El Comienzo Trágico (The Tragic Start) | [Still on Going]

Chapter 14

That night they all began to find their horses in different directions. Lynn was whistling trying to take her horse's attention and maybe the way to find it.
         "Why are you whistling? That horse doesn't know what's the meaning of your whistling," asked Jake with his serious voice.
         "It's a guard's horse you idiot. It was trained to that call..."
         "Well, I think you better stop doing that. It's not a great idea to whistle at night especially here. Maybe some unseen creature will follow us back."
         "Huh! You believe in that?... Pathetic..."
         Lynn was stubborn to listen to Jake's words and still didn't stop whistling.
         A couple of minutes later, they saw something in the distance, with the help of the lamp, they saw a black horse looking fine and was eating grass, its saddle was still on its back. Lynn recognized the horse and whistled, suddenly the horse was alarmed and ran toward where the whistle was coming from.
         Once Lynn saw the horse was running toward them she smirked at Jake.
         "Told ya..." She says.
         "What about the other horses?"
         "Of course, we have to find them too..." Replied Lynn.

Hope was walking a distance away from Kendrick and Luke, suddenly, she stopped and looked back at them.
          "What?!" Asked Kendrick who was far from her.
          "Nothing! Just... Hurry up!" She waited until they were in front of her and she walked after them.
          "Is there something wrong? Or too scared?" Joked Luke.
          "Eh, funny... Just keep— searching," she says, in a mood way, her hand forming a fist, her face preparing for something and she can't stop staring at the brothers from the back like she was scared of something.
          "Walk in front of us, aren't you scared being at the back?" Suggested Kendrick.
          "What I'm scared about is y—" She cuts her words. "Ah! Nevermind!..."
          They were searching for a long time until Luke heard a sound. A high-pitched animal sound came from their side, and there in the distance a dark brown horse standing and having grass.
          "Finally!" Luke said.
          "I think that's Jake's horse that was used by Ben," said Hope. They approached the horse and saw its one leg was badly wounded. A big bite mark that was done by wolves is running with blood, Kendrick tears a cloth from his reserved fabric and ties it to the wound of the horse. Near that place, another horse was peacefully wandering at its spot, a light brown horse was there, and it was Luke's.
          They grabbed the horses they found and decided to get back to their area.
        
Later that night, they only found three of their horses, Jake and Lynn came back last at their spot. "How many did you find?" asked Lynn.
          "We didn't find them," replied Ben, "it's already too dark, so we decided to continue tomorrow."
          "Man, we need to rest first. Can we?" said Kendrick to Lynn.
          "Come'n Lynn, there's still tomorrow," Jake says who walks past her. Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard by Lynn from behind, so she looked back and didn't move.
          "What's the problem?..." asked Jake. "Lynn."
          "Huh? Uh, no-nothing,"
          "Lynn!" Called Hope.
          "So, are you okay?" She said, walking towards Hope.
          "Yeah, kinda..." Sighed Hope.
          "Really? You look scared."
          "What? It's nothing, I'm okay... Now that you're here, my feelings just got... Lightened."
        
Many hours later, as the sun rises, Lynn was woken up by the rumbling sound, as she got up, the sound did not stop. She slowly grabbed her bow thinking that maybe there was a wolf left from that night. She turned around with her charged bow, however, nothing was behind her, and the rumbling sound stopped.
          "Lynn... What is it." Yawned Hope.
          "Nothing..."
          Hope stood up, stretching her body. Under a tree, Sanya was sitting alone, while the boys were searching for their horses— picking grass with calm and peace on her face, feeling the breeze as it touched her skin, eyes closed, and taking a deep breath.
          "Have you already talked to her?" asked Hope.
          "Mhm? No, I haven't."
          "She seems like— she's thinking deeply of something...I'll try to talk to her"
          Hope approached her, leaving Lynn, making sure to clean her eyes before sitting beside Sanya. "Good morning." Greeted Sanya.
          "Morning San...Are you alright?"
          "Mhm." Nodded Sanya.
          "It seems like— something is bothering your mind, I can see it." Sanya did not reply, forcing a smile at Hope. "You miss your town?"
          "No, our town is not that nice."
          "Oh... Or maybe someone who's left there?... Is it— Mr... Ha-rri-son?" pronounced Hope. "I'm sorry I just heard it that time we came to you."
          "Actually, I was thinking about my best friend back there but, yeah... I kinda miss Mr. Harrison too... It's just, where I'm getting to know him, I decided to come with Ben... I mean, I did not regret making this decision," told Sanya. "For many years working for them, I'm seeing him as a bad guy, no respect, wicked. But— he's not, you just have to know him deeply. People see him as a bad person because of his wife..."
          "I'm sorry San but, I have nothing to say... I don't mean to be rude but, I really have issues about men," says Hope.
          "Why?"
          "I can't see goodness in men. I mean, they're all the same... Men will be men you know, they're all cruel. They only think about themselves, once they get what they want they will treat us like nothing..."
          "Hope, I understand you, I feel what you're going through about men, but— I apologize if we do not have the same views. I guess all your life you're surrounded by wicked men. I mean yeah, I was too... Most of them are thirsty for power and wealth. But, some guys are not like the other guys you've met Hope, I've lived and met many good and kind men in my life, Ben, Jake, and Mr. Harrison are some of those... I think the others here are the same too," replied Sanya, trying to make Hope understand that not all men are terrible. "I just want to say that... Don't judge all men as bad guys, just because you've encountered terrible ones."
          Hope did not say a thing, feeling embarrassed. She thinks Sanya is like her and Lynn who hates all men, forgets that Sanya grew up with a male cousin. On the other hand, Sanya was hoping that what she said could help Hope to change her perspective on men.
          Meanwhile, the boys came back from searching for their horses, however, only one was seen.
          "They're here," said Sanya.
          "What happened?" asked Hope while walking toward them. "Where's the other one?"
          Percy looked at Kendrick who was at the back, staring at the ground and not saying anything, eyes slightly closed and his mouth was downturned. "Is he crying?" asked Lynn staring at Kendrick with wonder.
          "it's his horse. Unfortunately, it was attacked by wolves... It was dead," stated Ben.
          "Oh, poor horse, I'm sorry Ken," Sanya said, hand on her mouth.
          "Don't worry, let's try to get another one. It's just a horse," Lynn says, thinking that could less the worry of Kendrick for a moment.
          "The thing is, he's not just a horse Lynn, he's like a friend to me man."
          "It's okay Ken," comforted Luke to his brother. "Actually, there's a town a couple away from here. It was a town known for its farming, wide fields, and fresh crops. Let's just have to follow this path west. Maybe we can ask there for a horse."
          "After that, we have to focus on finding those objects the Rednilyc is pointing. We have to move quickly," said Percy.
          "If we need to find those immediately, why don't we just go straight to those objects? Why do we need to go from town to town? It's just a waste of time you know," said Lynn.
          "The reason why we need to go there is to gather our food and other important things for this journey. The town of Azyro is full of crops Lynn, is also one of the richest towns in this land, most of the people there are farmers. Crops there are low in price that we can manage," stated Percy.
          "Come on, Let's pack our stuff and get ready to leave," Luke said.