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There are certain things in life that people can hardly face together without forming a close bond and killing a ten-foot bear is one of them.
As the boys woke later in the day and continued their journey, there was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere. Whereas before they walked silently with small spurts of bickering and snapping, now they walked with playful banter between them.
They laughed, teased, and joked around and even Jayden seemed more tolerable of the others’ presence. He didn’t frown or glower as much, his face taking on a more impassive look.
The change that had taken place between Charles and Noel the night before seemed to remain. The two walked firmly beside each other with their arms swinging by their sides, causing them to look down shyly when they accidentally brushed against each other.
Cam and Leo walked with Paul, engaging him in lively conversation with friendly inputs from the rest of the group. Paul though lively seemed a bit preoccupied as he carried on the conversation.
Samuel, as always, attached himself like a leech to Jayden’s side, refusing to leave even after receiving a series of glowering looks. He rattled on happily in his nonsensical way as he bounced along the path.
Jayden didn’t pay attention though. He was lost deep in thought as he reached up occasionally to rub a phantom itch on his neck.
The wounds of those injured in the attack were healing nicely as well. Samuel could now walk by himself though with a slight limp and he could move his arm a few inches. Charles’s chest still bled open occasionally but it didn’t hurt as much anymore.
All in all, the group that trekked through the forest was generally in a good mood and not even the harsh glare of the sun could bring down their spirits.
‘It really is a beautiful day, isn’t it?’ Samuel declared brightly as they moved along. ‘The sun is smiling down on us, the clouds are chasing each other playfully across the sky, the birds are dancing in the trees, the bees are hard at work and seven adventurous friends make their way bravely into the unknown.’
He shot a playful grin at Jayden and nudged him with his shoulder. ‘It is a beautiful day to be with friends.’
Jayden rolled his eyes and said nothing. Charles and Noel smiled, turning to each other before looking away quickly in embarrassment.
Leo grinned and let out dramatically. ‘To go where no man has gone before, to see what no man has seen before, to walk where no man has walked before, and to live as no man has lived before.’
‘You need to have a life first,’ Cam shot in with a playful smirk causing a short bout of laughter.
Charles began to cough halfway into laughing causing Noel to look up at him in concern.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, placing a worried hand on his back.
Charles nodded shakily but soon covered his mouth as his frame shook with another round of coughing. He brought his hand back and Noel’s eyes widened in alarm when he saw the blood splattered on it.
‘Guys, come quick! Something is happening.’
The boys crowded anxiously around them and looked on worriedly as Charles began to cough again.
‘What’s wrong?’ Paul asked hurriedly, concern filling his face.
‘Nothing,’ Charles answered shakily. ‘It’s nothing, I’m fine.’
He took a step forward but his legs buckled beneath him. Noel quickly caught him in his arms and knelt with him. He placed his head on his chest and felt his forehead with his palm.
‘He’s burning up,’ he said in alarm. He looked anxiously at Paul. ‘What’s happening?’
Paul knelt and carefully peeled back the bandages on Charles’s chest. He inspected his wounds grimly and turned to Jayden.
‘It’s as I feared, his wounds have gotten infected. We need to get out of here soon or at the very least find a body of water else things will get much, much worse.’
Noel’s jaw clenched. ‘How worse?’
Paul’s face was bleak. ‘Trust me, you don’t want to know.’
Charles grabbed Noel’s hand and squeezed it gently. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It looks worse than it is.’
Tears had sprung into Noel’s eyes as he looked down on Charles’s face. A thin line of blood was trickling from his lips down his chin and his face had turned a deathly pale.
‘You are going to be alright,’ he promised him. ‘We are going to get you out of here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.’
Charles chuckled and reached up to brush a tear from his cheek. ‘I know.’
Noel nodded and turned to Jayden. ‘Jayden I-‘
‘Shh!’
Jayden had frozen still. He cocked his head to the side as he listened intently. The others couldn’t hear anything but had long come to trust Jayden’s heightened senses.
‘Dogs.’
Samuel furrowed his brow in confusion. ‘What?’
‘Wild dogs,’ Jayden repeated. ‘It sounds like a pack of them and from their direction it seems they’re headed straight for us.’
They all tensed at this announcement and indeed, soon enough they heard the sounds of frenzied barking.
They held their breath anxiously and readied themselves for another attack.
‘Should we run?’ Leo asked, biting his in worry.
Paul shook his head grimly. ‘That would just make things worse.’
‘What about climbing a tree?’ Samuel contributed hopefully. ‘They can’t reach us from there, can they? Jayden?’
Jayden wasn’t paying attention to them. He had cocked his head to the side again and this time his brow was furrowed in confusion.
‘Strange. That can’t possibly be right,’ he muttered to himself.
Cam was on the verge of a panic attack. ‘What is? What is strange? What can’t be right? Come on, say something damn you!’
Jayden’s expression was calm as he pointed upwards. ‘That.’
Helicopter blades could now be heard buzzing from a distance. They soon cut through the air above them, rotating furiously as it hovered above. Dozens more could be heard as the sounds of barking grew closer.
The dogs soon burst from the trees followed by dozens of military personnel dressed head to toe in camouflage and armed to the teeth. Rapellines were tossed from the helicopter above and six leather-clad figures jumped out, sliding across them.
Victoria Mills was the first person to land. She hit the ground and detached herself from the line, running immediately to Jayden. She crushed him in a fierce hug and pressed his face to her heart.
‘Oh my, are you alright? Are you hurt? Is anything broken?’ She pulled him from her chest and bent down to anxiously examine his face carefully.
Jayden was speechless. He just stared open-mouthed at his mother, taken aback by her actions. His mother never displayed any emotion whatsoever and he had never seen her so worried.
After a while of his mother’s anxious probing, he finally found his voice and pulled back. ‘I’m fine.’
His mother didn’t give up. ‘Are you sure?’
He nodded and turned to the others. ‘They are the ones you should be worried about.’
The others were all given the same anxious attention by their parents. Sandra was the next person to reach the ground after Victoria and had immediately crushed her son in a protective hug, pulling back quickly after he had exclaimed in pain. She had taken a quick look at his broken arm and was now attending to it, as they talked in their usual excited quick characteristic way.
Ma had a protective arm around her son as he stood watching anxiously as paramedics quickly attended to Charles. Charlesetta was kneeling beside her son as she stroked his hair affectionately, tears dripping from her eyes.
Lady Sylvia was holding her son tightly as she buried her head in his neck. She crushed him tightly causing him to wince as he kept assuring her that he was alright.
Jayden watched the proceedings, his mind whirling as it kept working over the details until something clicked. He turned to his mother suspiciously.
‘Hold on, how did you know where to find us?’
His mother blinked guiltily at the question. ‘I had a tracking device implanted in your neck.’
Jayden’s eyes narrowed dangerously. His hand flew to his neck as he glared at his mother.
‘You what?’ he hissed. ‘How could you?’
‘How could I? How could I?’ His mother’s voice grew incredulous with each statement. She let out an angry snort, the anger and hopelessness she had felt these past weeks finally bubbling to the surface. ‘I’ll tell you how I could. How else am I supposed to protect you when you tell me absolutely nothing about your life! Any time I ask you how you are or how your day went all I get are one-word answers and I’ll be damned lucky if they’re in more than one syllable. I gave birth to you and it is my job to protect you. If in carrying out that duty, I cross a few boundaries then tough luck. I am your mother and I’m going to protect you till my last breath and even beyond, no matter what the cost!’
Victoria’s eyes blazed with fierce protectiveness causing Jayden to take a step back in amazement. He had never seen his mother so passionate before.
‘Well that’s no excuse,’ he shot back.
Victoria sighed and rubbed her temples. ‘Can we fight about this later? We still need to get you and your friends back.’
Jayden nodded. ‘Oh, we’re definitely going to pick this up again.’
He turned to watch the paramedics gently place Charles on a gurney attached with lines to the chopper. One of them gave the signal and the gurney rose gently into the air.
Noel argued furiously with the head paramedic before being allowed to climb the ladder up to the helicopter. The helicopter took them away and it wasn’t long before the others were in a helicopter of their own, rising into the air and speeding towards the school.
They all cast one last glance back down on the forest that had been both a cruel monster and a wise teacher. None wished to return but none of them would forget their harsh experiences, lessons, and wisdom that the Wild Forest had taught them.
Two hours later, they were all seated in the plush lobby of the administration building. The boys had all taken a long hot shower and were all bundled up with steaming cups of chocolate in their hands as they recounted their adventures to their attentive mothers.
‘You should have seen it, Maria! I killed a bear and it was like thirteen-feet tall and had like twelve-inch claws and ten-inch fangs!’ Leo was bragging proudly to Maria who listened with an amused smile on her face.
‘The bear wasn’t that big and you didn’t kill it,’ Cam jumped in. ‘All you did was annoy it like you do everyone.’ He turned to Lady Sylvia and Victoria. ‘It was actually Jayden who blinded it and Paul who struck the killing blow. All we did was toss rocks at it.’
Paul shook his head firmly. ‘No. We all did it. It was a team effort. If Charles hadn’t jumped in the way it would have killed Noel and if you guys hadn’t distracted it and diverted its attention Jayden wouldn’t have had the chance to blind it.’
‘We are very proud of you all,’ Maria stated firmly. ‘Our brave little boys.’
‘Oi, we are not little,’ Leo sputtered indignantly.
‘You are though,’ Cam chuckled, using the fact he was taller than him to pat his head condescendingly.
They started bantering at each other much to a happy Maria’s amusement. It soon led to a tickling contest which led to a wheezing Cam admitting defeat.
‘Paul,’ Lady Sylvia called gently, touching him softly to draw his attention away from the antics of the two.
Paul turned to his mother with a questioning look.
Lady Sylvia sighed before beginning. ‘I know I put too much pressure on you and I know I give you a hard time but don’t you for one second dare to think I don’t love you. I’m sorry for overburdening you, I thought I was doing it for your own good.’
Paul took her hand gently in his and looked into her eyes. ‘Don’t be mother, I know you love and are doing what you think is best for me. You don’t have to apologize, in fact, I should rather be thanking you. If it weren’t for all those years of constant training, learning and sacrifice, I wouldn’t have been able to survive in there. You knew one day you wouldn’t be around to protect me so you equipped me with what I needed to take of myself. So thank you, mother. Thank you for being the best mother a son could hope for. I love you.’
Tears were in Lady Sylvia’s eyes as she pulled her son into a fierce hug. They broke away only when Sandra came by.
‘How you doing Paul?’ she asked brightly.
‘Quite well, thank you ma’am.’
‘Pish posh, pishy posh, no need to be so formal with me. By the way great job on the bandages! None of my medical students are able to treat a wound half as well as you did. You’ve got a gift kid, ever thought about a future in the medical profession?’
Paul smiled politely. ‘Yes, I have but my life is dedicated to serving my people and kingdom.’
Sandra waved the thought away with her hands. ‘That’s a load of tosh, you can serve them just fine as a doctor. I daresay that would be more beneficial to them than wearing a crown.’
Paul just smiled politely at her.
‘Alright, alright I’ll drop it. I can take a hint you know,’ she turned to leave but paused to throw over her shoulder. ‘But seriously, think about it. You have a rare talent that comes once in a generation.’
She walked over to her son who was glaring sullenly at the cast wrapped around his arm and leg.
‘I hate you, mum.’
‘Love you too, honey. Now, what’s that look all about.’ She took a seat by him and picked up a magazine.
‘This,’ he jutted his chin at the offending piece. ‘Even if you had to place my arm in a cast did you really have to do my leg too?’
She flipped a page in her magazine. ‘Can never be too safe.’
‘It was fine! Just a slight limp and it was totally healed!’
Sandra hit him hard over the head with her magazine, causing him to shoot her a dirty glare.
‘Ow! What was that for? That hurt!’
‘Good. You have seen me perform too many amputations to talk like that.’ She humphed. ‘Honestly, you are just mad that the cast is preventing you from being with the Mills boy. What is it with you two? He doesn’t seem to particularly like your company yet you always want to be by his side.’
Samuel frowned sullenly and said nothing. He couldn’t help but glance at Jayden as he sat with Noel and his mother. He seemed happy though his face was as impassive as ever.
Jayden was, if not happy then at the very least content as he sat beside Noel’s mother. This was his first time meeting her and Ma was as warm, bubbly and funny as Noel described.
Noel though was not paying attention to them as he sat staring at Charles who was huddled with his mother in the corner. He seemed fine though weak and frail and when he sensed eyes on him he looked up and gave Noel a shaky smile before turning back to his mother.
Ma shook her head. ‘Honestly boy, could you look more desperate. You have that yearning look on you as if you want to rush over to him and hug him.’ She chuckled and rubbed his head fondly. ‘My baby boy’s first crush!’ she squealed. ‘Oh, I’m so glad I could see it! If only I brought a camera.’
Noel sighed and said nothing, tapping his fingers on his knees as he continued to stare at Charles. Ma shook her head again and turned to Jayden.
‘Hey,’ she nudged him gently. ‘Why don’t you go and spend some time with your mum. She was awfully worried about you.’
Jayden turned to look at Victoria who sat by herself off to the side, an absent look on her face. He sighed and nodded, getting up and moving towards her.’
‘Mother.’
Victoria blinked and looked up at him in surprise, not expecting that he would willingly come over to her.
She nodded and gestured to the space behind her. He sat down and they sat in silence for a few minutes.
‘Thank you.’
Victoria turned to him in surprise. ‘What?’
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘Do I have to say it again? Thank you, mother. You didn’t have to be here, you didn’t have to look for me but you did so thank you for being there for me.’
Victoria let out a small smile. ‘You’re welcome.’
The silence descended on them again, neither not knowing what to say.
Victoria finally looked up and turned to him. ‘Jayden, do you think you’ll one day be able to forgive me?’
Jayden stared at the steam rising from his mug. ‘Depends, do you think you’ll one day be able to accept me for who I am?’
Victoria said nothing.
‘You have your answer.’
Victoria let out a heavy sigh. ‘Jayden…’
‘Mother…’
He sat up. ‘Father didn’t come, did he? He was hoping I would die in the forest.’
Victoria opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
Jayden looked down at his feet. ‘Figures.’
‘I’m sorry.’
Jayden looked up. ‘Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Besides, I’m used to it.’
‘By the way,’ he continued, hanging the subject. ‘I’m not going to remove the tracker.’
Victoria stared at him curiously. ‘You’re not? But you got so mad when you found out.’
Jayden shrugged. ‘It did come in handy besides what would be the point anyway. You would figure out another way to keep tabs on me, at least with this one I know what and where it is.’
He looked sternly at her. ‘But you’re only supposed to use it for emergencies.’
Victoria nodded.
Jayden narrowed his eyes at her. ‘I’m serious. I know you mother, I mean real emergencies not whatever your twisted mind comes up with.’
Victoria smiled. ‘I promise.’ She held out her left pinkie finger. ‘Pinky promise.’
Jayden stared at it thoughtfully before placing his pinkie in hers.
‘Pinky promise.’
AUTHOR’S NOTE: 1K READS!!!! WHOOOO!!!🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 AND ON MY BIRTHDAY TOO! (And no this isn’t an April Fool’s day prank)
To celebrate, not a single update, not a double update BUT A TRIPLE FUCKING UPDATE!
Spent all night working on it. Lmaoo I haven’t slept in two days 🥴.
That’s not all the surprises though. In the last update there is an extra special surprise waiting for you🤫😉.
Now to this chapter. What did you think? Could Jayden’s relationship with his mother be fixed?
What did Victoria do that was so unforgivable that Jayden can’t forgive her?
And will Charles and Noel’s blossoming relationship be able to stand the test of time?
Lemme know your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to light up the little star below.
If you want to give me something for my birthday you can share this book’s link across all your friends and social media platforms. Let’s get to 2k people!🥳
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