333 Not Like This

Someone was calling out to her. 

~Sis, what are you doing laying there?~

Whose voice was it, calling out to her? Calling her sister?

~You pinky promised me, remember?~

Who did she promise? What was the promise she made? The voice seemed to belong to a child, a boy. Hearing his voice brought a smile to her face, but she could not remember who he was. 

Did she have a brother?

Her surroundings suddenly changed. It was raining and Vy was caught in the rain. A loud bang rang through the air, followed by the sickening familiar scent of smoke. When she looked down, Vy realised she was holding someone in her arms. 

"No… no! I can't lose you like this! Not like this," she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks. 

She had no control over what she said or do. It was as if she was watching a movie play out, but she was in the shoes of the character. She could feel everything she felt. The pain, the overwhelming sadness. The love she had for the person she held in her arms. 

Blood pooled around the man she held in her arms. 

"I… I…" the man tried to speak but he could not. 

He reached out to touch her face, she held his hand tightly. 

"I can't lose you like this! Hang in there!" She cried. 

"I'm sorry…" he said before breathing his last. 

"NOOOO!!!!"

Vy opened her eyes. She sat up, her heart palpitating and ringing in her ears. Her cheeks were moist. Vy touched her face, she was crying. She touched her heart, then the pendant that hung around her neck. 

Has it always been there? She never really noticed. The pendant was in the shape of a dragon. The dream she just had felt so real. She could not see the face of the man, but she clearly saw the necklace that hung around his neck. 

The pendant was of a phoenix, it seemed to match hers. The two pieces looked like they could interlock with one another. 

"You're awake!" A voice pulled Vy out of her thoughts and into the present. 

It was Maribelle, holding a basin of water in her hands. She quickly placed the basin down and rushed out of the tent. She returned moments later with Boss following closely behind. 

"Vyrena, you're awake!' He exclaimed. 

As soon as she tried to speak, she realised her throat was dry and parched. Maribelle quickly handed her some water which Vy gulped down immediately. When her throat was soothed, she felt a lot better. 

"How long was I out for?" Vy asked. 

"About a day. How do you feel?" Maribelle replied. 

"Sore," Vy said as she tried to move her arms.

Every twist and turn she made was followed by searing pain. Lucky for Vy, it seemed like she only suffered from bruises and scrapes. Everything else felt to be internal. 

"You recovered a lot quicker than we had expected," Boss added. 

"How's Tizzie? Is she doing alright?" She asked as she recalled the injury she had suffered. 

"She hasn't woken up yet, but she's stable. You saved her life, and her arm." Boss explained before he paused for a moment, "Thank you, Vyrena."

Maribelle added with a smile, "Yes, thank you for your help. If it wasn't for you…"

Vy smiled and shook her head, "I just did what anyone would have done, that is all." 

"Oh, don't be so humble. You didn't exactly walk away unscathed either! We are in your debt," Maribelle rebutted. 

Having spent a day in recovery was more than enough for Vy. It was an unexpected delay to her plan, which meant she only had an even more limited amount of time to get everything else ready. 

However, the appearance of the beasts worried Vy. She had never seen anything like them before in the Jungle. Were these creatures new? When Vy asked Maribelle and Boss, they too grew worried. 

"No, we have not seen them before either. How they were able to find the campsite is also a mystery. Even with the spider beasts, they had never appeared so close to us before." Boss added. 

This was a worrying sign. But that only fueled their need to get out of the Jungle sooner. Vy wanted to relay the information to the other survivors as well so that they could be wary of the new threat. 

But there was no way she was able to do so. There was no line of communication between the groups of survivors. 

-I'll just inform them when I meet them.- Vy thought to herself. 

She attempted to get out of the bed she was resting in but Maribelle and Boss stopped her immediately. 

"What do you think you're doing! You're barely recovered. You need rest!" Boss exclaimed as he stopped Vy from getting out of bed. 

Vy refused. She stood back up on her two feet. Though she could feel that her muscles were weak, Vy knew she had to push herself. Time was of the essence, she had plans to set in motion. 

"I can't afford to rest," Vy sighed, "Not when everything has already been set in motion."

"Then let us help. However we can. Let us help," Boss declared with determination. 

Maribelle nodded, "Yeah, let us help you, Vyrena. We might be children but we can help too!"

Vy looked at the two in front of her. She was not one who would reach out to others for help. She always did things her way and on her own. But if a helping hand was offered, especially during times like these, she was not going to turn it down. 

"I will be in your debt," she said with a smile. 

"Nonsense, just count us even after this," Boss replied with a grin. 

With only a limited amount of time left, there were two main tasks to be completed. She needed to retrieve the secret weapon from the abandoned campsite and bring it to the designated section of the wall they were going to escape from. 

Since she was the only one who knew where the weapon was, Vy would retrieve it. The children will proceed to the section of the wall to meet with the other groups of survivors. 

They will inform them about the new threat that they have encountered so that everyone will be on their guard. 

"Bring all the weapons you can carry and all the supplies. Once we escape from here, there is no telling what to expect beyond the wall. So prepare for the worst."