Chapter 25- A long list of requirements

Chapter 25- Long List of Requirements.

"Hey! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up....." Wilson woke up. Someone was slapping his cheeks with every sentence. His cheeks stung badly. He quickly touched his cheeks and felt that they were swollen.

He sprang to his feet, startling the girl. He looked at her in anger. She was the same and only girl that he had seen ever since he was broken out of jail.

"Are you really going to hit me?" She asked sweetly, blinking her eyes like a little girl and gently stood up and took a few steps backwards.

"Obviously!" Wilson answered and slowly cracked his knuckles. She snickered.

"You really are not afraid to hit your own teacher's beautiful granddaughter. Have you stopped to think about what he will do to you if you as much as touch a single hair on my head?" She asked.

Wilson's fist hung in mid-air. She was right. Old man Jenkins would kill him. He slowly dropped his raised fist and even his voice became soft.

"Why did you have to slap me awake? You could have just used some cold water!"

"This was more fun! And quicker too!" She said with a happy smile.

Wilson was annoyed. What kind of person was this?

"How did you find me anyway?" He asked. He was wondering how she was able to get him away from the monkeys. It could not have been easy.

"Simple! I have been following you around since the beginning. You are very easy to read." She shrugged.

"And how did you..." He paused to think. Then, realization dawned on him. "Were you the one with that perfume?"

"It is only a sleeping agent! Just enhanced and it is still in progress. Worked well, right?" She was excited as she spoke about the sleeping agent.

Wilson looked around. He saw that the place they were at was surrounded by trees. It seemed to serve as a natural fence. It was circular, with lots of space and on one side, stood a throne. This throne was covered in flowered vines of different colours. They beautified every inch of the chair, making it look uncomfortable but beautiful.

"Where are we?"

"Welcome to my palace! Feel honoured, esteemed guest!"

"What?" He was stunned. Old man Jenkins' daughter grinned and said nothing more.

She moved to sit down on the throne and wore a crown made with flowers of different kinds woven together.

For several minutes, they said nothing to each other.

"Can you walk?" She suddenly asked him after moments of silence and series of awkward glances.

"Yes! Why do you ask?" He responded.

"Good! You need to get ready!"

"Ready?"

"Yes!"

"For what reasons?"

"Grandpa said we will soon leave!"

"We are leaving? When?" He was extremely at the prospect of leaving the forest. It was very uninviting in his opinion. The forest had its charms but it also was very hostile. It was all about survival of the fittest.

"Soon!" She answered with a shrug.

"Where will we be going? Another forest?" He inquired further. He silently hoped it was not another forest. He was beginning to detest wildlife. They were seemingly all bloodthirsty, especially for humans. He did not quite understand what his ancestors might have done to warrant this much hate.

"I have no idea! Grandpa will decide and tell us exactly when and where he will be taking us when he is good and ready. Till then, don't ask any questions!" She said dismissively with a wave of her hand and reclined on her throne.

"Is that thing even comfortable?" He threw her a question.

"Huh? You mean my beautiful throne? Of course!" She said but was avoiding making eye contact.

She was lying and Wilson could tell.

"I can tell you are lying! It is obvious. Very obvious." He told her.

"Shut up! You know nothing!" She snarled at him.

"I know you are lying. And I am very sure about that!"

"Shut up!" She barked again and shifted her weight on her throne before reclining on it even more as if to prove her point.

"Sure! Whatever you say! Do what you want!" He said and dismissed the conversation as if it never happened.

Another moment of silence ensued.

"Ah, yes! Now that I remember, I am supposed to deliver grandpa's second message. He said you should get him the fur coat made from a blue horned-monkey, the fangs of an adult rainbow coloured snake, the canines of any carnivorous rabbit of your choice, the venom sac of three different species of reptiles...." The list went on and on. By the time she was done, Wilson was long lost.

"Just give the list to me!" He said, when she was done. She handed him the long list of requirements and knew he had his job cut out for him.

"Oh! And you have a week to get all these done! You can leave now!" She was quick to push him out of her Haven.

"Wait, wait, wait a minute! How do I identify these animals?" He asked amidst all the shoving and pushing.

"First of all, get out of here! Second, you will have to figure it out yourself and don't think I will be there to save you next time. You get in trouble you can't get yourself out of, simply kiss this wretched world goodbye! I believe you understand what I just said. Now go! You only have a week!" She said and pushed him out of the covering made by the trees. From the outside, it did not look like there anything beyond the ordinary to be found around.

Wilson sighed and walked away in the direction of the tallest tree in the forest. That was where he was most likely to find most of his targets. Realizing that he really did not have much time to carefully plan anything out, he decided to go with the flow, taking things as they come. And with that in mind, he ran off to the middle of this dense forest where the conspicuously large tree stood tall and proud.