Chapter 18
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Let's get back to a few hours earlier. Ling was indeed inside the cave, carried by the mother bear together with its cubs. He was still sleeping peacefully despite the cold air in the cave since he was surrounded by the warm bodies of the bears.
When he woke up, he was slightly disoriented while wiping his eyes. However, upon opening his eyes, he can't see his surroundings because the place was too dark.
'It was already night time? I thought father will wake us up? Did something happen to father?'
These thoughts were circling in his mind while he tried to feel for the other children beside him.
'Hmm.. Why were their clothes so warm and luxurious? We're only going on a hunt in the forest. No need to brag. But I don't think I saw them wearing this earlier. Did they change clothes?'
Due to his frequent movements, a growl came out from one of bodies, causing Ling to jerk. His stomach followed soon after.
"I'm hungry too." He whispered to the figure. "Do you know what happened to the adults?"
However, the figure only changed it's position, ignoring Ling's question. Ling frowned at this attitude. When he repeated shaking the body beside him, the growl that came out was louder.
'Why so angry after only a few pats? Never mind I'll ask another one.'
He sat up properly and felt the ground so he can crawl to someone else nearby. When his hand touched the rocky ground, he became confused since he remembered that the grove had a grassy and moist surface.
'If I'm not in the grove, then where am I? Did father carried me here since I won't wake up? Mom said I've always been a restless and heavy sleeper.'
He tried to wake up the one beside him again to ask where they were. In the time Ling was thinking to himself, the figure rolled to get in a better sleeping position. When Ling tried to touch the figure again, he felt its face which was furry.
He was shocked, 'This one sleeping was an adult? What a scruffy beard he has? But is he drunk? Why was he not answering me?'
That was when Ling further felt the long snout of the figure. Suddenly, a hot air blew on his hands and a foul breath came out of that mouth when it yawned, like it had eaten raw meat and did not brush its teeth.
Of course, now, Ling had realized that the figure beside him was not human. He was not that dumb. However, he was still confused why he was here and what happened to the people with him.
Since he could not think of another plan, he decided to explore where he was by crawling away from these other figures. His eyes were slightly getting used to the dark and he could see that there were more breathing figures beside him. Crawling farther away from these figures, he thought that maybe his father was not far away from where he was so he can send his 'mist' out for the others to follow and track him.
As he was crawling, he discovered a rock wall, though he could feel that this direction was a way to reach a human-like 'mist'. The air inside this enclosed place was cold, same as the rocky ground and walls. Before, he was feeling warm because he was surrounded by other bodies. However, Ling shivered now because of the cold. He thought of borrowing the warm fur of those beside him a while ago until he realized those were probably the actual fur of the animals.
He couldn't afford to slack off just because he was cold. Moving along to follow the wall, he continued to explore for an exit using his hand while the other hand was used for crawling, disregarding the cold temperature in the mean time. Eventually, he found a space with warmer air coming out of it. A sound of air blowing and flowing liquid could also be heard from it. Even the walls inside the hole felt slightly warmer though moist.
As he moved forward to go through the open space, still crawling, he did not notice that the opening extends to the ground. He extended his hand used for crawling but only felt air. His whole body soon followed after his hand as he slipped and fell through the hole.
The hole was more slippery as he fell farther from the previous opening. It was tilted sightly vertically so he kept surging head first. Hoping that this would not lead to another body of water, Ling kept falling without any hand hold he could use to stop himself.
When he finally reached the bottom of the hole, he was stopped because his head bumped into a really hard rock. His eyes turned watery, 'This is the hardest rock that ever hit my head. I'm already used to falling but why did I forget to support my head?!'
He didn't dare cry out, afraid that what was in this hole was not what he previously thought of as his companions. He thought that the exit led outside the cave but, by falling this far, it was more likely that he went further inside the cave. Because of the pain, Ling put his arms around his head and rolled by himself silently to keep himself from crying out loudly. But, suddenly, he heard a cracking sound.
Cr-craaaack!
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Let's get back to a few hours earlier. Ling was indeed inside the cave, carried by the mother bear together with its cubs. He was still sleeping peacefully despite the cold air in the cave since he was surrounded by the warm bodies of the bears.
When he woke up, he was slightly disoriented while wiping his eyes. However, upon opening his eyes, he can't see his surroundings because the place was too dark.
'It was already night time? I thought father will wake us up? Did something happen to father?'
These thoughts were circling in his mind while he tried to feel for the other children beside him.
'Hmm.. Why were their clothes so warm and luxurious? We're only going on a hunt in the forest. No need to brag. But I don't think I saw them wearing this earlier. Did they change clothes?'
Due to his frequent movements, a growl came out from one of bodies, causing Ling to jerk. His stomach followed soon after.
"I'm hungry too." He whispered to the figure. "Do you know what happened to the adults?"
However, the figure only changed it's position, ignoring Ling's question. Ling frowned at this attitude. When he repeated shaking the body beside him, the growl that came out was louder.
'Why so angry after only a few pats? Never mind I'll ask another one.'
He sat up properly and felt the ground so he can crawl to someone else nearby. When his hand touched the rocky ground, he became confused since he remembered that the grove had a grassy and moist surface.
'If I'm not in the grove, then where am I? Did father carried me here since I won't wake up? Mom said I've always been a restless and heavy sleeper.'
He tried to wake up the one beside him again to ask where they were. In the time Ling was thinking to himself, the figure rolled to get in a better sleeping position. When Ling tried to touch the figure again, he felt its face which was furry.
He was shocked, 'This one sleeping was an adult? What a scruffy beard he has? But is he drunk? Why was he not answering me?'
That was when Ling further felt the long snout of the figure. Suddenly, a hot air blew on his hands and a foul breath came out of that mouth when it yawned, like it had eaten raw meat and did not brush its teeth.
Of course, now, Ling had realized that the figure beside him was not human. He was not that dumb. However, he was still confused why he was here and what happened to the people with him.
Since he could not think of another plan, he decided to explore where he was by crawling away from these other figures. His eyes were slightly getting used to the dark and he could see that there were more breathing figures beside him. Crawling farther away from these figures, he thought that maybe his father was not far away from where he was so he can send his 'mist' out for the others to follow and track him.
As he was crawling, he discovered a rock wall, though he could feel that this direction was a way to reach a human-like 'mist'. The air inside this enclosed place was cold, same as the rocky ground and walls. Before, he was feeling warm because he was surrounded by other bodies. However, Ling shivered now because of the cold. He thought of borrowing the warm fur of those beside him a while ago until he realized those were probably the actual fur of the animals.
He couldn't afford to slack off just because he was cold. Moving along to follow the wall, he continued to explore for an exit using his hand while the other hand was used for crawling, disregarding the cold temperature in the mean time. Eventually, he found a space with warmer air coming out of it. A sound of air blowing and flowing liquid could also be heard from it. Even the walls inside the hole felt slightly warmer though moist.
As he moved forward to go through the open space, still crawling, he did not notice that the opening extends to the ground. He extended his hand used for crawling but only felt air. His whole body soon followed after his hand as he slipped and fell through the hole.
The hole was more slippery as he fell farther from the previous opening. It was tilted sightly vertically so he kept surging head first. Hoping that this would not lead to another body of water, Ling kept falling without any hand hold he could use to stop himself.
When he finally reached the bottom of the hole, he was stopped because his head bumped into a really hard rock. His eyes turned watery, 'This is the hardest rock that ever hit my head. I'm already used to falling but why did I forget to support my head?!'
He didn't dare cry out, afraid that what was in this hole was not what he previously thought of as his companions. He thought that the exit led outside the cave but, by falling this far, it was more likely that he went further inside the cave. Because of the pain, Ling put his arms around his head and rolled by himself silently to keep himself from crying out loudly. But, suddenly, he heard a cracking sound.
Cr-craaaack!
Let's get back to a few hours earlier. Ling was indeed inside the cave, carried by the mother bear together with its cubs. He was still sleeping peacefully despite the cold air in the cave since he was surrounded by the warm bodies of the bears.When he woke up, he was slightly disoriented while wiping his eyes. However, upon opening his eyes, he can't see his surroundings because the place was too dark.'It was already night time? I thought father will wake us up? Did something happen to father?'These thoughts were circling in his mind while he tried to feel for the other children beside him.'Hmm.. Why were their clothes so warm and luxurious? We're only going on a hunt in the forest. No need to brag. But I don't think I saw them wearing this earlier. Did they change clothes?'Due to his frequent movements, a growl came out from one of bodies, causing Ling to jerk. His stomach followed soon after."I'm hungry too." He whispered to the figure. "Do you know what happened to the adults?"However, the figure only changed it's position, ignoring Ling's question. Ling frowned at this attitude. When he repeated shaking the body beside him, the growl that came out was louder.'Why so angry after only a few pats? Never mind I'll ask another one.'He sat up properly and felt the ground so he can crawl to someone else nearby. When his hand touched the rocky ground, he became confused since he remembered that the grove had a grassy and moist surface.'If I'm not in the grove, then where am I? Did father carried me here since I won't wake up? Mom said I've always been a restless and heavy sleeper.'He tried to wake up the one beside him again to ask where they were. In the time Ling was thinking to himself, the figure rolled to get in a better sleeping position. When Ling tried to touch the figure again, he felt its face which was furry.He was shocked, 'This one sleeping was an adult? What a scruffy beard he has? But is he drunk? Why was he not answering me?'That was when Ling further felt the long snout of the figure. Suddenly, a hot air blew on his hands and a foul breath came out of that mouth when it yawned, like it had eaten raw meat and did not brush its teeth.Of course, now, Ling had realized that the figure beside him was not human. He was not that dumb. However, he was still confused why he was here and what happened to the people with him.Since he could not think of another plan, he decided to explore where he was by crawling away from these other figures. His eyes were slightly getting used to the dark and he could see that there were more breathing figures beside him. Crawling farther away from these figures, he thought that maybe his father was not far away from where he was so he can send his 'mist' out for the others to follow and track him.As he was crawling, he discovered a rock wall, though he could feel that this direction was a way to reach a human-like 'mist'. The air inside this enclosed place was cold, same as the rocky ground and walls. Before, he was feeling warm because he was surrounded by other bodies. However, Ling shivered now because of the cold. He thought of borrowing the warm fur of those beside him a while ago until he realized those were probably the actual fur of the animals.He couldn't afford to slack off just because he was cold. Moving along to follow the wall, he continued to explore for an exit using his hand while the other hand was used for crawling, disregarding the cold temperature in the mean time. Eventually, he found a space with warmer air coming out of it. A sound of air blowing and flowing liquid could also be heard from it. Even the walls inside the hole felt slightly warmer though moist.As he moved forward to go through the open space, still crawling, he did not notice that the opening extends to the ground. He extended his hand used for crawling but only felt air. His whole body soon followed after his hand as he slipped and fell through the hole.The hole was more slippery as he fell farther from the previous opening. It was tilted sightly vertically so he kept surging head first. Hoping that this would not lead to another body of water, Ling kept falling without any hand hold he could use to stop himself.When he finally reached the bottom of the hole, he was stopped because his head bumped into a really hard rock. His eyes turned watery, 'This is the hardest rock that ever hit my head. I'm already used to falling but why did I forget to support my head?!'He didn't dare cry out, afraid that what was in this hole was not what he previously thought of as his companions. He thought that the exit led outside the cave but, by falling this far, it was more likely that he went further inside the cave. Because of the pain, Ling put his arms around his head and rolled by himself silently to keep himself from crying out loudly. But, suddenly, he heard a cracking sound.Cr-craaaack!
