Veiled Horizons

Chapter Twelve: Eva

‘Good thing Anderson decided to add at least one boy to each group. I can finally be with Ron, alone,’  Eva thought as she followed Ron along the path. He was two steps ahead of her. Although she felt a thrill of excitement at being alone with Ron, a sense of sadness weighed on her due to their dire situation.

"Let's rest for a moment. These bags are heavy," Eva said, settling her bags down. Only then did she realize she was carrying three bags, all of them heavy.

"Why would you bring so many bags if you can't carry them on your own?" Ron said, waiting for her ahead.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not preparing for a disaster that caused our ship to crash and left us stranded on an island," Eva snapped, her anger flaring. She looked away from Ron and began to stand up, feeling a twinge of regret.

"I'm... I'm sorry," Eva murmured, looking down. "It's just this situation."

“You don't have to be” Ron started, turning to her. "I've read somewhere that ‘No matter the situation you're in, just forcing a smile will make you feel better’," he said, taking one of her bags—the heaviest one—and started walking again with two bags, including his own.

Before she knew it, Eva was smiling.

"There it is," Ron said, smiling at her.

They resumed walking. Ron talked about his life and his family, though he didn't seem interested in it, so Eva changed subjects and their conversation drifted to many other subjects, most of them Eva don't even remember but she felt her heart become light as she talked to Ron, no matter what about. Moments passed, and all they saw were long grass, trees, and the narrow path they were following.

"This path is leading to nowhere and we can't find any edible item” Ron went on,“Why don't we try searching that way," he suggested, pointing to an area off the path.

"But the path doesn't go there. It could be dangerous," Eva cautioned.

"Well, we don't know if the path we're following wouldn't be leading to danger so...” He tilted his head, then said,“Come on. We won't go far," Ron said, stepping off the path and into the long grass.

Eva followed him.

After some distance, they found a tree with small red fruits.

‘Probably berries,’Eva thought.

Ron went ahead and ate some before Eva could warn him they might be poisonous. But Ron was fine, and his lips turned redder from the berries. He encouraged her to try one, and she did. They were just normal berries. They packed some into their bags.

As they were doing so, Eva tried to start a conversation, but Ron shushed her with a finger to her mouth. Eva forgot what she was about to say as she felt Ron's cold finger pressed against her warm lips.

The reason became clear soon enough—sounds of grass rustling, branches breaking, and low growls came from behind them.

"Let's go," Ron said, grabbing her arm and starting to run. His voice was calm, even though the situation was dangerous. Ron led the way, just as he had earlier when they were walking the path.

Eva glanced back and saw animals chasing them. But as they drew closer, she realized these weren't ordinary animals. They had the bodies of tigers and the heads of black panthers, with steel jaws and teeth.

"What the hell is that?" Eva asked, though she knew she wouldn't get an answer.

Ron didn't reply, running as fast as he could while still holding her hand. But what lay ahead shocked her—there was no grass, only water flowing and falling off the edge of a cliff. It looked like a waterfall. Eva stopped running when her foot touched the water, unable to take her eyes off the waterfall.