Kismet (Book One - Completed)

Chapter 14: Revelation! Tiffany Appears

Chapter 14: Revelation! Tiffany Appears

Twenty minutes after they'd escaped from the tunnel, Lanet and his party sealed up the cavern with a large boulder. They trekked for a mile and landed on top of a quarry. The group was met with the glorious morning sun, which was a world of difference from the darkness that dwelled within those caves. For the first time in one and a half days, Lanet and his friends smelled the scent of grass blades. The winding path led them to the other side of the mountain.

Waiting in front of them were the survivors of the flood, who had been evacuated from the safety zone at the last minute. The group descended from the quarry under the silent, watchful gaze of over two hundred villagers and a few guards who had drawn out their weapons. They were ready to attack Lanet and his friends once they were ordered by Vice-Chief Lionel Raizon to do so.

"Oliver has returned!!" The crowd roared.

"Guards, standby!" The main guard ordered. "Don't let your guard down."

The Vice-Chief stood in front of the crowd, watching Oliver and his group. Apparently, Vice-Chief Lionel came to his senses afterwards, so he took the survivors to the other end of the evacuation route. His brows were furrowed. This was a serious matter, one that could not be taken lightly. If Oliver came back a failure, then the villagers would have died for nothing. Oliver understood that. He had to give them answers.

Oliver stepped out to address the crowd.

"People of Merdice." Oliver said, "I know how you feel on the inside. I, Oliver, have failed all of you by not being there for the village when you were in trouble. My negligence has led to the loss of your loved ones. For that, I sincerely apologise to you. I do not expect you to forgive me. Vice-Chief Lionel, you may put me on trial as you see fit."

Vice-Chief Lionel walked up to Oliver and clapped wildly. "That was some fine performance." He quipped cynically, "How are you going to make it up to us?"

"Vice-Chief Lionel" The chief appealed to him respectfully, "I know that you are angry with us right now, but do hear me out. When we were in that cavern together, I saw with my own eyes the monsters in there. They were powerful beyond our imagination. I had no doubt that if we'd let these monsters escape, they would have caused great damage to villages and other human settlements. Oliver has not lied to us. Thus, I beseech you to take his past merit and present contribution into account."

"Oliver, you must forgive the Vice-Chief as well." The chief turned to Oliver and pleaded, "Do not forget that the outcome that we see today is more than the responsibility of one man; we have all made this decision."

"How can you say such a thing?" The Vice-Chief said, "You are a traitor. Do you have any right to speak?"

"I do." The chief said, "The only man that I've thought of as a father and a friend has thrown me into the cavern and fed me to the dogs. Aren't we alike?"

His words made the Vice-Chief shiver.

"What about the rest of you?" The Vice-Chief asked the villagers, "What do the rest of you think about this?"

Their exchange caused a furore amongst the villagers, who had many ideas as to what really happened in the cavern. They thought the chief might have been mistaken as he did not have any direct experience in dealing with monsters. Given the chief's inexperience, how could he have gauged the true strength of those monsters? Sensing that the crowd had to be swayed by reason, Oliver stepped forward to clarify matters.

"We have witnesses who can vouch for the chief." Oliver said while he placed his hands around the Yuas spiders for emphasis. "I would like to introduce everyone to the Yuas Spiders, whom we'd met in the cavern. They'd lived in the cavern for forty years. These spiders can vouch that the monsters that live in there are much more powerful and vicious than any monster you will meet on the surface."