The Hidden City

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After Luca went home, Rem started to pack up his things. He was leaving to find a cure for the illness that had enslaved his people. He was tired of seeing his father sick in bed and being surrounded by death. He threw random belongings in his bag, not caring what he brought with him as long as it was enough to survive.

Rem sighed as he looked out the window. He could hear Luca's cries even from his house. He was sure the whole road could. He looked around his dimly lit room, he was going to miss this place for awhile. He knew it would be hard to leave his mom and Luca with no word but it had to be done, he had to save his pack. If he was going to be leader someday he needed to start acting like one now.

He tied up his sack and stood up. He knew he couldn't go through the front door as it makes a loud noise and his mother would surely hear him. He decided to try the window. He could crawl out onto the roof and climb down his porch.

As he opened his window, he heard a scream from outside. It was a man's scream, and it was loud and in agonizingly painful. Whoever was screaming was in awful pain. Rem winced as the screaming got louder, his sensitive werewolf ears were not helping the situation. Rem disregarded the screaming until the man started shouting words.

"Begone my brethren! The Hidden City of Dragons in the mountains of the willow! North then West at the sun! Phidmir save us all!" The man shouted, his screaming and speech ending abruptly.

Rem stared out onto his road for a long time. What did the man mean? A hidden city? Crystals? Rem pondered this all in his head. He realized he had no clue where to set off too, where would he find the cure with no map? As he sat there staring off into the stars above he decided to set off for this hidden city, and maybe they would have the cure he was looking for. It was worth a try.

Rem climbed down his porch and grabbed his sack that was hanging off his roof. He did not bring food or water, as he thought he could hunt and find some along the way. All he brought with him were a few books on herbs and plants, clothes, and face masks should he encounter fairymoss.

He stepped away slowly from the house, being extra cautious as not to make a noise. His mother had ultra-sensitive hearing and he is lucky he wasn't caught from the noise of packing or sliding out of his window. He stepped further away and a light caught his eye. A window in Luca's house right next to his was now illuminated, broadcasting where Rem was to him.

He hurriedly tried to walk faster, which was hard to do when trying not to make a noise. He heard a door open, and he sprinted off into the woods. Rem had never realized how terrifying the woods can be at night. He knew he was a werewolf, and he could kill almost anything in this forest should it try to attack him, but not being able to see and hearing awful noises all around was bound to give him anxiety.

When he got far enough into the forest, he stopped to breathe. He set his sack down and sat down on the ground to rest. He decided now was a good time to put his facemask on since the forest was teeming with fairymoss and the last thing he wanted was to have an allergic reaction.

"Rem! What are you doing?" He heard a voice yell.

Rem jumped back in fear until he caught sight of Luca. Rem sighed. He should've known Luca would've seen him and gone after him. Rem was his only friend after all.

"Luca!" He shouted, catching sight of him in the distance, "Go home! I'm leaving!"

"Leaving?" Luca shouted back in worry, "Why?"

"I'm looking for a cute to this godsforsaken disease! I can't stand by watching the people of our town die like this!"

Luca stopped in his tracks and looked at Rem, "Can I come with?" He asked.

Rem sighed, "Luca, you'd slow me down. You're not a werewolf and I can go much faster than you. What if you get hurt?"

Rem, although he was sometimes a bit arrogant and rude, loved Luca and didn't want to see him hurt. He was not very popular among his pack and had no friends (besides Luca of course). It would kill Rem inside if is friend got hurt by his own fault or the trip he had planned for himself.

"I promise I won't! I can ride on your back and carry your things or help you with getting food! I want to help too, I hate the disease as much as you do. Please, let me help." Luca pleaded, tears watering in his eyes.

Rem sighed and nodded, "You know you crying makes me give in, you trickster."

Luca laughed and hugged Rem.

"Now, we have to get a move on. I heard someone talking about a cure and a hidden city of dragons in the north then west? It's worth a shot," He explained, picking up his sack of the mossy forest floor.

"Now, Mr.MagicMan I don't have a compass. You think you got a spell or something to show us which direction is north? Or do you miraculously have a compass on you?" Rem asked, teasign Luca.

"Actually, I do have a compass on me. You're in luck Mr.BigBadWolf," Luca teased back, pulling out his compass from his pocket. Rem laughed and looked at the compass with Luca, currently they were walking west, not North. They turned around and headed off into the dark, cold forest.