Chapter 23: Chapter 23- Lost
Chapter 23- Lost
Zen and Cipha looked around him; all they could see were vast stretches of greenery that extended in every direction. They were in the middle of one of the largest forests in the world, stuck completely alone. The idea started slowly settling in as things started calming down in their minds.
The jet had landed several hundred meters away, and the smoke from the impact rose to the sky, showing them exactly where it was.
"Do you have signal, Cipha?" Zen asked with a dark look on his face.
"None..." She replied. "There can’t be a signal here; we are far too deep in the woods. We need to get close to some sort of human settlement before we can contact anyone to pick us up."
The reality was that people get lost in these forests a lot, and there were designated search parties made for this kind of accident. The problem here was that nobody would come looking for them... They weren’t your typical lost people.
If there were people coming to look for them, then they were certainly not going to be the authorities, but rather the same people who caused this accident in the first place.
"We have been set up..." Zen replied. "The staff being killed, the lack of safety parachutes... They got us good. How did they even do that?"
"..." Cipha frowned visibly as she imagined the situation again. It wasn’t that hard to figure out what could have happened.
"One of the staff wasn’t particularly an ally... I think they snitched on our location." She said. "Everything was set up perfectly to kill us and make it look like an accident, so it doesn’t raise eyebrows."
"..." Zen stared at her silently. Her words sent chills down his spine, but he already knew they were true.
"Killing us, huh? I’m surprised they’re trying to eliminate us instead of scouting us or using us to their benefit."
Zen, in reality, wasn’t surprised whatsoever about it. He knew hunters and how they move. There is hatred and bad blood between all these clans, enough to kill and kidnap. They don’t really care about gaining more power, but rather gaining an upper hand over their enemies.
If Cipha had died that day, it would have been an immense blow to the Heavensoul clan. However, what was weird was that... No such thing occurred before.
This attack was certainly not something that Cipha experienced in his past life, which raised several questions in his head. Who did it? Why did they do it? And what changed that made them do it now?
’Cipha has countless enemies, I can’t really pinpoint who it is or even guess yet. We have to stay alert and keep an eye on our surroundings.’ He thought to himself.
"In any case, we can’t remain here. Chances are, they thought they got us, so we need to move toward our destination while they’re unaware." Cipha said. "Can you walk, Zen?"
"Yeah, it hurts, but I can move." He said with a grunt as he pushed himself off Cipha and stood on his own. ’Soul Essence is no joke, an injury like this should easily immobilize someone, and yet I can still move.’
Zen could feel the healing process going on with each passing second. Stretching his body subtly, he nodded at Cipha.
"We will start moving... If you can’t walk, just tell me, ok? We will take a break." She said.
"Don’t worry. I’m way stronger than I look." He smiled at her as he flexed his bicep.
"..." Cipha stared at him for a second before she nodded her head. "Also... Thank you... for saving my life... Thank you very much."
She said with a rather awkward yet sincere tone. Cipha wasn’t accustomed to thanking people sincerely like this. What Zen did was just ridiculous. He didn’t even hesitate to jump and protect her body.
’Why... Why would he do that?’ She asked herself. ’Why would he use himself as a shield?’
It just made no sense. They were strangers, and even if he was intending to jump anyway, if he could have moved more, he would’ve suffered way fewer injuries from the fall. However, he made sure to protect her as if his life depended on it.
It truly confused her beyond words, and she didn’t know what to say at that moment other than... thanking him.
"Haha, no worries. You don’t need to thank me for doing the obvious." Zen replied with a casual smile. "I’m just glad we both made it out alive. Now, let’s go."
Cipha nodded her head and followed after Zen as they started walking through the thick jungle. For some odd reason, she felt really refreshed seeing that someone was simply treating her so... normally.
Her entire life, Cipha had been looked at as a miracle child. A kid who could potentially change the entire world. She had no friends or people she could truly be herself around. Even her parents simply saw her as an asset and not their own daughter.
For someone to look at her this way, it confused her more than anything. She kept asking herself why she was feeling this way, and yet, the answer never came.
For a while, the two cut their way through the trees and vines until they finally came to the wrecked jet. It had blown into pieces, with many of them still burning where it landed. There was nothing that remained intact from the jet, not even a particular part of it.
"... Well, I guess our baggage is really gone," Zen said with a calm look on his face. "We will have to buy everything we need once we make it out of here."
Cipha, meanwhile, kept staring around her to make sure no one was watching them or following them. Luckily, the chances of them being easily found in a massive forest like this one were minimal.
They were safe... for now.
"Do you still have the map, Cipha?" Zen asked.
"Yeah... Here." She said as she pulled her phone out. She had downloaded the map before leaving, just in case, and it turned out to be extremely useful. Zen leaned in and peeked at the map.
"Where is the closest settlement we can go to?"
"Hmmm... There is a village up north, around 40 kilometers from here. We can find a vehicle there and get to our destination through the highway."
"40 kilometers, huh? That’s one hell of a hike." Zen muttered. "I think we can make it there by the end of the day if we hurry up."
Moving through a thick jungle like this one was bound to hinder their speed a lot.
’However, our biggest problem isn’t the hike itself, but rather... What we would come across during that hi-’
And as he finished that thought, suddenly, the two felt a movement behind them in the bushes. Instantly, they sprang back, taking a fighting stance as they looked into the bush. They could tell something was there.
Zen summoned his sword as he channeled his Soul Essence and spread them all around him.
Seconds passed tensely for the two as they awaited the creature to reveal itself. That was when...
*Swish*
A small animal jumped out of the bushes... It was a small deer.
