The arrow of death

Chapter-16

It was a very dark night. I was breathing hard and could barely see anything. The forest was thicker than I had expected and I was fairly certain I was lost by now. It didn't help that I couldn't see the sky either as the canopy completely blocked my view of the sky. I had been running for a few minutes now but I wasn't sure how far I had reached or whether I had just circled around to the same place. The forest was eerily quiet. Even the sounds of the animals which should be in a forest like this were absent. The only sound present was my feet thudding against the mud and crumpling dry leaves. I didn't have shoes on since mine had burnt off so I had to run in flip-flops which were not very comfortable. Also, since the forest was so thick and there wasn't really a set path, I had to run through bushes and now my pants were ripped from the knee below and my legs were cut in a few places.

I had decided to sneak out of the gurukul and go back home. It was a stupid decision but all of this magic, monsters, and stuff was too much for me. I mean, I'm just a regular kid going to a regular school with no knowledge of any of this stuff. How could they expect me to do all that they asked of me? If what Disha had said about the world ending was true then how could she expect me to stay in an unknown place with unknown people rather than with my father? I felt bad that I left without telling anyone, not even Aasha but my gut told me that they wouldn't let me leave very easily. 

There must've been a root or something in my way because I suddenly tripped and fell as I was in the midst of my thoughts. I fell on my face but managed to soften the fall a bit with my hands. I rolled over to my back and decided to take a breather. The new white T-shirt I had been given was now drenched in sweat. My legs felt heavy and tired as I took long, deep breaths and stared at the treetops. I wondered whether it was a smart idea just to run in a forest with no idea whatsoever of how to get out. 

Rustle.

I sat up quickly. I tried to breathe as quietly as possible. I looked around in all directions trying to figure out where the sound came from but the forest had gone quiet again. Normally a slight rustle would not alarm me but the forest had been so unnaturally quiet up to this point that even the slight sound of the leaves rustling sent all of my senses to high alert. My heart was again beating hard and I feared that in the quietness of the forest, it could be heard for miles.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder.