Chapter 37: Violent Nature
It’s become a frequent habit of Sky’s to glance over her shoulder to check in on Violet and Hazel, the two other members of her group who are huddled up next to each other, closely following behind. The three of them have spent a lot of time together these past few days, and Sky cherishes them. So, today, she wishes nothing more than for everything to go as smoothly as possible.
Frantically looking around, Violet strengthens the grip of her sweaty palm latched onto Hazel’s hand. Hazel then does the same, perhaps to console Violet or relieve some stress of her own, probably a little of both. Either way, whenever Hazel reciprocates the grip, she can feel Violet’s arm shake a little less.
Recognizing that she’s calmed down again, Hazel smiles as she checks the torch she’s carrying, the flame as strong as when they first left.
Sky asks, "Have either of you seen anything yet?"
Hazel shakes her head, "We got nothing; what about you, Sky?"
Doing her best to remain positive, Sky smiles at them, "Nothing yet, but we'll definitely find something soon!"
Returning her gaze toward the path before them that seemingly had no end, the smile on Sky’s face disappears.
I don't want to go too far from camp. Violet is clearly uncomfortable being out here. Hopefully, we find something soon…
"Uh… Sky?"
Shocked at who spoke meekly, Sky slowed to hear better, "What's up, Violet? Are you okay?"
After a brief second without response, Sky looks back, only to see Violet and Hazel standing still, seemingly trapped in a daze as they gape at the sky.
"There's a crow…"
Whirling her head up, Sky sees a singular crow circling above the three of them.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"No way… he's here…?"
***
After what felt like a few hours after leaving camp, Cliff and Blue came across a large pond. As the two trekked along the border, the glistening water couldn’t go unnoticed, as it lay still and untouched but ever so beautiful. Various streams poured into the lake on one end, most coming from the same direction.
"I guess this is where the streams end up after they disperse from the waterfall," infers Blue.
"Looks like it,” says Cliff.
Going off course, Blue strolls over to the pond, sticking two fingers into the water. Cliff stays behind on the path, observing from afar. Lifting his fingers out of the water, Blue sticks them in his mouth, tasting the water.
"As I thought, this pond is also fresh water,” says Blue, extending his arm toward Cliff. "You said your canteen was out of water, right?"
"Yeah, it is. Here," says Cliff before he rummages through his backpack. Upon finding it, he passes it over to Blue, who fills it before handing it back to Cliff.
"Thanks."
"No sweat."
Cliff takes a sip as Blue takes out his own canteen.
"Let's continue making our way around the lake. I have a feeling we'll definitely find something here," says Blue, scooping up water into the canteen.
His thirst quenched, Cliff gasped with satisfaction before wiping his sleeve across his mouth, "Sounds good to me."
Once the canteen was full, Blue stood up and screwed the cap back on. Suddenly, some water splashes onto his shoes, drenching his socks. Confused, Blue kneels down to see if he imagined that sensation just now.
"Blue! Get back!" yells Cliff, yanking Blue’s arm.
Pulling Blue away from the pond, Blue realizes that the pond has begun to swirl violently, the water funneling toward the center. Staggered by what’s happening, the lake is now completely unrecognizable from how it was just seconds earlier.
"You okay?" asks Cliff.
Glancing to his left, where Cliff is crouching, Blue’s eyes gravitate back toward the lake.
"Yeah, I’m good, but what the hell just happened?"
"No idea, it all happened so fast."
Studying the lake, the two go silent as the violent nature of the lake thunders on.
"Get caught in that, and we're dead," says Blue.
Cliff says, "You don't need to tell me twice…"
CAW!
As the caw of a crow reaches their ears, the two realize a crow is circling above them.
"Cliff… looks like we got trouble…"
"You really need to stop pointing out the obvious…"