327 Life On The Line

"Does this mean you're not telling us the exact nature of what you have planned?" Cass asked as she folded her arms. 

"That is correct."

Cass nodded. She also noticed the weapon Vy was carrying on her. 

"Where did you get that from?" Cass asked as she pointed at the weapon. 

"That's the second thing. I am asking all the different survivor groups to escape together. This is from one of the groups as proof of their existence."

"That doesn't prove anything. You could have gotten it off a corpse for all we know." Cass rebutted. 

There were too many unanswered questions with this human. The more information is revealed, the more questions there were waiting for them. Vy knew she would be met with scepticism and resistance. 

She needed to gain Cass's trust, who seems to be the leader of the group of survivors equipped with bows and arrows. Vy went on to explain everything she had found during her exploration of the wall and the different parts of the Jungle.

All, except the information she had chosen to keep quiet about for now. 

Cass knew Vy was not telling the full story, she did not expect the human to tell her everything either. 

"So you want me to put the lives of my comrades on the line, based on what you're telling me right now?" 

"For a chance to escape out of here, yes. I plan to carry this out with or without assistance. There's only a short time frame for everything to work." Vy explained. 

Cass turned to her companion and instructed, "Go and get Ronni, ask him to be prepared with his weapons. Also, bring some healing salves."

The hybrid creature nodded and ran off into the distance while Cass turned back to face Vy. She walked up to Vy. 

"I can't trust you fully, so I will send Ronni with you. He will follow your every move and report back to me what he has seen."

Vy did not object. She had nothing to hide. The information she had intentionally kept hidden was for everyone's benefit. After some time, Ronni came running towards them with supplies. 

Cass explained to Ronni what he was to do. He was surprised to see Vy again, and even more surprised to see the human whom Cass had beaten up. After she finished speaking to Ronni, Cass turned to leave and return back to camp. 

Just before she left, she turned and bid Vyrena farewell, "We will see you soon."

Ronni quickly attended to Sorren who was still barely conscious. Vy knew Cass was not entirely heartless. 

"Will he be alright?" Vy asked Ronni as she crouched down to see Sorren. 

"His injuries are mostly bruises, Cass has never been treated potential threats lightly. Sorry about that," he said as he applied the healing salve on the various bruises on Sorren's body. 

"He needs rest," Ronni continued. 

When she finally got above the canopy layer she looked out into the distance. Based on her current location and proximity, she estimated how much ground she had to cover to get back to El's campsite where the sword and dagger-wielding humans were. 

There, they would be able to let Sorren rest. Based on how fast they could get there, it would take at least a full day of travel to get there. With the sun about to set, they would first need to worry about shelter. 

Vy climbed back down to ground level and informed Sorren and Ronni of her plans. Sorren could barely reply but Vy wanted to make sure he was aware of what they were going to do. 

Ronni carried Sorren in his arms as if the man did not weigh a thing. 

"He's not heavy to you?" Vy asked out of curiosity. 

Ronni shook his head, "Not really. I'll be alright, lead the way."

Vy nodded and they began on their journey. Lucky for them, they were able to find a secluded spot to rest for the night. Vy caught a wild rabbit and shared the meal with her other two companions.

"You need rest," Vy said to Sorren. 

"Thank you," he croaked. 

"You can thank me when you're better." 

He smiled weakly and drifted off into sleep. 

Vy sat down by the crackling fire with Ronni opposite from her. Silence hung in the air for a good few minutes before Ronni decided to break the ice. He asked Vy what she had been up to and how things transpired. 

When his comrade came to get him, they only provided a very brief version of what had happened. Cass also did not elaborate too much. Vy explained everything to Ronni. 

"Seems like you've been on quite the adventure in the last few days." Ronni joked as he laid down on the ground. 

"That's one way to put it," she sighed. 

"We've lived here for so long that we've gotten into this routine. None of us would have ever thought there would be other survivors, let alone a way to escape."

"Cass mentioned you've tried scaling the wall."

Ronni sat up, trying to recall the information, "We did. But it was way too high and the wall did not have enough crevices for us to hold on to. The ones who were selected to try it slipped and plummeted to their deaths. That's when Cass gave up on the idea."

Vy laid down on the forest floor, looking up at the night sky. As the clouds moved overhead, she wondered what her life was like before being placed in the Jungle. Soon, slumber took over her as she closed her eyes. 

When she opened them again, Vy realised she was no longer in the Jungle. She was in a Throne Room with an unseen maniacal enemy before her. To the side, she could see two children being held captive. 

She could not recall who they were, but she knew deep in her heart they were important to her. When she tried to run towards them, she realised her body was no longer her own. 

She was no longer human. She had taken the form of a fox-like creature with nine fur-covered tails. Her colours were constantly switching between black and white. The unseen maniacal enemy attacked the two children who were held captive. 

"No!" Vy called out as she leapt into action. 

But it was too late. 

In the next scene, the bodies of the two children laid strewn on the ground in pools of blood. Vy could feel as if there was a hole in her heart. 

"You did this! You caused this!" A voice screamed at Vy from all around, repeating the words over and over again. 

"No… no! It wasn't me!" She called out as she placed her hands over her ears but she could still hear the voice. 

When she tried to hold the bodies of the children in her arms, their pale faces turned to her, with blood dripping out of their eye sockets as they whispered to her. 

"Why did you kill us, Vy?"