Chapter 7

At my signal, we flung ourselves at two archers, stabbing them in the back with the swords we had made just a moment before going down to the mine and which we had used before. For a moment I could feel the satisfaction of taking down your enemies in war, even if it was ridiculous to take them from behind: death must be looked at. I made an exception in their case, they were already dead.

I freed Samuele, after brutally killing the monsters that tormented him.

Suddenly I took into consideration the fact that every warrior needed a personal weapon, sword, ax, bow, and arrow, paradoxically combined with audacity, cunning, courage, and that sense of responsibility that pervades him.

In a sense, a warrior is certainly a hero, but a hero is not always a warrior.

I felt like a warrior.

I was fighting against those who represented the black and imminent death, the ever-present one, waiting for you and watching you from around a corner and waiting for any wrong move, any false step, to drag you with it into oblivion.

And I thought my friends considered me a hero because I had kept my cool and found a way to save them.

Sometimes, however, a hero is hidden by the unpredictable deeds of a similar one, who is, as it were, placed in the spotlight for some time. In my case, it was Jane who performed a heroic deed. Her instincts managed to hear the snap of an arrow in Joy's direction from an archer, about thirty meters away and at a speed of 26 kilometers per hour. Our partner squirmed because she was tied by her wrists and ankles and she had a blue bandage tightly around her head, so she couldn't see the ocean of viscous, glowing liquid she was slowly lowering into.

Jane decided to take a run and try a jump: with the sword she cut the cobwebs that trapped Gaia and pushed her. She fell on top of Samuel, causing him more pain.

Jane caught an arrow in the chest, falling wounded into the hot pool.

She did not even have time to suffer, that she dissolved into the internal heat of the Earth, that heat that she Jane had always studied with interest and constant admiration.

Seeing this, the other two boys and I were shocked. Jane reappeared before us, in the same clothes she wore before her, blue jeans, a black belt, and a blue short-sleeved shirt. Carelessly she smoothed the folds of her clothes, looked up, and lingered on our pale, frowning faces. Her facial expression was slightly annoyed, slightly crumpled, like a rough copy of a theme.

"I'm fine, guys," she said, raising her eyebrows and shoulders as if she should take it for granted as if she was too trivial to ask him.

"You shouldn't have saved me, I was destined to lose a life," Joy said, to which Jane replied, "what don't you do for a friend?"

"But we don't even know each other! That damn arrow was for me. You shouldn't have interrupted her journey by standing in front of her, "Joy went on, irritated.

«But yes, instinct told me so. If I hadn't, I would have lived my life with a grudge, ignoble. Each of us has wounds, which after time heal. The scars remain forever. Memories are also scars, wounds that can be opened again. We are the ones who forget them or simply put them aside to make room for other memories. "

"I don't want to interrupt your speech, but I think we should look for a way out," Samuel suggested.

We then retraced the path that he and Joy had taken in reverse, to return to the Spawn. Once outside, we realized that it was already morning, and after two sleepless nights, we thought it was time to rest.

Jane

When we came out of the earth it was already morning. The sun was still low in the sky, but one could already see the meticulous beauty of Nature all around, in the trees, in the sky, in the water; that same Nature that had hindered us, because it had given birth to too many hideous creatures to compensate for the many others, stupendously imperfect, of which the four of us were also part.

The whole created a peaceful atmosphere and the light-heartedness typical of young people hovered in the air, living life every single moment with a certain vitality and enthusiasm.

After various ups and downs, we were finally able to enjoy a well-deserved break.

We lay down on the grass still damp from the dew.

This place is beautiful, I thought every time I looked around. The landscape captured my attention, even for a single moment, a fleeting moment suddenly stolen.

If I then stopped to look at the sun, I admired it until it almost blinded me and I fantasized about how I could describe everything on my return.

I tried to get away from that daydream, which I was a little sorry about.

«Guys, I have an idea in mind: since our physique is not used to certain changes, I propose to train in turns in the morning. Considering our differences, we will need to train differently from each other respectively, with a minimum of thirty exercises and a maximum of fifty, "explained Francis.

The issue of training every day was momentarily set aside, to make room for a slightly more creative proposal by Samuel and Joy.

We spent the afternoon in the shade of some oaks, telling each other stories, in turn, using words to mask the most indecent and nostalgic loneliness that resided in our souls. And there, I remembered how much I loved reading under the shade that the trees offered.

When evening came, we gathered around a modest bonfire, to eat something freshly procured and find some common characteristics about how we ended up on the island, and what we had been through so far.

"You start, Joy," said Franci, pointing to a stick dropped on the ground so that it indicated the shifts.

"It happened on Sunday. 10:45 pm, I remember it well because I had just checked the time on the mobile phone display to set the alarm half an hour earlier than usual because I had to come back. Suddenly I hear my mother calling me three times, I go downstairs and guess: there is no one! So I pick up the phone to call her, I want to know where she is. The metallic, expressionless voice of the answering machine answers me. I think I figured it out my mom is still at work. And my brother is at grandma's house, but even if he were with me, he would come straight to my room to warn. So I decided to start the game while I'm waiting for my mother and ... no, sorry guys, I don't remember anything anymore ».

"Now it's your turn, Sam"

"I'm on my bed with my phone in my hand, checking the notifications on the various social networks. Then I get one for a new application update, but it doesn't say the name. The drain, the item "the time required to complete the operation is 40 minutes" appears, so I take a shower, prepare the folder and return. The screen lights up and I find myself here, ten meters above the ground, falling on my back into the water. In the water guys! Not on earth like you! "

"Jane"

"It's evening, I usually go to sleep early, around 10 pm. Strangely, I can't sleep, despite being very tired. I start reading a book, one of those boring and poorly written ones ... A sort of fanfiction written by a 9-year-old girl, crazy things. The story could have been interesting if it had been well written. I realize that even in this way I don't succeed in my intent, and

I start to get stressed, I can usually sleep anytime and anywhere (it's a kind of superpower). I hear the dogs barking, I know that at that time my neighbor comes home from work. I look out the window to greet her since she is always attentive to me and she waits for me every morning at the bus stop.

In truth, dear friends, she was not there.

Neither do dogs.

There was nobody.

I tried to make a round of phone calls, nobody answered me.

I think I fainted for the first time in my life. '

"Now it's my turn," Francis began, only to realize that the meat was almost ready. He said we would resume with the stories after we had dinner.

While the boys were busy with the fire, Joy pointed out how cold it was. I sighed, looking up at the starry sky. Who would have thought that one day I would find myself in such a situation, stuck on an island, but above all, I would see that sky again?

At that moment, it was the thing I thought was most important.

I took my diary from my pocket, the only thing I had left of my "normal" life and which I would not have given up, as I was linked to it by an emotional bond. Joy came up to me, peering at me and my book, and asked me confidentially what led me to write. I told her that writing helped me get better and that I would like to write a good book shortly. We talked about many topics. I believed (and still do) that she was a honest person, one who cares about you, because she shoots the whole truth in your face and all of a sudden, without resentment or turns of phrase, as I tend to do me. I saw in her a beautiful and strong woman, it would have been nice to have her as her sister. She about me, I have no idea if she liked anything. Perhaps pragmatism combined with irony, or perhaps my artist's madness.

Because writers are artists too.

«I was taking the books out of the folder, you remember the chemistry test, right? I hadn't finished studying yet. I had put the TV in the background, but it had turned off. In the beginning, I thought the power was out, but the computer was still on. I heard a noise in the stairs and went to check, but this time my parents weren't there and neither were my brothers, "Francis said.

"I seem to have noticed some things," he said, at the end of the narration.

"First, we have to study during the day and without distractions," and there was a collective laugh here. We already knew it, but it was almost impossible to do it. Second, we are here because we have to get something done, I think that's pretty clear. Third, before arriving, we didn't see or hear anyone ».

After these considerations, with absurd joy, mixed with a rebellious restlessness, we discovered that we also share almost erroneous habits, consisting in studying the evening of the day before a verification (as previously written; or a questioning), sometimes disobeying our dear and all the nonsense that was done almost out of obligation at our age.

One of our common characteristics was the love for video games, which this time had surprised us.