Demons began to swarm the opening of the forest as they followed their leader who wore a black cloak. "They've gone down into the forest. We were too late. Down below is where the vampire trees grow and I hear that wild beasts have also been walking around recently. We must have the special product returned in perfect condition and the merchandise cannot be eaten by anyone but us" The leader said coldly. "Do you know which direction they headed?" He asked his fellow demons. "Yes, straight south east" One of the demons said.
Meanwhile back at the forest Emma explained how some of Mr. Minervas books were coded with information on survival skills. "I've read this book! This parts about snakes. It's called 'The Adventures Of Ugo! The hero of the story is Ugo and with his partner Marvine the lemur, they travel the unexplored regions of this world. It's an adventure novel. And this I read in the book! That part about snakes!" Emma said as she opened up the book in her hands flicking through the pages. "What are you even talking about-" Ray asked as he began to grow stressed.
"The Snakes Of Alvapinera! That's it! They get trapped by snakes who are dressed as roots. They trap their prey in because they are protecting jewels" Emma said pointing to the page. "Come on Emma, yeah there's similarities but-" Ray started. Y/n grabbed Rays arm and spoke up. "No I think Emma has a point! Let's test it out" y/n said with a sneeze as Emma nodded.
Ray took out a mug from his bag. "It's not triggered by heat or vibration or sound. When the prey touches a root the tree learns its location and tracks it" Ray said. He threw his mug into a pile of the roots. In a matter of seconds the mug was smashed to pieces. "I knew it! It's by contact!" Ray said with a grin.
"Emma, just like you said these are probably the Snakes of Al Vapinera" Y/n said before Chris butted in. "Hey guys! The roots are coming closer and closer!" He said pointing to the roots.
Emma, Ray and y/n looked at eachother and began to walk towards the roots. "Y/n!? Emma?! Ray?!" The children shouted confused at their actions. The three put out their arms. "See? It's fine if you don't touch them!" Y/n said with a smile. "Huh?!" The children asked confused. "Avoid touching them and you'll be fine! The attacks only come from the roots on the walls. But look, if you don't touch them they don't attack" Emma added. "It's not scary so let's calm down!" Y/n said. "Listen carefully, we're gonna climb the tree in the back to escape. Just like our original plan, just before the roots on the wall catch up to us" Ray said.
Some of the younger children looked worried and scared. "Don't worry you guys! You've all climbed trees before in your training, right?" Y/n asked with a smile as she ruffled their hair. "But...what about when we get to the top?" Nat asked. "Can we get out? As long as we go to the top can we go to the ceiling to above ground? With everyone?" Gilda asked. "Yeah!" Emma Said confidently. "Let's go everyone!" Y/n said as she let out a small sneeze. the children cheered. "Let's get outta here!" Emma said as they all ran towards the tree.
"You sure you'll be able to make it to the top of the tree okay?" Ray asked with a worried expression. "Yeah of course! Why are you asking?" Said y/n. "I heard you sneeze a lot earlier and I'm worried you're coming down with a cold again..." he said. "I'll be fine I promise" y/n said with a smile as she kissed his cheek.
The children began to climb the massive tree with all their strength. Eventually the children reached the top of the tree and a they tore some of the old dead roots to get to the surface. Finally everyone climbed up and was on the higher ground again. "Yay we did it!" The little children cheered. Y/n sneezed "it's really cold out here" she said shivering. "Here take this" Ray said handing her his white coat that everyone wore. "But you'll be cold-" y/n started. "You need it more than me " he said as he wrapped it around her shoulders. Y/n smiled at the boys actions.
"So the roots became weak because of the cold?" Alicia asked "That's why they stopped moving!" Yvette said. "It's so cold here..." the children said. "It's the same forest but the temperature is so different" Dominic said. "Maybe because there's no sunlight coming in" Anna suggested. "Even so it's really cold..."
"So, if we are on the cold land where the sunshine doesn't come in we have no fear of getting attacked by those roots and falling underground?" Gilda asked. "Probably" said Emma. "Well then I'm glad it's winter! Or we would have been eaten!" Don said with a wide smile. "Actually..." Nat said pointing at a page in the book. "The book says that Alvapinera is a legendary cave that one can only enter through at winter" He said. Don stood there with a nervous grin. "It would have been better if it wasn't winter" Gilda said with a smile putting a hand on his shoulder.
"But thanks to that we figured out how un predictable outside is and what the book means!" Emma said. "So it's a guide book" y/n said as she looked over Dons shoulder to look at the book. "Yeah! Hidden in the story is various hints on how to survive outside. Dangers and how to deal with them, the enemy's weakness and-" Emma began.
"Hey Y/n! Emma! Come take a look at this!" Ray said. He was standing further away from the group behind a tree. He located a patch for small round plants. The group walked towards Ray. "What's this Ray?" Y/n asked the boy. "Water" he said with a smile. "Water?!" The group asked "they appear in Ugos adventures. Anemones that store fresh water" "Anemones?!" Don asked nervously. "Watch this" Ray said as he took out a small knife from his bag and sliced one of the plants open. Water dripped from the plant. "Woah!" The children said.
"This is just a plant. But they were called Anemones in the story. And according to the book this water is drinkable" Ray said holding up his bottle full of the fresh water. "In an unknown environment the biggest concern is obtaining food and water. We don't know what's edible or what's poisonous. So it's great that we can get information on those things" Ray explained.
"The outside is very dangerous. We don't know much, they're many enemies...more than we imagined" y/n added before she sneezed again. "But we will be okay! We aren't alone! We have each-other and we have an ally!" Emma said with a smile.
"Let's go see Mr. Minerva, let's survive. First, let's go through this forest. Come one! We can do it!" Emma said as the small children cheered.
Around an hour later the children were still walking though the forest. Y/n wasn't feeling well at all. She felt dizzy and weak but she kept going. "Y/n?" Ray asked. "Mhm?" She asked looking at the boy beside her. "You zoned out there for a second, are you sure you are okay?" Ray asked putting his hand on her forehead. "I think you're coming down with a fever again" The raven haired boy said. "Don't tell Emma or the others right now. I don't want to worry them and get off track" y/n said fixing the bag on her back. "It's worrying me, I just need to make sure you're okay" he said with a smile as he took y/ns hand in his.
"Emma is this the right direction?" Don asked "Yeah! But we sorta went off course when we went underground" Emma said and she opened Mr. Minervas pen that projected a screen. "I see, so this is our current location. Both B06-32 and B00-15 describe positions, what you call coordinates. The number on the left indicates the distance to the north-south and the on the right indicates to the east-west" Ray said. "So when we left the house we came from the north-east and we're heading south now so..." y/n said. "Location B06-32 is south, to be accurate we're heading toward the eastern side of the south area" Ray said.
Emma stared at the two next to her for a moment. "You two are scary how did you figure that out so quickly?" She asked confused. "There were lots of clues! Anyone could figure that out" y/n said.
"When I First looked at the pen at the house there was no alphabet and the numbers were 00-00" Emma said. "I see, so we're directly east from the house" Ray said. "We were at B01-14 so we came back a little bit. Wait how did you know this was a location?" Y/n asked. "Yeah besides how do you know to go to point B06-32? How do you know Minervas going to be there?" Ray asked as he helped y/n step over a large root from a tree.
Emma stayed silent for a few moments before handing the pen to the pair. "Here. Norman Said 'You'll understand if you look at the pen' and if I didn't to 'show the pen to y/n and Ray, they'll figure it out together'" Emma said. "So you didn't figure it out, eh?" Ray said with a grin. "I got half way" Emma said.
"It's morse code..." Ray said. He touched the small icon of the owl on the screen and the screen changed to show a small box with letters underneath it. "I was able to open it up until there" Emma said. "Well you're no good at these things so..." Ray said as he rolled his eyes. Y/n stared at the screen for a moment and then her eyes widened. "Ah, I see what it is" she said. "You understand it?" Emma asked. "You guys remember the second book we couldn't figure out? The one about mythology with no Morse code?" Y/n asked. "Yeah?" Ray said. "That book is the code book for this pen" y/n said with a grin. "I understand" Ray said. "It's a code book?" Emma asked.
Y/n pointed to the owl on the screen. "Look, there's the same label with no Morse code right?" Y/n said as Ray took the book into his hand. "So if you use the book to decipher the code. The code is 13-18-02. You can move on if you enter the answer" Ray said looking into the book as y/n did the same. "For example, we look in the book for page 13, line 18, the second word. The word is human" y/n said pointing to the page as she sneezed.
Ray entered the numbers into the screen and it glitched. The screen now read 'if you need me come see me.' "It's a message from Mr. Minerva! You guys are amazing at figuring things out together! Norman was right! You guys compliment each-other so well!" Emma said with a smile. Y/n giggled at Emma's comment and Ray rolled his eyes smirking. "I'm at location B06-32, from William Minerva" Ray read the message on the screen.
"There's another code and it says..." he trailed off as he entered the numbers into the screen.
Suddenly there was a loud thud that echoed through the forest. Ray shut the pen and closed the book. "You guys...somethings coming" Emma said as everyone froze. "What's that noise?" Gilda loudly whispered. Ray took y/ns hand and held it tightly. A big demon with sharp teeth and multiple eyes screeched and broke down the trees where the children were hiding. "RUN!" Emma screamed.
The beast followed the children as they all ran as fast as they could through the forest. "What is that thing?!" Nat asked panicked. "AHHH!!" The children screamed as the demon followed closer in their footsteps. "hey what is that?! Is that from the book too?" Gilda asked in fear. "No that thing is a demon!" Y/n yelled. "That's a demon?!" Don asked nervously.
The wild demon got caught in a tree branch which gave the children time to get a head start to run further away.
"Those hands...those claws ...that face! It's definitely a demon!" Emma said. "But the demons at the house didn't act like that! They treated us like merchandise and they were shaped like humans?!" Y/n asked. "They also could speak! I remember now- they didn't have a tail like that one and they were wearing masks and also wearing clothes!" Emma added.
The demon began to catch up to the children again as they ran as fast as they could. "Emma!" Y/n yelled as she grabbed Emma's arm. The demon was inches away from Emma's leg. "Thanks!" Emma said as they sprinted down the forest.
"Is that demon here to catch us?!" Rossi asked panicked. "No way! That one is trying to eat us!" Nat said. "It's not one of our pursuers. Like y/n said they would treat us like merchandise! They would never act like this!" Emma said. "It's a type of demon that's unrelated to the farm. That means without question we will get eaten if it catches us" Ray said as his eyes widened. He turned to look at y/n who looked exhausted. "I feel like I'm burning up" y/n said putting her hand on her forehead. Rays face became worried. "As soon as we stop I'll get you some water just hang on a little longer" he said as he tightened the grip on her hand.
Dons face became angry. "No! We won't get eaten!" He yelled. He pointed to a path in the forest signalling to Gilda to split the children up so it's easier to run. She nodded as she took the different path, followed by half of the children. Dons group ran as far as they could. Emma, y/n and Ray were the closest to the demon. "Everyone just run! Don't look back!" Don yelled. The screams of the wild demon stopped follow them for a few moments as its head got stuck between two trees.
"We are going to use this narrow path to pull away!" Don said as he leaped down a small path followed by the younger children. "Let's survive this! We've been through scarier things!" Don yelled.
"Y/n! Ray! Everyone's okay we need to take care of that demon quickly" Emma said. "How?" Y/n asked with tired eyes. "I'll think of something" the orange haired girl said. "You don't have a plan yet?!" Ray asked.
The three hid behind a tree for a few moments to gather their thoughts. Y/n leaned against the tree putting her hands over her face. "Y/n are you okay-" Emma began putting a hand on her shoulder. "I think I found a way" Ray said as he examined the forest. He pointed to seven trees that were close together on the other side of the forest. "I'll drop him in the trap of the tree roots" Ray said. "Got it! Then we can-" Emma started. "No I'll do this alone" Ray said sternly. "Ray you're not thinking off..." y/n began as she thought about his plan about the fire back at the house. "No. I won't sacrifice myself because we are in danger, I'll do it alone because I can. Y/n is coming down with a fever and is exhausted, I need to made sure she is okay, safe and won't get left behind or fall" Ray said. "But-" "who's better at tag?" Ray asked with a smirk. "You" Emma said "Right? So leave it to me. I promise I'll return. Once I go, wait ten seconds and join the others with you and y/n. Run downwind. Got it?" Ray asked. Emma nodded. The raven haired boy walked towards y/n. "Hang in there okay?" He asked as he held her hand for a few moments. "Yeah..." y/n Said quietly. Ray kissed y/ns forehead and then looked her in the eyes. "I'll be back soon" he said with a smile. Emma took y/ns arm and the two began to run downwind as Ray ran the opposite.
Ray ran towards the massive wild demon and out his arms out. "I'm over here idiot!" He yelled as the demon turned around. The demon chased after Ray as its screeches echoed through the forest. "I'm not gonna die..." Ray said to himself. "I'm not going to let any of them die...as soon as we get to safe land I'll look after y/n just like old times- I'll read her those dumb fairy tales she loves" Ray said with a smile. The thought of his family gave him the strength to keep running. Ray ran straight towards the trees and dodged the hole on the ground. "Get ready to fall into hell!" He yelled. As he hid behind a tree he heard the demons head get slaughtered. Blood splattered everywhere as he cries of the demons slowly began to stop. "What?!" Ray asked confused.
A dark shadow appeared behind the beasts corpse. "Phew! That sure was a close one. We found them" the voice said.
It was the pursuers. Five large demons stood at the beasts body. They wore masks and cloaks, the leader held a small communication device in his hand.
"Repulsive beast. How dare it try to eat our merchandise" The demon said kicking the wild beasts head. "The enemies ..." Ray said as his eyes widened.
"We will bring the products back immediately" The demon spoke into the device. "Damn it!" Ray said as he tried his best to hide behind the tree. "Are the others okay?! Did they find y/n and the others?!" Ray said to himself. "The number of enemies...there's got to be others. And their leader sliced that beasts head off in one swing!" Ray said to himself in fear.
"So?" The demon asked its associate as he sniffed the beast. "I don't smell human from its mouth. It hasn't eaten any."
Ray took a pair of scissors from his bag. He then reached into his pocket and grabbed the old white flower crown y/n made for him back at the house. He held it close to his heart. "I'm going to get out of here" he said to himself. "You're there, right? Come out" the demon said to Ray.
No response. "That was close I'm glad you're okay. We can go home now the monster is defeated" The demon said. Still no response from Ray. "Do you want me to drag him out?" "No. It's fine stay back. Are you alone?" The demon asked walking closer to the tree. "Are you alone? What happened to the others? You understand it's impossible to live outside here right? Let's go home" the Demon said.
"Y/n and the others are safe! They haven't been found yet, I knew it! They only found me...that's why they're trying to figure out what happened to everyone else. They're probably looking for my reaction while trying to get me to surrender. They haven't grasped where anyone is or if they are alive...then there is only one strategy for me!...I have to keep their attention on me! I can't go back to the others now...I have to run the opposite direction and separate the enemies from them. Can I pull this off? No I can. I have to live, I have to!" Ray said in his mind as he held the flower crown tightly in his hand.
"It would be easier for me to die... but I can't, I made a promise. And I have to protect y/n and the others!" Ray said to himself. He picked up the scissors and carved out his location into the tree. "I'll see you at B06-32 y/n" he said with a look of determination.
Ray stepped out from behind the tree to face the demons. "You're too late. Everyone is dead already" Ray said as he reveal his identification number on the side of his neck with a smirk. The demons gasped. "It's 81149 the highest grade!" The demons said. "I'm not going to be eaten" Ray said sternly. "Your opinion is meaningless you are merely food" the demon said as they started to chase Ray down the forest. "Catch him!" The demon in the back cloak yelled.
Meanwhile deep in the forest Y/n, Emma and the other children were all huddled together by a big tree. Y/n felt exhausted and light headed she was barely able to stay awake. She sat against the tree as Jemima and Alicia hugged her tightly "Is y/n going to be okay?" Anna asked as she held y/ns hand. Suddenly there was a loud thud noise that echoed through the forest. "What was that?!" Emma asked. "Are another one of those weird things coming?" Nat asked scared for his life. It was silent for a few moments. "Nothings coming?" Anna asked confused. "Hey don't you guys think Rays taking too long?" Gilda asked concerned. "I...don't get a good feeling about this, he promised he'd stay alive but what if-" y/n began "do you think something bad happened?" Anna asked "like what?" Don asked nervously. "What if he ran into our pursuers?" Rossi asked. Emma's eyes widened. She looked at y/n for a moment who was half asleep sitting under the tree with her hand on her wound from when they cut her ear and eye bags underneath her eyes.
"I'm going to go check to see if I can spot Ray. Can you guys look after y/n for me?" Emma asked. "Yeah!" The children said. Emma smiled and ran towards some trees to get a better look. "Emma!" Gilda shouted. "What's wrong?" Emma asked worried. "Y/n passed out and her wound opened up!" Anna said holding the cotton wool to Y/ns wound. Don put his hand on y/ns forehead. "And she's got a fever...we need her! Do we have any medicine?" He asked. Emma ran towards y/n pulling her into a tight hug."What do we do?! Rays missing and y/ns passed out!" Thoma cried.
Suddenly rustling came from a bush beside the children. A girl about their height who wore a hood covering her face and a long dress appeared in-front of them. She pointed behind her with a smile. "This way, come this way" she said softly. "A human?" "A girl?" The children asked confused at the presence in-front of them. Emma stared at the girl standing before them as she hugged y/n closer to her chest. "How can we trust you? Who are you?" She asked sternly. "Show us your face!" Gilda demanded. The so called girl just smiled at them.
Meanwhile Ray was sprinting with all his strength to escape the demons. Eventually he was practically surrounded by the enemies. To his left, his right, and behind. He had to keep going he wasn't going to give up. "They've got my completely surrounded! To my left and right- they are different from that beast earlier they are more efficient in the way they move. But they don't attack because I'm the highest grade. They want to ship me out tonight just as planned. In order to do that they need to capture me alive and unharmed" Ray said to himself and jumped over some roots on the ground.
"If I stop I'll loose and they'll catch me" he said. A demon caught up to Ray nearly grabbing the boys arm but he threw his scarf at the demon blocking its view for a few moments. "He disappeared!" The demon said as he took the scarf off of his eyes.
A flash of black hair was spotted. "I see him! To the right!" One demon shouted as they followed him again. "Damn it!" Ray said. "He's strong and fast. He's been running for a while now" one demon said. "Yeah but he will get tired eventually, no need to worry" another one spoke.
"I need to keep running, if it's for 100 meters or even 10 I need to get as far away as possible" Ray said to himself.
Ray slid down a path full of roots as the demons trailed behind him fast. Ray was seriously frustrated. "I feel like I'm playing chess against Mama! I'm not going to stop ever! I'm not going to give up and definitely not going to die" he said to himself, out of breath. Eventually he came to a dead end. His eyes darted everywhere to find a way to escape. But the demons had him cornered.
"It's over" the leader said showing no emotion. "I'm not letting it be over. I can't die! I can't let them capture me! Think-" Ray said to himself as he began to feel dizzy. He fell onto the floor out of pure exhaustion. "Damn it! Come one get up!" He said to himself. "You've done enough. You've put up a good fight" the demon said. "I have to protect y/n and the rest. What will she think when she finds out I got captured- no, I don't even want to imagine it. Just get up!" Ray said to himself as his eyes began to close slowly.
Suddenly a large horse and a figure sprinted to where Ray fell and picked him up by the shirt. "Get on!" A voice called. Ray was only half awake and wasn't fully aware of what was going on. He managed to grab onto the strange figure and held on tight. "Get them!" The demon leader yelled. But the stranger on the horse was faster than them and disappeared in a matter of a few seconds. "Where did they go?!" The demons asked confused. "You've lost them?! There has to be footprints! And I'm sure he's lying about the others being dead. Find them!" The leader Demon demanded.
"Where are we going...to what direction?" Ray asked himself "who was that? An ally? Why did he save me?" Ray asked himself.
Suddenly Ray sat up with his eyes wide open breathing heavily. He was inside a cave like room resting on top of a sleeping bag with a blanket over his body. He stood up straight away. "Where am I? In a cave? Who was that guy who saved me?" Ray asked as he put a hand on his head.
Ray walked out of the cave room and down a dark hallway. He saw a light beaming from a room close to his and stepped inside. Y/n lay there asleep with a cold cloth on her forehead and a new bandage on her wound. He ran towards the sleeping girl and hugged her tightly. Y/n slowly began to open her eyes. "Ray..?" She asked as she felt the boys warmth. "Are you okay?!" He asked panicked, holding the girls hands tightly. "I'm okay I just passed out earlier and-" "This is all my fault I should have known your fever was going to get worse" he said worried. "It's okay...I was so worried about you. You were gone for so long" y/n said as her eyes filled with tears. Ray gazed into the girls eyes . "I'm just glad we are together again" he said with a warm smile as he kissed the girl softly on the lips. His actions made y/ns cheeks turn pink.
"Where are the others?" Ray asked. "I...don't know actually, I have no clue where we are- I just woke up here" y/n said. "Me too. Let's go find the others" he said as he helped the girl stand taking her hand.
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That was a long chapter lmao