330 Together

Red Silk's expression did not change, but the glowing eyes faded away into the fog. Ronni was in awe when he saw Red Silk. He had never seen a spider beast in this form or size. There was an impressive aura surrounding him. 

"Do you not feel the aura that surrounds him?" he whispered to Vy. 

Vy looked at Red Silk from side to side, but she could not see or feel what Ronni meant. 

"Nope, he seems normal to me."

Bringing them back to the topic at hand, Red Silk asked Vy, "Is everything ready?" 

Vy nodded, "It is done."

She proceeded to give a set of instructions to Red Silk when and where to meet. With the other weapons as proof, Vy also explained how she had informed the other groups of survivors of the plan as well. 

Red Silk listened without raising any questions. When she finally finished, he simply turned back around and walked into the fog. 

"I will relay your message to the Queen. See you soon," those were his parting words as his shadow disappeared.

Ronni blinked, "That's… that's it?" 

He had half expected to see the Spider Nest for himself, but it seems like he would not have the chance to do so. When he tried to take a step forward, Vy pulled him back. 

"Once you go in there, I cannot guarantee your safe return."

The next and final stop for Vy, was to meet the children. She only had a limited amount of time to get there so she would have to make haste. This was where she would part with Ronni. As per her promise to the children, she did not wish to bring Ronni with her. 

"But why?" Ronni could not help but ask. 

"It's a promise I made to them. I cannot bring anyone else to their location. I hope you can understand that. Plus, you need to relay the information to Cass and the rest," Vy explained, "For everything to work, it has to be so."

She could see the scepticism in his eyes. It was suspicious behaviour after all. Vy tried her best to explain without giving anything away. 

"This group of survivors is worried about the harm that could come to them if others knew of their location. So count this as a favour I'm asking from you. I hope you can understand," as soon as she finished her words, Vy ran off so that Ronni would not be able to catch her. 

Before she got too far, she turned back around and waved, "See you in a few days!" 

Vy turned back a few times to make sure he did not follow her. Once she was certain, she slowed down her pacing and caught her breath. Everything was riding on her plan to work, there was no room for error. 

As soon as she came upon the section of the forest where the children were, a child spotted her immediately. She had not met the child before, but he beckoned her to follow him so she did. 

Something about it did not feel right. 

"Did… did something happen?" Vy asked out of worry. 

The child turned back to look at her and nodded before speeding up. In any dire situation, time was of the essence. Vy picked up the child into her arms. 

"We can get there quicker like this, just lead the way!" she explained. 

The child was surprised but simply nodded in agreement. He directed Vy through the Jungle. Vy breathed through her mouth for more airflow to reach her lungs. For long-distance running, breathing was important. 

She could feel the burn and soreness in her arm and leg muscles but she refused to stop. Finally, the campsite was in view. There were loud bangs in the air. It was the sound of the shooter weapons going off in rapid succession. 

Vy feared the worst. But it only fueled her to press on. The gate was not guarded by anyone. A large part of it seemed to have been torn down by something monstrous. Vy hid behind the gate. She put down the child and together they peered into the campsite. 

It was a creature unlike any she had seen before. It was not a spider beast. The creature resembled a giant lizard. It had sharp talons protruding out of each toe. It had rows of sharpened teeth and a long tongue. 

There was blood dripping from its mouth. 

Vy calmed herself down, catching her breath. The fire in her muscles begged her to stay put but she could not sit back and let this creature continue to wreak havoc. They were this close to getting out, it could not end like this. 

Vy unsheathed her sword. 

"You, stay here," she told the child. 

The child refused to stay put, he wanted to fight too. Something about it felt nostalgic to her. A voice whispered in her mind. 

\u003cI don't care how dangerous it's going to be! We're going to this, together.\u003e

Vy wondered who it was that said that to her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to remember. The emotions were real and raw. Someone important to her said that to her. Vy recentered herself. 

The situation at hand needed her attention much more. She could be sentimental later. The children needed her! With her sword in her hand, she came out of her hiding place and charged towards the beast. 

She was careful to remain out of its line of sight as she closed the distance between them. Without much thought, Vy leapt onto the back of the creature. She successfully latched on. The creature, aware of Vy's presence, tried to shake her off. 

Vy clung onto the scales of the creature as best as she could. She locked her legs together, around the torso of the beast to stabilise herself. Raising her sword she impaled the beast. Much to her surprise, her sword could barely pierce through the scales of the ferocious beast. 

Even with the force she had applied on her sword, it was not enough for it to impale the beast. She was not giving up. Not so easily. Vy placed both her hands on the hilt of her sword and pushed it down with all of her strength.