The Mysterious Forest (Survival Instincts )

Chapter 7: A Ray of Hope

'Vampire!  " they shouted .

Mercy turned off the flashlight . They were scared .

They saw a girl with a messy long hair . Her mouth was covered with red liquid .

"Ssshhh! " Mercy immediately covered Arciel's mouth . "Don't shout . The people chasing us might hear you . "

After a few moment , Arciel already felt relaxed .

"What's that noise?  " a girl asked . Then , she slowly turned her head to Mercy and Arciel's direction. She looked very scary .
Arciel was about to shout again when Mercy covered it just in time .

Arciel snatched the flashlight from Mercy and turned it on . He focused it on the girl with a long hair . He just remembered on TV that vampires were scared of light.  It was a brilliant idea , he thought .

The longer the light was on the girl's face , they started to recognize her . She was their friend .

"Angelie?  Why do you look like that?  " Mercy asked .

The girl just stared at them .

"Angelie , we're your friends . Mercy and Arciel , remember? "

"Mers -------------Mercy ? Arciel?  " she asked in disbelief .

"Yes , it's us . What's wrong with you ? " Arciel asked .

She looked at them again . Then , she suddenly ran to Mercy and hugged her tightly.  She started crying .
"Why?  Are you alone?  Thank goodness you're safe . " Mercy said .

"I was really scared . I didn't know what to do anymore . I just -------" she said in between sobs " I just told myself , I need to be brave for my friends.  "

"It's okay . We're here now . " Mercy comforted Angelie .

"Thank you . And , oh!  I'm not alone . I'm with Kaye . " she said . " Kaye wake up ,they're here . We are safe now . "

Kaye who was sleeping all this time , slowly opened her eyes . She looked very tired and hungry , too .
"Who are you? " she suddenly asked .

"Oh , right . Let us introduce ourselves , I'm Mercy and this is Arciel . "

"Mercy and Arciel?  For real?  This is not a joke right?  " she rubbed her eyes .

"It's true.  Why were you sleeping and what happened to your face Angelie?  You scared us." 

" Nah , it's a long story . I was drinking this grape juice when you suddenly appeared . I accidentally spilled the juice . Now , I look very messy and scary . " Angelie replied .

"It's okay . We can fix your hair and you can wash your face , too . What about you Kaye ? " Mercy asked .

"Angelie told me to sleep. She said we need to get a lot of energy for our next journey . We're really worried . Pamela and Angelica are still there , I hope they're safe.  " Kaye said .

"Don't worry about them . Vincent and Melchi rescued them . Maybe we should get some rest , tomorrow we will have a long day to go . " Arciel said .

After Angelie washed her face , they all prepared to sleep . They used leaves as their mats . As soon as they closed their eyes , they immediately fell asleep .

On the other hand , Justin and Jyrra continued running . The man was still chasing them . Justin held Jyrra's wrist very tightly . They couldn't even see the path . They couldn't use their flashlight .
Sometimes , they fell down on their knees or hit something on their feet . Good thing they're wearing protective clothing .
They were still running when suddenly they heard "Splash ! " . They looked at the ground and found out they're now at a river . They didn't notice it . The water was getting deeper and deeper . They decided to head back . There are important things in Jyrra's bag that should not get wet .
When they reached the dry ground , Jyrra immediately checked on her cellphone , flashlight and food . Luckily , none of it got wet .
Then , they looked at the river . The water looked very calm but it was very deep . If they'd continued , they might get drowned .
They looked at each other and knew exactly what to do .