power for a little while.
“We are now ready to go,” Aarenn said, the lack of enthusiasm clear in his voice. 
I couldn’t blame him for that. The events of the last couple of days were dangerous and stressful. 
“Should we really do that,” Skyla asked.
“We don’t have any other option. It is either we stay here and get killed or we go deeper and survive,” Cyrus replied.
“Is it really safer? From what I know, the deeper you get into a forest the dangerous the creatures are,” I told them.
“You aren’t wrong,” Cyrus replied. 
“When will Mayla and Cyan wake up,” I asked impatiently.
“Give them some time. You try to wake them up now and you will be killing them,” Cyrus told me.
“If they lost their energy, why didn't you,” Skyla asked.
“I didn’t use that much energy and I think that this isn’t the right time for those questions,” Cyrus said.
Something wasn’t adding up about this. How did he defeat the creatures without using up all his energy? I was beginning to think that staying with Cyan and Cyrus wasn’t a good idea. How could I trust them if I didn’t know anything about them?
“The only thing I care about now is my sister’s health,” Aaren said.
“She will be fine and well. We just have to give her some time to rest and she will be energetic and healthy,” Cyrus assured him.
“Great! Now we have to wait.” I grumbled.
“You will wait! If it wasn’t for her you would have been dead,” Aaren shouted at me.
“Calm down, Aaren. We all know that she saved our lives and we hope that she will be fine. It is just that we, Silena and I, aren’t accustomed to running for our lives. Two days ago we were just normal teenagers living a normal life,” Skyla said with a hint of sorrow in her voice.
“No one told you to follow us into the portal! You are the reason for all of this! If it wasn’t for you, Mayla and me would still be with our family and enjoying our time! So don't blame this on us,” Aaren shouted at Skyla.
“This is enough! Who do you think you are shouting at me and Skyla like this! We are not indebted to you! Don’t you use your sister’s noble act to boss us around,” I screamed at him.
“You shouldn’t be fighting like that. What is done cannot be undone so you better get used to each other and the situation,” Cyrus said.
“You don’t have a say in this! Your life was already missed up before we showed up! You weren’t affected the least bit so stay out of this,” Aaren shouted.
“So you are suggesting that Skyla and I missed your life up! You were the one arguing in the middle of the forest! YOu should have been more careful,” I shouted.
“Guys I think we should stop. Our voices are too loud and I think they are disturbing a few creatures,” Skyla said in a low voice.
I was about to ask her about what she was talking about when I heard a savage roar. Maybe all this fighting really caused some creatures to go mad.
== Chapter: 11 ==
“Anyone do something,” I screamed as the creature started to attack the tree.
“We have to get out of here,” Skyla shouted.
“We can’t. The moment we get out of here we will be an easy target for it,” Cyrus said.
“Then kill it. Don’t you have a water trick that could kill this thing,” Aaren shouted.
“How can I do that? We can’t even see the creature,” Cyrus replied.
“Maybe if we reach one of the windows you could throw a water orb at it,” Skyla suggested.
“That is a good idea but how could we reach it with all this shaking,” I said.
“Hold on to something and use it to get to a window,” Aaren suggested.
“We need someone to steady me when I create an arrow so that I don’t topple over,” Cyrus said.
“I will go,” Skyla volunteered,
“I don’t care! Just get this done before the tree falls and we are crushed,” I shouted.
Skyla and Cyrus started holding onto things and walking toward the nearest window. The tree was starting to sway and everything was starting to tilt. If they didn’t hurry  we will all die. After what felt like an eternity they finally reached the window. 
“Now Skyla hold my arm and don’t let go of the table,” Cyrus said.
The tree was starting to sway more violently in the opposite direction of the window. If this tree falls, Skyla and Cyrus will fly in the opposite direction and hit the wooden wall with enough force to break it. Cyrus started moving his hands in weird ways and the base of an arrow started to form. It thickened and thickened and then began to lengthen. I took a look at Skyla and I could see that she was trying hard to keep holding the table.
“We have to help her!  She clearly can’t keep this up for long,” I said to Aaren.
“We can’t move there. Things are flying everywhere and even if we manage to avoid them, there is no way we will be able to reach them on time. I say we wait here and hope that everything is going to be alright.”
“Do what you want! I am going.”
I started to grab things and tried to reach them but then the chair I was grabbing started sliding in the opposite direction and sent me flying with it. 
“Let go of it or you will crash,” Aaren shouted.
I loosened my grip on it in the last possible second before it crashed into the wall. A crack formed in the bark and was getting wider by the second. 
“Grab my hand if you want to survive,” Aaren screamed as he extended his hand toward me.
I took it and he dragged me away from the crack. We both tried to get away from the wall but it was no use. 
“Guys hurry up! I don’t think we could hold on much longer,” I screamed.
“We are trying but the pull is too hard! Cyrus can;t focus enough to create anything,” Skyla shouted back.
“Then get back here! The tree is falling,” Aaren screamed.
“There are things blocking our way! We can’t even see you guys,” Skyla shouted.
I was about to say something when I heard a horrible breaking sound. The sound of a tree trunk being cut off. The tree now stretched falling to the ground and everything in it started sliding toward us. I tried to search for Skyla and Cyrus but I couldn’t find them anywhere. Everything came crashing down with us. A large table slid toward me and Aaren. We tried as hard as we could to push it away but failed. It crashed into us and then everything went black.
== Chapter 12: ==
“Silena wake up. Silena. Silena,” someone called.
I was floating in the dark. I couldn’t feel anything, Something was pulling me downward. I tried to fight it but it was so tempting. I could hear someone calling my name. I wanted to answer but I couldn’t. Then I spotted a speck of light in the dark and floated toward it. The voice was clear now. It was the voice of one of my friends. I reached toward the light and opened my eyes. I blinked a few times before my eyes adjusted to the light.
“You are awake! I was so worried about you,” Mayla said.
“Whathappend,” I asked in a groggy voice.
“The tree collapsed.”
“You are…..alright?”
“I am fine and so is Cyan and Aaren.”
“What about Skyla and Cyrus?”
“We…..couldn’t find them.”
“What!! What do you mean you couldn’t find them?!”
I felt searing pain at my sides. I tried to get up but everything hurt so badly.
“Calm down. You are badly injured so don’t make it worse.”
“Forget about me. They were with us when the tree collapsed so how did you not find them?”
“We searched around the area but found nothing. They are gone and we don’t know anything about their whereabouts.”
“So we should search for them! We can't just sit around here doing nothing!”
“We will once we all get better. You broke some bones and so did Aaren. Cyan and me aren’t that badly injured since we weren’t conscious and there was nothing in the room except a bed.”
“We can’t wait! WHo knows what happened to them! The creature that attacked the tree might have taken them.”
“This isn’t possible.”
“Why isn’t it? The creature is savage and bloodthirsty. It might have caught them for food.”
“The first thing Cyan and I did when we didn’t find them was track it down. We found it but it was….dead. Judging from how it looked, something killed it.”
“Maybe Skyla and Cyrus did so that they could escape.”
“We didn’t find them there. All we found was the body and blood marks that lead us to a creek but there was nothing there. Just bare land and critters.”
“I don’t get it. Where could they be? They were with us when the tree crashed and they sure got hurt. So how could they have gotten far if the creature didn’t take them?”
“We have no idea. We will continue searching while you rest.”
“I should come with you. You might need me.”
“Absolutely not! You need to stay here until we figure a way to move you without causing any further injuries.”
“They risked their lives to save us and you want me to leave them and sit around doing nothing?!”
“We will search for them and I will tell you everything we find. Now please, rest and take care of yourself till we get back.”
“But-”
“No “but”! You will stay here and that is final!”
I wanted to go search for them but I couldn’t even move. I will delay Mayla and Cyan’s search if I go with them but I...I wanted to rescue them. I treated them badly and yet they didn’t hesitate to help me. There was no use for what I was doing. I will let Mayla and Cyan go search for them.
“Okay I will stay here,” I said.
“Good. Take care of yourself.”
=== Timeskip ===
“So did you find anything,” I asked Mayla as she approached me.
The pain was starting to fade a little and I could now sit in a more comfortable position.
“We searched the creek for any mark or clue that could tell us where they are but we didn;t find anything.”
“Was there anything out of the ordinary in the creek?”
“Everything is normal except the huge stone in the middle.”
“Why is it weird? I mean rocks form everywhere.”
“I know but here they aren’t that big unless someone or something lumped enough soil together to form one this huge.”
“Did you check it out?”
“We checked every side and corner of it but there wasn’t anything useful.”
“Did you try lifting it?”
“No we didn’t. It was too heavy for us to carry and plus what could possibly be under it?”
“A tunnel maybe. A way that they escaped or something.”
“That could be a possibility but how do we lift it?”
“You know me and Aaren could help, right?”
“I already told you, you are not ready for this. All you have to do is rest and heal.”
“Come on, we will just lift a rock and then I promise we, or at least I, won’t do anything but rest.”
“If this is the only way to make you listen, then maybe we should do it.”
‘Yes you should. Please let me help. I know I am injured but I am indebted to them.”
“I will discuss with Cyan and then tell you the final answer."
== Chapter 13: ==
“Is this creek far away,” I asked Mayla as she placed me on the hand-made wagon.
“Why do you care? You will be sitting in this cart all the time.”
“Where are Cyan and Aaren?”
“Switching subjects, huh. Cyan is helping Aaren onto his cart.”
“Do you think we will find them?”
“If your assumption is correct, we will. Even if we didn’t find them, we might find any clue to where they are.”
“I hope what you are saying is right. I wasn’t exactly nice to them before the tree fell.”
“I am sure you will have a chance to apologize. Plus, I don’t really think they will be mad.”
“How couldn't they? If I hadn’t argued with Aaren, then the creature wouldn’t have been disturbed and we would have been all safe and together.”
“Blaming yourself isn’t going to solve the problem. Let’s just hope that we find them first.”
“You are right. We better get moving.”
Mayla started pushing the wagon and moving forward. We met with Cyan and Aaren and we started walking toward the creek, which was ten meters away. This is how I felt it at least. When we finally reached it, we tried our best to move the ginormous rock out of its place. Surprisingly, it worked. The pain that came after that was indescribable. I felt like every part of me was falling into a stack of pointed pins and sharp broken pieces of glass. 
“There really is a tunnel,” Mayla said in an optimistic tone.
“I told you there was. DId you ever doubt that,” I asked her.
“We all did,” Cyan said.
“He is right. I was only 5% sure that this plan would work,” Aaren added.
“You know that if it wasn’t for me and you, none of this would have happened,” I snapped.
“Stop fighting and let us get in,” Mayla said.
“How exactly will we get them in,” Cyan asked.
“We won’t. You will go in there and I will stay with them,” Mala answered.
“Finally! Some rest from you,” Cyan said in relief.
“You really need to learn a lot about how to talk to people,” I retorted.
Without saying a word, Cyan got into the tunnel and disappeared out of sight. All I cared about now was him emerging with Skyla and Cyrus.
“Since we are alone with nothing to do, can you explain to me what exactly happened when I was knocked out,” Mayla asked.
We started telling her everything that happened with a few added snappy words. When I replayed the situation in my head, I realized that……..I shouldn’t have argued with Aaren. He just misses his home and family….just like me. It is also true that I am the reason we are all stuck in this miss right now.
“I am sorry about what I told you,” I apologized, “I never should’ve blamed you for the situation.”
“You are not the only one who made a mistake. I should’ve realised that you were just missing your world and family,” he apologized too.
“Great! Now that everything is settled between you two, we just have to wait for Cyan to come back. Hopefully with Skyla and Cyrus,” Mayla said.
No one said anything after this. We sat in complete silence for minutes or an hour. I can’t really be sure about time here. Then Cyan emerged……...without Skyla or Cyrus.
“Where are they,” Mayla asked.
“I couldn’t find them,” he replied with bitterness.
== Chapter 14 ==
The words hit me hard. They kept repeating in my head over and over again. "This is all my fault. This is all my fault" a voice in my head kept repeating. Skyla warned me from following the whispers. She told me we should leave the matter alone so we won't get in trouble. She didn't want any of this. She just wanted a safe trip with her friends. Even after all of this, she was the one to pay for my mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have been that stubborn. Maybe I just should've listened to her.
"Silena are you okay," Mayla's voice cut through my thoughts.
"Did you find anything that could lead us to them," I asked, trying to cling to the last grain of hope I had left.
"Nothing. The trail we were following was for an injured animal," Cyan replied.
"So what do we do now," Aaren asked weakly.
"Continue searching of course," I said.
"We shouldn't be staying out here. The original plan was to move away from the borders so I think we should stick to the plan," Mayla suggested.
"You want us to escape and abandon Skyla and Cyrus," I asked in surprise.
"No of course not. We just have to stay safe in order to do that. We won't be any help to them if we get captured or die," Mayla added.
What she said kind of made since but I just felt that if I leave now....I will be abandoning them.
"So we can take votes about it," Mayla said.
"I am in favor," Aaren said.
We all looked at Cyan. His decision will sum it up. He was staring at the horizon and looked deep in thought. I felt bad for him. His best -only- friend was missing. He probably felt what I felt right now.
"We are going to find them soon. There is also a possibility that they would find us. My point is, we won't give up until we find them.....I promise," I said soothingly.
"I am with Mayla. Go to the hollow trees now and I will follow you in a few seconds," Cyan finally replied. For the first time, he wasn't talking to us in his usually snarky way.
"And how exactly can I push those two alone," Mayla asked.
"You should probably use one of your hands for each make-shift wagon since you have two hands," Cyan replied.
And the snark was back.
"I have a better idea, how about I leave Aaren with you here and take Silena back with me. I am sure you too will get along well," Mayla replied in a sarcastic tone.
"Ugh. Fine I will come," Cyan grumbled.
After this, we returned back to the hollow trees and got some of the stuff we needed and started heading away from them and into the unknown.
After walking for a long time, we found a good spot and built two big tents with leaves. One was for the girls and the other was for the boys. We took turns patrolling the area to make sure none of the savage creatures attacked us. When we woke up, Mayla and Cyan went out and continued searching for Skyla and Cyrus while Aaren and I stayed at camp and rested. It was the same thing for the next few days, Mayla and Cyan coming back empty-handed and me trying to assure myself that everything was going to be okay. After a week and two day (I was counting) we gave up hope. Mayla and Cyan have scoured every single spot of the forest ( at least, the ones they can reach ) and haven't found anything. Today was the day of the final search. If they don't find anything, we won't try again. 
== Chapter 15 ==
I sat across from Aaren on the leaf mat. We were playing a game where one of us had to spell a word backward and the other had to guess it. Even though the game was fun, I was nervous about how the whole search thing was going.
"Yrrow ton od," Aaren spelled.
"That isn't a word is it," I asked suspiciously.
He shrugged. So this was a sentence. The whole point of the game was to spell a word. I replayed the letters in my head and tried reversing their order. "Worry not do" it spelled. I reversed the order of the words and got the correct sentence "Do not worry"
"How can I?! This is literally the last time we will search for them. If we don't find them, they would be lost forever," I said.
"I have faith in Mayla and Cyan and so should you. Plus, you will stay here for 4 years and 11 month. Pretty sure we would've found them by then."
4 years and 11 months. This is the time I would spend away from my family. Alone. I missed them. I even missed my little annoying sister, Ivy. I missed my mother's warm hug and my father's bright smile. Just as the tears were about to spill, we heard the violent rustling of trees. Something was out there.
"Ummmm....should we go and check," Aaren asked nervously.
"I guess. I will go out first."
I got up and wobbled a little before I was able to stand properly. Turns out that when you leave broken bones on rest for a while without moving them, they heal. Mine weren't completely healed, though. But on the bright side, I could now walk.
I got out of the tent to find a surprising scene, two crumpled bodies. Those weren't Mayla and Cyan and they definitely weren't other people. Those were.........Skyla and Cyrus. I stood frozen in place. I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming and I wasn't. Those were really them! How they got here was a question for another time.
"Aaren! A little help here please," I shouted.
"What is it?"
The moment he stepped out of the tent and saw Skyla and Cyrus, his whole expression changed. It was a mixture of relief and worry.
"T-those are-"
"Skyla and Cyrus I know. Now help me get them inside," I cut him off before he could start asking pointless questions.
We got them into the tent and placed them in a comfortable position.
"Are they okay," Aaren asked.
"Look at them! Do they look okay to you?"
Both of them were banged, bruised, and some of their bones were deformed. Their faces were pale and damp. It seemed like they both had the same injuries, in the same place. Well that was weird. I placed my hand on Skyla's forehead and her temperature was really high. We got to find a way to help them fast.
"Mayla and Cyan are the experts in this kind of stuff. I don't know anything about how to nurse injured people," Aaren confessed
"My father is a doctor and he taught me a few things about how to help people in an emergency."
"So what do we do, Commander?"
"Go out and gather some leaves and soak them wet. I will handle other stuff."
As soon as the words left my mouth, Aaren ran out and began doing what I told him.
Now from what I remembered, to realign a deformed bone you should place your hand on the fracture from above and then move it from the bottom. I followed the instructions carefully to realign Skyla's bones. She let out a groan and.......Cyrus let out the same sound at the same time. It was like they were in sync with each other. Now that was creepy. After I finished realigning Skyla's bones, I brought in twigs and vines and started tying them around her deformed bones. Aaren got back with the soaked leaves and I placed them on their foreheads so that their temperature would drop back to normal.
"How is everything going," Aaren asked worryingly.
"I am done with Skyla. Now all I have to do is do the same thing with Cyrus and we are done."
"Anything you want me to do?"
"Maybe you can place a hand above the fractured bones?"
"Sure."
We went over to Cyrus and Aaren placed his hand above the fractured bone as I tried to realign it from below. But it was no longer deformed. It was realigned into place. And so were all his other bones. Something weird was going on and I was going to figure it out.
"Aaren, I think something is off."
"What is wrong?"
"His bones are aligned even though I didn't even touch them. Plus, when I was realigning Skyla's bones, she let out a groan..and so did Cyrus. At the same exact moment."
"Definitely weird. We should ask Mayla when she gets back. She is pretty much into reading and boring stuff so maybe she read about this somewhere."
"I suppose we can."
We waited for Mayla and Cyan to return. Neither Skyla nor Cyrus have woken up so there was nothing much to handle. But something kept bothering me, how did they leave the hollow tree and how did they come back to us. But those two questions remained unanswered.
== Chapter 16 ==
"You are finally back," I said in excitement as Mayla and Cyan approached the tents.
They had a grim look on their faces.
"We couldn't find them," Mayla spoke in a low tone.
"You didn't find them because they are already here," Aaren said.
"What do you mean," Mayla asked, clearly confused.
"We were playing in the tent when we heard the rustling of bushes. We went out to see what was making the racket and found them both unconscious in the ground," I explained.
There was a long pause....a really long pause. Both of them stared at us like we said something impossible.
"They are in the girl's tent if you want to check on them," Aaren offered.
That was their cue. They both started speed walking to the tent. Before Mayla could enter, I stopped her.
"I want to talk to you about something," I said.
"I am sure whatever you're going to say can wait. I really need to make sure they are okay."
"What I want to tell you is actually about them."
"Okay. What is it?"
I explained everything from when we found them till Mayla and Cyan returned.
"What you're explaining sounds a bit like an Ethra Bond," Mayla said.
"Ummm......more explaining please."
"An Ethra Bond is a connection between two folerns in which energy flows from each one of them to the other. It doesn't really make them do everything the same. If the energy from one of them is not enough, what you just saw happens. They are both severed and won't heal unless the energy flow from both of them is restored."
"I lost you when......you finished the first sentence."
"Let me simplify it to you, imagine the two folerns connected as two halves of the same thing. If one of the halves gets damaged, the other one does too. If you repaired one of the halves, the other one will repair directly"
"Now that I get it, we can rule this possibly out."
"Why? I mean it could happen."
"Hello there Mayla. Skyla is a human not a folern."
"Well.....it is either the bond is ancient and it is highly unlikely, or the bond was created the few days they were missing and that is virtually impossible."
"Why couldn't the bond be created two weeks ago?"
"Because an Ethra Bond is only created by an Ancient Leader and those disappeared eons ago."
I was about to ask her something when Aaren bursted out of the tent.
"They are awake," he shouted as he bounced up and down.
Mayla and I rushed to the tent. I had a thousand questions for those two!
"How are you feeling," Cyan asked in a voice that implied zero happiness and enthusiasm. This guy was as hard as a diamond!
"What is wrong? Why are you all staring at us like that," Skyla asked weakly.
"Excuse me? You disappeared for two weeks and then appeared bruised, cut, and broken. Do you really expect us to not stare at you," I asked surprisingly.
"When did that happen? We packed our things from the Hollow Trees and went deep into the forest. We have been here for two weeks and nothing interesting happened," Skyla said.
What!!!!! How on Earth could she not remember what happened!?!?!?!?!? How could she have memories of things that didn't happen?!?!?!?!? I looked at the rest of my friends and they all had the same shocked expressions.
"What about you? What do you remember," I asked Cyrus.
"The same thing that Skyla said. Nothing happened during the last two weeks at all," Cyrus replied.
Now that was scary......... terrifying actually, We all stood there, not knowing what to do or say. This was much bigger than the things that previously happened. I began to wonder if us being here was just a coincidence.
== Chapter 17 ==
"Are you sure that is what you remember," I asked Skyla.
"Silena please, can you stop asking me that!"
"You guys were bangged, bruised, and you had broken bones when you came back. Now they all seem to have miraculously disappeared! Don't you find it...unnatural!"
"No I don't! Nothing of what you said happened! Even if you ask me a thousand more times, my answer will be the same: No!"
Wow! I had no idea Skyla could actually be angry. She always seemed so calm even during....everything.
"Something is definitely weird about this and I am determined to find out what it is," I said.
"You can go figure it out in another place. I won't help you in any way."
With that, she started walking away. I wanted to follow her but decided against it. I went back to the camp to check with my friends. While I was trying to get Skyla to remember, Cyan was supposed to be doing the same with Cyrus. I hope his attempt went better than mine.
"Got him to remember anything," I asked Cyan when I reached the tents.
"Nothing! Nothing at all! He keeps telling me " When did that happen?" and "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Well at least he didn't scream in your face."
"If it makes you feel any better, he almost did. "
This is the second time that Cyan talks to me without any snapping or snarkiness. Maybe we were finally starting to get along.
"I will go talk to Mayla. Maybe she has something to say about all of this," I said
"Whatever you do, figure out a way to fix this."
"We will. Don't worry."
After this, I went into the tent.
"Figured anything about what happened," I asked.
"The only thing I can think of is that they are under some sort of Magical Aura."
"Don't use terms I don't understand. Explain it."
"It is some sort of magical dome that puts a person under a spell. I never heard of someone able to create the same spell for two people except for.........."
I waited for her to continue but she seemed to have trailed off.
"Except for who," I asked anxiously
"Except for the Ancient Leaders."
"Are you sure those people disappeared? I mean everything you said so far hints that they are still here. I am even beginning to think that us being here was meant to be."
I waited for Mayla to say something but all she did was stare on one of the leafy walls.
"You might actually be right! When I think about it, the portal was supposed to lead us to somewhere else and the only person who can change the destination of a portal is an Ancient Leader."
"You didn't think telling us about that was important?!"
"With everything going on, I forgot."
"Ww have to go tell the others! If someone brought us here, then we need to find that person and let him return us home."
"Can't you wait for some time? I just want to make sure my theory is correct."
She sounded so nervous I felt like I just told her I was going to tell her secret to the whole world. Maybe I am! Maybe she knows who brought us here but doesn't want to tell us! But if this is true, then why did she tell me about it in the first place? Things were starting to get more and more eerie and I hated nothing more than things that didn't add up. I won't give up till I figure everything out and go home.
== Chapter 18 ==
I woke up late at night at the soft rustling of bushes. I was drowsy and wanted to go back to sleep but what I saw caught my eyes. Mayla was tip-toeing out of the tent. What was she doing awake this late at night? Something was definitely up...but I couldn't care less. After all, my curiosity has gotten me into enough trouble already.
I laid my head back on the soft ground and tried to sleep, but couldn't. Mayla's situation was really bugging me. I got up and slowly walked out of the tent, careful not to wake up Skyla. This isn't curiosity right? This is just me trying to feel comfortable. I tried to find anything that would lead me to where Mayla might be but found nothing, I was about to head back inside when I heard soft whispering. I walked toward the direction of the voice and hid behind some bushes.
"Are you sure you have nothing to do with this," Mayla asked a hooded figure in front of her.
"No we don't. This must be the work of Itzel. She is definitely trying to recruit them to her side. How have we failed to see that," the figure replied.
To whom was she talking to? What were they talking about? Who was Itzel?
My head was swarming with questions, but I sat still and waited to hear the rest of the conversation.
"I told her what you asked me to, and she believed it," Mayla said.
"This is great. The last thing we need is her sniffing in our business."
"Are you sure we are doing the right thing? I feel really bad lying to her."
"This is for her own good. She doesn't know anything and it is safer this way. I want you to keep an eye on those two you told me about. They sure have something going on."
"Okay. But just so you know, I won't be doing whatever you tell me forever."
"When that day comes, we will talk about it. Now if you would excuse me, I have to report back to the Head."
I heard a little "tick" before the figure vanished into thin air.
What was all of this about? I was about to come up with some theories when I saw Mayla heading back to the tents. Oh no! If she didn't find me there, she would know that I followed her! I started rising slowly, while carefully hiding behind the bushes. I took quick paces so that I would reach the tents faster, and I also kept an eye on Mayla. The girl was walking really fast like someone was chasing her! Finally, the tent came into view. I triple quickened my pace and hurriedly went in. I dropped to the ground, took a comfortable position, closed my eyes, and tried to calm my racing heart. Just moments after I entered, Mayla came in and moved slowly to her spot. Phew! That was close! I started thinking of the things I have heard.
Were they talking about us or someone else? Who am I kidding, of course it is us. There is no one except us in this cursed place.
Was this "her" they were referring to me or Skyla and who are the other two they were talking about? As far I was concerned, the others could all have a part in this.
Maybe they weren't as innocent as I thought. Perhaps they were trying to bring me and Skyla to their leaders so that they could get out of trouble. Whatever the reason was, I had to keep my eyes peeled for anything out of order. I especially have to keep a close eye on Mayla, because she might lead me to what I want to discover.