Chapter 2: The Hunt

SAVERNIA

BEHIND ROYAL PALACE

Jade sat on the branch of a large Banyan tree, waiting for everyone to come. He had a huge meal for dinner and was retching, emitting smelly meat gasses every minute. So, to relieve this trouble, he tossed two pebbles at two diffrent locations, not too visible for others to get caught.

He strolled to and fro from one pebble to another one, under the night sky, as he loitered for everyone to come.

First to come was Sasha. "Jade. Jade." She was whispering while searching for Jade in the darkness. A arm covered her mouth and pulled her into the shadows of the Banyan tree. Sasha was scared, she didn't know who it was and was about to scream but her captor retched.

Sasha recalled that she ate chicken tonight and with that realisation, she knew who it was.

Shasha relaxed knowing who that would be and started licking the fingers that covered her mouth. Jade had no choice than to remove his hand.

"Yuk! Take it back! Take it back!" Jade shouted, while running towards her, avoiding his hand like he touched some animal's nauseating, smelly feces.

"You deserve it!" Sasha laughed silently, while running away to avoid Jade's touch. Jade ran behind her to rub the saliva on her blouse, but his full stomach dragged him slowly. While laughing, Sasha ran into someone and immediately shied away.

"What are you doing?" Lucas whispered. Jade reached Sasha and extended his hand onto her sleave. Shasha gave a slight puch to his stomach, dodging his hand.

"Aaaa....attch!" Jade screamed a silent scream but ended up retching again. Lucas and Sasha laughed at him, while pointing a finger.

"What are you doing, everyone hide!" Izan came running and pushed them into the darkness under Banyan tree.

"Attch!" Jade retched again, making everyone laugh. Izan gave one look at Jade and shoke his head while chuckling.

"You are so pathetic!" Sasha made a disgusted expression and laughed at Jade.

Izan saw that there was no one following him and stepped out of the shadows. Everyone followed.

"I brought extra chicken for you, because you like it!" Izan took a small sack and forwarded it to Jade. Jade was about to snatch it but Izan pulled away his hand.

"I will give you if you successfully complete the mission." He said and folded the cloth and tucked it in his robes. This made Jade to click his tongue.

"I am a good student, you know!" Jade said stiffening his body in attention stance, which made everyone laughed at him.

"Not suitable for you. Come lets go." Sasha dragged Jade away. All four of them jumped across the stone wall at the back of the palace and ran very fast to not get captured.

After noticing that there was no one trailing them, they walked leisurely.

"Where should we go?" Sasha asked.

"North east into 'Sun city'." Jade said.

They walked for a distance in silence.

"I am ditching salt water meditation. My body is getting damaged. Girls won't come close to me!" Jade broke the silence.

Izan felt like someone squeezed his heart.

"No one cares. Our ancestors, our fathers, mothers everyone grew up while meditation in the salt water bowl. We are not any exception!" Lucas dismissed him.

"Yes. Salt water helps us concentrate more." Izan added forgetting Jade's complaint.

"But I don't want to. Why should I do something everyone does!" Jade complained, folded his arms and stamped the ground.

"Do you have any other way?" Izan asked. Jade was mischievous, out going but at the same time he didn't wanted to follow the same path that someone already had paved. Izan loved this trait in Jade. He wanted to help Jade achieve whatever he wanted too. But, Jade was too out of tune, to know what he plumped for in his life.

"No. But, I will definitely find it!" Jade said with determination.

"My life is set. I will follow my father's foot steps to become the general of whole army and bring great success to this kingdom." Lucas said. Lucas respects and admires his father so much, who was the General of Kingdom's whole army. Ever since he started to understand the world he wanted to follow his father. His father appreciated his effort and started taking him to missions. Lucas loved every moment he spent with his father in the battlefield.

"And I will follow you. Be your assistant general of army." Sasha announced and immediately turned shy. She was the second born of the Foreign minister. Her parents concentrated more on their first born son than her. Might be because that she was a girl or because she was second born, Sasha didnt understand. As none concentrated much on what she did or whom she was with, she had every freedom that her brother couldn't have.

Sasha and Lucas had a crush on each other  ever since they felt emotions. One day Lucas built courage and confessed about his feelings for Sasha to Jade and Izan. They both appreciated his feelings and decided to develop a situation to know about her feelings.

But, Jade blurted out about Lucas's feelings the moment he met Sasha. Izan rolled his eyes and  covered his mouth, while dragging him away from Sasha. But it was too late, Shasha understood everything. Luckily, Jade was able to escape from those two because Sasha also felt the same and confessed her feelings for Lucas.

Since then, they were acting all lovey-dovey and shy whenever they met, like for example, the moment Sasha learnt Lucas's feelings, she acted all shy. That day the boys saw this different angle for the first time as Sasha was usually courageous and very talented. Whenever she was with these three boys, she would involve completely with them and act all tomboyish, fending off bullies and cursing at them. So, when she felt shy, held her head and ran away with embarrassment, the boys were shocked.

The same thing happened with Lucas too. When he learnt about her feelings, he acted all shy, out of nowhere.

While acting shy, Sasha poked on Lucas's shoulder so hard that, he fell on the opposite side. Izan and Jade laughed. Izan helped Lucas stand and they walked forward.

Shasha was physically stronger than most of the girls. Infact she was stronger than Lucas, so whenever Sasha would be furious he would hide. Whenever they fought, Lucas would run into Jade's house, as it was nearer to his house to hide in the huge utensils and asked Jade to lie about his whereabouts. When Sasha came in search of him to Jade's house, Jade would naturally betray Lucas by pointing out where he hid.

Shasha would yell at Lucas and Lucas would protect himself, out of embarrassment infront of Jade, by covering his chest with his bare hands. Jade, being naughty, would laugh loudly. He would enjoy the spectacle of his best friend's embarrassment.

Shasha liked physical activities. Luckily, Lucas also liked physical activities. So, while training they grew closer to each other. And it was natural for Sasha wanting to join the army. And by loving Lucas, she wanted to help him.

"And I will become the king and take care of all of you." Izan, the prince, put his hands on their shoulders and pulled them closer, for a slight hug.

Jade was silent.

SAVERNIA

SUNCITY

They walked for some more time and reached the entrance of Sun City. The city was fenced by a stone wall and the iron gates were very thick and  heavy. Those gates were usually closed at night times, but these teenagers were not so late. Luckily, the gates were still open.

They covered their faces using scarfs and entered the city in disguise. The shopkeepers were starting to put all the stuff inside the shop to shut it for the night. Drunk men dashed onto the streets causing some scene, which attracted the people. Many people surrounded them for entertainment. Drunk men and their drunk tales are for sure fun, sometimes!

Jade was drawn to that crowd that gathered around those drunk men, who were now dancing, freestyle.  Izan immediately dragged him away from them, when Jade was about to butt in!

"Focus. Don't attract crowd. Our cover will be blown." He put some sense into Jade's ears, who surprisingly nodded.

Jade had this problem of not staying anywhere or with anything for long. No one could find out if  he was bored or if it was too hard or if it was too easy for him, or if he was naturally that type of people who keeps on shifting from one thing to another.  No one knew. Izan tried to understand him, but couldn't. So, he gave up and rested only on trying to control Jade's actions.

"Where should we go?" Lucas asked when they reached the end of the street. All three of them turned to Jade, waiting for his reply.

Jade looked here and there, then looked up like he was trying to remember something and he looked at there faces to yell, "I don't know!" Followed by a chuckle.

Everyone rolled their eyes at him. " You forgot or didn't knew since beginning?" Lucas was annoyed. Izan was silently enjoying watching Jade.

"Since beginning!" Jade said nonchalantly, being ignorant of Lucas's emotions, as usual.

"Why was that show then?!" Lucas yelled at Jade and came onto him. Sasha interfered in middle and prevented from anything happening. "Calm down!" She shouted.

"I didn't do anything. Lets try asking locals." He said and walked to nearest shopkeeper who was busy packing everything for night, leaving angry Lucas to himself.

"Good man, can you give us address of a old cavern, from which crying noises are heard?" Jade asked directly.

The shopkeeper, a thin old man with wrinkles on his face widened his eyes and glared at them. He opened his mouth in horror.

"Why do this young people want to go in search of their deaths?" He asked.

"Just answ.."

"No, no, no. Nothing like that, we want to confirm the rumours and help spread the word to prevent anyone from going missing." Izan held Jade's arm and replied before Jade could blurt anything offensive. The manner and the tone he used was very well tamed, impressing the old man.

"Are you brought up in royality, your highness?" The old man didn't recognise Izan but from the manner he spoke, he derived that.

Izan contemplated whether to reveal his identity or not, but he recognised that the old man didn't address him as prince, but addressed him as some royalty.

"Yes. I work for the King. We all are soldiers working constantly to help people of this kingdom. Please provide the information we requested for." Izan spoke in a well mannered way. This made other three to glare at him.

"The place is very haunted. It wasn't like that initially. But, since few decades, every night the locals heard the cries of someone. It sounded so sad and melancholic at the same time. One day, a farmer went to each and everyone's house to check for crying baby, but found none. Only then did they realise that the cavern was haunted."

"Total of twenty villagers who dared and went inside came out in a trans like state, like they saw something they shouldn't have seen. For few days they couldn't recognise anyone, neither their wives, not even themselves. They didn't eat, didn't speak to anyone. After few days when they came out of that shock, they packed everything and left the city."

"Once, a group of five people dared and went in the night. They didn't come out and someone raised a complaint to the head of city about those five people missing. It's been five days, still no one came out. So, many people, around fifty, dared and went inside with courage when the sun is very bright and high in the sky. They were shocked to see five dead bodies in the cavern. Anyone would die if they didn't drink for five days but their bodies weren't dehydrated." The old man widened his eyes, trying to recall what happened that day. His face showed a horror-struck expression, as he was recalling the event.

He hesitated for a moment. "They... They.. were BITTEN!" He yelled at the last word.

"Bitten? What bit them?" Izan asked.

"Their body was covered in small but deep wounds, like something bit and tore the flesh of those men! Their family was crying by looking at their bodies. They were bitten till no one could recognise them anymore. If we didn't knew who went inside, no one would have recognised them to inform their family."

By the time the old man finished his story, all four of the teenagers looked at him shocked.

"Thank you for sharing this story. Can you please show us the location of cavern?" Izan was the first one who came into his senses and asked the old man.

"Do you want to go even after hearing this story?" Old man asked them and Jade nodded with excitement.

"Okay. Then. I will pray for you to come back safe. Take first left and walk till no houses are seen then take right, the cavern will be visible in your sight." Old man said.

All of them exchanged thanks and took a left turn. All four of them walked in silence. Except Jade, others tried to take in the story and were confused as to how to react to it. They hadn't faced this level of danger till now. The challenges they faced were very safe compared to what they heard. But Jade wasn't scared at all.  Infact he walked forward with courage.

Highest level of danger they faced was when they dealt with a ghost which didn't allow for the plough to run. It stopped the plough to seek revenge and caused huge ruckus, spoiling the whole crop, but never endangered anyone's life. They had to confine it and seal it in a jar.

"I think we should go back." Lucas was the first one to say. He was the first scaredy-cat when it came to fear.

"No. This is the next step in achieving excellence." Jade opposed, for which Izan nodded.  Izan saw Jade as a light of safety. But Lucas was boiling with anger and fear.

"NO! I AM NOT COMING!" Lucas yelled.

"If we can't face this small fear, then how are we going to lead a huge army?" Sasha held Lucas's shoulder and shoke him.

"We should go and come back when our powers are strong!" Lucas said with a shaky voice. He stopped walking forwards.

"This is how we become strong! Done be afraid, we three will protect you." Izan said like a protector.

Lucas was against proceeding but the rest of three wanted to continue. Rulling out minority, they dragged Lucas towards the cavern.

When they reached at the end of street, it was very dark, only the moon light was there to guide them. The houses looked empty and devoid of life. Lucas held his breath and walked beside Sasha. In that fear, he held her hand and slightly squeezed it. Sasha felt it and tightened the grip.

They walked till houses were no longer visible, then they heard a loud cry. It sounded like someone was in pain. Listening to this, the teenagers ran in the direction of sound, dragging Lucas behind. The cavern was clearly in their sight and anyone could pinpoint that the cry was coming from inside the cavern.

"It sounds like some one is in pain. Maybe some one was caught. Run!" Izan called everyone to run towards the cavern. Sasha held Lucas's hand and dragged him with her.

When they reached the entrance of cavern, they sensed an evil aura. Jade jerked his body backwards. "It's too much." He said to everyone's surprise.

"It isn't that strong." Lucas said. This little amount of evil made him less scared and he stood firm ready to face the  devil.

"No it is!" Jade protested. He couldn't move an inch. Not that he was paralysed but the evil aura he sensed was too much for his inexperienced body to handle. His mind was confused. He couldn't think clearly to take a step. Suddenly, a sea blue aura bordered his body, acting like shield from sensing the evil aura.