A Warrior's Fate

Chapter 7 - Create the Path

As they walked their way through the crispy snow, Snooki looked up into the sky. "Look, the sunrise. I never thought I'd be able to see it." Liam smiled at Snooki. "That's because we've left the darkness now. However, I don't feel like we're heading anywhere towards the light. If we're going to that place, there's a high chance we're heading back into the darkness." Leon looked at Liam. "We don't have to worry though. The light is on our side. We can do this." Liam responded with a little worry in the tone of his voice, "But Leon, we don't even know how many of them there are. We don't even know if our people are still..." Leon cut him off. "Stop! You know they'll still be alive. Why would they take them just to kill them? Wouldn't they have done that when they came here instead of just capturing them?" Snooki agreed, "He makes a fair point. Besides, we can't think negatively, or else we'll receive something negative." Liam was impressed by what Snooki was saying. Suddenly, the girl stopped both hunters. "What is it Snooki? What can you hear," Leon asked. Snooki held her finger over her mouth to tell them to be quiet. Carefully, she listened. Out of nowhere she yelled, "Liam! Duck down!" The boy followed her command and knelt down. A black wolf jumped over him and Snooki gave him a clean shot to the head, resulting him to drop to the floor instantly. "Wow, you're good. You've definitely learned a lot," Liam commented as he stood back up. Snooki replied to the boy with a smile, "Thanks. I think you'd say I'm a fast learner." Liam nodded in agreement and Leon said, "Come on guys. There's no time to waste. There's no saying what's gonna happen." All of a sudden, the hunters came to halt after hearing a twig snap. The silence of the forest caused the three of them to be paranoid. "Guys, there's multiple feet moving around us," Liam pointed out. "Or paws," Snooki added. The three of the hunters were surrounded by the sound of growling and shuffling feet. "Looks like we've found the pack," Snooki said as she turned to look all around them. The girl then pulled the trigger as one of the beasts pounced towards Leon. He gave her a smile as if he was thanking her. The noise of the gun caused the rest of the pack to make an appearance. "Guys, we have to run! We can't waste all of our ammo on these creatures. Snooki! Come on!"

Leon, Liam and Snooki all ran in the direction they were headed. The girl got shivers down her spine when she heard one of the wolves howl. "Just keep running! Don't look back," Leon said. After seven minutes of running, Snooki stopped to get some more energy. She couldn't hear the wolves that were previously chasing them so she took some time to rest. She then looked to her left after hearing a scream. She only had to walk a few steps to see who it was. There was a girl, maybe the same age of Snooki, being pinned down by a man. The girl looked at Snooki as she pleaded for help, but Snooki was stood paralyzed after seeing the face of the girl. It was like she was looking in some sort of mirror to another world. Snooki saw herself looking back at her with bloodshot eyes and watery cheeks. She was covered in bruises and cuts. Leon grabbed Snooki by the arm and spoke, "Snooki let's go. We can't hang around." The girl pointed towards her twin. "But, she needs help." Leon looked at the girl and back at Snooki. "We have no time to save her. If she believes hard enough, she can fend for herself." The boy then pulled Snooki away. She might not see that girl again, but she still pondered about her in her mind. What was it that she was seeing? Was she seeing herself from a different world? Liam disrupted the girl from her thoughts, "Hey, are you alright? You seem confused. You might not be confused but your face looks it." Snooki shook off the feeling and reassured him that she was alright. "Guys! You might want to see this," Leon said from the distance. The hunter and the huntress jogged for five seconds and saw what Leon could see. "We're nearly there." In the distance, there was no light apart from the glow of flames. It managed to illuminate the exit of the forest, where they were currently standing. "We should rest for a while. We need to be prepared. Be full on energy." Snooki was stuck in a daydream. Liam replied to Leon, "I'll go and get some wood to make a fire. I saw some dry wood not far from here." "Be careful with your arm. We can't have another injury whilst you're in the forest," Leon replied. Liam nodded and ventured back into the forest. Leon walked over to Snooki when he saw her sat down on the snow.

"I know you're not looking for a fight. I can see it in your eyes. What are you looking for?" Snooki replied, "A way out. To finally get away from everything. I was never looking for a fight." Leon replied as he looked into the distance in front of them both, "Freedom. That's what you're truly looking for. Don't worry, I know you'll find it. Remember, there's always a task that you'll need to complete before truly getting what you want. I think right now, the task is trying to get my people free." Snooki looked at the boy. "And when that's done, when the task is over, what am I supposed to do then?" Leon gave Snooki a warm smile, warmer than the atmosphere around them. "You control this world. If you're looking for something, you first need to create the path. The path you make will eventually lead to what you seek, you just need to fight your way through the challenges you'll come across. You have all the weapons required, so fight." Leon got up but the girl grabbed his arm to finally say, "But I can't fight down the path on my own. I need help. What if I get lost?" The hunter again gave the huntress the same smile, "You can do anything you put your mind to. You just need to believe in yourself. Find your inner strength and you'll be able to take down any person that knocks you to the floor with a weapon, like a wooden object." Snooki looked at the hunter with confusion, but he knew what he was talking about. He walked back over to Liam, who was now carrying at least six dry pieces of wood. He dropped them to the floor and Leon created the flames. The huntress was still sat in the snow, staring at the orange colour in the distance. Liam shouted her to come over to the fire and keep warm. After a few more seconds, Snooki stood up and layed down near the fire. She still didn't understand Leon's words. What did he mean by someone hitting her with a piece of wood? What was he trying to tell her?

The girl fell asleep shortly after. Leon's words still stuck in her head. She had a nightmare. She was wearing pink pyjamas, sat in the corner of what looked like, a bedroom. Fairly big, light brown carpet. A man entered through the door with a terrifying temper and grabbed her by the arm. She was then hit down by some wooden plank he was holding. But in this dream, Snooki wasn't a fighter. She couldn't find her strength to get back up and fight the man. So she layed there. Maybe this nightmare was supposed to show Snooki that she still needed to find her strength, so she could fight on her own, rely on herself. With a gasp, Snooki awoke. For some reason, it was night. A little while ago, the sunrise appeared, why was it nighttime? She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked to find the same two hunters passed out by the fire. The huntress thought that her nightmare represented Leon's words. Maybe the dream somehow helped her understand what he meant. The girl then again later down and went back to sleep.