The Three Crystals

Chapter 5

With the sun just above the trees, the group left Tiger's palace and walked through the streets. The place was destroyed. Doors and windows were broken, and tiny trees stood in the road. The air was filled with sadness because those tiny trees were once people before they were bit by the Zombie Plants. 

The boy hung closely between Tiger and Unicorn. He knew Tiger could feel him watching him by the way his fur prickled and his tail swooshed behind him. It never once came in his direction.

"They took this path," Tiger finally spoke. His body stopped next to an unmarked trail.  Normally, if anyone had to walk between the three lands, they used the roads that were paved with stone and fences that were booby-trapped. 

"We should stick to the main roads. It's too dangerous to travel through an unmarked path," Wolf stated. 

It would be safer if they went down the main road. They would be protected by the fences as long as they had not been destroyed. But what if someone was hurt? What if his dad was hurt? They had to go in. "With all due respect, what if someone is in there and they need our help?" the boy asked.

"If someone is hurt, they would have already been a Plant," Tiger said bluntly. 

"But what if they are trapped somewhere? The Almighty Wolf did say it was an unmarked path. If we take the main road, then we would never know they were trapped somewhere. The Plants would get to them before we could, by then." 

The Three Keepers shared a look. He was afraid that maybe they would ignore him and continue to discuss without him. However, they nodded. "Very well. Change of plans. We'll travel through the woods."

"Hop on, kiddo, the woods aren't safe," Unicorn told him.

"Hopefully, this is a smart idea," he heard the girl say to herself. The look on her face was pale and deeply frowning. 

He felt bad that he had forgotten that a child was among them. Parents told horrific tales to their children to keep them out of the woods; whether they were true or not, it made kids afraid to even look at the woods. He used to tremble at the sight of it, but if he was to become a warrior like his dad, he had to learn to face it head on. He had to protect the people, something his dad lost sight of after taking the crystals. And it started with protecting his new friend.