Who Am I? (Book 1)

Chapter 18

"Are you ready to swim over the lake?" Tash gave me a little smile, although I could tell that she too wanted to stay here longer. "Only if I get a kiss". She chuckled and gave me a quick kiss, which was ... a little disappointing but nonetheless I gave her a quick one back. The water was damp and comfortable to swim in, but it was still a little painful. I sped up and swam past Tash. In the corner of my eye, I could see her speeding up as well and before I knew it we were competing against each other, reaching the other side faster than expected.

Even if we did wish to take a break and let our clothes dry we had to keep moving. Tash refused to take more breaks due to all the time we had wasted, her words were harsh but I could see the sadness and longing in her eyes. She wanted to relax and spend time with me as well, but she put our journey and duties before her own feelings, which I admired. Then I remembered the pain I felt upon touching the water. "So, since the mark is gone ... shouldn't I be able to touch the water without pain?" Natasha looked confused, then thoughtful. "That is right, does it still hurt to touch the water?" I nodded and felt this unease. "Maybe it still burns due to the fact that you had a mark? No one has survived such a fate before so the consequences aren't known to anyone yet". We continued to walk towards a looming forest. 

Tash stopped me from entering the forest and pulled out a map. "We're here", she was pointing at the outskirts of the meadow, besides it was something named The Fog Forest (which was marked as Warning! Extremely dangerous! Even if I had never been there ... let's just say a hundred times nope! No way I would ever go in there ... right?) "To reach the place everyone seeks when they need answers or regain lost memories we must pass through The Fog Forest. Then we go through this passage. The demons cannot follow us beyond the forest ... neither can their beasts. But the possessed ... there is hundreds of them there every night. I interrupted her (because I was really curious) and asked how there could be so many of them. "They stop ageing once fully possessed, they're frozen in time but don't underestimate them. They are stronger than a top-trained human, even if they look old or are simply a child". That did not sound promising ... "So, we are basically doomed ..." I wasn't even trying to joke at this point. "No, our species is stronger than humans, both physically and psychically, and we have superior stamina. But not all of us train to reach our full potential". I glared at her with a blank expression (like, it wasn't my fault I hadn't trained to reach my full potential or whatever, but I was somewhat fit in comparison to other humans). "Don't worry, you have your reasons ... Are you ready to enter The Fog Forest?" Tash grinned at me, but I could see the fear in her eyes, she too was scared and somehow it gave me courage.