The Hidden Prophet

Chapter 19.

We hike along the narrow dirt road leading into the forest. Thankfully the sun is not so intense that we are gasping for air. But it is enough to break a sweat. We walk in silence, steadily watching as we get closer towards our destination. 

Our feet makes a beat as we hike up the hills. Finally, we arrived. I turn around, facing them. I notice Chris has something in his hand. "What's that?" I ask, pointing at his hand. 

He carefully places whatever he has behind his back. "Nothing," he lies. I raise an eyebrow. 

"If it is nothing, then why do you have your hands behind your back," I point out. I put out my hand. "Give it to me."  

He hesitates. He shakes his head. "Nope, it's mine," he smirks. Of course he would act childish. I laugh at him. "Come on, just give it."

"What's the magic word?" He smiles at me. Does he really think I would play this game? 

I pull out my dagger. "Give or I'll kill you," I demand. 

"Well that's actually more than one word, but I'll let is slide because I choose life," he says as he gives me the item. I roll my eyes. 

I look down at my hand and see a half eaten chocolate bar. "A candy bar, really?" I say, "You didn't want to show me a candy bar." I toss it back. 

"I didn't want you to eat it," he says. "Well, at least not now that you threaten me." With a smirk on his face, I snatch the candy bar from his hands. I smile as I take a huge bite.

"Too late." I toss it back to him. Chris's mouth is wide open. Both Hunter and Matthew laugh at him. "What the hell!" he says.

"You should know not to eat chocolate in front of me. Especially if I haven't had it for a long time. Beside, who takes chocolate with them when hiking?" I ask.

"People who like chocolate, and it's a great source of energy," he explains, taking another bite of it. 

I roll my eyes at him while shaking my head. But I can't stop myself from smiling. They may be stupid, but it's a good stupid. The one that I can tolerate, but also the one that I can't deny the fact that they are idiots. I'm such a nice person. 

"Alright. Here's the plan," I begin. "I will go and search through all the areas towards the west." I point my finger towards that direction. 

"You guys will stay close to this area and search towards the east. Now, listen to me carefully." I place my heads on my hips, which is usually out of my comfort zone. I narrow my eyes at them. 

"Please try your best not to get loss. We have a lot of stuff to get and I don't want to be sending a search party to find you. Stay together! Got it?" I explain. Each of them nod their heads.  

I sigh. "Okay then. Now lets get to work," I say. And with that, we split up. I turn back at them, seeing that Matthew is also looking back at me. I freeze for a few seconds. Then I shake my head and kept walking.

I start jogging towards the west, which is an area I don't have much experience with. I should be walking carefully instead of jogging, but I prefer to do some exercise. I search the land for familiar plants and animals.

As I jog more into the forest, the more foreign it appears. This area is full of small scrubs and large trees I've never seen before. I decide to slow down for a bit to see what I'm getting into. Looking up at the sky, I see that the trees are blocking the sunlight. There are a few rays that sneak their way in, but it's not enough. 

Most of the cooks asked me to bring them herbs, berries and even a hog. I had no choice, but to say yes. They must of have no time to get things from the market. Everyone is now trying to get last minute things for the ball next week. I'm practically their last hope to complete the enormous banquet. 

We have no training that day, so I usually just go around asking if I could borrow a nice gown. Mine are full of dirt and not really appealing for a ball. 

The pressure is weighing me down. I have to make sure I pick the right things, not to get lost, find a nice, big fat pig, get back in time for supper, and now I'm just hoping the guys don't do anything stupid and get lost. What am I going to do? 

After several minutes of scavenging for food, and cursing when I thought I found something, I finally discovered an area full of herbs and berries. I check each one, making sure they are the one's the cooks requested. And they are. Jumping up and down, I stuff them into my bag. "Thank goodness!" 

I sprint full speed back to the area I left the guys at. With a smile on my face, I see Hunter and Matthew packing a few berries into their packs. Chris is no where to found. 

My breathing is heavy due to my running, but that doesn't bother me. "Hey," I say, breathing hard. "Where's Chris?"

"I don't know," they reply simultaneously. My heart drops. 

"Wait, what?" I say in disbelief. They notice my concern. They look at each other.

Hunter barely speaks. "We went in the direction you said, started searching for food, and after that we haven't seen him since."

My heart starts racing. It's beating dangerously fast. I put my hand on top of my head. I'm starting to panic. "Oh no. No, no, no! I told you guys to stay together. For once can you guys listen to me!" 

I start walking back and forth thinking of what to do. But nothing comes to mind. I can't think. This is a problem. A huge problem. Of course the voice in my head was right. My panicking is increase rapidly. Finally, an idea comes to me. It's not a good one, but what choice do I have. 

"Okay here's the plan. You two go look for him back where you came from. I'll go start looking for him in the north. Go it? Lets go," I explain rather fast. I turn around before they could say anything. 

After only a steps into the woods, Matthew calls for me. "Hey wait." I feel his hand on my shoulder. I stop cold. My body is frozen. I slowly turn my head towards him. 

"Can I look for him with you? I don't want you to be alone and I really need to-"

Before I can think about it, I shout, "NO!" 

Matthew backs away, his hands sliding off my shoulder. Some part of me wants his hand to stay on me. His fingers brush against it. I didn't mean to say it so loud and rude. He look at me with surprise. 

I try to explain."I just think it would be better if you help Hunter so he doesn't get lost too. And I'm okay with being alone," I stutter. I wait for his reaction, expecting the worse. 

Luckily, he just nods. But something tells me he feels hurt. As he walks away, I'd wish I stop myself from saying no. 

I jog towards the north. I look around for signs of Chris, shouting his name every few seconds. As the time goes by, I keep thinking we won't be able to find him. My panic goes to a new level. A level that may cause me to pass out. 

"Chris! Chris! Where the hell are you?" I shout. I'm starting to give up. I slowly walk around until I found a rock to sit on. I put my hands on my head. No! You can't give up on your friend. I let out one last shout, "CHRIS!" 

Not believing what I'm hearing, I hear a faint voice. "Megan!" 

I spring up. I look around. "Chris!" I wait for him to respond. 

"Megan! I'm here!" he shouts. North. He is coming from the north. I sprint towards him, jumping over every obstacle in my way. Once I get to him, I cover my mouth from screaming. 

His right leg covered with blood. There is a large, gaping cut between his shin and calf. I slide in right next to him. My eyes meet his. He is terrified. Absolutely terrified. I hope he can't see it in me. 

I take deep breaths. "Okay, it's not that bad," I lie. Bad is an understatement. He needs to get to a hospital, but where can we find one in Aquam? I feel a lump in my throat. Then I realize something. I learned how to heal people. I can heal him. At least I think I can. 

"Due me a favor," I say, my eyes directly on him. "Close your eyes." He raises an eyebrow at me. 

"Just do it," I command. He hesitates, but obeys. With that, I place my hands over his wound. I close my eyes. 

I take in one last breath and open my mouth. I'm praying that this would work.