ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 33

Peter then took a deep breath to gather his strength. He then looked around him in hope of finding the Minia’s who helped Nina earlier. As he could not find them inside the cage, he glanced at Robert and whispered in a very low voice.

“Quickly find the minias who treated you and try to get them here as soon as possible. They might help in finding a cure for us both and right now they are our only chance of surviving this poison. Fast! Hurry… I feel like we do not have much time left,” Peter mumbled before closing his eyes.

It had become too difficult to speak as the poison had already started to spread all over his body. After seeing that they both were turning pale, Robert immediately acted and searched for the horn Nina blew to summon the Minias.

When Elly heard what Peter said, she too instantly stopped crying and wiped her tears. She also helped Robert to search for the horn. After they both ran around in circles for some time, they finally found the horn very close to the cage. 

Exactly at the corner where Nina was sitting before she ran toward Elly to save her. Just when Robert was about to reach that place, the wall behind them suddenly got smashed with a loud ‘thud’ and a magical blue flame rose just above their head.

“What’s going on?” Elly shouted and then hurriedly stood in front of Peter and Nina in a protective stance.

She thought that old evil witch had come back again to t*****e them. But then when she noticed Robert’s facial expression changed from confusion to surprise and then into happiness, she relaxed herself a little bit.

“Daddy!” Robert exclaimed but he then immediately stopped himself from going forward and held his head down.

He clenched his fist and thought about his mother’s sad face and all they had to suffer all alone. He felt that his dad abandoned him and his mother intentionally and also his father was the reason for them to experience hardship in that desert all by themselves. 

So Robert just turned his back towards his approaching father and then he started walking towards the horn. He bent down and picked the horn while Elly went near the newcomers with a bright face.

After noticing that his son was ignoring him even after they met eyes, it hurt James a lot. He could see that Robert had grown up a lot in just a few days. He missed his son and also his wife, Brenda a lot. 

He hoped that this was all a bad dream and when he woke up, his wife and his child would be safely back home. But he knows the reality and would right now better take care of the kids faster before anything bad happens to anyone.

So, James went near Peter and Nina instead of trying to comfort or console his son, Robert. He kneeled on the ground and examined them without touching their body. When he saw that the poison had already spread through their veins, he realized that their condition had gotten worse than he imagined.

‘Their situation does not look too good and it would be very difficult to get the antidote to work now as the poison had mixed into their bloodstream,’ James thought.

“Uncle James, Thanks for coming here to rescue us. I thought we would all die here today.” Elly said with tears once again covering her views.

“Elly… I am sorry, I couldn’t come sooner to rescue you…” James said in a hardened voice.

“It’s ok, Uncle James. All that matters now is that you are here now…” Elly said and then looked at Peter and Nina and asked him,

“Uncle James, please save the princess, Nina, and my brother. It’s all my fault and ….” Elly couldn’t finish her sentence as she started to wail loudly.

“Please… don’t cry, Elly. Now is the time you need to stay strong. I will do whatever I can to save Peter,” James assured her.

He then turned to look at his foolish son once more but now in an accusing way. ‘How could he even think of coming here but only to get caught so easily?’ He wondered and felt that all the training he had given him all these years had all gone down the drain the minute he left home.

When he saw Robert trying to blow the horn which belonged to Nina, he hurriedly shouted, “Elly, stop him from blowing that horn. It won’t listen to anyone other than Nina and it may contain some other lethal poison which in turn will create more mess than we are already in...”

James then scoffed at Robert and thought that his son has grown well physically but after seeing his stupid act just now to blow the horn, he disappointedly shook his head.

“What now? I know what I am doing…” Robert said in a stern voice but then he did not blow the horn in fear that he might also get sick just like Peter and Nina.

Meanwhile, James looked around the place and noticed the leaves lying on the ground in the corner of the cage. He instantly became very angry and stood up. He darted near Robert and held his collar.

“Did you separate your brother from your body again? How many times do I have to warn you not to do that? What if one day before you could even realize, he vanished or even disappeared forever? Until that time, won’t you stop using him and hurting him?” James questioned his son in a dreadful voice.

Robert held his father’s hand and stared into his eyes without any fear. He then bravely said to him, “Nothing would happen to Nameless until I am alive. Peter needed my help and mom won’t allow me to go with him to find Elly. So, I had no other choice but to let Nameless act like me and make him stay with Mom. Anyway, as you can see nothing happened to both of us.”

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to pull his father’s hand away from his collar. But he was still not strong enough to free himself from his father’s tight grip.

“Nothing happened? If nothing happened to you both then what are those leaves doing here? Moreover, you got help from the Princess of Asran… Do you even know what a grave mistake you have made?” James asked him.

Robert held his head down and said in a low voice, “Didn’t you always say that if your friend is in danger then it is even ok to not worry about our lives and we should help with all we have got? That is what I did! I followed your path and helped my friend find his missing sister. I don’t think I have done anything wrong. Also, I don’t fear you, so let go of my collar right now. You are almost choking me!”

He then started to cough loudly to imply that the hold was really tight around his neck. James sighed and let go of his son. He knew that there was no way to reverse whatever had already happened.

Right now, he decided to concentrate on the big issue at their hands. At that moment, he realized that his junior who was supposed to come after him had not reached that place yet. 

He walked near the hole he had made and peeked his head outside. He then wondered, ‘What happened to Linda? Isn’t she supposed to come hereafter checking the surroundings once?’

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go before anyone catches us. The evil witch might come here at any moment. Especially after you made a grand entrance and also created such a huge hole in the wall along with a loud blast. I am sure she would already be entering this basement anytime now…” Robert impatiently said and tried to see outside while poking his head next to James’s shoulder.

James ignored his son as usual and turned to Elly. He then instructed her to pack all their belongings and get ready to leave. Robert kicked the rumbles once and rushed to help Elly.

After Elly and Robert packed their stuff, they went near the huge hole on the wall. Elly looked behind once and hesitated. She felt her heart grow heavy and she could not move from that place.