CHAPTER 26: DARK FOREST

They walked for what seemed like an eternity, relying on Kai’s ability to run. Obi was certain they would never catch up to the carriage.

"We should go back," Obi said when they were in the middle of the forest. The atmosphere was so tense. He felt goosebumps during the journey.

Kai stopped. He remained silent. Still, he had to obey Obi. If the boy wanted them to go back, then they would go back, even though he still wanted to keep walking.

Obi saw the disappointment on Kai’s face and sighed. He didn’t know how long it would take them to finally catch up with the train. He thought about John and Grace, who must be worried about them.

But then Obi furrowed his brow when, from the darkness of the forest, he saw someone with a horse-drawn carriage heading toward them.

Obi gasped. He quickly pulled Kai’s hand to move out of the way. The sound of the horses grew louder. And the carriage was moving so fast.

Obi’s eyes widened as an arrow flew toward him, nearly grazing his ear. It was so fast.

He was startled, frozen in place, but the next moment he snapped out of it and panicked. He pulled Kai behind a tree.

"What was that?" he said, trembling. He had almost passed into another world. He wasn’t ready to die.

A few moments later, the carriage passed them, the sound of the horses’ neighing growing louder. But the sound of many horses’ hooves could be heard.

Obi saw someone inside the carriage throw something out, rolling behind the tall bushes. He was curious but too afraid to move.

Obi swallowed hard. A few moments later, the masked group appeared. It seemed they were chasing the carriage. He covered his mouth when he saw the group successfully stop the carriage far enough away from where he was hiding.

His heart was pounding wildly. He felt like he was in the middle of a battlefield. Especially when he saw the carriage surrounded by the group in the distance.

Then screams were heard. The sound of swords. The sound of horses neighing.

Kai tensed up; he also saw everything. The coachman was mercilessly slit open with a sword, along with a man inside the carriage.

"Damn it, where did they take the prince?!" A man’s voice was heard, angry.

"What should we do with him?" asked another man, dragging a man out of the carriage, the man bound and gagged.

Kai’s eyes widened when he saw the bound man. Master Alvaro. The man was unconscious.

"Just throw him away. We don’t need him. Let him die slowly here!" replied a man who seemed to be the leader of the group.

They threw Alvaro far from the path. But Kai and Obi saw it.

After that, the group left with the intimidating sound of horse hooves.

Obi took a breath, as if he had forgotten to breathe from fear.

"What should we do?" Obi asked, trembling. Instead of finding Kai’s master, they had witnessed a murder.

Kai was also scared, but he immediately walked toward where they had thrown Alvaro. He had to save the man.

Meanwhile, Obi was curious about something thrown into the bushes by the man in the carriage. He pulled Kai to check it out first.

Besides, he felt sick seeing the corpse; to reach Alvaro, they had to pass through a carriage filled with blood and the bodies of two humans that looked gruesome.

Obi shuddered, wondering what he had dreamed about last night.

Kai followed Obi’s steps, walking quite a distance to where they had thrown something. And upon arriving there, Obi was startled by the black sack covering it. Inside, there was an unconscious human.

A corpse?

Kai’s eyes widened. "Master...," he immediately knelt down, recognizing Sylas’ face even though the man now looked pale and was no longer wearing his white robe.

Obi checked the man and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was still alive. "Is he your master?" Obi asked.

Kai nodded. He untied the ropes on the black sack, trying to save his master.

Obi helped. He was certain the man was a bodyguard being hunted by the palace. It would be a tragedy if the man couldn’t protect Kai.

"Master...," Kai called, anxiously. He untied the ropes on the man’s hands and feet.

"We have to take him to a doctor," said Obi.

Kai nodded. Anything to save his master.

Obi lifted Sylas’s body onto his shoulders. Though still young, he was accustomed to such tasks. Because he was the one who watched over the slaves.

He carried Sylas into the carriage. He tried not to look at the corpse beside the carriage wheel. He checked the horse, which looked restless and moved wildly.

At least the horse was still alive and useful.

Obi asked Kai to watch over Sylas while he went toward Alvaro. Hopefully, he wouldn’t find any more corpses. He ran, afraid that the group of masked men might return.

Inside the carriage, Kai wiped Sylas’ face, trying to clean it of dirt. "Master..." he called again, trying to wake Sylas. But the man didn’t react at all.

Meanwhile, Obi was annoyed because the man he found seemed unfriendly.

"Hurry up!" Alvaro grumbled. He had just woken up and found himself among the weeds, his skin itching.

"Shut up! This is very tight!"

"Use the knife!" Alvaro urged.

"Oh, Sir. If you don’t shut up, I’ll leave you here!" Obi grumbled.

Alvaro growled impatiently. But finally, the bonds on his hands broke free. He immediately stood up, disregarding his weakened state. He was only thinking about Sylas.

Where was Sylas? What had they done to the prince?

Obi stood staring at Alvaro as he walked away. "Hey! The carriage is over there! Where are you going?!"

Alvaro looked at Obi. "Thank you for your help. I have to go now."

Obi’s eyes widened. "Hey! You’re leaving your friend alone?!"

Alvaro stopped and turned back. "Who?"

He then realized. Could Sylas be inside the carriage?

Did they kill him?

Alvaro rushed toward the direction Obi had pointed. His heart was pounding wildly. He hoped nothing bad was happening not like inside his mind right now.

Obi grumbled all the way to the carriage. Before he could get close, the carriage had already sped off.

"Hey!!!" Obi shouted. Kai was still inside!

But Alvaro didn’t care. He kept going, leaving Obi there. Alone in the middle of the forest.

Obi grumbled all the way back. He chose to walk behind the trees, avoiding encountering that masked group again. Though afraid, he felt relieved, because at least Kai had a master, and he hadn’t abandoned that slave.

Just one thing—what should he tell Vlad?