They all ran deep into the forest, and soon, they was lost.
“Are we far enough from the mall?” Theo panted. “Yeah… we still need to move forward. He can gain on us,” Sienna replied between breaths. “Who the hell was he, anyway?” Blake frowned, panting and clearly terrified.
“Don’t know. Let’s just move forward,” Damian said, taking the lead. “Yeah, just make sure you don’t touch anything or make any noise,” Sienna added.
Lily stayed close to Theo and Raven. Raven could tell Lily was afraid, so she walked at the very back, keeping an eye on everyone. Damian, as always, led the way.
“Do you think people are still searching for us?” Lily asked quietly. "No Idea" replied Theo. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9935mvtQG5
They kept walking until they heard the faint sound of water gushing nearby. “Is that a stream?” Blake asked, his voice suddenly hopeful. "Yeah. Keep down,” Damian said, lowering his tone as he crept forward. They moved carefully toward the sound until a wooden hut came into view. Everyone’s faces lit up — everyone except Raven’s.
“Maybe we should get some water first,” Lily smiled, trying to stay positive.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to go near that hut,” Raven said, uneasily watching it from afar. “What if it belongs to that guy? I’m sure they know where we’ll go." Everyone turned to her. 49Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MJWNwd6yl
“And? You want us to freeze and die out here?” Blake raised an eyebrow.
“It’s better than getting murdered,” Raven said flatly. She wanted to say duh, don’t you think so? but she bit her tongue.
“Stop thinking negative, Raven. It’s best we go there tonight,” Damian said firmly. He was the oldest, so everyone followed his lead.
Raven sighed. She didn’t want to be selfish or reckless by going alone, nor did she want to leave them behind. I’d better risk my life than be selfish for once, she thought.
They reached the stream and paused, soaking in the brief peace. The air was cool, birds chirped softly, and the smell of wet earth filled the air. The sound of the flowing water felt… heavenly.
They cupped the water in their hands, drinking eagerly. “Oh my God, I finally feel relaxed,” Lily exhaled, smiling for the first time in a while.
After a few minutes of rest, they used Theo’s drink cup from Lily’s takeover shopping bag from P.F. Culinary to fill some water, then continued on.
As they approached the wooden hut, they exchanged looks — silent, nervous agreement. Raven hesitated but nodded too. Damian raised his hand and knocked.
No response.
He tried again, stepping closer. Suddenly, the door creaked open. An old man stood there, his eyes scanning each of them. All six of them froze.
“What do you want, young man?” the old man asked in a low, gravelly voice.
“Uh… well—” Damian stammered. None of them knew what to say.
“May we know where we are?” Sienna asked quickly, breaking the silence.
The man frowned. “Young lady, you don’t know where you are? Then why are you here?”
“Well, um, we kind of got lost in the forest… and now we don’t have any internet,” Theo said, swinging his phone weakly.
“That’s right,” Blake added with a nervous smile. “We saw your wooden hut and thought you could help us, mister.”
“Alright,” the man said slowly. “There’s a mall further east. Go on.”
“Well, we just came from the mall,” Lily replied quickly. “And we kind of got lost, so we don’t want to go back there… it’s locked.” she added a lie.
The old man narrowed his eyes, studying them one by one. “All...right?” he muttered, his voice oddly calm but clearly he didn't trust the strange young people. “Come in.”
They thanked him and stepped inside.
But as Raven passed the doorway, the old man’s gaze lingered on her.
“You…” he murmured.
"Sorry?" Raven turned to him.
He smiled faintly, "Go inside!"
ns216.73.216.33da2
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