The Mysterious Forest (Survival Instincts )

Chapter 5 : Run For Your Life

Angelie and Kaye jumped out of the tree they were hiding . They quietly crawled on the ground. They tried to listen to their surroundings but it was very peaceful.  It didn't feel like something unusual was happening to it. 
They glanced at the window that they used to escape earlier but couldn't see anything. From afar , you couldn't tell if it's a house. Aside from the structure , it was also covered with big trees . No wonder they haven't noticed it before. 

"Find them!  They're not yet far ! " a voice suddenly said .
"Yes , boss!  " another man replied .

Kaye and Angelie looked at each other.  They needed to run right now . But where? 

"I thought he was alone . " Kaye whispered .
"Yeah . Me , too. " Angelie replied .

They continued crawling slowly on the ground . They didn't want to run . Not yet . If they ran , they would notice the noise .

When they finally got out of the house's vicinity , they decided to walk . Their knees already hurt.  Good thing ,they were both wearing long pants .At least , it minimized the pain .It would be more painful if they were wearing skirts . They decided to rest for a while. 

"Hey girls , you think you can ran away from me ?"

They quickly turned their heads to the direction of the voice. A man suddenly appeared behind the trees.As he got closer ,they realized something .
It's the man in a long black coat . He was holding a gun and a knife.
When did the man get here?  He was very fast .

He pointed the gun to the girls .

Kaye couldn't move her feet anymore she's very  scared.
Were they going to die?

Kaye was already shaking in fear when Angelie suddenly pulled her away from the man . They started to run as fast as they could .

"Run girls!  Run!  Run for your life ! Don't let me catch you " the man shouted .
Then , he started chasing for Angelie and Kaye while firing his gun.

Meanwhile ,Justin , Melchi , Jyrra , Mercy and Arciel were about to hide when someone already appeared in front of them. It was too late . The boys immediately covered Jyrra and Mercy. They should protect them at all cost.

"Hey , guys!  " a familiar voice said.

Justin immediately turned on his flashlight and focused it to the person in front of them.
"Ouch!  That hurts , bro. Turn it off ".
Justin did as what he was told to do.
" What are you doing here Vincent ? " Melchi asked.
"Yeah. You scared us.  " Jyrra said.
"Sorry. I was following the man who kidnapped Kaye . " he said.
"What do you mean ? " Arciel asked .
"Three nights ago , Angelica and I planned to meet at that time . She promised to help  retrieve my account but she didn't show up . It was already nine in the evening when I went home . I was thinking , she had forgotten about the plan . The next day , I came early to our old school. When I arrived there , I saw Kaye .She was really early . I was about to call her when I noticed something unusual . She was staring at a man in a black coat . The man walked away from the school but Kaye followed him . So , I also followed them . I had a bad feeling at that time . I wanted to stop Kaye but I kept my distance.  I was just following them . Perhaps , neither of them noticed me . They were getting farther and farther from the school . Then the man stopped . He waited for Kaye.  At first , I thought it was Kaye's boyfriend.  From a distance , it looked like they were talking . Then the man suddenly grabbed her . I thought he was just hugging her . After a few second , I noticed Kaye became unconscious .He carried her. Then I saw a van parked at a distance . I wanted to run and help Kaye but I thought it wasn't the right time.  I hurried back to the school . I've decided to tell the police or any of you. I immediately went back to my motorcycle . I was on my way to town when I saw a van in front of me. It was the same van that I saw earlier . Instead of going to the police , I decided to follow it . I passed difficult roads just to follow it . After an hour or so , it finally stopped . He got off from the van and carried Kaye who was still unconscious . They went inside the forest . I followed but I couldn't see them anymore . I walked and walked . Then I realized I was lost .I couldn't find my way back. Then , the place was starting to get dark . It was already nighttime but I was still inside.  I felt so worthless . I couldn't even find Kaye or the way out.  Then , I heard something scary . It was growling . So , I ran to the direction of the light I saw earlier . It turned out to be you guys.  Thank you for  being here " Vincent said .

"You're welcome . It's like a reunion , right ? " Justin finally spoke .

" We're here to find our friends . This is not a reunion , not in this place , not in a situation like this . " Mercy said .

"Of course . But we need to relax for a bit . We can't think clearly if we panic " Arciel said calmly .
"Wow . Amazing line from a guy who cried a lot earlier . " Jyrra teased Arciel.
"Did Arciel cry ? Oh man!  I lost my chance to see it . " Vincent said .
"Don't be a crybaby , Arciel. "Melchi added.
" I'm not a crybaby . " Arciel replied.
"Stop it guys" Mercy said. 
"No . it's okay . " Justin said." Right Arciel ? "
And they all laughed .
They suddenly forgot their problem for a while .
"Wait , why are you tying your hands Justin , Mercy , Jyrra , Melchi? " Vincent suddenly asked.
"We wanted to make sure no one gets lost . But since the two of you are here , we will untie it now.  " Mercy said.
After freeing their hands , they immediately started planning.
While planning on how to save their friends, they heard gunshots . Then , a long silence .

"What was that?  It was coming from the center of the forest.  " Jyrra said.
"If I'm not mistaken , it's from a gun. " Justin said.
"Oh no , we can't waste our time . Our friends need us . " Mercy said .
"Let's just hope they're safe." Melchi said.
They continued planning and decided to stick together no matter what happened . If it became an obstacle, they would divide into two groups .Nobody would go alone .

Bang!  Bang!  Bang!
It was a continuous shot.
They were now really scared . They never thought the culprit possessed a gun in the first place.. One wrong move and it could kill any of them .
"We need to find them now . The more time we spend on planning , the more time we're wasting . Let's just do what we can when the time comes. " Justin said .
"I agree .Things are better done unplanned . After all , we couldn't think of any ideas. " Mercy said .
" Yeah. Me , too. " Vincent said.
"So , shall we go now ? " Jyrra said .
"Let's go guys. " Arciel said .

The continuous shots that they heard earlier was coming from the south area of the forest  according to the compass . But they decided to go east .They're positive their friends were on the east area . Vincent told them he hadn't seen anything that can be used for hiding someone or something . He had explored almost all parts of the area and found nothing. 

"Did you see a cabin ? " Jyrra asked.
"No. "
"A treehouse?  "
"I didn't notice . " Vincent said .

They continued walking while carefully checking on their way . They couldn't make even one mistake.
"Cent , when you're walking earlier , have you noticed something strange ? Strange trees?  Strange bush?  Strange stone ? Anything strange?  " Mercy asked.

"Let me think . " Vincent said.  " I think I saw something.  "

"What did you see?  " Arciel asked .

" I saw an area which was covered by big trees . Out of all the places , it was the only part which had very thick leaves and trees . Now that I think about it , it's the best place for hiding . "

"Do you still remember the place?  " Melchi asked.

"I'm not sure but if we're heading to that place , we are in the wrong path. Follow me " he said.

Vincent led them to the location . They hoped they were headed to their friends. As they were approaching , the forest became darker . They could not use their flashlight . It might alarm the culprit . The small trees earlier were replaced with big trees and thick bushes . The trees looked very scary .They suddenly held each other's hands .  The atmosphere started to change . They suddenly felt nervous. 
"We're here . " Vincent whispered.
They looked at the place in front of them . Three big trees , enough to cover something . They looked at the branches but couldn't see anything . It was too dark . They decided to get near the trees .
"What if I climb the tree so I can see what's over there?  " Arciel suggested.

"Don't . It's not a good idea . Traps , remember?  " Mercy said.

"So , what are we going to do?  "

"Let's observe first . " Justin said.

They investigated the area and found something . One of the big trees looked very different . It didn't have branches . It looked like a tree but it's not .

"This is a house. It's created similar to a tree to mislead people . " Justin said . "Very witty. "
 
"Okay . So , what's our next move ? " Jyrra asked.
"We need two people to go in . " Mercy said ."But first , we need to make sure how many people are there .

Bang !

Before they could go, they heard gunshot again. This time it was coming from the house .