The Forest

Chapter Eleven

Some time later

Willow's POV:

"Across that plain lies the entrance to the Dark Forest Zachery. Darius always described it to me as separate from the main forest. I didn't believe him till now." I say, taking in our view.

We are currently standing at the tree line of the forest. To reach our target, we had to walk across an exposed plain. Making us an easy target for whatever lay ahead of us. 

I can only hope that on our way back, the Alpha's hunters would be standing where we were now, waiting for us and the pups. Then if we are being targeted, they could hopefully protect us. 

I can only hope. 

"Are you ready for this Zachery?" I ask, turning to face him.

"As ready as I'll ever be Willow," he replies.

Without thinking, I lean forward (well more like upwards) and kiss his cheek. It's a quick one, I don't linger or anything. 

Zachery doesn't respond instantly, shock evident on his face.

"Chill dude," I laugh, shoving him playfully. 

He grins back, then suddenly pulls me in and kisses me! Like on-the-mouth! Now it's my turn to be shocked. 

Zachery smiles even more, grabs my hand and continues walking. 

Zachery kissed me, like actually kissed me?! What on earth?

I shake my head, enough, I have to focus. I cannot keep thinking about Zachery kissing me - amazing, attractive Zachery (Willow knock it out!), I need to focus. 

I shyly touch my mouth, I don't say anything, but there's so much I want to say. But I need to focus. 

At first glance this place doesn't seem to bad. Sure, the trees are a darker shade compared to the trees in my forest. But that seems to be the only difference. 

The further we walk, the colder and darker it gets. 

We walk in silence, few birds chirp, I can't hear any running water. Most of the plants I see are poisonous, that's something to warn Zachery about. 

But I don't want to talk, it's like the Dark Forest is listening, watching. I can only hope Zachery gets the same vibe as well. 

We briefly make eye contact, he nods and places his arm around my waist, so we're closer together. I still hold his hand though, so we can communicate through hand squeezes and nods. 

So maybe the Dark Forest is a lot different. 

The silence is almost deafening, there are only poisonous plants and tall dark trees as flora. I notice a few swampy puddles, no edible plants around those. 

I need to be vigilant, years of growing up in the forest have given me key survival skills. But this place will need more than that. 

We continue to walk in silence, covering more and more ground. Although it is hard keeping up step-by-step with Zachery, I cannot afford to slow him down.  We both need to keep up a fast pace. 

The quicker we're out of here, the better. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know how long we've been walking, but we've reached a desolate area of land, scattered with ruins. 

As we approach, I can see charred wood and crumbling bricks make up a number of structures. The foundation of a stone well sits at the centre of these structures as well. 

As we explore the ruins, we don't find anything of interest. The well doesn't have any water in, only a puddle of muck at the bottom. There goes a potential water source.

At least surrounded by these ruins, I feel slightly safer, which is odd. Some of these walls are standing, crumbling yes, but they still look solid. 

So if anything was searching for us, we were slightly protected. 

Zachery and I make our way towards three joint walls, a room of sorts. Half a roof is supported by two of the walls and a column in the middle. This place will protect us from any unwelcome visitors and shelter us from the elements. 

"Let's just rest for a bit Zachery, I'm exhausted."

"Good idea Willow."

We both sit down, taking our bags off and lean against the wall. 

The sun seems to be setting, which isn't exactly a good thing. Our natural source of warmth and light will soon disappear. Along with the ability to see around us. 

Which again, is not a good thing.

"Should we light a fire Willow?" Zachery asks, turning to look at me.

I shake my head, "as much as I want to, it may draw unwanted attention to us." 

"Okay, what should we do then?"

"I don't know," I say, uncertainty evident in my voice. 

Honestly though, I have no clue what to do.

"There could be something dangerous out here and by making ourselves known, we could be in even more danger than we are now."

"Okay then, lets take turns staying awake and keeping an eye out for things. I'm sure the moon will be bright enough." Zachery suggests, taking one of my knives out of his bag and sitting more upright. 

"You sleep first Willow, we both need your advanced skills to help us out here." Zachery says gently, removing a blanket from his bag and handing it to me. 

I accept it, (even though I don't want to close my eyes) and lay my head on his shoulder. I am exhausted after all. 

He chuckles quietly, making sure the blanket is covering me, before turning his attention back onto the horizon. 

"Thank you," I murmur, exhaustion over-taking me. 

"That's alright Willow, now get some sleep. I'll wake you up in a couple of hours."

I smile and let my eyes finally close. 

The last thing I feel is Zachery putting his arm around my body, holding me tighter as I drift off.