Chapter 7:

Hideout

Reappearance of the lost ones (RLO)


'Could you inform me as well of their location?', I politely asked her.

'Of course, but you need to help me find my sister after rescuing your brother.', she replied.

'I think you are mistaking me, I don't have significant strength to engage in with those Asuras.'

Despite all my attempts to convince her of the helplessness of my situation, she would not listen to me at all. I gave up on convincing her about the situation!

'Then, where are those Asuras?', I asked her desperately, but she just dodged the question. Just grabbed my hand and abruptly rushed into the forest.

I tried to free my hand when she whispered, 'We are nearing their hideout-Don't make noises!'

Suddenly streaks of light started to appear about five hundred meters ahead of us. In the complete darkness of the forest, it was dim but still visible. Looking more closely, I saw a huge structure near where the light emerged. She slowly walked towards the source of the light. It took us fifteen minutes to reach near the source as the way to it was covered with many plants and the ground was slushy because of the water which had been poured in maybe days ago!

After the short walk, the place we reached was visible due to the same dim light we had seen a little while ago. The light was emanating from a torch which seemed to be the medieval torch we often see in movies made up of wooden stave. The torch was placed on the entrance of a large cave-like structure. We were observing the area from behind a large tree. There was nothing out of ordinary except the presence of the light in nowhere of the jungle. We could not find a single presence of any activity of those Asuras.

'Oi, are you sure about the location of those Asuras?', I whispered in her ears.

'Yeah, this is the place those demi-humans told me my sister was kept. If you don't believe me you can even check my phone, I have kept the map to this place.', she whispered back as she searched her phone inside her purse with trembling hands.

I patted her head in an attempt to comfort her, 'Yeah, this must be the place where our siblings are being held forcefully. I trust you.' She let a huge sigh. Since I had never touched a girl or made such sensitive comments to any girl before, my heart was pounding.

Luckily, she didn't complain about it or maybe it was normal considering the situation and it was just me escalating unnecessary matters. When we realized there was nobody inside the cave, we got out from behind the tree and entered. While we were walking down the narrow path inside the cave, the girl with me got some chocolate out of her little purse and gave some of them to me too!

'Even after traveling together for so many hours, we don't even know each other's name! What is your name, can you tell me?', she asked.

'Ahh... I am Raj, and what's your name?', I too asked for her name this time since this was the perfect opportunity. Furthermore, I felt awkward calling her simply 'Oi' or 'Hey'.

'My name's Abdica.', she answered hesitantly, closing her eyes.

'Pretty difficult to say, isn't it?'

"That is why I never want to tell my name to others!', her eyes were still half-closed of shyness.

'However, I still think it's a beautiful name despite my hesitation.', I quickly amended myself. Maybe, she slightly felt better after how I stated it!

During the time we spent talking to each other, we sank deeper and deeper into the cave. This cave had a narrow passage and a couple of small rooms carved into its either side. We found nobody along the way and it did seem unusual so I was extremely cautious. I also told Abdica to stay vigilant!

'I am not suspecting you but are you sure they are here?', I questioned her again.

'Yes, they are here according to those demi-humans I met.', this time she looked disappointed maybe because I doubted her again. After that, the conversation between us stopped.

After diving inside the cave more and more, I eventually heard some sounds. After hearing the sound, I turned to Abdica believing that she was the cause of the sound. However, Abdica was also awed at the sound. The sound seemed like someone whispering something.

'Did you too heard the whispers?', she asked me. While we walked toward the whispered source, I nodded in agreement.

The sound was faint but it was surely a human voice. Our perception of sound began to change as we realized that it was no longer a whisper but a cry of agony as we were approaching it. It was like they had experienced something horrendous and were calling for help.

We were walking towards it just when I noticed the expression Abdica had!

She was so much pale that all her skin as fair as snow turned purple. Now, that I listened to the sound carefully it seemed like a little girl's sound. The thought that it may be Abdica's sister rushed into my mind. And I was sure Abdica thought the same otherwise nobody could explain the face she was making. She was frozen on the spot!

I grabbed her hand and tried to calm her down.

'It is not completely sure it's your sister. Let's make sure who the person is!', I forcibly pulled her with me. The scream was coming from a small room carved on the side of the cave. The door of that room was made up of rusty wood and there was a small peephole carved in it and was locked using a hinge.

I slowly opened it and entered to check the person who was locked in. Abdica too slowly followed me. The cry stopped as soon as the hinge was opened. The room was dark and there was no light so I took out my phone and lit up the room.

Even though I had never seen the girl who was tied up in that room, I recognized her!