The two of them stood there for what felt like several eternities but was more likely just a couple of minutes before Aria finally walked up to them.
“Job done,” she said, “that thing put up a bit more of a fight than I was expecting it to but it should no longer be able to attack us.”
“That’s good,” said Kate, a visible sense of relief on her face, “so we just keep on running then?”
“Yeah, we really shouldn’t actually be stopping, we don’t know for certain if the guards actually stopped their pursuit of us at the door, we heard it close but you just never know with these guys. Come on, we should soon be approaching the part where we have to go into the jungle proper…and while that’s not exactly reassuring at least at that point we can be sure none of the guards will be following us. These are wild animals after all, the guards aren't any safer in here than we are.”
“You get some, you lose some,” summed up Harry.
“Yes, okay…I’m in the lead once again, I want Kate and Ryan to be the flank this time, Harry and Daisy bring up the rear,” said Aria.
“Aye, Captain,” said Harry, doing an exaggerated salute. Daisy couldn’t help but smile even as Aria proceeded to give him a light slap on the shoulder.
The five of them quickly slipped into the formation that Aria had suggested and they continued on their journey. The tree cover was now beginning to increase the further they went, cutting the moonlight off more with each step. Soon, they could find themselves in complete darkness. Daisy shivered at the thought. It was one thing to be in a darkened but closed off hallway, it was another matter entirely for it to be dark inside a deadly forest.
It didn’t take too long for the lighting problem to start becoming all too noticeable. After even Harry, the master of all things nocturnal had managed to trip and fall for the third time, Aria called them to a quick halt.
“Okay, I think we need to slow down a bit," began Aria, "although I just don't feel like its a good idea till we’re clear of the path. The last thing we need right now is to get ambushed by more guards.”
“So we can either get ambushed or just like knock into every single large root and stone in this path,” said Harry.
“Yeah, I don’t think I like either of those options at this point,” said Ryan," but Aria is correct and I think we can safely say we don't really have the ability to make that choice."
“Could we may be clear out the canopy using the guns?” asked Kate.
“And have trees potentially fall on our heads, no thank you,” said Harry.
“Or worse, there could be something living on top of the canopy,” added Daisy.
“Forget I ever suggested that,” said Kate immediately.
“Maybe the light from the guns could be enough if we like, held them a bit lower to the ground or something, or maybe that charging motion might provide a decent bit of light,” said Aria, “that’s literally all I've got at this point. I don’t think we’ve got any other way of finding a light source.”
“We could try, but hmm…I think just gritting it out and hoping for the best is all we can do. We’ve been walking for a while now, I’m sure we’ll reach the point where we have to go off the path soon enough,” said Harry.
“Alright, let’s do our best to get to that point as soon as we can,” said Aria, “if the guards catch up, so be it.”
With that declaration, the five of them resumed their walk. This time, using the guns and by slowing down to more of a fast walk instead of jogging, they were able to navigate with minimal mishaps. Daisy clung tightly to Harry as they went deeper in. She was still really not a fan of the darkness, and the creepy forest wasn’t helping. Holding onto Harry somehow seemed to just make everything seem a little bit less frightening.
Before they knew it, Daisy was staring at a formation of trees she recognized from the information they had gathered. It was the point that they would have step off the path and head through the main jungle itself.
“Okay guys, I’m sure you recognize where we’re at now,” said Aria, turning around, “As terrible of an idea as it seems, let's get as deep in there as possible. Even though it will be far more dangerous from here, the only thing we have to do now is stay alive, stay undetected and find the right vehicle to escape on so we get our supplies. No one is likely to be chasing us anymore…unless of course we’re seen once we get out of here but we'll worry about that when we come to it.”
“We’re one step closer then I guess,” said Harry, “we’ve already gotten farther than pretty much everyone before us.”
“Yes, “said Daisy, “we’ve come too far to fail now.”
“On that lovely note, let’s get going,” said Aria.
One by one they stepped off the path.
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