The Mysterious Forest (Survival Instincts )

Chapter Twelve : End of Nightmare

"Angelica !!!!!!!!!" they shouted .

Angelica not knowing what to do, chose to close her eyes. She was ready to die.

But then, nothing touched or bit her. She just heard the sound of a sword in front of her. Slowly , she opened her eyes. In front of her, she saw a slender figure of a young man carrying a sword.

"Are you okay? " asked the man.

Angelica nodded while crying. She was saved. Vincent and Kaye came running to her. They were worried and at the same time relieved.They thanked the stranger.

"Why are you here? " he asked.

"We were looking for our friends but couldn't find them. How about you? "

"I live on the opposite side near the forest. I was already late home so I decided to take a shortcut . You shouldn't have come here without bringing any weapon. Anyway , I'll lead you outside the forest."

They were in doubt whether to trust this stranger or not. He already saved Angelica , so that would be reason enough to trust him. Even if they didn't want to , they had no choice.
They just followed the man. From time to time, they heard the howling of the wolves on the other part of the forest.

It was already midnight when Jyrra and Justine got out of the forest. The place was still very silent. It felt like nobody was there yet. Tears suddenly fell from Jyrra's eyes. She had a lot of what if's. What if she was more careful? What if they didn't leave them? What if something dangerous happened to them? Justine noticing Jyrra's tears, comforted her.

"Ssh! Jy. Calm down , okay. I'm sure all of them can go back safely. Let's believe in them."

After an hour , they saw four people approaching. As the group got closer , they noticed its Angelica's group. Jyrra wanted to run and hug them but couldn't do it because of her foot.

"Angelica, finally! You're here!" Justine said.

"But where's Angelie? " asked Jyrra.

Then, Kaye told them everything. Jyrra couldn't speak anymore. She's too worried. Even the comforting words from her friends didn't help at all. Because not only Melchi and Arceil but also Angelie , and then Pamela and Mercy weren't back yet.

On the other hand ,her friends thanked the stranger that helped them and bid goodbye to him.

And then ................................................
"Jyrra , remember what I told you? Our friends will come back. See? We have Angelica , Kaye and Vincent. Let's just wait for them. Maybe, our other friends are already heading back here." Justine said positively.

"Yes. I agree. After being almost eaten by a wolf , I believe nothing is impossible!" Angelica added.

So they waited and waited. The wind was getting colder. It only meant one thing. It's almost morning. They kept on looking at the forest but couldn't see anyone. They started to lose hope.They were regretting why they did not get a tour guide. Now , they're already lost and nothing could ever change it.

The sun had risen. No sign of darkness was evident in the area. But still, their friends weren't back yet. The girls started to cry. Vincent and Justine tried to hide their tears. They were all sad.

Out of nowhere , they heard people laughing. It was coming from the forest. As the laughter got closer, they got surprised and then got mad at them.

"How come you were just laughing and here we are scared to death for all of you!" Jyrra exclaimed.

"Let me explain." Arceil said .Looking at Melchi who had wounded arms and feet, he started telling their story  .

They were gathering firewood when they noticed something different on the ground. There were traps. So, they were very careful of their movements. However, Melchi accidentally fell from a cliff. It's too late for Arceil to help Melchi . So he jumped to  follow and save  him. Good thing , the cliff wasn't very deep.
They couldn't find a way out, that's why they followed the stream. After sometime, the forest was really dark. It was already evening . They managed to get out from there but couldn't find the way back to bus. In short, they were lost. Then , it started to rain heavily. Arceil noticed that there was someone placing the traps. So, they decided to hide under the bushes. When they saw Mercy and Pamela, they immediately grabbed them. They knew something was following them. After they grabbed them, they saw someone running while holding something. They couldn't figure out what was it because it's very dark. But Arceil was very sure it had something to do with the abnormalities they experienced. They tried to capture the person but failed. Melchi was in bad shape while Mercy and Pamela were all shivering in cold. And Arceil ,though tall and looked strong, was also afraid. They weren't familiar with the place. So, they decided to wait until morning. Then , they found out , one wolf wasn't real and so was the big flying bird. It was just a drone. Someone was scaring people away to make it appear mysterious. When the sun came out , they started going back to the bus. On the way , they were sharing funny things, in order to ease Melchi's pain. They did their best to make Melchi laugh. And after all the struggles, they arrived safely.

"But where is Angelie?"asked Pamela.

" That's our problem , we lost her last night." Kaye said.

"Maybe, Angelie was still in the forest." Vincent suddenly said.

Angelica and Jyrra cried again. They couldn't stop their tears. They were able to manage because they have each other's side but Angelie was all alone. So, the boys decided to go back to the forest to find her except for Melchi who was severely wounded. As they were about to go, someone got off from the bus.

"Guys, why are you crying? Where are they going?" Angelie asked.

They were surprised and couldn't believe what they saw. Then , they all ran to Angelie and hugged her tightly.

"We thought something bad happened to you." Jyrra said.

"How long have you been here? " Mercy asked.

"Since last night, I guess" Angelie replied.

"Tell us what happened." Melchi said in pain.

When Vincent told them to run, she didn't notice that she went to a different direction. When she realized it, she was already far from them. Though alone, she didn't feel scared. It felt like the path was very familiar. She continued walking and discovered that she was heading to the bus. When she reached there, she shouted.

"Mercy, Jyrra ,Pamela, Justine! "

Nobody answered. She was all alone. Then she heard a very creepy sound and ran inside the bus. She hid inside .She plugged her earphones and turned the music on. While hiding she fell asleep . She was just awaken by the sound of the alarm.

"Lucky you! You had a good sleep." Angelica said.

"It doesn't matter at all, as long as we're all safe. Now, let's bring Melchi to the hospital." Justine said.

The group departed the area feeling motivated.