Chapter 7

“You know my power is not meant for carrying people!” said Soja shaking his head groggily.

Tanner looked concerned. “Think he needs another boost?”

Jack shook his head, panting. “I got just one more Boost left in me. I don't think I can keep fighting afterwards.”

He wasn’t exactly tired though his heart was hammering hard with the adrenalin high.

“C’mon.” He said beckoning the two. “We can’t stop now.”

Tanner lifted Soja to his feet and the trio started running at a slow jog. On the other side of the bank, the herd was still rampaging.

“That’s a really big herd.”

Jack looked at the Bisondon thoughtfully. “Something is weird here.”

Tanner nodded. “Someone has been riling them up.”

“This is all on purpose!” Soja yelled breathlessly. Jack and Tanner glanced back at him.

“What do you mean?”

“They got people up ahead driving the beasts wild so that the candidates will bump into each other more,” Soja said hotly.

Jack frowned. “That’s reckless. Even for Eaton.”

“Something is off,” said Tanner.

All the animals that they have seen till now have been slowly migrating from the center of the forest to the outskirts. It was like something was driving them all into a frenzy.

Jack and Tanner exchanged knowing looks. Jack put his hand on his forehead again.

“Okay. I’m going in again. Take care of my body while I’m out.”

Soja, too winded to speak, gave him a thumbs up. The trio switched to their usual formation of Tanner leading the way, though this time Soja was following Jack closely in case he slipped up.

Jack took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He kept getting interrupted. There was almost no way that he could do proper recon with all this craziness, but he still had to keep trying. They were literally running in the dark now. Without any information, they will be blindsided by what’s to come. All his theories about Eaton were merely conjecture at this point. He needed something concrete so he would know exactly what he was working with.

He was about to close his eyes when he heard Tanner speak in a loud carrying whisper. “Into the trees now!”

Jack grabbed Soja and rushed to follow Tanner. The three boys disappeared into the trees just in time. They moved deeper into the forest and watched a group of students move in synchronized military precision. They ran along the river bank and passed by the place where the three boys were moments ago.

“Nobles,” Tanner muttered under his breath.

Jack’s pupils shrank into pinpricks as he watched the group. All of them were wearing white suits with a symbol of a flying serpent embossed on their shoulders. His silver eyes gleamed dangerously.

“Briton.” The word came out like a curse out of Jack’s mouth.

His insides felt like molten lead that was steadily boiling over, building up pressure to explode out in a volcanic fury. It was beyond rage at this point. The symbol of his noble house reflected in his large silver eyes. The winged serpent looked sinister, deadly and beautiful. Majestic as it spread its wings to the sky. He had seen the same symbol flying on the banners of the great hall of the main family. Barely ten years old, he remembered being shielded by his parents while a hundred judging, malicious silver eyes stared down at him.

“Excommunication.” The judgment had echoed in Jack’s young ears as he stared up at the flapping banners in the hall, not truly understanding what was going on or why his parents were shielding him.

It had been five years since that fateful day and he was still alive. Vengeance was the fire that kept him warm at night. His blood boiled over as he stared at the procession. He was still alive. That was the sole reason he had come to Eaton, to show them that he was still alive.

Jack looked through the ranks of nobles searching for his cousin but he couldn't spot him amongst the crowd. Everyone in the group wore identical clothing and moved in synchronized precise movements. Their high collars covered the bottom half of their heads, hiding their faces.

Jack’s aura flared violently around him and gathered at his feet. He would just have to charge at them head-on. The chaos will create weakness in their ranks which he can exploit to find his dear cousin. It was only right that he extend a polite greeting after such a long time.

A manic grin spread across his face as Jack prepared to charge ahead. Just as he was about to launch himself at the nobles a raised hand blocked his path.

“What are you doing?!” Tanner whispered urgently. Taking Jack and Soja by the hand, Tanner led them away from the noble’s eyes, dragging them deeper into the forest foliage. Jack mutely let himself be led away, but his eyes were completely focused on the group ahead. The flying serpent etched on their shoulders reflected in Jack’s silver eyes as they disappeared into the mist.

Tanner shook Jack’s shoulder. “Tell me you're not thinking of following them.”

Jack didn’t hear Tanner. His heart was hammering in his ears as he silently stared at the shadows in the mist that were disappearing one by one. Breathing rapidly he tried to calm his raging heart.

“There are seven of them and three of us. Don’t be stupid.” Tanner growled, trying to shake some sense into Jack.

Jack remained silent. His blood was still seething. His mind churned with ideas on how he could isolate his cousin from his party. His eyes moved rapidly as he jumped from one idea to the next. He needed to track them down before he lost sight of them. It was when he was reaching for his gift he realized something important that he had missed.

“I can’t sense them!”

He couldn’t sense any of them. None among the group pinged his consciousness. Which was odd considering that he could easily sense his mana in anyone without meditation when they were this close to him.

“What do you mean you can't sense them?” asked Tanner.

“Exactly what I said.”

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

“I'm certain, I marked them,” said Tanner.

Jack had a frown on his face. “And why are they back here when all the other nobles are up ahead?”

Soja groaned incoherently and Jack was finally snapped back to reality. The plump boy looked dead on his feet.

“Forget the nobles. We have bigger problems to worry about,” said Tanner somberly. He had his head tilted off to the side as he listened for something in the distance.

Jack felt a tremor race through the soles of his feet. The tree they were standing on was shaking slightly. The air around them was charged and there was a distinct rumble in the air that was steadily getting louder. Jack’s eyes widened as the dreaded sounds of hoofbeats became clearer.

“Your kidding? Again?”

“We need to get out of here and fast,” said Tanner.

Soja groaned beside them. Tanner and Jack looked at their short friend who was barely holding on. His mana was running amok ever since he nearly purged himself dry by recklessly using his skill at the river. Carrying Jack had been too much for the boy and the strain had severely overloaded his conduits.

Soja was looking paler by the second and his aura was flickering in and out of sight. Jack could still feel his mana resting inside Soja like lead weights, completely unusable in its current state. It could only function as a boost to Soja’s own mana and not substitute as his own. The borrowed mana laid still unmoving now that Soja’s own mana wasn’t around to guide it.

Jack pulled the plump boy up who looked up at him with half-opened eyes.

“Jack, I don’t feel so good.”

Soja’s stomach growled and the boy looked blue in the face. His body was craving calories after using so much of his aura.

“So hungry… and sleepy. Hungry sleepy.” He mumbled under his breath.

Jack looked exasperated. He looked towards where the Briton nobles had disappeared and then back to Soja. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to follow them anytime soon.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Tanner snapped his fingers in front of Soja. “We need to get going.”

The rumble that was coming from the distance was growing steadily. If they were going to leave they had to do it soon.

“Think he needs a boost?” asked Tanner.

“Won’t do him any good.” Jack grimaced. “He needs to recover a bit of his own mana for him to use mine.”

He held the short boy by the shoulders and started shaking him hard. “Wake up!”

Soja’s head lolled around like a bobble head, making incomprehensible noises as he was shaken about.

“Mom...Chicken Kurma will have… Cora.”

Hearing the plump boy’s inane ramblings Jack got an idea. He shook Soja hard and spoke urgently.

“Soj, Cora is out making food! Its gonna run out already!”

Soja’s bleary eyes opened. “Food? Cora?”

“Yeah!” Tanner chimed in. “Get up and get your shit in order. Sort out your mana.”

“Okay.” Soja nodded. Despite being half asleep, he had a dopey look on his face. The short, plump boy brought his mana under control and started drawing energy from the forest. It slowly flowed into him as he meditated.

Tanner wiped his brow. “Good. That’s settled for now.”

The rumbling ahead was getting intense.

“Com’on bud. We are moving, Okay?”Jack hooked his arm underneath Soja’s armpit and escorted the boy as he recovered his mana. Gathering his aura under his feet he let it out in an explosive burst and leapt off the tree onto the next.

“Only one hour left,” Tanner said quietly.

“We’ll make it,” replied Jack. His eyes were focused on the path ahead. The dark forest hidden in the mist loomed in front of them. Jack subconsciously checked his stars but he could only spot Tanner and Soja in his vision. They still had a bit of his mana left but that too would run out soon. He could only hope that they finished the test before that happens. One more boost was only what he had left in him. If he used it again he would be in the same state as Soja.

The trio lept from tree to tree in quick succession. The rumbling was still intense as ever and was getting louder with each passing moment. Jack looked around the forest but he couldn’t tell where exactly they were.

“How close are we to the waterfall.” He asked.

“A bit further. About fifteen minutes or so,” said Tanner.

The ground was really beginning to shake now. The trees were swaying slightly and Tanner was making more and more complicated route changes to throw off the pursuit. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere and the situation was getting increasingly desperate.

The Bisondon were dangerous because of their numbers. Individually the creatures were about as dangerous as a Lebara but when they started to amass and start a stampede it was a whole other thing. The bovines were heavy, bulky and insanely irritable. If something riled them up they won’t stop charging till the subject of their ire was dead or has fled from their sight. They needed to get out of this area soon. One slip up and they could all be trampled flat.

“Any luck?” Jack asked Tanner.

The tall boy didn’t answer for a while. He looked from left to right trying to find an opening but the thundering hoofbeats were all pervasive. Tanner looked at Jack with a bitter smile and shook his head.

“I don’t think we can avoid this one.”

“You sure?” A growing sense of dread filled Jack.

“The only way out is descending the hill. The one opening left.”

“That is not an option.” Jack gritted his teeth. He was half supporting and half dragging Soja up the hill. He didn’t think he could fight at his max while looking after his plump friend. Jack racked his brain for ideas but he was coming empty. He had promised them that he would see this through. He had to do something.

Soja stirred weakly beside him and Jack looked down to see his friend somewhat sober.

“Hey, bud. You alright?.”

Soja looked dazed. “Jack.”

“Don't talk too much. You need your strength.”

“Tell you something.”

“What’s that, bud?” asked Jack.

“Need to tell.”

Jack strained his ears but he couldn’t hear what Soja was talking about.

“Sure, sure. It's going to be okay. You gather up your mana.”

Jack took a deep breath and with a determined look on his face, he adjusted his grip on Soja. He will get them all through this. This might be the one golden ticket for them to get out of their current lives and he wasn’t going to squander it.

He brought his aura under control and imbued his body with mana. The wild torrents that were racing through his conduits rushed into his muscles bones and tendons reinforcing them. He was nowhere near as good as Tanner but Jack could still manage to a rudimentary level.

Tanner too increased his pace sensing the roiling mana that was coming off in waves from Jack. They charged the hill in reckless abandon towards the thunderous sound of hoofbeats that were headed for them.

The intensity of the shakes ramped up noticeably as they raced ahead. Jack could hear the Bisondon now. The maddened, rage filled roars of the rampaging bulls echoed through the forest. They were finally here. The mist ahead was churning like a kettle about to boil over and shadows of forest critters could be seen in the mists desperately trying to hide themselves.

A Lebara came out of the woodwork injured and bloody. It frantically tried to get out of the way but it was too late. The hoofbeats got louder and very soon the Lebara was overrun. It roared its last breath as it got trampled under a thousand Bisondon hoofs.

Countless gleaming horns and red eyes greeted the boys as the Bisondon broke through the forest. Several trees were uprooted and fell as they passed. They were foaming up at the mouth and the bulls came in like a tide sweeping aside everything that stood in their path. Several unlucky animals disappeared under their hoofs, yowling in terror for one last time.

“Move!”

The trees were shaking as the Bison crashed into them. They came one after the other and Jack nearly lost his footing as he leapt from tree to tree.

“Tanner!”

“Shit!”

It was utter chaos. The boys desperately tried to keep their footing as they raced uphill but it felt like they were running against the current. The tree under Jack’s feet groaned and creaked and came out from under him in a sudden lurch.

“F**k me dead!”

The entire tree was coming crashing down and Jack in a burst of aura ran along the bark of the tree with Soja in tow. Adjusting his grip on Soja, Jack took a leap of faith on to the next tree that he was falling towards. He barely managed to make the landing, straining his arms and legs in the process. Gritting his teeth he got his unwilling limbs to move and leapt onto the next tree.

“Jack!” Tanner yelled amidst the din. “We got company!”

Jack's eyes went wide and immediately focused on his skill. He had forgotten to keep checking on his trackers while attending to Soja. He spotted a group of kids that were on the trees like they were, desperately trying to keep their footing. Jack didn’t even need to meditate with them so close. None of the kids ahead pinged his conscience.

“Nothing to worry about. Not any nobles.”

“Alright,” yelled Tanner. “We’ll avoid them just in case.”

Tanner led the boys away from the new group, moving nimbly between the trees leaving him an easier path to follow. Jack glanced back at the group of students for one last time as they moved past them. Looking at the group Jack recognized a familiar silhouette. She had a dark green cloak wrapped around her with a hood pulled over her face. The bottom half of her face was covered with only her eyes visible.

Sensing his gaze the girl turned her head towards Jack. Time seemed to slow down and there was a brief pause as her hazel eyes met Jack’s silver.

“Double time, Tanner. It’s Knife-girl” yelled Jack.

She was the one that had been eyeing Soja since the start of the test. It’s best to avoid any trouble before it starts. He didn't need any new shit right now.

Soja groaned and Jack looked down at his plump friend. The aura around him was a lot clearer and some color had returned to his cheeks, but the short boy still looked tired. His unfocused eyes fell on Jack who was still dragging him forward.

Hints of white fog came out of his palms and his hands glowed weakly as he unconsciously took hold of his skill. He had barely recovered enough mana to wield his powers for a little while.

“Soja!” Jack exclaimed. The little dough ball had finally recovered enough to look a little lucid but the expression on his face suggested that he was nowhere close to being at one hundred percent. The short boy was mumbling under his breath as he tried to get his best friend’s attention.

“Guys I need to tell you guys something,” Soja spoke, his voice barely noticeable over the sound of toppling trees and crashing hoofs.

“What?” yelled Tanner from up ahead.

“You guys are like my best friends.”

“Huh?!” Tanner looked incredulous. This was hardly the time with Bisondon rampaging right under them.

“No, seriously. You guys are just the best!”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“What’s he doing?” asked Tanner in a loud whisper

“I don’t know,” Jack replied.

“Is he alright?”

“I'm not sure.”

“No, no listen,” continued Soja, slurring his words. “I don’t tell this enough, but you guys are like my favorite people in the whole world. Mom keeps yelling at me. Cora ignores me. You guys are the only ones I got.”

“He is delirious?”

“Mana exhaustion.”

“First time I’m seeing him like this.”

“You guys listening?” continued Soja. “because I’m….”

Before he could finish, his foot slipped off the branch he was standing on and Jack had to catch him to stop him from falling.

“We are going to have to carry him till the finish line,” he said exasperatedly.

“Give him a boost? Half a boost, maybe?” asked Tanner.

“Might make it worse, but it’s worth a shot.”

Jack was standing on a branch half supporting Soja. He was looking closely at Soja’s face when he saw something fly past him through the corner of his eye.

A knife came at him aiming straight for his head. He moved out of the way just in time to see Knife-girl in the distance. Three more knives were coming at him and he had to twist out of the way to dodge them.

They zipped by him and logged in the tree. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Jack turned around to find that he wasn’t holding Soja’s hand anymore. He was far away from him swaying unsteadily on the branch with his eyes glazed over.

Jack’s eyes traveled downwards and he saw a knife sticking under Soja’s ribs. The plump boy swayed on his feet as he tipped backwards.

“Soja!” Tanner yelled.

Jack’s mouth was open, crying a wordless scream.

With a smile on his face, Soja was falling down. Down into the rampaging Bisondon.