CHAPTER 53
COLE AND CAROL ARE LOST LITTLE LAMBS
CAROL`S POV:
The days turned to night. It's one of those moments when I should've my sketchbook, but I didn't. We were in such a hurry, I completely forgot about it. Oh, well. I'll find something somewhere. The stars were coming out. If only I could draw them. Now was not the best time to be thinking about art. This was my first time outside the house since everything happened. Well, actually, this is my second time, but I'm pretty sure everyone gets the point. I heard groans coming from one of the tents. My brother was still in pain after being bitten one too many times. Even though he was bitten, he wouldn't turn into one of those things. He was immune. That's just the way it was for him. Those things couldn't harm him, no matter how many bites he received. It's so many bites that put him in pain.
I couldn't stand to hear my brother in pain. I wanted to go in there and hold him tight to get rid of it. I couldn't, though. William and Wallace said he needed to rest until the pain stopped. It could take a while, they said. It's happened before. The way they said it's happened before just made me feel shaky. I never wanted this to happen to Gregory in the first place. It scares me to see that this is what happens to people when they don't listen to you. When they run off and get themselves hurt. The pain is unbearable to stand afterwards.
I couldn't take it so I ran off to the woods. Well, I didn't go completely into the woods, but I stood in front of it. I looked back to see everyone else setting up camp. They didn't need me for now. They'll forget about me for some time and then I'll come back unnoticed. It's a skill I had. I disappear and reappear in the blink of an eye. I guess a couple of hours wouldn't hurt. I did what I thought would be right for me. I walked into the woods, hoping nobody would noticed that I was gone just for a bit.
COLE'S POV:
I was outside when I saw Carol walking into the woods. When she heard her brother groan in pain, she couldn't stand it. I can understand. It's hard to feel the same pain as your siblings. I may not have siblings for real, but I do have brothers. As my brothers, I can feel how it is to feel the same as them. It doesn't happen often, but there are times when it can effect me. I know exactly how Carol feels, but it also makes me think that she shouldn't just walk away from her problems. Walking out in the woods alone can be dangerous, especially in a world like this.
I had to go out and find her. I grabbed my bag and walked over to Sensei`s tent. I had to let him know where I'm heading off to before I just leave. When I got to his tent, he looked up at me. He was looking in his spirit smoke and meditating like he usually did. This time he noticed I was in front of him and looked up.
"Is there a problem, Cole?" Sensei asked, "You have your bag."
"Carol walked out into the woods by herself," I said, "I need to follow her so nothing happens. If I'm not back by sunrise, have the others come and search for us. I'm sure to be back by then."
"I will make sure of that. I fear a great disturbance will happen in the woods soon. Go and and find her as quick as you can."
"I will. Thank you, Sensei."
"Of course. Now go. Bring her back home."
Without anybody else noticing, I left the camp in the search for Carol. I should be glad to have a flashlight with me. It was becoming pretty dark. The woods give off no kind of light. A flashlight is the only thing you can have in order to get anywhere around here. Hopefully it will help me find Carol. I pointed the light down on the ground. I had the feeling that Carol might have left behind some footprints to find her way back. I was able to find a trail of blue. I'm pretty sure it belonged to Carol. The blue looked a lot like paint.
A few days ago, before all this happened, I was walking around the mansion having nothing else to do with my time. I stopped by one particular door that looked colorful. I went inside to see more that a hundred paintings hanging on the walls and ceiling. Some were still not finished yet and remained on their easals. In all my life, I've never seen paintings like the ones I witness in that very room. I guess Carol is pretty talented when it comes to art. I'd like to get to know her more. If you think I like her that way, you're sorely mistaken. Sure, I may have a bit of a crush on her, but I wasn't fully in love with her yet.
I shook those thoughts out of my head and continued walking. It was best to keep those thoughts away for now. I heard footsteps right in front of me. I shined my flashlight to see Carol pointing a dart shooter at me. I held up my hands in defense. That was pretty stupid of me. I shown my face to her with the flashlight.
"There's nothing to fear," I said, "It's just me. Cole."
Carol lowered her dart shooter. "What are you doing out here? Did you follow me?"
"Well,... yes, I did. It wasn't on purpose, though. I was worried about you. I saw you walking in the woods by yourself. You can't do that. It's already dangerous out here as it is, even if those things are asleep."
"I guess you're right, but I couldn't stand hearing my brother in pain. It breaks my heart to even hear a groan come out of his mouth. I just thought leaving for a couple of hours would clear my head."
"Well, it would've been better to ask one of us to come along with you."
"Why is it that people think I can't do things on my own? Is it because I'm stupid? Do all of you think I'm just some stupid girl?"
"No, none of us think that. It's too dangerous for somebody to be alone out here. What if something we're to happen to you?"
"I've come out here on my own plenty of times. Nothing has ever happened to me. The only time I ever got hurt in the woods was when I was climbing a tree and I fell off and twisted my ankle. It didn't hurt that bad, though. I walked all the way home. I was only eight when it happened."
"We're all grown up now. When you're in the woods, you need to take things seriously. You can't just run around all over the place. Survival is the only way you'll make it out here."
"I can survive out here on my own. You'll see. A girl like me can do anything she pleases. Whether you like it or not, I'm not sticking with you."
"Carol, we need to get back to camp. I told Sensei Wu that I would be back around sunrise. If I wasn't, he would send the others out here to find us."
"So you admit that I'm stupid?"
"I didn't say that."
"Well, you were thinking it."
"How do you even know what I'm thinking? That wasn't even what I had in mind at all."
It was too late, anyway. Carol continued walking away. I shook my head, seeing I was an idiot for letting her leave like that. I sighed, thinking about turning back without her, but I knew I couldn't do that. I shouldn't be having those thoughts. Clearing those thoughts away, I walked in the direction Carol went in. After a few steps, I heard a scream. It sounded an awful lot like... Carol. Not hesitating, I ran to where the sound came from. I looked to see Carol lying on the ground, a wound on her left arm. A pool of blood laid around it. Her head had a cut the size of a baseball. I shined my flashlight to see a Anacondrai standing there with a knife in his hand. I'm pretty sure he couldn't see where he stabbed Carol thanks to the darkness, but he got her. I wasn't gonna let him get away with this. I removed my dark shooter out of my pocket and pointed it at the snake. He sank to his knees.
"Pease don't take me down," the Anacondrai said, "I didn't mean to hurt her. Honest. I thought she was a ninja."
"So you're still after the ninja, huh?" I asked, "You had no idea that she's my sister."
"Cole," Carol said, trying to raise her head to look at me.
"It's okay, Carol," I said, "I'm handling this now."
"I didn't know," the snake said, "I'm sorry."
"You really thought we were the ninja, huh? Some snakes can be so stupid, huh, sis? Well, I'm not gonna let him go that easily. Not after what he did to you."
"What are you gonna do to me?"
"Nothing much. Just this." I shot a dart at his head. The Anacondrai dropped his knife and fell to the ground. That should keep him down for some time. I walked up to make sure he was really down before I picked up his knife and took it as my own. I walked back over to Carol, who was still lying on the ground. I looked at her, pain filling her eyes. I had that same feeling as well. "I know how you feel. Everything will be okay."
"Why did you tell that snake that I was your sister?" Carol asked.
"I didn't want him to find out that I was a ninja. Don't worry. He's out like a light."
Carol groaned in pain at her injuries. "I really need help. Can you get me back to camp?"
"Sure thing."
"Wait. How are you gonna get me back?"
"I'll carry you."
I picked Carol up and started carrying her back to camp. Unfortunately, we weren't anywhere near the camp. It felt as thought I was walking Carol and I in circles. I'm pretty sure I was. When sunrise was coming around, I saw that I was lost. I just lost us in the woods.
LOOKS LIKE COLE AND CAROL ARE LOST LITTLE LAMBS. THEY FOUND THEIR WAY IN THE WOODS, BUT THEY CAN'T FIND THEIR WAY OUT. IT HAPPENS SOMETIMES. UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN YOU HAVE AN INJURED FRIEND, YOU NEED TO GET THEM TO SAFETY AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
WELL, THAT'S IT FOR ME. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE MY POLL.
I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER.
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