Red Hood (SLOW UPDATES!! LIKE SERIOUSLY SLOW!!)

Chapter 8 - Surprise

~~~~~~~RED HOOD P.O.V.~~~~~~~
As Andrew is walking with me on his back, I hear distant laughing thanks to my good hearing.
"Stop." I say.
"What?" He questions.
"Let me down." I say, but he doesn't.
"First tell me what's wrong. We were good before, but now it seems like something's wrong. What is it?"
I sigh.
"Fine. I heard some laughing in the distance. It isn't one of us and it isn't one of the people in Ravmore. I have better hearing than humans, remember? Something also just feels off.."
I see him narrow his eyes and he gently let's me down. I land on the green grass without making a sound, even though I stepped on some fallen leaves as well. I crouch and head towards where I heard the laughing. It sounded like a deep laughter, definetly not anyone with us, but it was in the direction where Josh should be at. I heard Andrew start to say something and then around.
"Umm, Crystal? I don't mean to be rude or anything.. but.. You're hair and all of the red might get you spotted.." He says as he scratches the back of his neck. I look down at my clothing and pick up a few strands of my hair and look at it.
"Why does my hair have to be a bright red?" I murmur, annoyed.
"How about I wear something from you?" I ask.
"What?!"
"Geez! You don't have to yell! Now give me a cloak or something that's dark to hide my hair!" I yell at him. He finally gives me a brown cloak which I put on as soon as it's in my hands. I look at him and see the slightest bit of blush on his cheeks.
"What?" I ask.
"Oh! Nothing! You just look better than I do." He laughs a little. I smile and shake my head.
"Come on, let's go check on Josh. Something isn't right. I still sense the other person there but he won't be there for much longer." I say, my voice becoming serious. He nods and I put the brown hood from the cloak on my head. We start to head towards the direction of Josh and wherever that laughter came from, having me in front of Andrew since I have better hearing.
"This way." I say as I point towards the river that Josh should have been. I run there, not making a sound, and Andrew does the same behind me.
Both of my hands jolt to my mouth. My eyes are wide.
WHAT HAPPENED?! WHO IS THAT?!
Andrew sees the look on my face, and puts his hand on my shoulder, tying to calm me. But as soon as he sees what I'm seeing, his eyes go just as wide as mine.
We see Josh, passed out on the ground. A little blood on his head and the rock that his head is leaning on.
He must have hit his head on the rock when he passed out..
I see the buckets spilled by his feet. And that's when I spot him. A tall dark figure.
No.. This can't be.. HE SHOULDN'T BE HERE!! WHY IS HE HERE!?
Tears go down my eyes. I backup, knowing Andrew and I shouldn't face him right now, even if he has Josh.
Andrew notices my tears and he gives a concerned look. I cover my face with my hair and the hood of the cloak. I motion him to go back, he thankfully follows what I say. Andrew goes a few feet away but stops when he notices I'm not behind him. I'm still standing behind the tree that we saw Josh, and him.
Andrew whispers, "Crystal, come on. Didn't you say that we should go?"
I nod, and I put a finger to my mouth, showing him that he should be quiet. I then start to run, soundlessly, Andrew does the same. This time, we both know where we're going so we're side by side, running. The only difference now, is that I know who that tall dark figure is. And I don't want to mess with him now. It isn't the right time. He has his bait now, Josh. He knows that it will work. But, just how much does he know?
Has he been spying on me?
I think to myself. I soon see the place where we planned to set camp. I run faster, as does Andrew. We stop near the tree where Lila is at the top of. Ashley is leaning against the tree with only a little bit of Ali. I notice that Ashley has a cut on her arm and a smaller one on her left cheek.
Did he.. attack BOTH of them!?
"Oh, hey! The two love birds are back! So tell me, why did you guys take so long? Hm?" Lila yells wiggling her eyebrows. Andrew and I blush a little bit.
"Listen, Lila, there are some things that are more important right now."
"Not denying it?" She says, definetly pushing some buttons of mine.
"All we did was catch two rabbits. Nothing else." Then I realized my ankle and it starts to hurt again.
"Hey, Ashley," I yell.
"What?"
"What happened to you? And did you see a dark tall man?" I ask her.
"As a matter of fact, I did. He's the one that did this. Just two small cuts though. He didn't seem to be too strong, or he was just hiding his strength from me. It seemed like he tried to kidnap me. I figured he was just a bandit wanting to do nasty things like they usually do." She says and she plays with a knife, tossing it in the air, making the knife spin and twirl, then catching it back in her hands effortlessly and not making a single cut.
"Ashley.." Andrew starts to say. The way his voice was, we could all tell he was serious. This made Ashley put away her knife and turn her head, obviously knowing that something is wrong.
"What is it, Andrew?"
Andrew grits his teeth.
"That tall dark man, he took Josh."
Andrew finally looks up and his brows are narrowed, I can see his eyes look glassy, tears are being held back.
I wish I could hug him and tell I'm it'll be alright.. But this might not be that time to comfort him. It may be best to leave him alone a little bit. But..
I put my hand on his shoulder and he looks at me. His face is softened, his brows are no longer narrowed and he smiles a little bit at me. I can't tell if he's trying to make me feel better by pretending that my comforting skills are good and it worked, or if just my touch made him feel at least a little bit better.
I smile a bit back but then look down.
"That man.. He is no human." I say, "I don't know how he got here. He shouldn't even be here, but he is. We have to be careful and watch out for each other. We should not part ways, no matter what we have to do. I don't know who is stronger, I have never seen his full strength. We should be cautious. And we need to save Josh."
"Okay, but who is he?" Andrew and Ashley ask me.
"He.. He is my father.. The one that wants me for my power."
I look up to see their faces. I see their eyes are wide open. I noticed that Lila was laying down on a branch near to the ground listening, her reaction was the same as Ashley and Andrew's reaction.
"We need a plan before anything else happens. Before my father comes back for you guys or me." I say, my brows narrowed.
I'm not letting him kill anyone else that I care about. Not again.
I suddenly hear wings flapping above us.
"I'm afraid that's too late!!" I hear a familiar deep voice above, followed by his laughter. My eyes are wide, not wanting to look up. Lila, Ashley, and Andrew have looked up though.
"This cannot be happening.." I hear Ashley whisper to herself.
I look up. Only to see my father in the air with his wings out, with the wings of a royal sadly. He's holding Josh by his shirt. My father never looked different.
The same eyes as me. His royal robe, and the same red hair with his red beard.
"Surprise." He says in a mocking voice.
"No.." I whisper.