Mystic Forces

Chapter 14 (Closer)

**Yay! Here's Chapter fourteen:

They stood their ground in a defensive stance, taking in the whole view. Kai saw something lurking in the corner. It sure had to be the source of the sword that had been hurled at Sara.

The figure was creepy and resembled a shadowy clown.

"What thing is this?" Genus remarked, bewildered.

"Guys, get ready to block. I have a feeling that he's gonna attack us any moment." Kai cautioned his friends.

They nodded and readied their weapons. The shadow leapt with such speed that it reached them in a blink of an eye. Its sword was aimed at Maria but luckily Kai blocked it.

The shadow then took a few steps back and launched another attack, to be blocked by Tom this time. 'The freaks' formed a circle, their weapons ready to block the attack from all sides.

"How do we stop it?" Charles whispered frantically.

"Teamwork!" Kai muttered.

Just then, the shadow had his sword over Sara's head. Kai blocked it a few inches before it reached her face, while Sara took her chance and stabbed it on the chest with her blade.

The shadow figure vaporized into thin air.

'Whew! That was close." Tom heaved a sigh of relief.

"Good job, Sara." Maria hugged her.

"Umm, Kai... Thanks again, for saving me." Sara had her eyes fixed on her saviour.

Kai continued walking. "You're always welcome."

The others followed with an aura of achievement...well, at least for now.

After some time they came upon a big wooden door, which seemed as their only way of escape.

"Now how do we open this door?" Genus asked the most obvious question.

"Just like we've opened other doors..." Sara remarked glancing shyly towards Kai.

They attacked the feeble looking door with all sort of weapons but nothing came of it. The door didn't even budge an inch.

"Phew! Another mystery?" Charles leaned lazily on the door. Just as he pressed his hand on the door, the door flung open and his face met the dirt beneath.

"So much for mysteries." Tom couldn't control his laughter and everyone joined in, including Charles who sat up rubbing his slightly bruised face.

"Well, that was amazing of you Charles." Cynthia handed her kerchief to him.

Charles took it reluctantly but he had to because he knew Cynthia wouldn't approve of it.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"So, if our handsome boy is back to business then let's all continue with or journey. What say?" Tom was gradually reverting back to his normal self.

Charles stood up and dusted his trousers.

"Tom!" Maria crossed her arms and glared at him. "You're making him uncomfortable."

"What? You mean the ground was comfortable for him? I only told him to get up." Tom stuck out his tongue at Maria.

"Are you both done?" Kai's voice had a power of authority within. It was barely a whisper but it was heard by all.

Tom and Maria chose to shut up and followed Kai to the edge of what resembled a cliff.

"We need to get down." Kai ascertained.

"Okay."

The cliff had random ledges that looked like a work of some deranged artist.

"Be careful." Sara took his hand in hers, as Kai proceeded to lead the way down.

"I'll be fine." Kai assured her. "Guys, whatever you do, just don't look down while descending."

"Understood." Tom waved him a thumbs up.

Sara followed Kai shortly, joined by Tom and Maria and then the rest of the team.

The descent was a slow one and they had to secure their foothold every time to make sure they don't slip. It was a tough and perilous task.

While they were midway to their destination, Tea lost her balance and was about to fall but Genus caught her hand at the right moment and she was saved.

Tea smiled apologetically.

"You almost gave me a heart attack." Genus winced.

"Thread carefully." Kai cautioned them from below. He was the first to reach the ground and helped others to descend one after the other.

When all of them had descended safely, they surveyed the area. It seemed that they were in a deep lush green jungle. It was mid day and the chirping sounds of birds echoed through the entire valley.

"Once again you've surpassed the odds. Well done." The priest's voice resounded once again.

"We could have died out there..." Charles stated.

"But you didn't, right? That shows your potential. And this was just a test. The real battle will be more treacherous and dangerous. Ready for your training?"

The friends nodded and looked around. They could see some black patches at the tree-tops hidden by the leaves.

"Yeah." The voice continued. "You need to get those in order to pass the test."

They glanced at the height of the trees.

"Seriously? Those are like the tallest trees I've ever seen." Tom remarked.

"I agree." Cynthia added.

"Guys, we've come this far. We're never going to give up. There's always a way like there's always a solution to a problem." Sara cheered them up.

Kai gave her a brief nod and selected his tree. The rest continued on to find their respective trees.

Kai noticed that the tree had no scales and that would prove to be a hindrance for climbing it. He pondered for a while and decided to carry out a plan of action. He took out his sword and cut out a small portion of the tree's bark. He did it on alternative sides and it served as a good foothold. It was an extremely difficult task to maintain balance as well as cut the tree on its sides. But he managed to continue on, slowly and steadily. The rest of them followed the same manoeuvre and continued their way up.

They had neared midway when they heard Sara scream.

Kai glanced at her direction and suddenly his face turned pale.

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A/N: A special treat for you guys. Another thrilling chapter just for ya'all. Do tell me, whether you enjoyed it or not? The suspense is on...the stage is set.. But the real battle hasn't yet commenced? How cool is that!

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