Chapter 78 : The Red Forest

"Yes! If risking my life is the only way to learn about my past, I'd gladly do it. " Rakiza dashed towards Nikolas' tent and opened the casket. It was already empty. Rakiza dashed outside the tent and spotted Nikolas on the forest edge. She pursued him and caught him.
"Don't waste your life on me, Rakiza," Nikolas exclaimed. The burn on his face was starting to swell. He had to be taken into the hermit's cave or he would die soon.
"Let's go, Nikolas," Rakiza said, holding Nikolas' arms and saying, "I'll accompany you into those woods."
"Don't do this for me, Rakiza."
"I'm doing it for myself, Nikolas. I need to know who I am. "Rakiza led the way," there's no time to argue. You're on fire. We need to act quickly.
"But I can't guarantee your safety in there." Nikolas touched his head.
"Don't think about me. Consider your situation. Let's go. " Rakiza forcefully said.
Rakiza's lead was hesitant to follow. But they were both surprised when Theo joined them. "Follow me," he said as he walked quickly toward the biggest tree on the boundary, oblivious to what might be lurking behind those scary dark trees. Nikolas read Theo's eyes.
They began to walk across the border between the forest and the wasteland. Their steps crossed the wet and mossy ground of the forest, and after a few miles, Rakiza was uneasy to see the forest becoming thicker and darker, covering them from the sun. It made Rakiza feel better about Nikolas's safety. Nikolas abruptly lowered his knee to the ground.
"Nikolas!" Rakiza dashed over to assist Nikolas, but Theo was so quick that he had Nikolas' arms in the blink of an eye. "We need to take a break," Rakiza said to Nikolas.
"No," Nikolas said, forcing himself to stand. He twisted in pain, "We have to be in the cabin to know the truth." Nikolas continued and said, "You have to know the truth about you, Rakiza," but Rakiza insisted they stop and rest for a while. She was worried about Nikolas's darkening skin and eyes. The stillness of the forest was eerie and hair-raising. Rakiza could sense that something wasn't quite right when they came to a halt. They were sitting beneath a large tree with large roots protruding from the ground and becoming entangled. "I don't like the stillness of the trees," Theo noticed. "There doesn't appear to be any air beneath the trees."
"The trees appear to have eyes watching over us," Nikolas said quietly. "Let's get out of here," he says, as root coils around his legs like a large anaconda in the forest. Rakiza and Theo were both coiled up and fighting to break free. Nikolas was too weak to fight, and cutting the root was out of the question. Both Nikolas and Theo desired to shift, but some powerful force prevented them from doing so. And death was slowly swallowing them up, preparing them to die like mortals if they couldn't escape. One thing they all realized was that their power had been sapped by the unknown forces of the forest. Nikolas was unable to transform into another form, just as Theo was unable to transform into a werewolf.
To defend himself, Theo throws a knife at Nikolas. Rakiza tried to cut the root that was wrapping her and dragging her away from the men.
"Rakiza!" Theo screamed as he saw her over the tree and realized the tree was moving like an octopus, with its roots acting as tentacles. He was also gasping for air. And Rakiza knew the end was near, and she'd die without knowing who she was. She closed her eyes after witnessing Nikolas and Theo fight for their lives. But then she heard a cry not far away. She opened her eyes again and saw Bartolomeo running above the hill next to the moving trees.
He held a torch blazing with red fire in his hand. "Rakiza, catch this!" He swung the torch towards Rakiza and snatched it from the air perfectly. And she knew exactly what she needed to do. She burned the coiling root over her body as Bartolomeo burned the roots below. The root jerked and dropped her to the ground, the torch still in her grip. She burned the grass on the ground first, followed by the roots. As they burn, the trees sway.
Theo retrieved Nikolas from the ground and hauled him up to Bartolomeo, and Rakiza dashed to join the men, burning the bushes along the way.
They started a fire in the forest and ran as fast as they could, with Bartolomeo in the lead this time. The fire was following them. They were determined not to stop until they were safe, and the river was the safest place for them. They came to a halt on the wide river bank and crossed it. They walked another mile until they were well away from the forest fire.
Rakiza slammed her body to the ground, gasping for air. They are almost dead. Theo later joined her after putting Nikolas under a thick shed that would protect him if the thick cloud allowed the sun to shine down on them, which was good for her but bad for Nikolas.
"Are you okay?" Theo inquired.
His voice was concerned as he looked up at the dark clouds. The next section of land was a swath of dying small trees with no leaves. It was a desolate wasteland. And next to it was another vast, red-colored, tall thicket of trees.
Rakiza was more concerned about Nikolas at the time. But she didn't want Theo to be envious of him if she gave Nikolas more time than he had. "Don't worry about me. Nikolas is the one we should be concerned about. We have to arrive on time. "
"He's getting weaker," Bartolomeo said, as he informed them about Nikolas. "If he is not cured, he will die soon."
Rakiza stood up and ran over to Nikolas, who was lying on the ground. "Nikolas?" She stroked his arms. "How are you doing?"
Nikolas's skin was as white as snow. He was almost drained of blood. Bartolomeo was correct. He will die sooner if he is unable to take blood. But it was the secret that Bartolomeo had no idea about that she needed to address.
"Nikolas," she said quietly. "How are you doing?" She felt the icy coldness of his arms as she touched them. Nikolas looked up at her as he lay helplessly between the two roots. His eyes were darkening, a foreshadowing of death. "I'm going to die very soon."
"You should also stick by Theo's side. He's the only helping hand who could help you. " His words struck a chord in Rakiza's heart.
"Nikolas, we're almost there." Rakiza whispered, "We have to get to the hermit's cave on time." Rakiza stressed. She helped Nikolas stand by holding his arms. Theo was walking in, followed by Bartolomeo, whose eyes were bothering her.
"I think we should leave right now," Theo stated emphatically. As a result, they began crossing the field of dead trees and dead ponds. Until they reached the edge of the red trees' land when Bartolomeo asked them to stop walking. He was agitated this time. Angela became aware of it.
"Bartolomeo, what happened to you?" Rakiza hushed, concerned.
The man's eyes were welling up with tears. He was behaving strangely in front of them. "Rakiza, you must exercise extreme caution when entering that vast forest of red trees." I believed something unwelcoming awaited us beyond those trees. I must reiterate that nobody was leaving here. Anyone who entered never returned. One of my friends tried to find out what was in this forest, but he never returned. And we all assumed he died somewhere inside. Perhaps the living trees had squeezed him to death, similar to what happened to us back there. "
"If you're afraid to explore the deepest and most important part of the forest, Bartolomeo, you can return to where we came from," Theo said, releasing him from responsibility. "There's no need for you to help us anymore," Theo said. Try to get out of here and tell Ajella what happened to us. "
"I can't go back," the elderly man said, his face sad.
"And why can't you?" Rakiza frowned, puzzled.
With teary eyes, Bartolomeo just stared at Rakiza. "I have my reasons not to leave you," he said, his gaze fixed on Rakiza. Rakiza could sense Bartolomeo messaging her. And she was curious about who Bartolomeo was.
"From the way you cautioned us, it's clear you've been here before," Theo said to Bartolomeo. Instead of agreeing with Theo's speculations, he moved towards the pond. "There's a living monster in the deepest part of this swamp. We should stick to the foot-length mud, and we need a stick as a guide." He cut small tree branches and made four walking sticks for them.
Nikolas moaned in agony. Rakiza turned around and put her wrist on his mouth. "Suck some of my blood, Nikolas," Rakiza begged.
Theo shook his head at Rakiza.