Chapter 14: Mons Igneus Faction

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Ivy and I were left to wander.

I felt sick at heart with the sudden loss of my brother, but that seemed to be the least of my problems. I was starving, even after eating a bit of food from the tree faction. I received some hospitality and food for five minutes. Then I was back to being a fugitive.

I was still traveling on barefoot. I was tired. I was worried. They were still looking for me, and I'd left Shane behind with Jay, who'd ordered a manhunt on me. Ivy and I had no idea where we were or how long it would be before we ran into another guard in another faction.

It was terrifying in the forest. We were just aimlessly wandering, going wherever. We barely avoided another faction that had something to do with the cold or wind. They didn't need guards—the wind around the faction blew so hard that we had to move away before we were caught in a tornado.

We tried to map out where each faction was, so we didn't run into another one on accident. That meant I probably wouldn't be captured again. Staying out of Jay's scheme was the easiest way to stay out of danger.

Ivy seemed unusually uneasy ever since we'd encountered Jay. I understood why she was shaken up, because I was, too. But I had a feeling that something specific was bothering her.

I wondered about what Jay had said. He said he needed the two of us together—not just me. He said he needed us. I didn't know why. There couldn't have been a very logical reason, and, even if there was, there was too many variables and questions without answers.

Neither of us got much time to think about it, though. Shane occupied my thoughts for a long time. I wanted to know where he was—I wanted to know if he was okay. I wanted to know if Jay had killed him, or even if he'd hurt him.

Ivy and I eventually got tired of wandering. We stopped to rest just for a few minutes. "This sucks." I mumbled. "Shane just wanted to keep us safe. It was probably the only way to get away." Ivy said glumly. "Sure, but I still wish it hadn't happened like that." I replied.

She agreed. "Are we just going to wander around this stupid island until we die?" I asked myself aloud. "I don't know." Ivy said. "I don't like not knowing." I added.

"We're just going to get caught again if we keep roaming like this." I reminded her. "What else is there to do, Cyrus? You can't get us all the way back home. I can't do anything. And we can't leave here without Shane." She elaborated.

Part of me knew she was too preoccupied to think up a solution. It wasn't just that we were stuck in the biggest mess of our lives—Ivy was just sad. I felt bad for her. She was revisiting all the things she'd been trying to avoid for a long time—her dad, magic, and war.

"Cyrus," Ivy said tiredly. "We need to find the Volcano Faction thing." She suggested. "How are we supposed to do that? There are 4 factions here. We've visited enough of them. And you said it yourself—they'd kill us before we made it to the perimeter." I groaned.

"We'll be fine. We just have to explain why we're there. Shane said they were our allies. We just need to get them to see that we're part of their side." Ivy suggested. "Yeah, but that's only what Shane said. We don't really know anything." I disagreed.

"Look around you." Ivy snapped. "We have no other alternatives—not unless you can hatch a genius plan before we get captured again." She said. "Fine. Lead the way, then." I mumbled. She nodded and walked ahead of me again. I followed behind her.

We walked on for a few more hours. I was feeling uneasy about covering so much ground, and going so far from everything, but there wasn't anything I could think to do.

Eventually, our travelling brought us to a whole new wall of guards. And, of course, they were intimidating, so we tried to move away before they noticed us. Instead of getting away, one of the guards teleported in front of my and grabbed my arm. He caught Ivy, too.

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