𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐷 𝐼𝑁 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑀

𝑇𝐸𝑁~ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛

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We had been walking for hours, following the dry tracks made by the truck. Nola was humming a soft melody quietly to herself, the rest of us just listened to the sounds of the forest. The straight, seemingly infinite path had begun to decline and incline, causing my legs to ache from the strain.

"Good afternoon!" Dugal exclaimed suddenly. He sat, perched in a nearby tree. I rolled my eyes. What now?

"I'm afraid a new task approaches, my friends," Dug told us.

"What's the deal with these tasks, anyway?" Callum spat, "is there like...one every other day?"

Dugal smiled, despite the glare and confusion on my brother's face."The tasks come when they are ready. Sometimes, yes, there is one other every day. But other times, there can be more or less. It depends on the group of people," Dug explained.

Callum wasn't satisfied by this, "You're no help," he muttered in frustration.

Dugal had heard him, "The task will come whether you listen to me or not! I am here to help you, but if you'd rather face it alone-"

I interrupted. "-What is it? Let's get this over with." We stopped walking. Dug smiled a sincere smile our way.

"Follow me," he instructed, hopping down from the tree. He began walking west, towards the meadow.

"This task will require one of you to test your selflessness. You must put yourself in danger for the good of the group," Dugal began, breaking through the trees into the warm meadow, "what beautiful mountains, eh?" Dug shaded his eyes from the sun, looking out at the stunning range.

"They are," Callum agreed, "under different circumstances I would be excited to climb them."

Dug smiled, shaking his head. The expression on his face worried me. He looked like he knew something that we didn't.

"Oh! Look my friends, a Navy Cherry Tree," Dug said, pointing to a tall, thin tree not far from us. Its branches spread wide, and on them grew plump dark blue balls.

"Can... can we eat them?" Callum asked, pulling a cherry off of the tree in curiosity.

"Well yes, they are just cherries," Dug said, seeing our confused faces. "Oh yes, you didn't have these back in Mada. Dig in, you must be hungry."

We exchanged concerned looks, never having experienced such a fruit. But as Dugal had suggested, we began eating them. The sweet, ripe juice felt incredible on my taste buds, as in Mada the food had been dull and bland. I was thrilled to have found a new food source. The Navy Cherries were incredible, but were they safe? How could we be sure? Soon, we discovered that our task had already begun.

"There's something inside," I told my friends, noticing a small, hard pit inside of the cherry.

"Can you eat it?" Sariah asked, biting down hard on the pit. "Ouch!" she exclaimed.

"I must warn you, these cherries are unlike any other. The fruit is indeed edible, however, the interior pit is fully toxic. If bitten too hard, the toxins will be released, and the consumer will die within a day's time," Dugal explained.

"It's a little late for that message, Dug!" Sariah shrieked, "I bit the pit!" My eyes widened in dread. Poor Sariah had already suffered enough, and although I knew she could handle the fear, it didn't make me feel any less guilty. Why couldn't I take on a challenge rather than her?