The Unthinkable

Day 204 of Year 4020

Josh’s POV

I jumped over some tree stumps as I rush through the oak forests, my backpack pressed protectively against my back. I know this is the main Venatores land so I must move fast and find Lilie.

According to other groups I have stumbled across, each group member is placed on a different biome in the arena. I was placed in the swamplands, Xander in the pine forests, Anna in the meadows and grassland, Bess in the mountains, meaning Lilie is either in the oak forests or in the deserts, where nobody I know of has explored since it is dangerously hot.

I pass through some bushes, making sure that there are no sharp leaves or thorns, and I emerge into a clearing. More wildflowers are here and I can see up through the treetops where birds rush around excited. I look for some clues to track Lilie and it must be my lucky day. There on one of the trees is the same metal board that marks a subjects arrival and the small writing states her number. 12.

She can’t be too far away since she was only placed a day ago. All I need to do is look for any tracks or temporary homes. It shouldn’t be too hard right?

Wrong.

All over the forest floor, I see all sorts of footprints meaning a large group has passed this way. How am I meant to find Lilie’s footprints from all of these? Easy. I can’t.

This was my mission. Get Xander. Find Lilie. And I have done neither. I drop myself down next to a tree and rest my back against it in defeat. Lilie has probably been taken by the Venatores already and so taking her back is now going to be even harder.

It’s all my fault. I rest my head in my hands feeling pure sorrow and loss. Though Lilie may not like me that way it doesn’t change my feelings towards her. She is all I have left now that Freddie is gone and the mentioning of her name once again brings a tear to my eye. I let it fall down my cheek but I quickly wipe it away when I hear the tapping of wood on wood.

‘et ego exáudiam vos’ (I hear you) I shout loud enough for the person to hear and I am greeted with a reply.

'Sicut et ego' (As Do I)

Just as I expected Xanders' head rushes around the corner with a spear in hand. It was his idea to have a greeting call to warn one another with and since he knew Latin from the reading he did with Anna it worked extremely well to our advantage.

He looks much happier than usual and I wonder what has raised his spirits. We have grown closer over these few days and since Anna was caught he has been really down.

'How have you been Josh?' He asks hugging me.

'Good Xand. What has put you in good spirits?' I smile at him.

He looks down for a second laughing slightly.

'Hope is on my side, Josh. That is why.' He pauses whistling from behind him and a group of children pop out. There was maybe 5 of them and they all held weapons and backpacks.

One of the boys, in particular, walks forward next to Xander and I instantly see it. They look so alike except for the boy's eyes that are more hazel than brown. This must be Xander's brother Leon that they haven't seen since the perlustration.

'You found your brother?! That's great Xand' I say happy for my friend. 'This must be his group'

'Yeah, That's Cole' Xander points to the boy with his arms crossed. 'Next to him is Celena' She stands with a knife in hand and a glare towards Xand. 'Thats Jak.' He stands at the back with his arms crossed protectively. 'And Maddyson' The girl stands directly behind Leon holding most of the pots and pans.

I nod to them all.

'Well I have only found footprints around here and by the numbers, it was from a group. I think Lilie has encountered the Venatores. If they have her is another question'

'Right well let's think to what might have happened.' Xander says sitting down by a tree and I follow. 'Maybe she ran for it through the trees'

'No' I say quickly 'Lilie is smart she would have seen the numbers and know it was no use. It attracts too much attention'

'Yeah, but what if she did?' Xander says.

'Then she is in their camp right now. She is smarter than that Xand. You and I both know.'

'Do you think she has seen Anna if the Venatores were here?' Xand almost whispers, his head dipped low.

'Yeah Xand, probably. Word is going around that she has been travelling with them a lot.'

It is silent for a while and I let Xander think through his emotions whilst I listen to the interesting forest sounds. The rustling of leaves in small breezes of wind, the wild birds laughing in their nests, The weird creaking sound that sounds so familiar but what is-

Crash!

'Jak you idiot! I told you not to climb on that branch!'

I stand up to look at the commotion and I find the boy I remember as Jak lying on the floor with the angry girl Celena standing over him.

'What's going on here?' I ask confused.

Celena faces me with a knife gripped tightly in her hand which I will never look away from. Who knows when this girl will boil over.

'This idiot here climbed on the weakest branch possible when there was clearly stronger branches. Like who does that when climbing a tree?' Wow, this girl has some anger issues. She's practically a tomato right now.

'Calm it Cel' Cole says giving Jak a hand and pushing Celena's shoulder back slightly.

'But you guys' Jak grunts slightly in pain. 'I found something'

Everyone turns at this comment.

'Well what is it?' I ask.

'I found a camp in the trees and by the looks of it, it was only temporary and recently built.'

Now that is the kind of clue I was looking for.