The legend of friendship: Never losing faith again

Chapter 23

"Arvid!" Madeline called out, searching the woods for Arvid. "Arvid, where are you?!" She peaked into a cave. "Arvid?" She cried. "Arvid, stop hiding from me! I know you're around here somewhere! Arvid??" She didn't stop searching. Her search took her all around the woods. "Arvid, where are you?! Please stop shutting me out! Please come back!"

"What's all that noise?!" A voice growled. Madeline turned around to see a big black bear.

"Sorry, sir. Just looking for a human." Madeline said. The bear tilted his head in confusion.

"Why?" The bear asked, perplexed. "Aren't you wolves forbidden from talking to humans?"

"Well...." Madeline said nervously. "I sort of disobeyed the law and am on the run with a human.. Do you know where the human is by any chance?"

"Sorry. Not a clue." The bear said, eating honey from a random jar.

"Where in the world did you get that jar of honey?" Madeline asked. "Can I have some?"

"Hell no! This is MY honey!" The bear growled. "Get lost, bitch!" The bear stomped off, snorting and growling while eating his honey.

Okay, that was odd. Madeline thought. Gotta find Arvid.

Meanwhile...

"Get back, you savages!" Mother Wolf cries, as the patriots surrounded them. "Leave us alone! We just want our daughter back!"

"You will not be getting her back, ma'am." The commander said coldly. "She will be banished from the Thirteen Colonies for eternity. The law is the law and we cannot bend the rules for anyone."

"You bastards!" Father Wolf shouted. "This is unspeakable! You have no right to banish our daughter or point rifles at us!"

"We have the right, young wolves." The commander said. "You will come with us to find the fugitives and then you will be banished from your home as punishment for disobeying the law."

"NO!!!" Father Wolf roared. "We will not allow you to banish us! We will fight for our home and nothing is gonna stop us from protecting it!"

"Sweetie...?" Mother Wolf cried in fear. Father Wolf turned around to see Williams III bending over Mother Wolf and holding a dagger around her neck.

"Don't you dare, you piece of shit!!" Father Wolf growled, stomping towards his captive wife.

"Ah, ah, ahhh." Williams III said. "Come any closer and we will have your wife killed."

"This is crazy!" Father Wolf shouted in fear. "All this for a misguided law?! You have to be mad if this is your lifelong obsession!"

"My lifelong obsession is protecting the peace even if it means going this far." Williams III said. "Now, you must either follow our orders or you will lose your wife forever. Which will it be?"

"You mad snake!" Father Wolf cried. "You'd kill your own son for a misguided law?! You are MAD!"

"5, 4," Williams III counted, "3, 2-"

"Okay, okay, we'll leave our home!!" Father Wolf cried in agonizing defeat. "And we will never come back. You savage brutes."

"Fine then." Williams III said, releasing Mother Wolf. "You will come with us and when we catch Madeline and Arvid, you will all leave the Thirteen Colonies for life. Let's move." The patriots marched forward with the wolf pack slowly following behind in horrible defeat.

"How could you let us give up like that, Father?!" Ben whispered angrily. "Now, we will lose our home!"

"We don't have a choice, son!" Father Wolf growled. "We can't fight these humans after they threatened your Mother! We have to leave as soon as we get your sister..." Ben growled angrily.

Meanwhile....

Arvid walked through the darkening trees alone and hungry. And defeated. "I made a mistake..." Arvid groaned. "I should never have come all this way. I have to find a way to make amends with Father and go back to my normal life... I made a huge mistake................"

"Go back to Madeline, Arvid........" A voice called out gently. "She needs you......"

"Who's there?!" Arvid shouted, looking around frantically. "Show yourself, you damned savage!"

"Use polite words, young master, and go back to Madeline..." The voice echoed gently. "You must continue your journey across the woods and all the way to the mountains......................."

"......But, I yelled at Madeline.." Arvid said, guilty. "She must truly resent me for it."

"She does not resent you, Arvid..." The voice echoed. "Quite the opposite... In fact, she is looking for you..........you.............you..............have to........go.....ba..ck...." Arvid was reluctant. He didn't want to see Madeline again, but he knew she was the only creature in his existence that ever cared about him. Alongside his family.

"...........Okay..... I will go back to Madeline." Arvid sighed, turning around and walking the other direction. Far from behind, a humanoid flash of light watched him.

"Keep going, young master...." The light said softly. "And never, ever stop. For Jesus is walking alongside you......" The light disappeared.

"Madeline?!" Arvid called out. "Madeline, where are you?!"

"Arvid?!" Madeline called out. "Is that you?!"

"Madeline!" Arvid cried, as he saw Madeline. He and Madeline ran to each other and Arvid fell to his knees and hugged Madeline who hugged back.

"Good God, Madeline! I'm sorry for shouting at you!" Arvid said, crying uncontrollably. "I didn't mean to. I was just upset..."

"You have nothing to be sorry for!" Madeline cried. "I want you to know that I will always be here for you. No matter what." Arvid then sat down on the ground, letting go of Madeline. "Arvid, what's wrong?" Madeline asked.

"You know my secret now..." Arvid said with guilt in his tone. "I am an atheist..."

"Why are you an atheist, Arvid?" Madeline asked, concerned. "Why?"

"All the pain and torture I went through.... All the suffering..." Arvid said. "It made me see that if God were real, he would never allow such hate to roam the world. It made me see that there is no God.... I lost my family... My son and daughter.... My Mother and Father.... No God would allow us to go through such torture..."

"You have a lot to learn about this world, Arvid." Madeline said. "When we get to the mountains, I will teach you and show you that there is a God. God is real and he is not dead. Nor is his son, Jesus Christ."

"I don't know..." Arvid sighed. "I don't think it is right for me cause I don't wanna believe in something that is not real..."

"Listen, Arvid. This is what the devil wants." Madeline said. "He wants the world to turn their backs on God. That is what is wrong with the world. They turn away from the lord. You cannot do the same because of what you went through. Please believe in God, Arvid. Please believe in me. Believe in me when I say that God is real!"

"...................Let's just get to the mountains before our Fathers catch us." Arvid sighed. Madeline nodded and they both continued walking to their destination. The humanoid light watched them from high in the sky.

"There is a God...." It said with a soft voice. "God is real. God is love. God is life.................................God is salvation..."