Chapter 15 - I NEED EXPLANATIONS
We keep pace along the road, trying to remain calm amidst the tension that seems to fill the car. We take many detours, in a desperate attempt to throw off anyone who might follow us, until we reach the road that connects us to the other town, which is surrounded by a dense, dark forest. I thought we would keep driving until we reached the city, but when the car takes an unexpected turn into the forest, my nerves become alert again. Why on earth would we go in the middle of the night through a lush, scary forest after being attacked by some beasts?
“Where are we going?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady, but the shaky tone reveals my nervousness. It's impossible to hide my growing anxiety.
“I told you, we're going to the herd,” Kaiden replies, his irritation evident in every word.
“And that's left in the forest?” I insist, my doubt entirely acceptable, my mind filling with images of everything that could go wrong in such a place.
“Where else else else?” replies Kaiden sarcastically, arching an eyebrow as he watches me through the mirror. His eyes glint with a mixture of defiance and concern, and for a moment, I wonder if he is as confident as he appears. The night is dense, and the road grows narrower and darker.
“This doesn't make sense,” I mutter, more to myself than to them. “Why not just call someone to come pick us up?” Kira, who has been silent, finally speaks up.
"There's no time for that. Besides, we're too far away from any help,” Kira says, looking out the window with a worried expression.
Just as I'm about to respond in the best possible way, holding back a not-so-friendly comment, the car starts making a strange sound, a mixture of screeching and banging, then slowly comes to a complete stop. Kaiden frowns and slaps the steering wheel in frustration. Luckily, the car's headlights are still on, illuminating the road in front of us.
Kaiden jumps out of the car and heads for the hood, popping it open with a jerky motion. “Great, just what we needed,” he mutters to himself, but loud enough for us to hear.
Kira turns to me, her eyes reflecting the same concern I feel, “We're going to get through this, Yini. Trust us,” she says, though her voice trembles slightly.
Meanwhile, Kaiden is standing in front of the car, checking the engine with the flashlight on Kira's phone. From time to time, he casts furtive glances at me, his face illuminated by the dim light, showing a mixture of concentration and something else I can't quite decipher.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. The forest seems to close in around us, and the silence is broken only by the occasional sounds of nature and Kaiden's frustrated mutterings as he works on the engine. Kira leans forward, whispering, “It's not as bad as it looks. Kaiden knows what he's doing."
But inside, I keep wondering if we can really figure out everything that's going on. Is it possible we can't?
Kaiden goes back inside the car and tries to start it again, but to no avail. Frustrated, he checks the car's dashboard and then slaps the steering wheel with his palm.
“What's wrong?” asks Kira, her tone full of concern as she watches Kaiden anxiously.
“The engine's fine, but we're out of gas,” says kaiden leaning his forehead against the steering wheel.
“Out of gas? You're telling me that useless guy gave us a car out of gas?” kira exhales in frustration, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground, clearly impatient.
“Well, if we're getting technical, he didn't actually give it to you,” I say, referring to my neighbor who must be in the ER right now. I try to remain calm, but the situation seems to be getting worse by the minute.
Kira snorts at my comment, her face becoming more tense. “We need to get there as soon as possible to talk to Dad about what's going on,” she says, looking at Kaiden with a mixture of desperation and determination.
“I know, Kira, can you stop saying obvious things?” replies Kaiden irritably, rubbing his forehead as if trying to come up with a solution.
“And can you stop talking to your sister like that? You're being too rude,” I say, my tone firm.
“Rude?” Kaiden turns to me, his gaze intense. “Oh, believe me, you haven't heard me being rude, Yini.”
I'm about to insult him, but a noise outside catches my attention. The sound is much like a branch breaking. I freeze for a second, trying to identify where it's coming from.
“Did you hear that?” I ask nervously, as I try to look out the car window. The darkness of the forest prevents me from seeing clearly, but there is nothing outside. However, they don't pay attention to me because they are still arguing.
“We're not too far from the herd. We could walk,” Kaiden suggests, looking at Kira with a mixture of determination and concern.
“Walking? We're not too far if we're going turned into wolves, but what about Yini, are you forgetting that she's an ordinary human?” replies Kira, crossing her arms with a worried expression and casting a furtive glance my way.
“How could I forget...” says Kaiden, his tone sarcastic, but his eyes reflecting genuine concern, ”But we can't stay here all night.”
“Hey, what do you mean ordinary, am I being insulted?” I say, angrily, trying to hide my growing anxiety with a facade of indignation.
Kaiden turns to me with a sigh. “What he means,” he says in a softer voice, “is that you won't get there before the end of the night if we walk. And that's not to mention what your feet will look like after that walk."
I glance down at my feet, barely covered by my shoes, and the idea of walking through the woods for hours doesn't sound at all appealing.
Suddenly, a loud growl rumbles in the darkness, followed by the crackle of breaking branches. We all freeze, the silence that follows is deafening. The tension in the air is palpable, each of us trying to process what we just heard.
Another slightly louder noise catches my attention, making my heart race even faster. “Well, they must have at least heard that!” I exclaim with a mixture of panic and hope. “There's definitely something out there!” Have they found us?