The Crazy Art Called Love

37 | Chased By Death

~~Lloyd's POV~~

It looks like my mother was right. Every corner we turned there were creatures or plants out to kill us. I had to pull Harumi out of three holes in the ground, which we both failed to see the first time.

"I have a feeling this isn't over." She complained and dusted some leaves off her clothes. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

"Pretty sure. If this map is right, there's a river that runs through Primeval's Eye that way." I took a look at the map to double check before we continued walking.

"And the river leads straight to the hidden Oni temple that holds the third mask?"

"That's what it says."

I knew she was just asking but I didn't expect her face to fill with different reactions.

"Are you okay?" I asked as we came to a stop.

"Huh? Oh, yes." Harumi was quick to answer as if I had disturbed her thoughts. What was she thinking about? "I'm just scared. We don't know what we'll find out there and we've already seen a lot from here."

She was scared. That's what.

"Well, we can both face it together. Just like that time we went skydiving. Or the time we went water rafting!" I placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face me. "There's no reason to be afraid when you have someone beside you."

Harumi smiled and I melted into one too.

"You're right." She agreed and I could tell she got her confidence back. "Let's do this, Greenie."

I chuckled as I watched her continue to carve a path for the both of us since my arm was still pretty bad. We walked for what felt like hours and it was then that I realized the map was smaller compared to the real thing.

"We're almost to the Black River." I informed her after taking a quick look at the map on my arm. "We just have to get past this part that reads 'Strangler's Path'."

"Did you say Strangler's Path? That's cheery. Why is it called that?"

"Places like these always have colorful names. Half of the time they don't mean anything. Caves of Despair, Blind Man's Eye, Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Probably just some bored mapmaker with a wild-."

I got so caught up in my explanation I didn't realize the pair of vines sneak up from either side of me and wrap themselves around my body in a tight grip.

I screamed and tried to break free but they were too strong for just a bunch of plants.

"Lloyd!" I heard Harumi call after me as the vines started dragging me across the floor.

"Rumi!"

I felt a lot of plants run through my face and I was hoping none of them were poisoned. The vines were quick. It was clear there was no way out. As I got closer to wherever these vines were taking me, I thought back to all the things I never told anyone.

And no matter how many times we were being hunted down by death today, this was the one that came the closest. I turned and twisted in its grip. At least my arm was snapped back into place but it was a little too late for that now. My only hope would be-

A sword flew past my head and landed directly under my legs which cut the vines right before I got sucked into the tree.

"H-how-w-what?" I was at lost for words. Harumi stood back a few feet away from me, her arm still extended which showed it was her who through the sword. "I-it just, it tried to. Y-you just threw-H-how did the tree??"