Chapter 84: Lost Sheep.
Yesu treaded carefully in the darkness.
The mosquitoes that were a minor disturbance during the day had become a terror in the night.
She had been bitten so many times she didn’t even feel it anymore.
Crickets, along with other insect sounds she couldn’t identify, rang out in the forest. And then there was the occasional silence where the insects cut out all at once.
Like it was planned or something.
She had been walking for two hours and yet there was no sign that she was getting closer to her destination.
Yesu started wondering if she had memorized the map wrong.
Or if the darkness was making her head in the wrong way.
She could hear the crunch-crunch beneath her feet as she walked on dry leaves.
Distant branches scraped together in the wind. The echoes bounced weirdly between trunks, so every sound seemed closer than it actually was.
Yesu stopped abruptly.
She had heard another crunch-crunching of feet in the eerie environment.
She swerved, pointing the small flashlight she was holding toward the direction the sound had come from. Nothing.
She flashed the light around.
There was no one.
It seemed she had mistaken the echoes of her footsteps for someone else.
Yesu faced forward and immediately hit her head against the bark of a tree.
She had forgotten to point the flashlight where she was heading.
The flashlight fell from her hands, hit the ground and flickered dangerously.
She quickly picked it up and knocked it a few times.
It stabilized.
"Phew." She muttered.
Yesu imagined what would have happened if the flashlight had died. She would have had to find her way to base in the dark.
Although she didn’t mind.
What she did mind, however, was the flashlight had been borrowed from Olwen and she intended to return it intact.
Yesu continued on her journey.
Her mind travelled back to earlier when Elsie had returned from delivering the Scales.
Yesu had asked if she had gotten there in time.
"I did." Elsie had said, then inclined her head. "But..."
Yesu sighed knowingly.
"The traps didn’t work, did they?"
"Didn’t seem like it."
Then Yesu had looked into the Vault area where 12-A had just conquered their opponents.
Without having an all out war.
She faced Elsie again.
"Do you think my squad has a chance? Even if it’s a little?" She asked.
Elsie took her time before answering. Her squad was already claiming the Vault.
"I told you I would help whatever way I could."
A pause.
"And I did."
Yesu brightened.
"But," Elsie had continued. "Whether your squad wins the day or not is up to them."
Then she looked Yesu in the eye.
"Thank you." She said softly. "Today I got to improve."
Yesu had just smiled and waved a hand.
"There’s no need to thank me. I was the one who needed help after all."
Yesu was jolted back to reality when she suddenly tripped over something. She held a branch to steady herself.
Before her was a fork in the path.
Yesu paused.
"Expected nothing less." She said.
Then looked left, right, then left again. Which way was she supposed to take?
Nothing on the map had implied this.
Yesu sighed.
She raised a finger.
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe..."
It landed on her right. She shrugged and took a step towards the path.
And then—
A flicker of light pierced through the thick darkness.
Just ahead.
From the left path.
"Well, what do you know?" She said with a small laugh.
Yesu diverted to the left and quickened her pace.
She could hush whispers. Very familiar.
Squad 11-D.
She had made it to base.
As Yesu got closer, the flashes of torchlights surrounding the base became clearer.
The night guards.
She could make out several silhouettes moving around the perimeter.
Then suddenly, every light went out.
All at once.
Darkness swallowed the forest again.
Yesu frowned. "What?"
Without thinking further, she broke into a sprint.
The base was only a short distance away now.
Branches whipped past her. The bushes ahead parted.
Then someone slammed into her from the side.
They crashed to the ground.
Before Yesu could react, her hands were yanked behind her back.
Someone pinned her down.
More movement followed around them. Several figures were closing in.
"Guys!" Yesu struggled. "It’s me!"
Nobody responded.
"It’s me! Yesu!"
A pause followed.
Then a flashlight clicked on. Another joined it.
The beams settled on her face.
Silence.
"Yesu?" Isaiah croaked.
Yesu shook off the squadmate pinning her and pushed herself upright.
There were four of them.
All staring.
"Where on earth have you been?" Isaiah asked in disbelief.
Yesu let out a breath.
"It’s a long story."
Reggie folded his arms. "Why did you take the Scales with you?"
Yesu blinked.
"Do you know how many problems you caused?" Reggie’s tone was getting higher.
Isaiah sighed. "Calm down first. Let’s go inside and discuss it."
"No."
Reggie studied Yesu.
"What if that’s not actually her?"
Everyone froze.
Yesu frowned. "What?"
"What do you mean what?" Reggie snapped. "Don’t act like you don’t know."
He grabbed her wrist.
Yesu stared.
Reggie narrowed his eyes.
"Is anyone else with you ? Why are you still playing games after Trials have ended?"
His expression twisted.
"Are you really that much of a creep?"
Yesu was more confused than ever.
"What on earth are you talking abou—"
But he had already pinned her hands behind her back again.
"Let’s go." He said, pushing her forward.
By the time they reached the base, almost the entire squad was outside.
The moment they saw her, surprise spread through the group.
"Yesu?"
"You came back?"
"Where have you been?" Farida asked.
"This is not Yesu." Reggie announced.
Several students blinked.
Reggie pointed downwards at her head. "It’s that creepy senior from earlier."
Yesu groaned.
"I still don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Liar." He snapped.
"Hey!"
A voice rang out from the crowd.
Finch had just stepped out of the building.
The moment he saw Yesu, his eyes lit up.
"Beauty!" He hurried over. "You’re back!"
Then he wrapped both arms around her in mock cry.
"Oh, thank goodness!"
Reggie looked offended.
Finch lifted his head mid-cry and finally noticed him.
His eyes drifted down to where Reggie still held Yesu’s arm.
The crying stopped instantly.
He slapped Reggie’s hand away. Then pulled Yesu into an even tighter hug.
And resumed crying.
"Yesu... I thought I would never see you again!"
Yesu stood stiff as a board.
"Get off." She said simply.
He hugged tighter.
Around them, the squad looked thoroughly exasperated.
Mostly because none of this was unusual.
Finch cried some more.
"Yesuin..."
Yesu finally pushed him off.
"Get a hold of yourself."
Just then, the building door opened.
Soraya stepped outside.
The chatter died. Everyone turned.
Soraya’s eyes found Yesu immediately. For a moment, she froze.
The squad waited. Expecting a lecture. A reprimand.
Something.
Instead, Soraya’s shoulders relaxed. Only slightly.
But enough for everyone to notice.
Like a burden she had carried all day had finally been lifted.
