The Immortales Project

III- Findings

The pair sprinted through the forest, weapons in hand as the blur of the forest whizzed around them.

Both were panting heavily, but adrenaline still remained along with the fear of the Immortales and this fueled their sprint. This time, Castell and Andres were not as agile, and Andres barely avoided crashing into a tree. Clumsily jumping over a log, the two stopped to catch their breath, foliage surrounding them.

"According to this map," Castell said, unfolding the map Old Tom had shoved in his pocket. "We have to reach the edge of the forest, and we-" 

He broke off, seeing Andres' troubled expression. Andres turned towards him and sadness was evident in his brown orbs.

"W-we have to g-go back." He whispered meekly, shoulders slumped in such a way that he looked like he'd given up. Castell sighed and sat down on the log, where Andres joined him a few seconds later.

"We can't, Dree." Castell spoke softly, using his childhood nickname for Andres. Andres was silent, shoulder slumped and the look of defeat etched on his face, Castell set his hand on Andres' shoulder, in an effort to comfort him.

"But," Castell started, trying to cheer up his friend. "Old Tom was definitely strong enough to defeat them. He's not dead." He said hopefully, fearful for his friend.

Andres, however did not crack a smile, instead he looked at Castell sorrowfully. "You said 'was'."

Catching his mistake too late, Castell sighed and began again, desperate to fuel his partner. "Well, if he was dead," Andres froze and then relaxed when Castell continued. "Then wouldn't you like to avenge him?"

Andres began to look thoughtful and Castell continued his speech. "Wouldn't you like to avenge his wrongful death by destroying the Immortales?" Andres nodded slightly, his lively spark coming back to him.

"Then we just got to go to Los Angeles and find the rebellion."

It had been a few hours of trekking. They had reached the border of the woods and judging by the Sun's position close to the horizon, they had to go right from where they were. The forest brush no longer entangled them and they no longer breathed the crisp, dry air. Instead, they looked on to see streets, all empty and covered in dust, which blew into the forest and into their faces and stood stark among Andres' dark hair, as it was very windy here. Broken buildings hovered around the streets, a reminder of what the Immortales had done.

Squinting his eyes as so not to let the sand in, Castell led Andres, who was now fueled by a fierce determination, around the forest edge, city streets all looking the exact same in the dust. After about fifteen minutes, they found a road, the only road seemingly leading into the forest, dusty street disappearing as it wound its way into the forest. Examining the map, Castell squinted at the road ahead and bit his lip.

"This is it. We follow this road away from the forest and we just make our way southwest." Castell concluded, drawing the map away from his face and studying the road. There seemed to be no end to this road, but upon closer look, Castell found that it ended a few blocks away. Turning to Andres, he rested his hand upon Andres' shoulder.

Andres looked wistful and in a trance until Castell gently nudged him. Blinking his eyes rapidly, the younger boy then turned towards Castell.

"Sorry mate, but I just wanted to see the forest one last time." He spoke, seeming a million miles away, once again turning towards the forest and attempting to memorize every small detail of his childhood home. He pictured Old Tom's cottage, the mossy wood and musky smell. He pictured the stream, where he and Castell had water fights, and when they attempted to push each other in. Somehow, he knew, that they would never be going back to the forest again.