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As you passed through the entrance of the cave, you could see Shintiro's silhouette appearing in the distance. Your heart dropped. He was coming towards all of you, ready to attack. The sounds of his green raptor echo in the air. You have no idea in what direction it’s coming from. But you didn't falter. So, you started to pick up the pace, your heart pounding in your chest and your breath becoming labored.
You kept running with Alaska and Inkagi, who were just a few steps behind you. You ignore the pain in your legs and the fear that threatens to overwhelm you. Leaves of long thick branches crash into your body and your face as you make your way through the dense jungle. Small insects hover all around your face as you try and swat them away from you as you run with everything you got.
You could see it, a small little dot in the distance over the horizon, the sun rising in the sky. Inkagi now passes both you and Alaska, he attempts to lead you both away from the cave. All three of you make your way through the dark and dangerous jungle. With each passing moment, the sound of Shintiro’s footsteps became clearer, closer, and closer.
Suddenly the forest was filled with light. It was like it had been illuminated. The sun was coming out from its long slumber. Inkagi, you and Alaska try to go faster but you were unable to move quickly through the thick jungle. You knew you had to escape as quickly as possible and stay out of Shintiro’s reach.
You needed to figure out a plan to keep yourself, Pyro, Inkagi, and Alaska safe. You couldn't keep running forever.
That’s when Inkagi pointed to something in the distance. A large body of water. A raging river. That’s when you notice the sun illuminating your path to the river. “If we can pass the Mighty Mizian River, we can escape. Shintiro cannot cross that river.”
“Why?” You ask as all of you begin to run in the direction of the river.
“The territory on the other side belongs to the apes. If they find him trespassing on their land, they will kill him.”
You nod in agreement, feeling relieved that there might be a way out of this danger. As you race toward the river, you see that it's wide and fast-flowing, but the sun is shining on a narrow stretch downstream where the water seems calmer. “We have to cross the river there,” you tell your companions, “It's our only chance.”
Inkagi agrees, waving in the direction where the water is calmer. That’s when you reach into your pocket and grab your red Guardian Stone. You command Pyro to follow, and Pyro does so with no hesitation emerging from the dense jungle.
Pyro now follows behind the group as Shintiro and his green raptor close in on all of you. You can hear his screams in the distance growing even more desperate as you flee the area.
“But how are we going to cross?” Alaska was getting nervous as she looked at the water when they arrived at the Mighty Mizian River. You look around frantically, thinking of a way.
That’s when Inkagi spots a huge fallen tree on the bank, stretching across the water. “Over there! We can use that as a bridge,” he says, pointing to the tree. “But we have to be careful.”
You and Pyro step on the giant fallen tree first. Without wasting any time, you climb onto the tree trunk. One by one, Inkagi and Pyro follow closely behind you. You try your best to not only move quickly but keep your balance and take slow, steady steps, holding onto the branches above for support. You hear Inkagi's and Pyro's nervous breathing behind you.
Alaska looks to her left and right second-guessing the decision to cross. She took more time to finally step on the tree. She looks at the water flowing past the huge fallen tree, then she looks down at her shoes. She stops in place trying to balance herself and taking deep breaths.
Then a hand reaches out and grabs Alaska’s arm.
“That is enough running! Give me my stone!” Shintiro grabs her arm tightly and refuses to let her go. Alaska gives out a scream and tries to pull away but as she shifts her body to try and pull away from Shintiro she loses her footing on the wet slippery tree.
You scream in desperation. “Alaska, no!,” But you could only watch on the other side of the river as Shintiro and Alaska proceed in their back-and-forth struggle.
The tree wobbles under their weight, and the water roars ominously below. One of Alaska’s feet is submerged in the river’s water. A large carnivorous mutated Tyrannosaurus emerges from the dense jungle foliage. This gigantic monster was hungry. The struggle between Shintiro and Alaska catches its attention. It quickly moves its way toward them. That’s when Shintiro quickly reaches into his pocket to get his green Guardian Stone to summon his raptor.
Inkagi decides to jump back onto the fallen tree and try to rescue Alaska, but the log was shaking violently due to the struggle. “I cannot reach her!” He looks back at you in desperation.
The Tyrannosaurus now stood in front of Shintiro and was about to open its gaping mouth and swallow him whole, when suddenly he pulled out the green Guardian Stone from an animal skin pelt sack tied around his waist. Instantly from amongst the jungle jumps out his green raptor. It quickly races to the scene and jumps on the Tyrannosaurus’ head.
This was Alaska’s chance as Shintiro was distracted; she reaches out and touches the green glowing Guardian Stone and makes it slip out of his hand including his grip on her arm. That’s when Alaska loses her balance. She slips and falls back into the river.
You yelled out in disbelief as you ran forward in the direction of the flow of water trying to see where her body was, but to no avail. You scan the river in the distance, but nothing. The river now had her. She was gone.
Shintiro gains a firm grip on his stone watching the struggle between the giant lizard and his green raptor but as the large Tyrannosaurus steps forward trying to violently shake off its attacker, its massive tail slams Shintiro’s body and he also falls into the raging river. You could only hear a short moment when Shintiro screams as he falls into the water.
The Tyrannosaurus manages to shake off the green raptor. It roars and charges forward at the helpless creature. With its incredible speed, the green raptor manages to disappear into the jungle unscathed. The mutated Tyrannosaurus walks away disappointed without a meal.
You collapsed onto the ground, exhausted and relieved to be alive. At that moment, you knew that you had been given a second chance. You had been warned by Pyro and had managed to escape from the clutches of Shintiro. And you knew that you would never forget this experience for as long as you lived.
As you catch your breath, Inkagi finally speaks, breaking the silence. “What now?” he asks, his voice trembling slightly. You could tell he was shaken up. You have never seen him like this. You realize that he felt bad because he could not get to Alaska in time.
“She’s alright. She just has to be. We just need to find her down the river.” You try to be optimistic as you see Inkagi try to catch his breath and stare at the ground in disbelief. His heavy breathing made you nervous. You could see this young warrior’s hands tremble at the fact that he couldn’t save someone.
However, the grim reality is that there was no way of knowing if she was alive or not.
“We keep moving,” you say firmly, “But we have a better chance now. We’re not being hunted by Shintiro. We’ll find a place to hide and rest, near the river. We follow the flow of water, and we find Alaska. The less time we waste, the better her chances of surviving. Let’s go and find her, we can’t give up hope, for her sake.” You ask Inkagi, “You said before there’s an ape territory on this side of the river?”
Inkagi nods but he does not say a word to you. That’s when you put a comforting hand on Inkagi's shoulder.
“Let's go there, once we find Alaska,” you say, “Maybe, maybe we can ask for their help. Maybe they can shelter us until we figure out what to do next.”
Inkagi didn’t move. But then you notice he lifts his hands at chest level. He looks at his hands shaking uncontrollably. “I could have saved her.” He whispers.
“Inkagi, look at me,” you say to him firmly. He raises his gaze at you. You can see the guilt in his eyes. “You can’t blame yourself for this. There was nothing we could do about it. All we can do now is find her.”
Inkagi knew what you knew. The chances of Alaska being alive are slim. And the chances of her surviving on her own in the wilderness are even more slim. “Come on, get up. We can’t waste any more time.”
You look to your left and then to your right and sitting by the river you feel exposed. You stood up quickly. You felt it wasn’t a good idea to just sit there. You then notice an uneasy feeling come over. You look behind you as you slowly remove your hand from Inkagi’s shoulder. The sounds of the jungle began to play tricks on your mind, and you felt as if someone or something was watching.
The sounds of the jungle now amplified twice as much in your mind. And soon Inkagi felt the same thing come over him. It was time to leave. Something evil was brewing deep within the jungle. You both did not want to sit there and find out what it was.
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