I watched Nithya as she jogged off in her path. I would have laughed at myself for falling for a silly prank. But, if what she said was really true, and if the other three have already split up, then there is no guarantee that everyone will find their way to the palace? What if one of us gets lost in this place? What if everyone gets lost in this place? "What if you don't eat for a whole day?" My stomach grumbled. I haven't noticed how hungry I've gotten since my last meal. I fished out a few glucose biscuits that I hadn't found earlier and chewed on them as I walked ahead. Maybe if I ate something, I would stop worrying. I tried to think about good thoughts and very optimistic things - but in a time like this, it's hard. And, to top it up, my surrounding grew darker as I went forward. Until it was pitch dark. All I could see was black. It didn't even make any difference if I kept my eyes open or shut, so I closed them because I was really tired. Travelling in the dark is pointless when I can't even see where I'm going.
I sat down next to a tree - or I assumed it to be one. As if the surroundings haven't scared me already, a climber suddenly grew around my leg. Its thick stems gripped my legs and its grip only tightened and squeezed my leg as I struggled. I tried to cut it with my nails but my French manicure wasn't helping one bit. I needed to get out of that creepy place, so I shook my bag off and started beating the plant with it, but I missed and I hit my own leg. I tried to move, but it grip grew even tighter, as if was going to digest me any minute. Now, the climber reached up to my waist and it grip was squeezing me harder. It was getting harder to breathe as it tightened its grasp on my ribs. That was when I remembered my pocket knife. I pulled it out of my pocket and slashed it plant. I wasn't careful because of the dark and my panic, so I managed to cut a bit of my skin. I winced in pain as the creeper suddenly died and everything fell loose and I finally got out of its monstrous grasp.
I took deep breaths, enjoying the fact that I can breathe again, despite the place being stinky and my wound bleeding terribly. I didn't dare to sit down but I took out my flash light of my phone and tried to examine my wound. It was a very deep cut on my thigh. I tore a bit of my shirt sleeve and wiped out the blood. I then tied it around my wound. I tried walking, but I could barely stand. I tried to see what's ahead of me, but even with the flashlight, all I could see was emptiness. I limped ahead, trying to find a safe spot to rest, but I didn't see anything. I couldn't leave any footprints either - not that I even expected anyone to come looking for me. I limped ahead, hoping I would find something.
After a few hundred meters, I found some light. I limped faster in the direction of the light. Because, if there is a light source, there must be someone - or something - I hope. When the darkness finally disappeared, I was blinded by a shimmering white light.
After squinting my eyes for a long time, I found myself in a huge field. It was as if I was back on earth. I saw clear skies, fresh green grass and air smelled amazing. There was also a four hundred meter track along the grass. I thought I was dreaming, but I was sure I didn't fall asleep before. And that's what I did. Dropped my bag aside and slept on the grass.
*__*__* _*__*__*
I woke up to a bunch of screaming kids. I got up, dusted myself and looked in the direction of that awful noise. Shoving my bag on my shoulder, I limped up to them (my limping was almost like walking, now). I covered my ears instantly, because, what I saw was more disordered than anything. It was so chaotic; I wanted to just shut them all up. There were about a hundred small aliens. Some were screaming and shouting, jumping, floating, hitting each other and if had to list out what all they were doing, this book would never end.