The Secret of The Universe

Rising Tensions

A.N. So sorry for the long wait. Here's a super long chapter. Chapter 6 should be up soon. It shouldn't take as much time as this chapter did. Hope you enjoy chapter 5 of The Secret of the Universe. 

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Tyrek led us through the woods, keeping us away from jiggler trees.

"Oak?" I hesitantly spoke. I could tell he was still mad.

"Yes, Cole?" Oak said, clearly exasperated.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. Oak shot me a look, before sighing.

"Cole, I'm not mad. I'm just worried. I know the dangers of Thrae, you don't. You're being kinda careless because of that lack of knowledge. You NEED to be more aware of both your surroundings and the dangers." Oak explained, emphasizing the need.

"Careless?!?" I exclaimed, "I am not careless." I was getting a bit annoyed. Oak was acting like it was my fault, even though it wasn't. He was treating me like a child. "I am sorry I wasn't paying attention with the tree and-"

"Cole, no. I am not in the mood to listen to your explanations. You were not paying attention, so I suggest you do so now, especially since we are still surrounded by trees." Oak snapped.

I nodded, hiding the hurt in my eyes. He reminds me of dad. I thought. Oh, dad. I miss you. I miss earth too, even if I'm treated like a crazy person there. It's still home. I was suddenly hit with a flash of memories, from my very first birthday up until the day my dad disappeared. I was so caught up in memories I failed to notice me leading galaxy from the path. That is until Oak shouted at me.

"COLE. WATCH OUT."

I snapped out of my dreamlike state to see a tree with rust-colored leaves right in front of me. I quickly pulled on the reigns, bringing Galaxy to a stop. I let out a breath of relief as I slipped off the quadcorn, walking forward, keeping my hand on Galaxy at all times.

I heard Oak ride up on Cotton Candy. We worked together to turn Galaxy around, being careful of the tree that surrounded us. After 5 minutes of struggling, we finally managed to get back to the path.

"Cole" Oak started. "Did I not just say you NEED to pay attention. You almost ran right into that tree. If I hadn't yelled at you, both you and Galaxy would be dead."

I nodded my understanding. I sighed as I mounted Galaxy once again, memories of my father fresh in my mind.

"We should find somewhere to camp. Tyrek, find us a clearing, away from any jiggle trees." Oak addressed the flying creature.

"Okay. There's one to the north," Tyrek informed the 19-year-olds, pointing ahead. "Let's go" I nodded, following Oak as he started North. I tried to focus on the path, but my mind kept wandering back to my father. Was he okay? Where was he? Why did he leave? I made sure to keep my eyes on the path as these thoughts ran through my head. I didn't want to make Oak even more pissed off.

"COLE!!" I heard. I felt a small poke in my side.

"Wh-what." I stared at Oak, before turning to look at Tyrek. He smiled at me, before nodding to his bow. I smiled as I realized that's what had been poking me.

"What is up with you? You keep dozing off." Oak enquired. I blushed, looking away.

"I don't wanna talk about it" I mumbled. I looked around us, noticing we were in the clearing. "Are we gonna set up camp or what?"

Oak nodded before walking away. I watched in silence as Oak tethered the quadcorns to a spruce tree. Oak walked into the woods a bit before stopping. I heard a loud crash before Oak walked back into the clearing carrying a large tree.