The tournament

600: Tree

“There's no way I am getting in there,” Cuthbert exclaimed, if I'm being honest I also am weighing my choices here.

I may have met Harper at the headquarters but is not like I know her, and the main maxim of this tournament is survival.

"You will be dead if you don't." Harper gives notice.

I look behind; the fog is rapidly spreading everywhere just as the windstorm is getting worst. A distant human scream is echoing through the winds, the perception awakens several suspicions and left me with strong dread and yearning for safety.

At this moment I'm out of option; I have to take the only offer right in front of me. Besides its survival steps even if the safety wouldn't last long. Only maybe by then, I can think of something else.

"Cuthbert is getting bad, we need a fort. You can't walk on that leg." I point out.

He delays for a short while, just studying me through our protective glasses before he nods and mumbles: “Fine."

"Come on."

Harper gave me a hand to support Cuthbert on his feet and into the asylum of the gigantic strange tree.

As soon as the inner bark of the tree begins closing in with us, everywhere becomes dark and in my stillness is a pounding heart fearing for what's coming next.

The fact that I am standing in the heartwood of a tree, terrifies me more than I can describe.

This isn't some fallacy or mirage, it's substantial, I am living it.

But then slowing something began to glow in the dark, my eyes caught some colors laying on a surface, they're made of somewhat powder.

When Cuthbert is seated on the soil, my eyes find Harper whose eyes are anchored on the boy with a probably dislocated ankle. “Thank you," I said to her and she brings her gaze on me.

"You're welcome, is good to see you again, Daphne.”

"Do you have any idea what that is?" Meaning what's going on outside this mysterious haven.

"That was Agnes, she understands the woods and commands anything with limbs." Harper confuses me moreover, I can only shake my head and run my hands up and down against my suit while Cuthbert gasp: “What the hell?"

"You two can rest here until the suns come up."

"Which is in five hours or even more, you expect us to waste that amount of oxygen seating inside some extraordinary tree? I'm sorry miss strange but that isn't happening.” Cuthbert argued, he is unduly sweating and breathing hard when he turns back to me and nagged. “We need to leave, Daphne."

I am pacing around the cramped area with my fingers tugging on my gloves. With Harper's statements and all the calamities occurring consecutively, I am greatly confused that I couldn't vocalize anything.

"Is dark out there, is not safe." Harper reminds us.

"Just like is not safe in here, who are you by the way? As we all know you're a participant trying to survive, who knows if you're playing cool to steal from us?"

"You're insane." Harper hissed at him and connects her eyes to mine. “Daphne, I'm not the enemy.”

I don't know what to think, I keep rubbing my gloved hands against my protected thighs and exhales.

"Maybe she's right. I don't know, but right now we need this place, we need to fix your ankle, we have nowhere else to go." I tell Cuthbert the reality of our situation.

"I don't trust her. You can't possibly be thinking of trusting someone you just meet."

"I trusted you." I retorted, not meaning it, I am just too disconcert to control my emotions.

I have fear, terror, and anticipation, all I can not subdue.

"That's different, I am not a creep and I save your life." He grumbles and glances at Harper with disdain.

"Chill dude, I don't bite. Besides, I just saved your lives too." She fires back at him.

“Please?” I beg him. He's wounded, that should be our main concern right now not contending.

"Fine, but we are living by first light." Cuthbert asserted.

"Deal.” I agree and squat next to him.

Harper immediately leans over to check his situation. “Now can we take a look at your ankle?"

“I’m good, thanks.” He stubbornly protests.

“He’s the sensitive one, he surely won't make it far in this game.” She mumbled, I heard but I choose to ignore it.

Instead, I pleaded with the boy hurting next to me. “Cuthbert? Please."

"Daphne you're so naive." He manages a smile and nods in agreement.

"It's a dislocation, he is not exposed,” Harper explains. “I will need you to stretch and manage to swallow any noise because most of the participates have made it to the woods and we know they wouldn't hesitate to come for us.”

“This would help, though it won't be too bad,” I tell him and insert my golden stone between his teeth and hold his hand.

But still, that didn't lower his groans when Harper jerks his foot to the proper angle.

His chest rising and falling, he has tightened his hold on my hand.

"Told you it wouldn't be that bad." I quipped and flash him a smile through my face protector while he pants in pain.

***

Cuthbert had dozed off beside me after Harper had help fixed his dislocated ankle.

For a while, I've been sitting quietly, just studying my stone like I used to do since my father entrusted it to me.

“What are those?” I finally get to ask how colorful powders radiate light in the dark.

“Phosphors.”

“What are they?”

“It imbibes energy from a light source, hence they emit this energy as light.” She explains. “And so I found out the radiation out here isn't that bad if my babies absorb power from the sun.”

“They are beautiful.” I honestly comment.

“They are. We can't lit up a fire by any means in the woods, so luckily these powders work miracle.” Harper smiles and I returned before she appends. “You should eat."

She has no idea it's the hardest part that's why I haven't taken anything since I woke up and found Cuthbert above me, he says I have to learn but how?

It reminds me of how much training I've missed before joining the participants in the headquarters.

"Uhm... Do you have any..." I stuttered.

"Use one hand to grab the food and as soon as you do that be fast to grasp tightly at the hem of the sleeve with the other hand just when you slip that hand with the sustenance into your first suit, you should be able to eat."

My eyes blew out, okay I totally don't understand what she's just said, so I blurted: “What?"

Harper giggled and scoot over to my front. “Okay, I will help you."

She handed me a bottle of water in my right hand. “I will help you close in, all you have to do is slip your hand into the suit, and drink." She said.

"Okay." I nod and swallow.

"In three... Two... One." She counts and I did just like instructed, she is quick to clasp the edge of my sleeve with her hand. And just like that, I have my hands in.

I bring a drinking straw to my mouth, drawing on the water through the tiny pipe.

That's when it dawned in me, I'm just taking in sustenance for the first time since I left the bunker.

I didn't know I am extremely thirsty but now that I have the drinking straw to my mouth I cannot slow down.

"Oh, " I smiled after consuming half a bottle of water.

Harper continues to guide me until I can eat on my own and we both decided to rest.

When I wake up, I found Cuthbert sitting quietly in the dim light staring at me.

"Thank you." He muttered.

"How is your leg?" I asked him and sat up. My eyes scan the small space, Harper's still asleep.

He returns a smile and responds: “Better, like brand new."

"Cool."

Cuthbert motion to the phosphors powders and query: “What’s that?”

“Phosphors, they charge energy from the sun.”

“Oh.”

“I learn to feed myself.”

A smile pulls on his lips before he asks: “When are we leaving?"

"First light, as promised."

I still can't believe we're taking refuge inside a generous tree.

Cuthbert's eyes travel to Harper laying across us.

"I don't trust her." He whispered.

"We have to keep up, Cuthbert, you saw what's out there, we can't survive there in the dark." I reply equally lower but not enough because Harper proves my assumption wrong when she begins: “This is the only den you have, as soon as you leave, you don't get another chance. Agnes won't stop until she gets what she's here for."

I press my lips in a hard line and look at her while she continues to explain.

"I might not be the kind you should trust all of a sudden. That's how it works, you shouldn't trust easily, I don't trust you guys either, but us here? is what we only have right now.” She reassured me, I can sense Cuthbert breathing hard beside me, I hope he is convinced with her statement. “There is no going back, there is just forward and there are lots of things you will need help with even if you don't say thank you.” She smirks at him and motion to his ankle. Cuthbert rolls his eyes and still refuses to express gratitude.

“How do you know?” I curiously asked her.

“There are five sorcerers in the game."

Scoffing, I look away from her when I exasperatedly say: “So you also believe this sorcerer's thing?"

"There has been magic in Archiefield for years, that's how the bunker survived."

"And so they keep saying.”

"Daphne this isn't just a game, I know there are a lot of things you don't know, but believe me this is not some easy passage to wonderland, look around you, we can't even breath the earth air, we have limited oxygen and once we are exposed to what suppose to be graceful, we die in an instant." She holds out her arms and my eyes fall on her timer.

Instead, I urge to know why she's down with hours than the two of us.

"To do magic, you would need excessive respiration."

I blink, I actually blink when Cuthbert blurted: “Pardon?"

"I am among the five sorcerers," Harper said, arising the tension I thought had cool down.

"You?"

"I knew she's no good.” Cuthbert exhaled an irritating laugh and shook his head. “We shouldn't trust anyone but look where we brought ourselves."

I am unnerved when I shift my gaze to Cuthbert who's now standing and packing our stuff. “What will you do with us?" The question is directed to Harper though.

"Nothing, I wouldn't be telling you this if I have anything evil planned." She rises to her feet too.

"Oh, you can't fool me into believing you're not thinking of how to prepare our bones for breakfast. Look girl witch, I'm as old as you are." Cuthbert rudely retorted, towering over her.

"So you should know I don't eat people. Besides even if I want to hurt you, I can't. I am only gifted one power." She shoves Cuthbert's chest until he loses balance and stumbles back.

I quickly shot up and curiously ask her: “What does that mean?"

Harper bring her eyes to me and hesitated, she seems to be observing me but eventually, she said:

"The others are in a haunt of me for protection and knowledge."

"You say protection and knowledge? So you do what exactly?" Cuthbert shrugged, appearing confused just as I am.

"Like right now? Even the forest cannot see you and you and me.” She gestured to us with her finger. “Nothing in this forest is powerful to vision us through my shield, not even Agnes's pets."

"You are a veil witch," Cuthbert stated. Leaving only me at sea.

"What is a veil witch?"

"She controls shadows and reform traces. Veil witches can only defend but not attack, they can stay hidden for years." Cuthbert interprets.

"I think it's better that way, I don't want to hurt anyone though." Harper smiles small and lowered herself to the ground, she seems sad. But why?

"You said earlier the others want you for protection? Why?" I ask when I sit with my legs folded opposite her.

"Isn't it obvious? To guide them to the bridge unnoticed." She sadly replies.

I look up to Cuthbert and manage to tell him the doubtful decision I sincerely haven't made: “I trust her.” It could be a lie, depending on how you see it. All I know is she's genuinely sad, she looks like she needs us but she's too proud to say it out.

“Daphne...” He started but I am quick to interrupt. “She would have hurt us by now if she's what we thought she is.”

“It's now that it dawned in me I've been in the headquarters for a month but I've never seen you make an appearance for training," Harper point at him.

"I am a secret student."

"Secret student? We are 30 participants. With you, that means we are not." She has a good point, I've thought the same too.

Cuthbert shrugged for what seems like the hundredth times and respond: “It's a game you shouldn't be surprised."

"So that means there might be others? Or maybe not. If he happens to be a spy for the court?” Harper accused, her eyes studying him tremendously rebellious.

It obvious they both despise each other and so I have to interfere before they kill each other.

"I thought the same at first, but he's right; this is all part of the elders' games, they will have any sort of surprises coming to get to us."

"And why should I trust him?" Harper growls her question at me.

Yes, why? Why did I easily trust him when is not even yet twenty-four hours? I don't know but there's something about him that feels substantial I could mostly rely on him.

"I do, he didn't hesitate to save my life. Twice.” I answered.