Jack
We all trooped off of the raft once we got to the shore. We untied our bags and the ropes, letting the wood flow back onto the sea. I heaved out a sigh of relief, glad to be alive and safe. I was glad that my idea had worked. I would have felt guilty in hell if we had all been killed, telling myself that I should have listened to John.
It was good to have a crazy idea and have it work out without being told ‘I told you so’ afterwards. It was even better to be on land in an open space instead of fighting for your life over water or trekking amidst trees that seemed as terrifying as the forest itself.
“I’m glad your idea worked.” John said, moving closer to me and clapping me on the back.
“Me too.” I replied him.
Quinn finished stashing his bag onto his bag and pushed the wet ropes into a nylon bag, carrying it in his hand so it could dry off. We would definitely need the ropes anytime soon.
Mia staggered on her legs and we all rushed to her side, supporting her with our hands.
“Are you fine?” We said at the same time.
She nodded, leaning into our embrace. She shocked us with her act. She must have been really shaken to have done that because the girl I knew would have preferred to faint than find solace in our hands. There was really a bond that formed when people escaped death together and I wondered if that was what was happening with us.
Regardless of what it was, I was glad that it happened. It was so good to be alive. I couldn’t believe that I would have missed her hug, feeling her skin so close to mine if we had died. I didn’t mind that I didn’t have access to all of her skin as my brothers were also in the embrace but the little I got access to made me happy.
“At least we can all talk of this adventure since it’s a shared one unlike the one in the echoing forest.” John grinned.
“Please don’t remind me of that experience.” Mia shuddered.
“Yes, your highness.” I replied, teasing her. The three of us looked at one another, silently communicating to ourselves not to talk of the adventures in the echoing forest unless she was ready to talk about it.
She must have had a horrible experience in there for her not to want to talk about it. I snorted at myself for thinking that way as if I had a nice experience in there. Looking back at what I had gone through, I didn’t blame her. I didn’t think that I wanted to talk of it as well.
Mia finally broke away from the group hug, leaving each of us with a smile on our faces. I doubted that she knew what she had done. I wanted us to go through more adventures so we would get more hugs from her but that would be selfish of me.
Regardless of what I wanted, I couldn’t possibly wish for her to go through more life-threatening episodes if I claimed to love her, which I did.
“Let’s get away from this place.” Quinn said, steering Mia forward.
I agreed with him. We should go to a place where there was pure air and we could breathe better than this. Even if our bodies could filter the air we took in and keep us safe from harm regardless of where we were, we had Mia to consider. Her body couldn’t filter the air she breathed and we had to move far away from here for her sake.
I couldn’t wait for the day we were going to mark her and turn her into a wolf. I couldn’t wait for her to live like us. Knowing that we would all live for centuries together would be the greatest gift I would ever receive.
Mia’s stomach grumbled and we chuckled as we all looked at her. She blushed, placing her hand on her belly. “I don’t know what is wrong with this?”
Quinn laughed. “Hunger, I guess.” He chuckled as her blush deepened. “You don’t have to feel bad about that. It’s been hours since we ate.”
I grinned. “Exactly. I’m glad we brought Mia with us. We have a biological alarm to remind us of when to eat.”
“Don’t tease her.” John rebuked me but he was laughing as well.
“You will make our sister angry.” Quinn said, obviously trying hard to keep a lid on his emotions.
Mia looked at all of us, one after the other and started laughing. Before long, we were all laughing and had forgotten that we had almost died some minutes ago.
Life was indeed precious with all the little memories embedded in it.
We made a stop, agreed that it was safe to start a fire and fixed ourselves a hot dinner. We roasted meat and ate to our satisfaction. That was what we needed at the moment. I didn’t think that I could deal with canned food this night after surviving the calm of the Sea of Death.
I was proud of myself. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell dad of how we had survived the Sea of Death and how I had been the one to come up with the idea.
I couldn’t wait to get home. There was so much that I wanted to tell dad already.
“It would be nice if we had a break before another adventure.” Mia said as we laid down to sleep.
I nodded in agreement. I couldn’t have agreed with her more. I needed a break too.