CHAPTER 15 - THE CALL OF THE FOREST

As I lay down on the murky floor, I tried to catch my breath. Just running for the past minutes had drained me; I was exhausted, and I was lucky. If not for the phenomenon that happened, I would have probably been smashed to death by the rocks and trees the apes were throwing, or they wouldn't even be able to lose track of me.

My chest heaved up and down, my throat felt dry, my legs were weak, and I was feeling dizzy.

On top of the trees nearby, a predator stayed there, looking coldly at Miracle, until it cracked a grin. With its two front sharp teeth showing, they were as white as snow and as sharp as daggers. It was the black panther who had almost tried to kill Miracle moments ago.

I could barely stand up; my legs were weak and wobbly, my chest pounding, my body filled with sweat and blood. Then I remembered a saying from one of the elders in the tribe: "When you're in a fight, you don't feel pain because of the adrenaline, but when it's over, they all come rushing at the same time."

I sat down and rested my back on a tree behind me. I looked up and saw some fruits on the tree. Some stones were around me; I picked them and threw them at the tree, trying to knock down the fruit. I tried multiple times; either I missed it or I didn't throw it strong enough. After throwing continuously, an orange fell from the tree.

I used my hunting knife to cut it in two and sucked the liquid from it. I felt refreshed; my throat finally had liquid pass through it. I had temporarily solved the problem of lack of water; I could just keep licking the oranges.

While I was licking the oranges, I heard a voice speaking in my head.

"Licking oranges, I see."

"What was that?" I looked around, but I didn't see any sign of the apes or panthers nearby. I felt like something was talking in my head.

"You can't see me, but I can see you." This time, I heard the voice loud and clear.

It spoke with a lower tone, like a male. I held my knife with my two hands and turned everywhere to look for the person or thing speaking in my head.

I couldn't see much because everywhere was dark, which made it worse.

Vhhhhmmm.

I saw the panther appear next to me, but it didn't come to mind that this was the voice talking in my head. I didn't even think twice and immediately swung my knife at it, trying to slash it. But my knife just passed through it like a stick moving through smoke.

I tried stabbing it immediately after, but it still yielded the same result. All this happened in less than five seconds. As I kept my knife about to turn and run, the voice resounded in my head again.

"Stop, do not move until I say so."

My body froze immediately; I couldn't move my body anymore, and I couldn't even talk to try and say anything.

The panther walked slowly but deathly, enchantingly towards me. I didn't know what was happening, and I didn't want to know; all I wanted to do was just to run away and get back to the tribe.

I couldn't do anything; the only part of my body responding to me at that moment were my eyes. It was the only part of my body that was listening to me and not the panther. That was the only way I could see; it was the panther controlling me.

"Hmmm, you can still use your eyes, and some parts of your body barely responded to my words. I knew you were special; that's the only reason you are alive right now."

The voice of the panther sounded in my head again, saying the only reason I was alive was because I was special.

"I saw you running from the apes. At first, it was nothing much, but when you sped up and dashed away with white smoke coming out of your body, that made me curious. So I want to ask, how do you do it?"

"How do I do it? I don't even know how I ran that fast. I was just scared of being hurt, and when I started running, I realized I could run that fast. And when I get extremely tired, and I become more scared, instead of my body weighing me down and being hard to move like before, it does the opposite. Instead, my whole body becomes lighter, and I'm able to see everything slowly and run faster.

"So your speed is reliant on fear; that won't work for me. But this is something new, something untouched. The more you fear, the faster you are, and it isn't just for running. Your reaction speed, hand speed, everything, it increases your speed overall.

"You have potential, but an even stronger weakness. You need to fear something for you to bring out that potential. So why don't you come with me? I'll dig out all your potential to the root and make you fast enough that no one can touch you.

"And I'll also teach you a skill to fight back because you can't always be running in every fight. If you meet an enemy with speed like yours and strength higher than yours, you're dead."

"No! I don't want to join you," I replied hastily. I wanted to go back to the tribe, and if I went missing, my tribesmen would come out to search for me, even if I was dead, so they could bury my body, and my traces are all around the forest it would surely lead to the apes or you and they would find you.

"How would I follow a panther to live in the forest? What if it becomes angry and eats me one day? I don't even know how to cook; how would I survive here?" I thought secretly.

"You can go back to your tribe, but you will need to come out into the forest for daily training, and no, your tribespeople won't be able to tell that I'm in the surroundings.

Just come and train under me, and I shall bring out your potential and make your speed unrivaled.