ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 2

“I don't care about anything else right now. You said something similar when Elly went missing and I made a huge blunder by listening to you. I won't repeat my mistake once again and cry in the dark. I want both my children with me and to bring them back, I would go to any extreme. Even if it means leaving this world behind and traveling to another,” Sussan spoke courageously as she had realized that this might be her last hope in finding her children.

David firmly held Sussan in his arms and tried to console her but she pushed him away. She looked straight into his eyes and asked him,

“Do you want to stay with me and find our kids or follow these cowards and keep running for our lives forever?”

“Sussan, I took a blood oath and promised you my life when I married you. Even now, I would follow you to hell if needed but at this moment, we cannot make any rash decisions that we may regret later. Just calm down for a bit, please. We will figure out a solution and I also miss my children. But this is not the right time to go back there.” David almost begged her while kneeling on the ground and hugging her legs.

But Sussan has already made her decision and would do anything to find her children and at any cost. She cannot leave them across that border to suffer while she stays on the other side and waits for their return.

“I can reverse the blood oath and you are well aware of that. You can go ahead with what you want to do with your life and I don’t want you to be implicated with any of these. This is my problem. Anyway, they are not your kids, to begin with, and I do not hold you accountable. So, please leave...” Sussan said and pointed her hands towards the group who were leaving that area.

Sussan then pushed his hands away which were hugging her legs and tried to move away from him. She took a magical knife to draw the symbol of the dark lord that would free themselves from the blood oath.

David ran towards her just in time and stopped her before she could even draw a circle on her wrist. He pulled the magical knife from her hand and hid it behind him.

“I promised you my life and I will not allow you to do any harm to yourself. They are my kids as well, not only yours! So don't even think about leaving me out of this mission. I will follow you anywhere even if you stop me. I love you, Sussan. I love you... And I will love you forever and ever. I will give you my life if you want it and without you asking for it,” David hugged her and hid the knife in his secret pocket. 

“Now, let us go and find our children together,” David pulled Sussan towards the border and walked with long strides.

Even though he had said that he was scared and his face that was hidden from Sussan showed how frightened he was! Sussan sighed and did not stop him from pulling her hands.

But she did say, "David, this is not a mission. It's about our children. If we don't do it now, then that's when we will start regretting not doing anything as a parent for the kids."

David stopped on the track and looked at Sussan. He then said, "I know!"

Sussan was still unsure if she should involve David in all this mess. But right now, with Peter missing, she couldn't think straight or make any clear decisions. All she could only hope was that Peter did not get caught by the militants and was still somewhere safe across the border.

...........

When Peter reached the border, he found a small portal that could be used to reach the other side but with a glitch. His mother had always warned him many times to stay away from such portals. If he sees one where there was a glitch surrounding the portal then all he had to do was run away from there before he gets sucked into the infinite loop.

Even if it is the slightest glitch, still it would mean that he might lose half of his life if he tries to cross it. Also, no one knows when he would find a way out of those portals. Quite a few had even lost their lives while trying to use one of such portals.

Moreover, the one in front of him looked scarier, and also, there was no code entry system next to that portal. He knew by just looking at it that he cannot use this portal and he needs to search for another one. 

But as he looked up at the sky, he noticed the glimpses of the brightest star in their galaxy, ‘ASREN’ arising from the west. It was followed by the small flakes of burning fire that was sent down to the ‘Laphire’ mountain.

He understood that the militants have come down for the search and he doesn’t have much time left before he could cross the border. He started moving faster towards the portal at the far end which looked better compared to the one in front of him.

But at the same time, instead of walking further away from the militant search team, he started going towards them. Without realizing his mistake, he kept on moving along the border wall. Just as he was about to reach the bigger portal, he noticed a smaller portal growing steadily next to him. 

He stood aside in wonder and saw the portal growing bigger to his size and stopped flickering. He could not believe his luck. He never knew that a portal could automatically grow in size without a median.

“Boo….” Suddenly, someone shouted near his ears and made Peter jump in fright.

When he turned around with a horror-stricken face, he noticed his friend Robert standing behind him. He was laughing holding the flying rocks in his hands. 

"I didn't expect that you would be such a wheyface... What would you do without me?" Robert asked and patted his friend's shoulder.

He then kept on throwing the flying rocks at the portal to check its strength. It flicked once a little but stood steady without any glitch.

"Why are you here?" Peter asked him.

Instead of replying to his question, Robert said, “Okay, our first experiment is a success. Come on, let's go before those militants catch us." Robert said and walked towards the portal.

Peter did not follow him and kept on staring at him as he expected an answer to his question.

When Robert realized that Peter was not following him, he turned around and asked, "What are you doing over there, standing with your mouth open wide? Let us go get our Elly back.”

Still, Peter did not move an inch from where he was standing. Left with no other choice, Robert took a deep breath and pulled Peter's collar. He then jumped into the portal seconds before the militant search team reached that area.

The portal became dark and mingled with the background. When militant search team leader Draven reached the glitch portal, he noticed something flickering near that area. But before he could go near and check what that was, it disappeared with a blink. 

He then ordered his subordinates to check the perimeter thoroughly for anyone trying to mess with the portal. 

“Do you think those dark ones tried to cross the portal again?” Linda asked sarcastically when she noticed Draven's serious expression on his face. 

“No, not in this one. If they do then they know that it would suck their lives away. So, no one would dare to use these damaged portals unless they are trying to commit suicide,” Draven mumbled with a smirk.

He glanced at the half of the stone which was broken from the flying rock by Robert which was used to throw inside the small portal to check its robustness.

“Then why do you look so upset? If they did not use the portal then what is missing here? I don't understand,” Linda asked him while searching around her for any clues that she could have missed noticing when she arrived earlier.

As she couldn't find anything in that area, she walked a little further and noticed something shining on the ground. She bent down to examine the thing and found that it was a pouch used by those dark ones.

She immediately hid it under her feet after checking her surroundings to make sure that no one saw her. At that time, Draven came near her and touched her shoulder.