Taken in Lies

17

Chapter 17

We walked up the hill in complete silence. Adriel has steam practically radiating from his ears and the rest of us are riddled with fear for our and Jillian's life. We reach the top and walk to camp where Jasmin, Verdasani, and Sae are running around with screams erupting from their throats. Adriel sneers and reaches for his gun.

Bang!

Jasmin drops dead and it gets everyone's attention. We scream and gasp in unison, and Alicona turns away. Xe isn't desensitized to the sight of death, despite the position xer in. I look over to Adriel and he simply seems annoyed. He opens his mouth and gets ready to scream.

"Line up! I am not in the mood for silliness." Adriel yells.

We scramble to do as we are told, not wanting another one of us to go down today. We line up in a straight line and await his orders.

"We are going to fight in a few days' time. Anyone who steps out of line will be killed. Go eat a snack and then go to your tents. Do not bother me. You are dismissed."

We run over to the fire pit and sit around it. Sae rushes over to Jasmin and grabs her body. I scurry over to help and we grab an arm and drag her into the woods and drop her there. We walk over to the large oak tree and grab the shovel we had hidden there. I grab it and hand it to Sae. She starts to dig a hole and I close Jasmin's blue eyes. Her pale skin seems to glow and life has been drained from her expression. It makes me sad to look at her. Adriel must not have been able to take all the chaos and he released his anger out on her. Tears form in my eyes and I think of all the loss we've had. How much more can each of us take? Not much, I am sure of.

"I'm so sorry, Jasmin. I wish I could do more."

Sae looks over at me and gives me a small smile. We are both feeling the loss of our friend. We might not have known each other for long but we experienced things together. Time doesn't matter when you're in dangerous situations. You grow close to those you know you can trust.

Sae continues to dig for a few minutes before we reach six feet. Sae drops the shovel and walks over to me. She rubs my back and sighs.

"I know this is hard. I'm guessing the elves did something to piss him off and he retaliated."

I look at her in shock.

"How did you know that?" I ask, confused.

"Well, have you seen Max? The arrowhead is out of her skin without a problem and her arm is fully functional again. It had to be magic and the only magical creatures that we knew probably existed were the elves. We had a miniature freak out which is why we were running around, but evidently that got us here. So, I mellowed out about it on the outside and I'm trying to accept it on the inside."

"Well it's true," I sigh and grimace. "Adriel shot the leader's fiance and started a war. It wasn't pretty. We don't know what has become of her."

"I'm sorry." Sae says gently, and I nod. I walk towards Jasmin's body, gesturing for Sae to do the same. I grab her lower half while Sae gets the top. We walk over to the grave and hold her over the hole, neither of us wanting to let go. Letting go meant forgetting. The memory of her bright smile has already faded from my mind. We then let go and Jasmin falls with a thud. I apologize for the roughness then grab the shovel and start to pile the dirt back in. The dirt slowly covers her body and pain twitches in my heart. This is the last time I will ever see her.

"Hey, it will be okay. We have to be strong for each other, and for ourselves too. We knew there would be a lot of death when we first entered the jungle. We have to try and accept it."

"I know, but I don't want to. I mean, it was Evergreen, Yelena, Jillian, and now Jasmin. Who's next?"

"I understand, but we can't think about who is going to be next. It will infest our brains. Instead, we need to think about our ways to survive as a group and as an individual."

"How are you so wise?" I ask, dropping my hands from where they were hugging my chest.

"I just am!" I laugh slightly but then go back to silence. "Say your goodbyes and we will head back to camp."

"Jasmin, we didn't know each other well but you are a kind and nurturing spirit. I wish you luck in the afterlife and hope to see you again. I'm sorry that I suck at goodbyes."

"That was beautiful." Sae compliments.

"Thank you, but no." I say solemnly. She seems to understand my reasoning, for she walks over to the grave and bends down without another word.

"Jasmin, you were one of my best friends and I love you dearly. I wish you luck in what the afterlife brings you. I hope your life is fulfilled and that you are satisfied with it. I pray that you watch over me and the others and keep us from harm. Goodbye, my dear friend. Goodbye."

Sae rises from her position and walks over to me.

"That was good." I say quietly. She nods with a small smile.

"Let's head back to camp." She says.

I nod and we turn from the gravesite and walk back to the campfire. When we arrive it seems that everyone is caught up on the prospect of magic. Which makes everything easier. When I get a chance I can take them to Halina Sol and we can check up on everyone. I sit down and grab a granola bar and shove it into my mouth. I turn to everyone else and sigh deeply, getting ready to join the conversation when Adriel yells,

"Everyone to your tents!"

I stand and walk over to the tent with Zyair on my tail. We don't say a word to each other and head inside. I lay down and snuggle into the only blanket I have. Zyair does the same and we just exist in absolute quiet. Neither of us feel like talking and that's okay. I eventually start to drift off to sleep, letting it happen. I need it after everything that went down tonight.