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(Continuation from Chapter 10 part 2)
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It took about a few hours and the two pairs had to separate one another into two paths to search and forage for the necessary plants they needed. It made Charlotte a little nervous and cautious upon being all alone with only Draco beside her, despite that she knows very well that he's a powerful Mage but not that very powerful like the legendary Merlin from storybooks--which Charlotte didn't know or was aware that Merlin exists in real life back in Draco's former world.
It didn't take long for something unexpected to happen but not in a very bad way, that Charlotte realized the hard way and harsh reality of the truth that Mages have their limits, even Draco himself, when he got himself caught off guard by sudden surprise and into unexpected trouble--but it's not that much.
Charlotte and Draco had found a beaten-up van that looked to be of the food delivery service kind and Draco foolishly crawled inside to check if there are any edible food leftovers to scavenge and take for as added food supply but then his slow yet jolting movements into the broken vehicle had jostled the heavy stone debris that dented the van's roof into crashing downwards and the heavyweight responded to the young man's actions suddenly, bending and denting downwards even more on the van, pinning the surprised Draco, trapping him in there and nearly startling Charlotte to a gasping cry.
"Oh my God! Drake!" she cried and tried to run over to him and help but Draco is completely trapped and really stuck inside the broken down vehicle as he strained and grunted, trying to lift with his own strength and magic to move the debris off from top of him but it would not budge an inch.
"Argh! Ohh, great!" Draco groaned upon realizing his foolish mistake as he's now stuck and pinned by one leg by the car seat pressing down on it and he let Charlotte try to pull him out through the window with both hands but her efforts are not working either.
"Oh bloody hell--Charlotte, stop! You can't pull me out of here--I'm seriously stuck!" Draco told her, wiggling his hands to make her let him go.
"But--Draco! That concrete slab! It's gonna--!" Charlotte cried as she's not letting him go and kept pulling with all her effort and might to get the blond man out.
"Charlotte! It's fine! I have my magic stalling this thing from crushing and pinning me inside this car!" Draco snapped at her slightly harshly so that she can hear him clearly and stop what she's doing before she might make it worse.
Once she heard him and stop, Draco immediately pulled his hands back as she loosened her grip and then struggled a little to grab something out of his pockets and reached it out for Charlotte to take.
"Here. Take this magic compass, it will lead you straight back to the campsite so that you can get the others for help and lead them back to me on getting me out of here. I can hold out as long as I can and wait for you to come back. Now go--GO!" Draco instructed and then yelled at her at the last part, sharply snapping at her to get to it then.
Charlotte didn't want to leave him alone despite that Draco is forcing her to go after he gave her the magic compass, then it didn't take long for her to reluctantly do so when there's a sudden rumbling from the skies above and it sounds like that there's going to be another snowstorm coming in and she needs to hurry and get back to the campsite to get the others' help and save Draco from his predicament.
Draco watched as she left, sprinting and hurrying as fast as she can with her slender legs, nearly slipping or tripping over the snowy icy ground in her haste to get back while following the magic compass he gave her, to lead her safely back to the others. He knew that Charlotte will make it on time as long as she follows the compass that he already enchanted to lead her back, but then when the time passes by, the thundering clouds loomed closer and snow was falling and breezing by, signaling the incoming snowstorm, that Draco started to get a little concerned when hours had passed on and the others haven't come running for him yet.
He wondered what has happened and started thinking the worst scenarios that something bad must have happened and stalled them from coming to rescue him but then he jumped when he heard a loud crashing noise and he realized with horror that lightning started thundering and sparking down from the skies, showing that the snowstorm has kicked in early and the falling snow had worsened to a slightly strong blizzard--making the concrete slab denting the broken vehicle's roof press in more from the added weight of the weather elements and Draco tried to increase his magic's strength and might to keep stalling it from crushing him to death from the inside, using his hands to press upwards while trying to struggle to break free of his pinned leg.
That's when Draco was instantly relieved upon hearing faint shouting and cries and he turned and saw Bellamy, Murphy, and Neville come running right towards him, all three guys about ready to save him.
"Oh Merlin, Draco! Are you alright?!" Neville cried anxiously as he instantly saw the dangerous state that Draco is now in.
Draco would have retorted back with 'Do I bloody look alright to you?!' but he held it back and instead snapped. "I can't get out! My left leg is pinned--I'm stuck in here! I'm using my magic to hold and stall this debris above from crushing me, but I can't hold it for much longer! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Neville instantly nodded and then he instructed Murphy on what he needed to do which the other boy went to do what Neville asked him to. Bellamy stayed by Draco's side, giving him comfort and getting him calm upon keeping him company while Neville powered himself up with magic to get ready to extract the blond mage out of there, but then Bellamy asked something that instantly put Draco into a straight frantic state.
"Where's Charlotte, Draco? What happened?"
"Wait--what the bloody hell are you talking about?! What do you mean 'where's Charlotte'? Charlotte was supposed to--you mean she didn't come back to you!?" Draco exclaimed in stunned shock and sudden fear upon realizing with horror that Charlotte did not return safe and well back to the others at their campsite. He started thinking the worst that something must have happened when Charlotte was on the way to getting back upon following the magic compass and that something bad must have intercepted her and threw her off course from her intended destination.
Bellamy instantly went silent by Draco's panicked words and he didn't answer the blond man's questioning when he demanded at him harshly, not even spilling out one word so that it will worsen Draco's mentally fragile state--which he knows that the blond mage will deny that he's not.
"Okay! Get ready! On three!" Murphy suddenly yelled when Neville indicated that he's ready.
"One-two--THREE!" Neville crowed loudly as he pushed a big burst of magic to lighten the load on Draco's crushing weight and the blond mage felt his pinned leg being loose and swiftly wriggled free as he reached his hands out and yelled. "I'm loose! PULL ME OUT!"
Bellamy and Murphy both grabbed Draco's hands and strongly pulled him out through the window and they got him out just in time when Neville couldn't hold his magic any longer from lightening the load and he lets go, making the debris slab crush down even more with its heavyweight and the added blizzard snow on it, denting the car and crushing it nearly in two as the three boys stared while Draco was down on the thick snowy ground in his hands and knees, panting in relief and aftermath adrenaline shock.
"Hey, man. Are you okay?" Murphy asked and was about to reach a hand toward him to check if he is, but he jumped back startled when Draco growled dangerously, instantly stood up on his feet, and was about to march out, striding towards the forestry wilderness amidst the stormy snowy blizzard except he was blocked by Bellamy and Neville suddenly in front of him.
"Get the bloody hell out of my way!" Draco snapped at him in angry snarls.
"And what? Go trampling around blindly in the forest late at night in the middle of a blizzard like a crazy blind man!?" Bellamy retorted back at Draco calmly, facing him off against his anger, as he knew that Draco is really worried for the young teen girl. "You'll just get lost in the woods, along with Charlotte too!"
"Yes, I am very aware of that but--SHE'S LOST OUT THERE BECAUSE OF ME! So get the hell out of my way, Blake--and let me fix my mistake by finding her and bringing her back!" Draco snapped back at him harshly.
"You're not much of use or any good help for her if you go running around wildly with no reason and get lost too, Draco!" Neville pointed out, also composed and calm in facing the angry Draco off too. "We'll go look for her when the storm passes and all of us will make sure that we'll find her and bring her back safely to us with both magical and mundane means. So please, Draco...don't make me Stun you again like last time if you keep being like this."
Normally, Draco would have ignored this and used what's left of his magic to fend Neville off and fight back but he refrained because logically he knew that Neville was right. If he traipsed around the forests and gets lost too, then there will be two lost souls wandering around the monstrous woods and his group will have difficulty finding them both if they get lost even further and possibly distantly away from them because of the intercepting monster threats and dangers lurking out there and about.
So Draco took a deep breath to calm himself and let it out in a soft sigh, showing the others that he's reluctantly giving in with defeat and begrudgingly letting this go until they get the chance to find their lost group member once the snowstorm passes on and the winter weather becomes peaceful again.
Bellamy made sure that Draco is following along a bit hesitantly as they all walked back to their temporarily safe campsite and to their group but Draco lingered slightly behind to look back in the woods that his sight is slightly blurred from the strong blizzard.
Bellamy knew deeply, just by looking at Draco's stone-like blank face yet with determined blazing cold silver-gray eyes that he's vowing his own thoughts inside himself for their lost friend.
I'm sorry, Charlotte. For forcing you to go and get you lost out there when I should have let us wait for the others to come to find us. But I promise...I won't rest or even stop for a little break until I find you. I will...
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