The Missing Part

Chapter 18

Seven-year-old Copter, Tae, and Tee was running and running deep into the woods, behind the castle. They were just getting away from all those guards and nanny, that were supposed to keep their eyes on Prince Copter, but the sneakily Beam and Forth had succeeded taking Copter away from them, with the help of cunning Forth, obviously.

Copter and Beam were cousins, and Forth was the son of the beta who served the king as the Chief of Defense and the strongest beta at the time. The three of them had grown up together and were best friends as long as they could remember. This 'running away' thing wasn't even the first, but then they eventually came back to be reprimand and some punishment but never taking it the hard way. They'll be going to repeat it again anyway.

But somehow, that day, they were taking things a little bit differently, accidentally. They didn't mean to, but right now, they were talking, making fun of each other, laughing without even realize they were in too deep into the woods, somewhere they shouldn't have been. They have been warned multiple times, but somehow they just keep going.

"Son," a sudden voice of an old woman making the three of them turning around, shocked. They could see a bending old woman with a basket in her hand and holding a walking stick with the other hand. "What are you all doing in this part of the woods? It's dangerous, son."

Copter was the one coming closer to the old woman, which he could see the difference she tried to cover, but he would just smile coming closer to her. "We were just walking around granny. We will be going back shortly, thank you for your concern."

Copter was just about to turn around when the woman was holding his wrist, making him turned to her once again. She then took out the apples from her basket and was giving it to Copter. "You must be hungry. Please, take this, and just go back home." Copter would just take the apples enough for each of them and was nodding to the granny, turning around walking away from her and coming to Tee and Tae, giving them each.

They gladly took it and was eating it right away while making steps away from the old woman, who was just standing there watching the boys walking away. They were just taking a few steps when suddenly Tee's steps were stopped with round eyes and blood dripping from his mouth, dropping the apple, holding tight to his neck trying to fight the pain.

"Tee!" Copter was shouting and was heading to him right away, when Tae had to give the same reaction and both were lying, shaking on the ground, fighting for their life. "Tae!" Copter was panicked and didn't know what to do, and could only crying while running to them both, here and there.

The old woman then coming closer to them, and Copter was turning to her right away. "Why did you do this? Please, help them, please. Please save my friends, I'm begging you." Copter had held the old woman's leg, while keep begging for his friend's life.

The old woman who bending before had standing straight up, looking down on Copter who keeps begging her while holding her legs tight. She, who was still covering her full face, then had thrown a knife that was landing just beside Copter.

"Feed them your blood, only then they could survive." Copter was looking up at her and then the knife. "What?" He tried to process the woman's word and the things thrown beside him, but everything was a blur, his vision due to the tears which keeps on falling down and his minds too, for he was too afraid, panicked and most of all, the thought of losing his two best friends since birth was clouding his mind and heart the most.

"You ate the same apple as they did, but you are the only one who didn't affect. Will you hurt yourself just to save them, or will you just watch they died just like that? You need to decide, fast. They don't have much time, Prince Copter." The woman keeps talking and while listening to her, Copter was turning to his two best friends who were still struggling while blood keeps coming out from their mouth and their chest had pushed up every time they had to cough up blood.