Okay. Chapter ten. This one might take me a while to get out. I might decide to make it longer than four pages (yes, in case you haven't notice, most of my chapters have been four pages long), and so yeah. Dunno when this'll get out, so if it gets out late, I'm so-orry. Here we go.
Tea pushed Joey back.
"Joey! I'm tired of you not telling us stuff! We deserve to know! Just tell us already!" she shouted at him. Joey sighed, looking away.
"I'm not telling you," he replied.
"It's a snake. A gigantic snake is following us. And it's going to eat us all and kill us," Tristen stated.
"J-Joey... is this true...?" Tea asked, trembling in fear. "A snake has been following us, and you didn't want to tell us about it?" she fell to her knees.
"Yes. There is a snake following us," Joey finally said. "A big one... but I think Tristen is getting a little irrational when he says that it's going to eat us and kill us," Joey added. Tea shook her head. Joey started to get up, and Tea did as well. They silently went on walking.
Hours later, they were still walking silently, when suddenly Joey said,
"Maybe we should stop and rest..."
"Then that snake will get us," Tristen protested. Joey growled, looking back at the brunette.
"Tristen, be quiet," Joey said.
"No. I won't. We're all going to die. And you know it. It's your fault, too," Tristen said.
"Tristen..." Tea mumbled. Joey then stopped and turned around, facing Tristen.
"Tristen, I don't think you heard me correctly," He spoke calmly.
"I did," he replied.
"No, you didn't."
"Yes I did. And I won't. We're going to die, Joey. DIE DIE! And it's all your fault." "Taylor, SHUT UP! WE DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY! WE'RE TIRED OF HEARING YOU SAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO DIE! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! NONE OF US WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! YOU MAY WANT TO THINK WE'RE DEAD BUT WE DON'T! SO JUST SHUT UP!" Joey shouted. Tristen stepped back.
"J-Joey…" Yugi whispered. He'd never heard Joey go off at one of his friends like that. Especially Tristen.
"Tristen…" Tea whispered. She had never seen Joey go off at any of his friends, either. She felt bad.
"Alright. Then I'll leave," Tristen said, and then started into the forest.
"No! Tristen!" Tea shouted at him. She looked at Joey, who nodded.
"It's for the best," he stated, then started down the trail.
"J-Joey…! Tristen…!" Yugi muttered, looking towards Joey and then back in the direction Tristen went.
"Yugi, you go with Joey! I'll go with Tristen," Tea said to him.
"But, Tea, that's dangerous! It's the forest out there – there are snakes! You should go with Joey, I'll go with Tristen! You need to be safe, and Tristen might get to you, but I know he won't get to me," the two stared at each other for a moment, almost as though they were talking by just gazing at each others' eyes.
Without another word, Tea started after Joey and Yugi went into the forest after Tristen.
"Joey!" Tea called after the blonde. "Joey, please, come back!" she exclaimed. "You can't do this. Tristen is your friend! You're just going to let him go out there and die! How could you be so heartless?" Tea shouted after him.
"Tristen is not my friend. If he's going to keep this up, he doesn't deserve to live," Joey replied.
"Joey! This isn't like you!" Tea screamed. "How could you! He was your first friend you ever trusted! How could you let him out there to die! JOEY YOU'RE INSANE! THIS IS LIKE SAYING YOU WANT YUGI AND ME TO DIE!" Joey suddenly stopped walking.
He silently stood there for a moment, thinking about what Tea just said.
"I-I'm right, aren't I? You know I am..." she panted slightly, as she stared at the blonde. She got soft eyes. "Come back, Joey. We need to get Tristen. We need to get Yugi. And we need to get out of here." After a moment, Joey heaved a heavy sigh.
"Alright," the blonde turned around, and smiled slightly, but it quickly disappeared as a scream echoed through the forest. The two quickly exchanged glances but then ran back down the trail, and into the forest where Tristen had broke from them, and Yugi had followed.
It took them a moment, but they finally found Tristen and Yugi: cornered by a Basilisk. It's spines ran down its' neck and it hissed at Tristen and Yugi. Joey let out a slight sigh, seeing as it wasn't the gigantic snake (A/N: Like I said, there IS such thing as a snake called a Basilisk. Look it up if you don't believe me.). But still, being cornered by a spined snake worried Joey, so he ran at them, holding out his arm. This was the perfect time to check out his 'powers' and prove whether Tristen was right or wrong. However, if Tristen was right... then he'd let the snake bite him. He'd even let them eat him. As long as the others stayed safe.
As soon as the snake heard him and turned his head, flicking out its' tongue, it took off running... er, slithering. Joey fell over in exhaust, and Yugi smiled widely, running to his friend.
"Joey! You did it!" He exclaimed, "You saved Tristen and I! I knew you would come back!" Joey looked up to Yugi and smiled, and as he got up, his brown eyes went to Tristen. Tristen looked back. Joey walked over to him.
"Taylor..." he started, a slight gleam of anger in his eyes. Tea got a worried look, along with Yugi. They knew Joey was going to yell at him. Probably say something about putting Yugi in danger. However, they were quite surprised when Joey held out a hand, smiling. Tristen reached down and shook his hand, smiling slightly as well.
"I'm sorry for being such a downer," Tristen sighed. Joey shook his head, giving his friend a hug (They're not gay -- Like in another story I've read, it's just a way to show how much they really care for each other. AND NOT GAY-WISE EITHER! --).
"No, you have every right to be worried, Tristen. And I'm sorry for storming off like I did. I should have been able to tolerate you better," the two nodded, letting go of each other. "So! Let's GET OUT OF HERE!" Joey smiled at the others. They all smiled back as they started out of the forest.
It had been days. They continued to walk down the trail, all tired and weary. Food was running low for everyone. Why had the lords decided to pick on these teens? They didn't do anything to be tortured like this. When would they get out...? They all wanted to be home, in their beds... desperately.
Joey's stomach growled and he groaned, muttering something under his breath. The others sighed.
"Just eat something, Joey," Yugi said. "You can share my food if you run out. Really," Joey shook his head.
"No. I need to save my own food..." Yugi just sighed again, nodding slightly.
They had grown thin; their bodies weren't used to not eating meat for such a long period of time, and each of them looked a lot thinner. Joey's face had a slight beard (-wonders what that'd look like-) and Tristen had a slight shadow over his. Yugi didn't seem to be growing any facial hair at all (figures XD) and Tea held her stomach and closed her eyes, starting to feel extremely weary.
The lizard still sat, surprisingly, on Joey's shoulder. It had guided them through the forest up to this point, actually showing them which way to go. They hadn't encountered any more reptiles since the showing of the Basilisk and the gigantic snake seemed to stop following...
Or had it?
Joey, unable to go any more, fell to his knees, groaning. The others worriedly looked at him and went to him.
"Joey, please, get up," Tea pleaded. Joey slowly started getting up, gripping his arm.
"I need to..." he started to unwrap the bandage on his arm, and the others sighed slightly, not wanting to see it again. As the bandages fell away, the familiar black marks were revealed... however...
The purple-ish-blackness spread up his arm and to about his elbow now. It looked strangely painful. He reached into his backpack, pulling out a canteen of water, and pouring some slightly on his wound. He sighed, watching it, and feeling the miracle of the pain disappearing as the water touched it. He screwed the cap back on and put it back in his backpack, and started to wrap the bandage back around his arm.
He sighed, getting up and continuing to walk forward, until a sudden gleam in the forest caught his eye. He suddenly stopped walking, and as did he, so did the others. They blinked at him, before he almost glared into the forest. He didn't want to say anything about what he saw, however, and found it awefully hard to keep that stuff from the others. He just immediately continued walking, until something else interesting caught his eye.
A door. A gigantic green door. No way. Was this possible? Was it a figment of his imagination? Or was the door to the outside... really RIGHT THERE? He suddenly broke into a run, without a word, and the others blinked, but followed him.
As he neared the door, he felt the adrenalin rush through him. Until suddenly, a large snake jumped out of the bushes and in front of him, trailing a skeleton behind him.
Behind THAT, however, surprisingly, the female from the rich couple came running. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were tattered, but she still looked as though she was living.
"AHH! SNAKES!" she screamed. The gigantic snake turned its' head, and as quickly as it had jumped out of the forestry, it shot down and snapped up the screaming woman in its jaws. Tea screamed and turned to run, but Tristen caught her.
The snake reared its head backwards, opening its mouth, the screaming from the woman sounding for a second, but suddenly disappeared as her kicking legs went down the reptile's throat. Tea shook with fear. Yugi and Tristen both couldn't help to step back, but Joey kept his ground. Slight fear swam through his eyes, but he knew he had to face this thing, otherwise the others might be killed.
The determination in his eyes showed it all. That he was willing to die for his friends, and that he wasn't about to let a gigantic snake hurt them. If he died, then so be it. As long as his friends got out safe.
The four teens stood. A gigantic man-eating snake between them and the way out. Was this it? Were they going to die? Or would they get past the snake? Or would one of them sacrifice himself (er... or herself) for the others? ...only time could tell...
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DO YOU HATE ME OR WHAT! XD WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I AM SO MEAN, HUH! I KNOW! BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT! I HAD TO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR A CLIFFY! IT WAS JUST TOO GOOD TO PASS UP! But I promise I'll get out the next chapter REAL soon cuz I know you're all dying on the edge of your seats! XD anyway, see ya then, Ja! XP