Chapter 5: The First Danger

Stinky found himself in a dark room.

"Where the hell am I?"

As soon as he said that, a dark figure appeared in the midst of the darkness. Stinky could not quite make out his face because what seemed like his sampan hat was hiding his face and it was too dark to make out his attire.

"You and your friends will die sooner or later!" he boomed.

"Who are you? What are you talking about?"

"Soon all of you will face immense danger. And this danger is unlike any other!"

The mysterious figure let out a cold and evil laugh.

"What nonsense are you saying? Are you asking for death?"

"Oh yes…the deaths of all of you!"

Stinky became very furious and ran towards the dark figure, crying loud with all his might. But as soon as he got there, he disappeared. A maniacal laugh followed.

"Don't be a coward!!" Stinky cried. "Come and fight me!"

And then…

Stinky opened his eyes slowly. He found himself on a comfy bed. Stinky struggled to get himself up…And noticed that he was in Davis' room.

Stinky looked around. Davis' room is pretty neat and tidy. There is a bookshelf to the left of the bed and a cupboard to the right. Against the front wall sits a computer desk with a computer on it. The whole room gives a lot white feeling and there isn't a lot of dirt at all. It looks very clean indeed.

Stinky wondered why he was lying on his bed. Then he remembered. The brutal Tiger Dash he received from Woody. He could not believe that he could not even beat Woody. He knew he had gotten stronger, but after that fight, it seemed he was not strong enough.

The door opened. Mrs. Sire was carrying a cup of fresh-hot milk.

"Oh Stinky…you have woken up," Mrs. Sire was delighted to see Stinky awake. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yes, madam," Stinky nodded. "I'm feeling better than before…now if you excuse me, I need to look for Davis and Dennis."

"What? You only just recovered from you injuries. You can't just go out immediately. Besides…"

"Besides?" Stinky looked at Mrs. Sire curiously.

"Didn't Woody ask you to stay here and look after me in case anything bad happens to me?"

"Please, madam…Don't even mention that name."

"Oh, sorry…"

Stinky got off from his bed. "I'm sorry, madam, but I believe nothing bad will happen here. I mean…the assassin probably was after Davis and Dennis and not you. He wouldn't be targeting here. I'm pretty sure of it."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Sire was hesitant. "But Woody…"

"I told you….don't mention that name!!" Stinky yelled at Mrs. Sire.

Mrs. Sire was shocked by Stinky's reaction.

"I'm sorry, madam…please trust me. Nothing wrong will happen. Please let me go."

Mrs. Sire was still not quite sure. But there was nothing she could do about it and she eventually nodded her head.

As Stinky was about to walk past Mrs. Sire, Mrs. Sire said, "At least have this cup of fresh milk before you leave. It'll give you strength and energy."

"Thanks, madam," Stinky took the cup and drank the milk heartily.

"By the way, I got this milk from Woody…"

In that instance, Stinky spat out almost all the milk that was in his mouth onto the ground. Mrs. Sire was completely stunned.

"I'm terribly sorry," Stinky lowered his head. "I would like to clean up this mess but I'm afraid I have to leave. Good bye." Stinky ran past the dumbfounded Mrs. Sire while looking down and out of the house.

Mrs. Sire looked at the milk mess on the ground. "Oh dear…" she sighed. "I've just mopped the whole house. Looks like I'll have to do it again…"

"Where are we going?" Dennis asked as the two brothers were walking along a path that led to a forest. "Don't tell me…"

"Well…yeah, Dennis. We're going to the Lion Forest."

"Why the hell are we going to the Lion Forest? I swear I never want to step foot in this forest again."

"We want to find out who the assassin is right? Then the Lion Forest is the perfect place to find him, since this forest is heavily dense."

"But this forest gives me the creeps. It has always been so since I last entered the forest."

"I don't remember you telling me that."

"Oh, yes I did."

"No, you didn't."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did…wait…why are we arguing over this? We're wasting time! Anyway you didn't."

"I did," Dennis grumbled. "I did mumble though."

"That's the same as not telling me."

"I did!"

"Whatever… Let's get a move on, shall we?"

As Davis and Dennis made their way into the forest, it started to get darker. Even in broad daylight, due to the heavy denseness of Lion Forest, hardly any light would penetrate through the trees. Because of this, one would portray how it would feel to be in the Lion Forest at night.

"This is starting to get creepy," Dennis whimpered.

"Oh don't be a chicken," Davis exclaimed. "This is a forest after all. We have our skills to fend ourselves. Or don't tell me…"

"What?" Dennis demanded.

"You're afraid of the dark?"

"No I'm not!"

"You sure are…given the fact that you shout when you deny it," Davis smirked.

"Hmph!" Dennis grumbled as both of them continued their way forward.

After wandering in the forest for about fifteen minutes, Dennis became restless.

"This is so boring. I wanna go back out of this forest."

"Are you sure you're bored? Or are you scared? Hehehe…"

"I'm not scared!!" Dennis crossed his arms. "One day I'm so gonna beat you down."

"Try me," Davis challenged.

As Dennis was about to hit Davis, they heard the sound of a twig snap nearby.

"Someone's close," Davis warned. "Be on alert."

Dennis nodded. A while later, the sound of rustling caused by the walking on the dead leaves was heard. It slowly became louder.

"He's coming," Davis told Dennis. "Get ready."

Just as they got into their fighting stances, the sound of walking was followed by a whoosh before it disappeared.

"What happened?" Dennis exclaimed. Both of them were confused.

"Must have just been the wind or something," Davis predicted.

"No…wind does make the rustling sound."

Before Davis could say another word, both he and Dennis felt another whoosh of wind, this time behind them. And both felt something sharp on their necks.

Davis and Dennis turned their heads. And came face-to-face with two daggers and what looked like the same assassin that invaded their home last night.