14 Declaration

"What?! Charlotte is gone?! What happened?!"

Anastasia was also visibly upset about this. They had clearly decided to stay close to one another but Charlotte just went off on her own to god knows where.

"Where do you think she is? Have the other's seen her?"

"No, they haven't but I guess she went out for Claire!"

"Claire?"

"Yeah, she was quite angry when Claire decided to join Vincent and Panda in their scouting mission, so she probably went after them when nobody paid attention to her.

"Shit!", Sieg cursed. This was something unexpected. But they couldn't do anything about this at the moment. It would have to wait till she and the rest came all back.

"Did you get anything useful out of him?", she asked him.

"Well, ehh hard to say.", Sieg had a hard time sorting through all the stuff that Gorst had told him about.

He started telling her about the nobels and Aldara and then went on to the Maze Forest and Gorst's proposition to go south.

She listened carefully and had a confused expression on her face during all the time.

"Wow, that's quite ... imaginative?"

"Yes, right? I seriously have never heard of Aldara or any country declaring itself an Empire nowadays. Even less of a Maze Forest. I can't make heads or tails of him. What is going on, really?", he told her with scrunched eyebrows.

Anastasia didn't have an answer to that.

"So, do you think we should follow his advice?", she asked him.

"I-I don't know. I really don't know.", Sieg said with a troubled look on his face. There were too many variables and dangers involved. What if this was another trap? What if Gorst had forgotten the way and they strayed away from the right path.

"Hmmm.", she mumbled in response.

............

"Where are the others?", Claire asked with read teary eyes.

"There are only me, Kyle and Owen here from our Group. He is still asleep ... and Professor Schneider ... they-they ....", Lora started trembling and stuttering but still couldn't finish the sentence.

"It's ok, everything is fine! Just calm down first!", Claire came up to her and held her hands behind the iron bars.

Kyle looked Vincent into his eye's and explained with a troubled voice:

"They killed him. Right in front of our eyes."

Panda inhaled the air sharply and even Vincent lost his composure for second when the thought was processed in his mind.

Their teacher, he is dead? The one person whom they hoped would solve their problems and explain them the situation was murdered? What were they supposed to do now? Even if they were to escape the enemies clutches, what fate awaited them after that?

Silence reigned over the room once again, and if it wasn't for the danger lying above and outside, some of them might have experienced a mental breakdown already.

"How?", asked Claire also visibly shocked.

"At first we woke up in the middle of the wilderness and tried to find a way home. After we separated from Sasha, Craig and Jean we ... found the camp. We were exhilarated and happy to finally find other people. But as we got discovered by the guards ... they tried to capture us and put us in one of those wooden cages. We tried to resist, but there were just too many and they were too strong!", Kyle responded and slowly pained grimaces formed on his face as if reliving that same moment again,

"They grabbed Lora and tried to pull her way somewhere ...", there was an underlying implication hidden but Kyle didn't continue speaking.

"Professor Schneider, he tried to stop them, he t-tried it very hard but then - then one those guys took out a small blade ... and and ....", she tried to follow up but couldn't find the right words,

"There was so much blood, he lay there on the ground. It was everywhere on his body and it just didn't stop ..."

Claire suddenly noticed a hint of red on Lora's hands.

"Could this be ...?", but she stopped herself from thinking further about this and suppressed her urges to pull back her hands. Lora needed her warmth right now.

Kyle found his voice again:

"Then the big guy came. Their Boss. He saw us trying to help Professor Schneider up but he just laughed at us. After that he ordered the guards to bring us here. Owen, he-he couldn't take it. It was just too- too much. He fainted on the spot and they had to carry him here."

He stopped speaking after this. There was no need to mention anything more. It wouldn't be enough to express their horrible experiences even if they talked for many more hours. But there was not enough time.

"So, so how did you guy's come in here?", Kyle asked them weakly.

Panda and Claire had troubles to think straight so Vincent explained the two of them what had happened in the Forest. Beginning with Jean's and Gorst's meeting, Sieg's confrontation with Gorst, their Scouting mission and to how they arrived inside the camp.

"Wow.", that was all Kyle could bring out now. What did they do to deserve this punishment? This hell on earth?

"So-so you are gonna go away now ... and leave us here?", Lora looked at them with frightened eyes.

Vincent and the rest were at a loss now. The mission only entailed to confirm wether they were here imprisoned or not. Now that they had fullfilled the mission, they should get back to the other's and discuss their further actions. But is that really something they could say to Lora and Kyle now? That they were going to abandon them now and leave them to their own devices for the time being? That they would have to stay alive somehow till they were rescued by them? Even if they managed to hang on to their lives, who knew for sure that the other's outside could come up with a good plan to save them next time? It was purely luck that helped Vincent's group arrive safe and sound here, luck and coincidences. Were they going to rely on that?

When Vincent wanted to tell them more about the situation, Claire interrupted him and said:

"No, no of course not! We will get you out of here! Don't worry and just wait for a moment."

She then backed off a little to discuss it with Panda and Vincent.

Panda just looked incredulously at her and asked her:

"Did you just seriously promise them that we would get them out of here? Do you even have a plan?! Do we have the means to make that happen?! I don't think so!"

He was obviously agitated at her irresponsible actions.

"But we can't just leave them be and get away from here! Do you have no concious?"

It's not about getting them out of here anymore. It's about us getting out of here alive! Or do you want us to get jailed as well? Then we will have accomplished simply nothing at all!"

They looked again at Vincent to hear out his opinion or else they might never to come to a consent.

He remembered Claire to be more calm and amiable. But the situation probably struck a soft spot in her heart and she couldn't help but get emotional.

Vincent tended to agree with Panda more but then his eyes fell again at Kyle and Lora, Owen still asleep in the corner, he reminded Vincent of the countless slaves outside. Their scars, wounds and gaunt bodies. He couldn't allow his classmates to experience the same fate! He couldn't abandon them if they were so close to them, just a couple of iron bars separating them from each other!

"We will get them out of here! Don't worry! We can't leave them here just like that!", he declared!