Chapter 9 - ESCAPE (2)

The witch and his assistants who had set off in search of the kids were making a path for themselves, cutting down the huge leaves that blocked their advance.

The assistants walked behind their leader, having a verbal dispute amongst themselves about who was responsible for letting the children escape. Their argument started heating up and their leader who couldn't bear it anymore, came to an abrupt stop, making them fall after colliding into his back.

"Will you all quiet down?! We're in search of some rascals that if not found, will cost us our lives! Yet, you keep making unnecessary noise. What if they're close to us? you want them to hear you and run away, right?!" The leader blew hot while trying to keep his tone down as much as possible. "I wasn't deaf when you were throwing subtle shades at me in your words. Before leaving the den, did I not ask you to keep watch over those rascals?! Now look what you've put me into. If we do not find those rats, I swear to Hecate, I will kill you all myself in Queen Mother's presence!" The leader threatened through clenched teeth. He was visibly angry now.

He tried controlling his breath as he looked at his assistants who somehow took his words and threats seriously. He turned around to proceed and then turned back towards them again. "You all should move forward and make a path. I think you not having anything to do while I cleared the path was the reason why you were busy making noise like monkeys."

The assistants rushed forward and started cutting down the huge branches with wide leaves thickly blocking their way, making a path that was wide enough for them to pass through. They were sober, not wanting to upset their leader again after being reminded of the death penalties dangling above their heads.

Meanwhile, a little bit far from them, a group of children hid in the cover of the thick forest blanket. This group consisted over thirty children with different age groups. They had all followed a boy's instructions to tightly place a palm over their nose and mouth to hold their breath as they watched the drama that had just unfolded through the spaces between the huge leaves. The boy at the utmost front watched with bated breath as the witches searching for them kept moving forward. If the head witch saw him, she would recognize him as the boy that had challenged her.

He was the one responsible for the children's escape.

He had climbed a tree and spotted the witches from afar. He realized they were picking up on their trail and climbed back down. "We can't keep running this way. They are following our footsteps." He informed the others. They turned to see what he was saying and realized it was true. Although slightly prominent, their footsteps were still visible. Then slightly panicked. It could have been worse with crying included but the boy had told them that witches easily locate negative energy, so they had to be strong and brave as possible if they didn't want to die. So they started having control over their fears.

"This is what we'll do." The boy said, moving to cut huge leaves with speed. The others joined him in cutting leaves. They had started getting wiser since he freed them. "Great, we'll need as much as possible."

Taking multiple large leaves, he placed them on the ground and asked half of the children to walk on it to the other side. Then taking more leaves with him, he took the other group of children and asked them to walk with him. As they walked, he placed the large leaves on the side. Although the children were still trembling a bit from the fear of death that plagued them, they still tried to be bold so as not to let their savior's plans fail. When he reached a forked path, he asked them to be careful as they proceeded on the right path of the fork. He kept placing the large leaves on the side and the children behind him kept passing more leaves to him. A very large pit appeared in front of them and they walked towards it. When they were few inches away from the edge, the boy stopped them, asking them to walk in reverse before stepping on the leaves they had laid down.

The boy fumbled around for some minutes as he dug the ground with his hands, searching for something. Fortunately, he found what he was looking for. It was a dark round iron ball attached deeply to the ground with a soft center. He pressed the center and as a result, the heavy iron covering the pit opened, pulling apart and sliding totally into the pit's wall like it was never there. Then he covered the ball back up with soil.

He took a peek inside the pit. Although it was extremely dark and he couldn't seem to see the bottom of the pit, he definitely knew what was inside the pit. It was a corrosive lava bathe that has ever only been used by ancient chromatic dragons. The emperor used this place as punishment for offensive dragons who were sentenced to death. And the boy had once witnessed the famous Unnias taking a bathe in this same lava. Other than chromatic dragons, no other dragon could survive in the lava bathe. That day was the day he started looking forward to his first shift after witnessing the terribly majestic dark dragon form of Unnias. He had only left when he heard the palace maids searching for him.

Giving that the forest was a forbidden place that was highly guarded, he had only been able to sneak in twice. The first time, he didn't want to attend the royal court meeting as mandated by his father, the emperor. The second time, he was simply bored and wanted to test his sneaking skills once more. He had seen the famous Unnias at this pit during his second sneak-tour, giving him the knowledge of how to operate the doors covering the pit.

"Let's go back." The boy said, when he was done making feet gashes on the floor that suggested they had unsuccessfully tried to stop their momentum but had eventually fallen into the pit.

They started going back as fast as possible, stepping on the leaves they had laid down. The boy stayed at the back, picking up the leaves. It was a tedious work.

'I just hope Arnold is doing a good job at the hideout,' he thought worriedly. Arnold was the son of one of the empire's four generals. Arnold was a close friend to him and he was a bit delighted when he saw Arnold still alive, back in the slaughter den. But then, Arnold broke the news of their other friends' deaths and he became more bitter, until he hatched a plan that earned their escape.

When they got to the fork junction, the boy climbed a tree and saw that the witches hunting for them had reached the circumference of their hideout. He hurried back down and kept picking up the leaves at a fast pace. They had to be fast or the witches might sight them soon.

Luckily, they reached the hideout and joined the others. Just as he picked the last leaf, the blood stained machete that had been used in the slaughter den they had escaped from, made it's presence known as it collided with a branch, bringing it down with a heavy thud.

The boy had previously passed the breath holding instruction to everyone and as soon as they sighted the witches, they put the practical instructions to effect. Then, following the boy's instructions, they stayed still, waiting. Waiting for him to give the command to run.