Judging You ✔

Chapter 8 ~ A Punch Of Thunder

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One by one the group of survivors woke up though some dreamt of lingering in blissful ignorance instead of facing reality. It's much better than facing deadly beasts whom none desired.

They freshened up using the clean water from the lake to clarify their views and set their senses on high alert. It was calm and peaceful for the moment but who knows when the table might turned upside down.

All they need to do is to find a way out of this deadly forest.

Akira regretted her decision of going on a vacation. Her father can easily rub 'I told you so' on her face and she wouldn't have anything in her defense. The real world is full of dangers but a bitter reality was she wasn't ready to face them. Akira hated being weak. She hated depending on Adam or Han.

If only.

Throwing their respective bag packs on their back, they marched; Han being in front of course as he knew some of the ways in the forest and can put an end on their misery. Maira and Mary kept complaining about mosquitoes and swatted them away with broken branches but everyone enjoyed their bickering as it was fun to break away from stereotypes.

Two girls who have known nothing but richness, protective parents, perfect school life and suddenly mosquitoes happened to be their nemesis.

Now that's a tale to remember for a lifetime.

However fun wasn't meant to last forever. Merriment is temporary as everything started going down with a series of unexpected events.

A rain of arrows showered on them as they walked through a clearing in the forest. They all braced themselves and hid amongst the bushes to prevent any injury but one pierced Adam's shoulder. Olivia grabbed him and hid behind a tree, removing the arrow in one-go; causing blood to splash on them.

"You'll be fine Adam. Take small breaths only," said Olivia while tying her scarf around his injured shoulder. Han helped her and only then realized he had led the group of young adults on the wrong path.

He literally brought the cannibals food.

"Everyone fall back, fall back," he shouted.

Akira understood the reference. It's what her father used to say though the phone, giving orders when the danger couldn't be contained to save the lives of his soldiers. Crawling like a toddler on the hard ground filled with insects and stones, Akira made her way out from the alley of death successfully.

She ran.

There are times that a retreat from a conflict is bravery not cowardice. Distance was all that mattered. But Akira wasn't stopping for anything. It has to be the either the cannibals or the same people who had shot at their van trying to kill them or one of her father's enemies who had found everything about their incident.

Every race she ran since being lost in the forest, there was never a question of stopping until the finishing line was crossed. If she had run so much in school, she would have definitely won a few gold medals. It's a hidden talent that she had discovered or should she add survival instincts.

Bumping into someone, Akira fell down due to the speed she was sprinting. It was a hard chest not a tree. Still lying on the ground, she turned to come face to face to a monster that she has dreamt about twice since Han narrated the horrors. But it didn't wear black clothes nor had red horns on his head or an evil smile. It wasn't the devil but his incarnation. Foul, disgusting, dirty, determined to finish the human race by eating them, showing no mercy.

Cannibal.

The man was tall and had scars all over his face like stitches. His hair was a shade of light brown and even longer than Akira's. His widened eyes stared at her small body lying helplessly. Drool dripped from his filthy mouth as he leaned towards her, smelling like foul dirt.

Akira thought it would be the end of her.

But instead of chewing on her flesh, a punch of thunder collided against her face, rendering her unconscious.

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