Chapter 61 CHAPTER 61

Chapter 61 CHAPTER 61
"Aurora?" he nudged her, noticing her tears—not because she was crying, but because she was terrified. "Hey? What's wrong?!" He shook her by the shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I-is the c-contest y-you're talking a-about to see w-who catches the f-first d-deer?" She stammered, overwhelmed by dread.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

She wiped her tears and looked at him. "Come on!" She grabbed his shoulder to teleport. "Let's g-go h-hunt a deer."

"Woaaah!!!" he shouted as they suddenly teleported. "Don't you get dizzy doing that?" he asked as they popped into a thick part of the forest.

Aurora could hear the heartbeats of the animals and smell their blood.

She turned to Arnold. "I-if—" She swallowed, feeling as if a large thorn was stuck in her throat. She couldn't find the words to make him believe her. She had a plan in her head. "I-I’m g-going to w-win this contest, Arnold."

"Oh! That's the spirit, Hybrid!"

"W-we’ll c-catch a d-deer at the s-same time, but m-mine will be b-bigger, so I w-win. It will t-take us only twenty m-minutes to capture our dinner." Damn it! She was shaking! She felt so cold that even the bones in her chest were shivering.

"That's cheating, Aurora... But let's try your luck."

She nodded. She knew what was coming.

When twenty minutes passed, just as she expected, they caught their prey simultaneously—but hers was larger.

"I know where we can eat. I know a place—well, I know every spot on this island. You'll love the spectacular view there." There was pride in his voice, and she couldn't blame him; the place he was referring to really was beautiful.

Shit! Arnold's last sentence felt like it was ripping her head from her neck.

"W-we’re g-going to a f-flat, open a-area where the s-sky looks like y-you can r-reach the stars." She pointed toward a part of the seemingly magical forest filled with fireflies. "W-we'll pass t-through there, where we’ll see b-billions of fireflies h-hiding in the trees they c-call Dalakit."

At her words, Arnold’s face turned serious, unlike before when he was brushing her off. He dropped the two deer on the grass.

"How do you know all this, Aurora? Don't tell me you dreamed all this so clearly?"

"Y-yes."

"What else did you see?"

She stood up straight. She couldn't afford to be afraid; it would only put both their lives in more danger.

Damn it! She had seen them being slaughtered by those creatures!

She felt it in her bones! The horror and pain she felt in the dream were identical!

I can't die here tonight! Daddy is waiting for me! she told herself firmly.

"The Tirong are going to attack."

"Damn it! You even know their fucking names!"

"And I know what those ugly creatures look like! Long snouts with sharp teeth that expand when they eat. They have this jelly-like skin over a skeletal frame. Four eyes, two of which are on their foreheads. Thin white hair... and they're genderless; you said they have no reproductive organs but still multiply."

"You're right about that." Arnold shook his head and clutched his hair. He looked incredibly tense now.

"And I think I know where they’re coming from!"

"Where?"

"At the bottom of the sea, Arnold! A monster with a giant eye is their source! We need to find that fucking son of a bitch before the Tirong get to us here!"

"We have nothing to fight them with, Aurora! Shiiiit!" he cursed loudly. "We can't even get to Garantiara because the swells will just crush us in the water!" He shouted in frustrated helplessness.

"You're wrong about that, Arnold." She pointed to the flowers where the Santeliom grew. "There is our answer and the key to keeping us alive." She grabbed Arnold again and teleported to the various patches of Santeliom.

"Fuck, Aurora! Don't do that again!"

She heard a woman laughing.

"Aliyah..." she uttered unintentionally.

"What?"

"Aliyah is laughing at you."

"What the hell, Love..." she heard the man whisper. Maybe he was trying to talk to Aliyah.

She handed him the bag. "Find the diving suit. I’ll go get the deer because we need to eat before we leave." She didn't wait for him to answer. Reaching the spot where they had dropped the two deer, she grabbed them and returned to Arnold. "Cook those. I’m going to gather Santeliom."

"How are we going to beat the Tirong with my grandmother's plants?" he asked, already starting to prep the food. They had to eat before facing the danger, especially Arnold. He needed the strength for his abilities to manifest.

"When a Tirong is nearby, these flowers turn red and start to glow like embers."

"What's your plan?"

"We'll put Santeliom inside our suits and make sure we corner all the Tirong at their main source to wipe them out. We will be making a Santeliom bomb to explode those fucking sons of bitches! Shit!"

"Why?"

"I need something to tie them with."

Arnold stood up from the roasting meat. "Stay here, I’ll get some vines," he said, but she remembered her dream. He was the first to die between them.

"I'll do it. It's faster because I can teleport. " She picked a large amount of Santeliom to be certain, planning to line the entire shore so nothing could set foot on the island.

"Over by the Dalakit trees, there are plenty of vines there."

"I know."

She teleported to the shore and began spreading the Santeliom seven meters away from the water. She kept the flowers back from the waves in case the creatures tried to raise the tide to wash away her barricade. She couldn't let a single Tirong onto the island because, in her dream, that was exactly where they died.

There was only a small gap left to close the barricade when the flowers suddenly changed color. The Santeliom turned red and began flaming—a beautiful but ominous sight.

Looking toward the water, she saw several Tirong unable to approach. They thrashed their arms, sending a wave crashing onto the shore!

The girl’s eyes widened, fearing the wave would reach the Santeliom, but to her relief, their power was useless against her barricade.

"Bitch!" she spat before heading toward the fireflies. This time, she let the wolf within her take over instead of using teleportation.

She leaped powerfully several times until she reached the sanctuary of the fireflies.