Journey Back I

Luke's dagger went into the heart of a cat-like creature.

It roared before finally breathing its last breath.

"I'll have to take one of these back with me and have Kyne tell me the name since he knows a lot." Luke spoke aloud to himself.

All around him, these big white cats with black spots were lifelessly lying all over. "I better hurry back." These cats had black fangs that protruded from their lower jaws and the fangs could grow as long as six inches.

It was their ninth day in this hell zone and Luke's sixth day of wandering around alone to train and hunt. On the first day of the hunt, he had killed so many rabid jackals.

He killed them until these beasts that were always on a rampage ran away whenever they sensed or smelled him close by. They had to run away or else, only death awaited them.

First, it was the two-ringed rabid jackals that ran away. The three-ringed ones stood their ground against him.

On the fourth day, Luke couldn't find any three-ringed rabid jackals that were stubborn enough to face him. Their senses screamed danger whenever he was close by.

Now, he hunted these cats that seemed more deadly compared to the rabid jackals. He had even seen one of these cats kill a full pack of rabid jackals. A pack of rabid jackals usually contained a three-ringed rabid jackal as the leader and four or more two-ringed rabid jackals as followers.

These cats were better enemies since the jackals now ran away whenever they saw him.

They were more dangerous but that didn't mean it was a battle of life and death for Luke to kill one. Luke alone could kill two packs of these jackals given enough time.

Every day at sunset, he would return to the tree base, because he had to supply Kyne with more training dummies.

Since the day he started hunting these cats, he had not returned to base.

He started with one cat at a time. After killing a few, he went ahead, fighting two at once. Today, he had stormed the place where these cats stayed, killing his way through.

Though he had killed them all, he didn't escape unscathed. Claw marks stretched all over his body. His blue hair was stained with dark red color. The blood of his enemies. Blood stood on the face of most of his injuries and his clothes were torn like rags.

He raised one of the big cats and walked in a certain direction. The direction leading back to his tree base. "Oh, I better get some more training dummies for Kyne."

*****

Kyne was on the floor breathing like a beaten dog, his clothes soaked in blood. Around him, four animals lay dead.

He was now strong enough to face four rabid jackals instead of the two he had been facing all thanks to Luke. He refused to believe that Luke was a newbie just like him.

After every training session, Luke would give him advice and ideas, but for the past three days, they had not heard from Luke.

While he was immersed in his thoughts, a soft voice interrupted him. "Excuse me, but when will he be back?" Aurora asked Kyne.

"Even I don't know. I just hope he comes quickly. The rule says we can only stay in this zone for twelve days before returning to our various places. We've got three more days left before we depart." Kyne answered without a break.

"Ah yes, I almost forgot about that. Pardon me." Aurora placed a hand on her temple.

"Well, at least, you guys have a map leading to there right?" Kyne asked.

"Oh, yes we do. Sihlon has-" she was speaking when a crunchy sound came from somewhere not too far from there.

"Who is there?" Kyne hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Who else could it be?" The voice replied. Hearing the voice, their moods immediately brightened.

"We thought something bad had happened to you." Kyne was the first to speak up.

"Yeah, something bad did happen…" Luke finally appeared from within the forest. "...as you can see. My body's condition isn't good at all. So I'll be counting on you for treatment." Luke approached them.

When he got close enough, he dropped the cat he had been holding on to. "What's this?" Luke asked no one in particular.

"I don't know." Kyne answered immediately.

"Even you don't know it? That's a shame." Luke shook his head.

"You expected me to know everything?" Kyne asked with one eyebrow raised.

"That's a white Onca. They're said to be the top predators in this area, hunting every beast in this place. They've got two black fangs protruding from their lower jaw. The longer the fang, the stronger the beast was. You're lucky to have come across only one. The fang looks to be only three inches long." Aurora was the one who answered.

"Oh, that's new information but I didn't meet with only one. I killed about thirty of these. A few had longer fangs too." Luke said absent-mindedly. He didn't even notice the shock on the faces of everyone.

'He's gotten stronger once again.' That was all Aurora could think.

'He's the beast that scares away other beasts.' Kyne just smiled.

"Anyway, what was it about maps leading somewhere?" Luke asked.

"Oh, you remember we're only allowed to stay in this zone for twelve days right?" Kyne asked in return.

In fact, Luke had never heard of such a rule. He smiled and opened his mouth to speak. He was going to lie his way out.

"Just say you've never heard about it and I wouldn't be a bit surprised." Kyne seemed to have read his thoughts.

"You seem to know me a lot." Luke chuckled lightly. "So does the map have anything to do with what you've just told me?"

"Yup. It's a map leading to a place called the safe zone. It has a portal like the one that brought us here. That portal takes us back to where we came from. I haven't seen the map but I suspect it'll take at least two days to get there." Kyne explained the details of the map.

"Oh, I see. Then let's all get the best rest we can get today. We'll be leaving tomorrow." Luke replied and lay down on the ground. "Help me with the injuries, will you?" Luke said to Kyne.

"I'll be needing your help Aurora. His injuries are quite 'a lot' for me to handle in a short while." Kyne called on Aurora to assist him.

"Sure, what can I do to help?" She asked as she walked over. After Luke had said he killed thirty of these cats, she became so shocked that she forgot to speak.

"Help me clean the surface of his injuries and I'll take care of the rest." Kyne answered.

"Sure." She walked towards her luggage and took out a white towel which she used to clean his bloodied body.

Soon, they were done and Luke fell asleep.

*****

"Y'all better wake up. I should be the one sleeping more and not you guys." Luke woke them the moment the sun began to rise.

"What's wrong? Aren't you injured? You should be getting more sleep." Kyne replied with a sleepy voice.

Luke picked up the sleepy Kyne. The moment he was picked up, he had a bad feeling and his sleep immediately ran off. "What are you…"

Before he could ask, he was thrown off the tree. "Waaaaaah!!" He yelled as he descended and then crashed into the ground.

"Now, let's get ready to leave." Luke turned towards the other two. They were already packing up. He smiled.

"I'll be waiting below." He told them and jumped down the tree.

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Note from the Author:

Hi guys, good day to you all. I wanted go inform you all that a poll will be coming up a today and I'd be really happy if you guys took part in it.

I promise to stick to your decision no matter what happens, so please be a part of it.

THANK YOU ALL.