Escape from Cirices Part 1

Chapter 30

Jade, Mervis and Noctus raced through the greenery. The sun began dawning above them. Abigail's auburn hair was windswept and her green eyes had dark shadows under them. Lokeyia's blonde hair was run through with dirt, but her turquoise eyes blazed. Sara's knees were grazed and she appeared to be mopping her hazel eyes. Magda's scar looked dark against her pale skin in the ghostly light, tears strung on her eyelashes.

"Annah.. poor Annah..." Sara groaned.

Abigail hiccoughed and Magda sobbed audibly. Abigail, Sara and Magda turned to Lokeyia. Her turquoise eyes were fixed in the distance and stared there. When she caught sight of all her three friends staring at her, she burst into tears.

"No! Annah, she must be alive." Lokeyia gasped.

"I'm sorry, Lokeyia. We saw her blood. We saw her dying. I am very sorry we could do nothing to save her. It's too dangerous to go back." Magda rasped.

At that moment, a loud bang sounded through the eerily silent forest. Magda, Abigail and Lokeyia stared around in horror, Sara remained calm.

"That is fine. That just signifies that we were right. When someone dies in Tarabia, the cannon is blasted. That means that Annah - bang - is dead." Sara said, not pausing to hear the cannon blast halfway through her speech.

Three more bangs echoed through the silence.

"Four people died. Three other Tarabian guards." Abigail said weakly. The bangs seemed to have subsided.

When the sound of gushing water hit the horses' ears, they rushed forward, excitedly. They were just as thirsty as Abigail, Sara, Magda and Lokeyia. When they passed through the thicket of bushes, all four girls gasped. The grand, Green River stood before them. The huge river was at least thirty metres wide. And there were, at it's banks four girls and three horses. Mervis was the first to bend his silvery body and put his mouth in the water. However, Lokeyia pulled him out. The four girls set the horses behind the bushes, to conceal them and filled their water containers. Each horse drunk around six litres. Then the girls filled their personal water containers, dropped iodine in and sat with the horses, concealed by the bushes.

They had a splendid view. They could see very well from behind the bushes, but nobody could see them from the river's edge or the opposite bank. When the water was ready, the four girls drunk thirstily. Then, they walked a kilometre away from the Green River, to find a creek, an outlet of the Green River. Magda began tending to Sara, while Lokeyia kneeled at the creek's edge, took out her hair and dipped it into the water. Eventually she took off her outer clothes and jumped in, Magda following soon after Lokeyia. Abigail didn't like cold water, and Sara couldn't swim with her cuts, so Abigail and Sara stood at the edge, ignoring Lokeyia's and Magda's begs to join them and threw stuff for them to catch or dive for.

After Magda and Lokeyia had a good swim, they got out. Sara offered to dig for palentonae. Lokeyia offered her sword, but Magda digged inside her own pack and drew out another sword.

"Wait! That's the sword Sja gave to you before she..." Lokeyia broke off. Magda burst into tears.

"I'm s-sorry M-magda. I'm sor-ry for mention-ning it." Lokeyia gasped, stammering.

Abigail patted Magda awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Don't think about it, Magda. You'll just feel worse." Sara said, equally as awkwardly as Abigail.

Lokeyia mopped her eyes and handed Sara her sword.

"Bye." Sara said, subtly and strode further away from the Green River and it's outlet, which they were camping near.