Blood Tournament (2018, #1)

2018 (Coming Soon) CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

Alex peered across the vast expanse of flowering shrubs and green plants at the gaps between the oaks and several other large trees, straining to catch sight of any unfamiliar colour.

"Any sign of them yet?" Mercy asked. Alex shook his head. "Don't you think we should go and look for them?" She added, looking up from the boulder at the mouth of the cave where she sat.

"Not yet," Alex replied. "I don't think they are in any danger. Besides, leaving here will only create complications when they come and don't find us."

"What if they don't come?" She asked quietly. "What if something . . ."

"Nothing has happened to them," Alex interrupted. He looked down at her and added quietly, "They'll come."

The rustle of leaves made his head jerk back. Ibrahim and Johnson were walking towards them, the dry grasses making crunching noises under their boots.

"They're here," Alex told Mercy.

Mercy left the boulder on which she was sitting and walked around it to join Alex who was standing at the edge of the cave watching their friends approach.

"What took you so long?" She asked as they drew nearer.

"What's wrong with your foot?" Alex added when he noticed Johnson's unusual gait in walking.

"I tripped," Johnson answered. He moved past them to sit on the boulder Mercy once occupied.

"We were caught," Ibrahim said to Alex and dusted the dirt off his blue jeans.

"Then it's a miracle." Alex leaned against the edge of the cave.

"What?" Ibrahim glanced up, looking lost.

"Well, if you were caught, I'm suprised you're here and not in hell."

Ibrahim tried to restrain his rising temper. He shrugged. "I guess we were just lucky."

"Or maybe there's more to it than just luck and miracle," Mercy said.

Alex looked at her. She was looking away and her gentle face was calm. If you didn't know her, if you had only just met her, you'd think she was just a quiet, reserved lass but she was a whole lot more than that. He had known her for three years now, yet, now and again, she still manages to intrigue him. There was something about her that attracted him but Alex never allowed his thoughts to wander farther than that. When they arose, he always endeavoured to push them to the back of his mind. He knew the risk involved and he didn't want things more complicated than they already were.

"We shouldn't have split up." Johnson broke the train of his thoughts. "Maybe it wasn't such a lousy idea, but I won't like too many sessions like today's."

"You'll never know when your courage is demanded. You just have to be prepared at all times," Alex answered him.

"Courage!" Ibrahim couldn't forbear letting out the anger that had been burning him inside. "You should see the way he was clinging to my back and asking me to run! Courage my foot! He is nothing but a coward! A useless coward! That is what he is!"

Johnson stood up, obviously hurt at this affront to his manhood. "Look who isn't a coward. Of course I told you to run. You probably intended to stand back and fight!"

Ibrahim sneered at him. "Of course I can't fight them. But I would have been better off without a monkey on my back!"

"Hey, hey guys..." Alex started to say, but Johnson cut him off.

"I didn't beg you to, you're forgetting that!" Johnson said angrily. "Moreover, we wouldn't have been caught if you hadn't begun a lot of complains! You're a fool, Ibrahim! And you'll do a lot better if you complain less often!"