Chapter 36

KATELYN.

"Ms. Hernandez, wake up! Please, ma'am, you need to wake up!" I felt a shake on my shoulder. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw Claudia crying, nervous and clearly terrified.

I struggled to sit up, but I felt intense pain in my thigh and ankle. She helped me sit and lean against a rock.

"What happened?" I asked, holding my head. I noticed that the surroundings were getting darker, and night had fallen.

"You've been unconscious for a while, Ms. Kate. You also dropped your phone, I'm sorry, it's my fault," she covered her face and cried beside me. There was nothing we could do about this situation. I made a wrong decision, which led us to this predicament.

"Don't cry, Claudia. It's better if we don't move too much, as this structure might collapse. Let's wait for the rescue team; I'm sure they will come," I tried to calm her down. She needed to stay calm because panicking further would only endanger us more.

"I told Aimee that if I didn't come back or call her, she should look for me. They're probably searching for us by now," I replied to her and she nodded, leaning closer to me.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Kate. It's all my fault, and I'm sorry for how I treated you the other day. I didn't know whom to trust, and I let myself be deceived by Gadreel. I should have listened to my friend who warned me that he might be playing me, but no, I was blinded by my love for him." She cried even more after admitting that to herself.

"I'm sorry if I said something hurtful, and I'm sorry for putting you in danger," I shook my head and held her hand, trying to comfort her as her tears wouldn't stop.

As her teacher, I needed to make her feel that she could trust me and that I understood what she wanted to say.

"That's all in the past now. Once we get out of here, we'll start anew, okay? It's as if we never met Gadreel, as if we never had any grievances with each other. We need to be even stronger," I replied, and she nodded, gripping my hand tightly.

"But, ma'am, how did you know I was here?" she asked, calmer now that her crying had subsided.

"Actually, I saw both of you this morning, Gadreel and you. He walked into the forest first, and then you followed him shortly after. That gave me a hint that you might have had an argument and didn't want to return to the camping site. I had no idea we would end up in this situation," I explained to her.

"You're right. He broke up with me earlier and said I was just for playtime. He claimed he didn't like girls like me. When I confronted him about it, I was so upset that I wanted some alone time and went for a walk in the forest to release my anger toward him. I was so lost in my tears that I didn't pay attention to where I was going and ended up in this situation." That was what really happened, which probably meant Gadreel was unaware too, but he was still to blame because he neglected Claudia.

"Did he look for me?" She turned to me when she asked that. I didn't know whether I should admit what Gadreel had told me earlier.

I couldn't answer, so she smiled bitterly in front of me. "Ah, I know the answer now. He didn't care even after finding out I was missing." I simply nodded because I didn't know what to say to her.

"Do you know, Ms. Katelyn, how many times I felt like I was not his girl? I knew I wasn't his only option; there were many others, but I forced myself into his life and begged for his time. And I know he spends more time with you," Claudia looked at me as she said that.

I also looked down because I often spent time with Gadreel. I knew I was his priority, which made it hard for me to believe he had another girl. But now, I couldn't feel anything anymore, just anger and disgust toward that man.

"That's probably why I directed my anger at you. I thought he would choose you, but it seems like he fooled you in the end," I nodded in response to Claudia's words. How could I tell her that I felt discarded when I found out she wasn't the first girl he had pursued?

"He broke up with me, but let's not talk about that anymore. I don't want to hear anything about him or any news related to him. From now on, I'll distance myself from people like him," I replied, feeling a strong irritation inside me. I couldn't help but still feel anger towards that man.

"Let's not talk about him anymore. What's important is that we've already escaped from that man's life. We just need to get out of this situation," I replied, glancing down at my swollen and bruised feet.

"But how do we get out of here?" she asked.

"Help me scream and shout until someone hears us," I answered, and she nodded in agreement as we both called for help.

But to be honest, I was growing weaker by the minute. I felt like I was about to lose all strength in a few moments.

I just wanted to rest, so with all my might, I shouted his name, knowing that he would come to save me.

"Eligor!!!"

***

Eligor "Eli, Kate is also missing. She suddenly left and hasn't been answering my calls," I furrowed my brow upon hearing that. I quickly glanced at my watch and saw that it was almost evening.

"Wait, I'll look for her and inform the search team that Kate is missing too," I replied.

"Wait, what if you go missing too? The sun is setting and it will be dark soon. We might end up with three missing people," Aimee responded, clearly worried about both of us.

"Don't worry, I won't go missing, and the important thing right now is to find Kate. I'll be back," I assured her and rushed out of the cabin.

"Wait, Eli!" Aimee shouted, but I didn't look back. I searched for Kate in my mind, but because she had the dream catcher with her, I struggled to see where she was.

I couldn't access her thoughts because there was a barrier; she must be holding her cell phone with the dream catcher charm attached to it.

"Ugh, that old woman who sold it to her will pay for this. She should be prepared for me," I muttered to myself, quickly scanning the entire area. It was challenging due to the vastness of the forest.

Until I suddenly stopped and felt a strange sensation. It felt like a pang in my chest, and I had a headache.

I didn't like this feeling; it made me anxious.

I searched every corner of the forest, and after a few hours, I suddenly felt her presence.

In an instant, I saw them below the cliff, sitting together amidst a pile of rocks. I dropped to my knees when I saw her condition. She was relieved but I couldn't deny the intense fear in my chest.

I held my forehead and smiled, although the anxiety was still visible on my face, sweaty and weak.

"Kate!" I shouted, and they both looked up, immediately showing a smile on her face along with tears streaming down.

"Eli!" When she called my name, I didn't think about what she would think of what I was about to do. I flicked my finger, and in an instant, I was standing in front of them, their faces displaying surprise and astonishment.

"Hold onto me," I commanded Kate, and she couldn't speak at the sight before her.

I gently lifted her and in an instant, we were outside the forest.

"What? Ho-how?" She stammered, but I didn't speak. I turned back to Claudia and repeated what I had done earlier.

They were both shocked when they met again and realized that we were already outside the forest less than a minute after I arrived in front of them.

"Who-who are you? Wh-what—" I saw the fear on Kate's face, so I immediately touched their heads and quickly altered their memories of what had happened.

"Are you both okay? Let's go, the cabin is nearby," I replied when they opened their eyes. Neither of them could speak immediately, so I quickly assisted Kate as if nothing had happened.

"Kate, let's go," I said, lifting her.

"You can walk, right, Claudia?" I asked, and she nodded without hesitation, walking with us back to the cabin, with no recollection of what they had seen.

We were greeted by the search team, and they immediately treated Kate. While I wanted to heal her wounds quickly, it wasn't possible because Kate might become suspicious. I couldn't erase the pain she felt when she got injured; she might find it strange. So, I decided to erase only the memory of what they saw when they witnessed my abilities.

Kate was promptly treated, and since she could move, the school management decided to head back even though it was already dark and raining. It was necessary to bring the students back and take Kate to the hospital.

It took a few hours of travel, and I couldn't sit still. We were on separate buses, and I could feel the pain she was experiencing. Even though we were far apart, I could see how she tried to hide the pain in her legs and feet.

When we arrived at the hospital, they confirmed that no bones were broken, but her right leg and foot needed treatment and support.

"Are you sure, Eli, that you'll take care of Kate?" Aimee asked as we were in the kitchen of Kate's apartment.

"Yes, after all, our apartments are next to each other. Go rest, Charles is waiting for you downstairs," I replied, and Aimee nodded, repeatedly thanking me.

In truth, I should be the one thanking her for leaving early. I wanted to be the one to take care of Kate and be the person she relied on while she was ill.

"Kate, do you want to eat something?" I asked while leaning against the doorframe of her room. I noticed her restlessness and discomfort.

"I still have mud on my neck; I want to take a shower, but my body hurts so much," she replied, indicating that her entire body was bruised from the fall.

"Let me assist you."

When I said that, she looked at me with utmost surprise, as if I had said something vulgar in front of her.

"Are you losing your mind?" she asked, and I tried hard to suppress a smile, pretending that I hadn't planned this and that I just wanted to help her, but my intention was to touch her body.

"Do you want to sleep uncomfortably? I won't do anything; I'll just help you shower," I replied, and she looked at her slightly muddy body.

"Fine, you can carry me to the bathroom, and I'll take care of myself," she hesitantly answered, and I nodded, but of course, I couldn't just let her do it alone.

"Okay then, but you should let me carry you to the bathroom, and I'll take care of everything," I said, and she looked at her slightly muddy body.

"Fine, you can carry me to the bathroom, and I'll take care of myself," she hesitantly replied, and I nodded, but of course, I couldn't just let her do it alone.