*The Chronicles of F.R.E.E. Earth's Knight - Ruth Watson* PART 1 - OZRYN

Chapter Fifteen - The Cave

*Watson POV*

Its been 2 months since we left Ozryn. We travelled in the direction the sun rises every day since we left knowing that every step takes us further and further away from that nightmare. We kept to the edges of the forest which was now starting to thin out slightly and the trees were more spaced out, but still close enough together that light had a hard time penetrating the canopy. Our focus was to reach the mountains which were finally very close.
Our adventure had been tough so far. We had a run in with a pack of Coffinhounds a week ago, and we all sported scars and bruises from our battle with them. I had a particularly nasty bite mark where one had clamped its rows of shark like fangs into my forearm, stopping me from attacking or getting away until Dean had come to my rescue and sliced its head off. Green had deep scratch scars along her chest, but thankfully it had only been skin deep and Goodwin had a long single scar down the side of her face.
Every morning, we took it in turns to spar and warm ourselves up for the long day ahead. We paired up with one pair fighting and the other watching and looking out for danger. Goodwin and I usually fought each other while Green faught with Dean.
Dean surprised me with her sword skills. She was fierce, and definitely knew how to hold her own against our enemies. Goodwin and I had fallen into a habit of protecting her and Green for the first month or so. We just assumed that, because she hadnt been part of SOS, she didnt know how to defend herself or attack. Boy were we wrong! Her first duel with Green sent the poor girl flying backwards with a strong upward slash. She had lost a lot of weight since we left Ozryn thanks to our constant running from predators and sword fighting. Thankfully, she still held on to those jolly rosy cheeks and gentle, kind mannerism. She was like a motherly sister to us all.
She had explained to me what the potions that I carried were too. Green was like a health potion and healed all types of injuries or breakages. Red was stamina, one vile tasting spoonful will keep you awake and alert easily, we only used that when someone was on the night watch. She was still yet to find out what orange, blue and purple were, but it was a good thing we had the 2 most important ones figured out.
Goodwin had grown stronger everyday. Her daily spar with me always held a new manoeuvre to keep me on my toes. Yet, no matter how much I tried to prepare for the unexpected, she still took me by surprise. While she benefitted from agility and speed, I had strength and timing. Our daily duel started with a strong attack from me that she would dodge or block, she would then use swift agile attacks that I always had trouble defending against because she was just so quick, and then it would finish when I had had enough and used a well timed, powerful attack that staggered her allowing me to make my finishing move. Although every duel was the same as the last, practise makes perfect and we improved every day.
Green, however was struggling with her demons. Although very good with a sword, she was still yet to win a spar against Dean. She still suffered from nightmares of Stainton and still required us to protect her a little from the enemies we faced. She was also pining for Perkins. She loved that boy so much. She would glaze over during mealtimes with a sad tiny smile as she reminisced about him.
She was the first one to wonder aloud about whether the boys back in Ozryn had noticed our absence. While the rest of us joked about everyone probably noticing that Deans tavern was closed first, she quietly asked me if I thought the boys would be alright.
"Course they will be," I had said to her. "They're big boys, they can look after themselves."
"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" She had muttered to me.
"I'm sure of it," I had reassured her.
If truth be told, I wanted to see the boys again too. Or rather, I wanted to see Hodgson again. Even though he was annoying, arrogant, frustrating, and a dick... I still couldnt stop thinking about him. Him and his blue eyes. Its not like I 'loved' him or anything, just missed him... That was all.
I still suffered from nightmares of that night too, but every time I woke from it, I became more and more certain I had made the right decision in killing Stainton. It made my blood boil that he thought that he could ever get away with destroying someones innocence like that, and I found myself imagining that I was fighting against him all over again whenever I raised my weapon to defend myself and my friends. Its strange how, instead of affecting me and making me weaker like he had done to Green, he helped me find my strength and determination to see this through and stay alive. No matter how long we were stuck in this hellhole! The only thing I had managed to try and let go of from that night, was Staintons sword. I left it behind one morning, feeling like I was walking away from some of the burden on my shoulders. I was starting fresh.
I stood leaning against a tree on the outskirts of the forest watching Dean kick Greens arse. I felt so sorry for Green, but she really wasnt putting in the fight that she should be. I furrowed my brow, trying to think of a way to give her the strength and help her find her reason to fight back.
Green flew backwards and landed flat on her back, Dean wasted no time in leaping on top of her and holding her sword across her throat in triumph.
"I win," Dean declared and stood up, holding out a hand for Green to take.
"Jeez, you're strong!" Green huffed as she let Dean pull her up.
"You dont really put up much of a fight, though," Dean admitted to her.
Green nodded slowly. "Sorry," She hung her head. "I just cant...I cant..." She trailed off.
"Lets get going," I called out, hoisting myself away from the tree I was leaning on.
Goodwin picked up her bag and placed it onto her shoulder, then handed me my bags as I approached. I loaded up and turned to Green and Dean all ready to go, we set off towards the sunrise.
We were still following the edge of the forest but we could see we couldnt avoid going inside any longer. We didnt want to go into the trees again if we could help it, but it would lead us straight to the mountains and hopefully, we would find another village or a place to call home.
We stopped. The forest edge swung itself round in front of us and continued along the path we had just come from. Like hell we were going to turn back.
"Keep your eyes and ears open. Swords out at the ready," I instructed and took the first step in with Goodwin right behind me.
There was a slight breeze rustling the leaves of the trees and we were quite thankful that the forest had thinned out slightly, allowing us to see more around us and any approaching danger. After a while, something to my right caught my eye.
A huge mound rose up and out of the forest floor. It was very peculiar. I looked back at the girls behind me, and nodded towards the hill. We cautiously approached and followed it round.
It was a cave. The mouth slanted back as the path into the cave slopped downwards. I looked at Goodwin. She shrugged at me, but a slight cheeky smile crept along her mouth. She wanted to take a look inside too.
We had both become a lot braver and somewhat cocky over the past couple of months since leaving Ozryn. If we came across something like a cavern or a hole, we couldnt help but feel the need to explore. It was exciting and we always had the sense that treasures could be hidden inside. Although we were yet to find any.
Green wasnt keen on the idea of exploring the cave and couldnt bring herself to go inside, so Dean said she would sit with her.
"Dont go in too far and be. Fucking. Careful." She stressed to us.
"Will do," I smugly grinned at her.
Goodwin and I slowly made our way into the darkness. The sloped path going in was quite steep and we were heading deeper and deeper underground. Dean had fashioned us both torches for our excursions as we didnt usually have natural light to go by. I took my torch out of my bag and lit the rag on the end with my lighter, then used my lit torch to light Goodwins. The cave flooded with light and we took a look round. Nothing out of the ordinary. There was the odd huge boulder that we would have to dodge and dips in the ground that we had to watch our step with.
As we travelled further into the cave, we saw an opening to the side leading to a small, high ceiling grotto. We stood at the entrance and raised our torches slightly to look inside.
Goodwin gasped and grabbed my arm tightly, eyes wide in fear and pointing with her other hand at what laid against the wall opposite us.
The rotting corpse of a boy was slouched against the wall. My heart leapt to my throat and I was overwhelmed with sorrow and despair. His eyes were sunken into his skull and rolled back, he was practically a skeleton he was so thin. His arms fell upwards by his sides and his legs lay straight infront of him. There were trails leading from the entrance of the grotto to where he now lay, so he didnt die there. Instead someone... or something had dragged him into the grotto from the cave or outside. How he died we couldnt tell, but it was a grim reminder of the situation we were all facing.
We stood staring at the poor boy in mourning, our breathing shallow and slow.
"Do you think we should bury him?" Goodwin whispered slowly.
I nodded. Although we didnt know him, he deserved a proper burial. I knelt down on one knee to get a closer look at him. He didnt have any weapons on him, and his clothes suggested he had just arrived but never found safety like we had. I reached out and lightly touched the pockets of his trousers to see whether he had anything on him that we could use. I felt the outline of his wallet. I gently pulled it out, careful not to disturb anything else on him too much. In his wallet I found an under 16 bus pass with his photo on it. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at his photo grinning back at me brightly. He was wearing glasses in the photo, but they werent on him now. His name was James Benson and he was 14 years old according to his date of birth. I looked back up at his body, the tears rolling down my cheeks for him. 14 years old... the same age as Dean...
Goodwin put a consoling hand on my shoulder. "I'll go get the others," she murmured before turning slowly and walking back out of the grotto to the cave.
I stood but couldnt tear my eyes away from the upsetting sight before me.
That is, until I heard a shuffling to the side me. My blood ran cold as I held my breath and turned to face what was making the noise. I slowly rose my torch higher, my other hand, shaking uncontrollably, instinctivly reaching and pulling out my sword. I raised my weapon out infront of me and my eyes met 2 large black eyes staring back.
A massive spider was sprawled against the wall of the cavern. Forgetting about James Benson and the plans to bury him, I screamed as loudly as I could, scurrying away from the spider out of the entrance to the grotto and back through the cave.
I burst out of the caves mouth.
"SPIIIIDEERR!" I screamed.
Goodwin, Green and Dean stared at me, terrified as I ran about 10 metres away from them and the cave and stopped to catch my breath and try to calm my heart beating hard against my ribcage.
"Watson!" I heard Goodwin shout at me.
"Spider. Spider!" I squealed, spinning myself round as if I was dusting myself off and shaking my hair in case there were anymore spiders on me.
Goodwin grabbed my shoulders, stopping me. "Its ok! You're ok!" She said before pulling me into a hug to calm me down. My heart beat eased but my breathing was still fast and laboured from running so fast. She let me go and stepped back to look at me, furrowing her brow. I nodded to let her know I was now fine.
"Watson..." Green said very slowly. "Wheres your sword?"
I looked down. I must have dropped my sword and torch during my escape from the spider.
"Shit!" I exclaimed, taking cautious steps back towards the cave, looking into the darkness.
I thought hard about how I was going to retrieve it. Then decided against it as the vision of the spiders eyes crossed my mind. I shuddered.
I stood staring at the cave for a while, my arms hanging by my side feeling deflated and defeated. Goodwin, Green and Dean stood behind watching me. I thought about how much I needed the sword, but the idea of facing that spider again was a no go!
"Nice knowing ya!" I called into the cave to my sword then spun round and headed back to where we had been heading before I got distracted. The girls slowly followed behind, shaking their heads at me.