THE KING'S MATE; IVA'S HYBRID DESTINY

IVA'S P. O. V

"Trisha! Trisha!" I have been screaming for a while now, lonely and scared to death in this godforsaken forest.

I looked around with fear, still shouting Trisha's name. But I was greeted with the eerie silence of the forest. I heard something rustling in the bush behind me. The rustling only grew louder, moving closer to me.

"𝘙𝘶𝘯!"

Suddenly, it clicked in my head. I knew instantly that was the only option left for me. I wasn't just going to stand here and watch whatever was hidden behind the bushes come over and devour me.

Like one who received inspiration, I took flight, running in the opposite direction. As I ran, I kept shouting Trisha's name until my voice became hoarse.

Wildflowers and branches with thorns tore my skin as I ran, but I didn't stop. At this point, I can't even feel any pain. I continued running mindlessly, without any specific direction in mind.

I'm not a religious person, but I prayed to the being above to help me escape this horror. I was gradually losing my breath, as it turned to rough gasps. The more I ran, the more it seemed I was moving deeper into the forest. I couldn't find my way out.

𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵!

When it dawned on me, I collapsed on the floor and started weeping uncontrollably. It was now late at night, and I could not see correctly, as the darkness was thick in the forest.

I cried with a mix of regret and fear. The sound of nocturnal creatures heightened my terror as I sought refuge behind a big tree.

I remembered my mum as tears trickled down my cheeks. What will she do when she finds out that I am missing? I didn't call her when I arrived here as I had promised, and she would worry.

I just curled up, still sobbing. Out of exhaustion, I drifted off to sleep, praying that someone would somehow find and rescue us.

* * * * * * *

I woke up the following day to the sound of rustling leaves. By instinct, I sprang up panicked, ready to flee. From behind, I felt a hand touch my shoulder and froze. Turning swiftly, I saw a dishevelled Trisha behind me with dirt stains all over her dress.

It was clear that she, too, had been crying just like me. "Trisha!" I croaked. We engulfed each other in a hug and cried at the same time. I was so relieved that we were together again.

"Why did you leave me!?" I asked amidst tears. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I'm sorry, Iva," She replied, still sobbing. "I was so scared. I got lost in the forest and was looking for help. I couldn't locate you anywhere. I walked all through the night looking for you."

I understood her because I knew I would've done the same thing in her shoes. "It's okay, we are together now. That's all that matters," I reassured her, patting her on the back gently.

She pulled away, her eyes locked into mine, "What do we do now?" She asked. I just looked at her absent-mindedly. I could see the fear in her eyes. What do we do now? We left our phones behind at the camp, so how can we call for help?

"I don't know, but we will get through this together", I replied, "We will find a way!" I promised, with such confidence, that it even got me confused. How do we find a way? We were lost! It was only under probability now.

At that moment, we knew that all we had was each other; we had to rely on each other to survive. A plan suddenly flashed through my mind. We needed to call for help; perhaps someone would hear us and come to our rescue.

"Trisha, we are going to call for help, as loud as we can!" I said, my voice firm and authoritative.

Trisha nodded affirmatively like she had been expecting it all along, "Okay, that's a good idea. Let's do it!"

"HELP!"

"HELP!"

"SOMEBODY HELP US!!!"

We screamed at the top of our voices. But it was useless, as the dense forest swallowed up our voices.

Disappointed, Trisha slumped down and began to weep again. I felt downcast, too, but I had to restrain the tears that threatened to fall. If we are going to make it out of here, one person needs to serve as an encouragement to the other.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰?

I sat down beside her, feeling defeated. We just sat silently for hours, gazing at a particular spot, lost in our thoughts.

"I'm thirsty," Trisha spoke out of the blue, piercing my thoughts. I turned to face her, but she didn't shift her gaze.

"Where do we find water?" I questioned, hoping she had seen a water source somewhere because I also needed some water.

"I don't know. But there should be a stream somewhere around here". She replied, rising to her feet. I did the same, and we began our search for water.

We started walking through the dense forest, our senses on high alert, and our eyes were wide open. We kept on searching for a stream, but none was in sight.

The little energy we had was already draining up. "I think that's it," Trisha screamed with hope bubbling through her voice as she pointed towards a particular direction. She quickened her pace as she strolled towards the supposed stream, and I followed behind.

As we approached, the gurgling sound of running water interrupted the forest's silence. My heart leapt with hope. We brushed off the bushes covering the path, and before us was a crystal clear brook of flowing water.

Without saying a word, we bent over on our knees, cupping our hands to take water. It was fresh as ever, revolving us.

We rested a little at the brook, trying to regain our strength. We seized the moment to study the environment and see if any hint could lead us to an escape route.

"We need to keep going, Trisha," I blurted out. We will follow the brook, to see if it leads us somewhere safe.