The Moonlight Bond

Episode 5

I woke up in the morning to a sky that was all pink and orange. I felt tired because of last night. I stretched and my ankle, which was hurt before, was now all better, like magic. It made me feel happy and reminded me of the weird world I'm in.

I smelled coffee being made and left my tent. The jungle trees made the sunlight come through in funny shapes on my tent. I put on my clothes fast and still felt puzzled by all the weird stuff going on.

I was drinking my hot coffee when I saw a mirror close by. I wasn't being self-centred, but I saw a red mark on my neck. It looked like a red line carved into my skin, and I couldn't remember having it before. It made me worried, especially because the mark felt warm, like a beating heart. I touched it, and it hurt, causing me to let go of my coffee cup, which broke on the ground.

Just as I was trying to make sense of this, Clarence, one of my team members, entered my tent, looking worried. He asked how I was feeling.

I turned away from the mirror, trying to hide the strange scar. I smiled and said, "I'm feeling better, thanks for asking." I didn't want him to see the weird mark on my neck.

Clarence nodded and left the tent. I sighed with relief and looked at the mirror again. The scar had faded, and it seemed to respond to my emotions. I wondered where it came from.

I decided to take a shower to clear my head. While undressing, I noticed scars on my body, each with its own story. One of them stood out, a bite scar on my right breast from my encounter with Arthur. I touched it and remembered that moment, feeling a connection to the creature.

As I showered, I felt like someone was watching me. It was as if Arthur's presence was there. In the steamy shower, I heard a soft voice say, "Don't worry, I will come back to you again."

Startled, I looked around, but there was no one there. I told myself it was just my imagination, a result of the strange situation I was in.

I finished my shower and got dressed, thinking about the mission to capture Arthur. I checked my gear, including my gun, with a sense of dread. It was time to join my team for the mission.

When I left my tent, my team was already there, looking serious but concerned. Our leader, Floyd, said hello to me and said some nice things to boost our spirits. He told us that a few team members had to stay behind for urgent work at the research lab. However, he mentioned that Lily, who's really good at studying ancient stuff, would be joining us. He also said that this mission was a really important one, and we all knew it could be risky.

Floyd explained the plan, and we gathered in a circle. Our goal was clear – to capture Arthur, the mysterious creature. Hilda suggested a location, and Floyd agreed, mentioning another spot under a big tree. With only four of us, we knew we had to be careful.

Hilda and I were assigned to the large tree, while Lily would be at the end of the dark forest. It was a tough mission, and we were sad that we might have to take Arthur away from his home.

Reluctantly, I got into the jeep, unsure about this mission. I didn't want to capture Arthur, but I knew I had to do my best to keep him safe. The jungle held many secrets, and as we set out on this mission, I wondered what else it might reveal, not just about Arthur but about myself too.

Our jeep drove deep into the thick forest, and everyone looked tense. Lily seemed the most nervous, her teeth chattering, but she stayed determined to stick with the team. Floyd noticed this and came up with a plan. He said, "Let's set traps in both areas and hide nearby. If we spot that creature, we'll call each other and meet up at a specific spot. The three of you head to the far end of the forest, and I'll join you after I set a trap under a tree. Just call me if you see the creature before I get there." They all agreed with his plan.

We started our uncertain journey, and as we entered the jungle, everything appeared stunning and captivating. The trees had really vibrant colours, like their green leaves looked greener, and the red ones looked redder than any other forest. It seemed like they were getting stronger because of something in the area.

Floyd notice that unusual feature of this and exclaimed last time when we came to the forest is was not so bright at all but this everything look very refreshing even we are seeing the fish jumping from the water and they are color look more bright what could be the

I was silent just looking at the beauty of the forest and getting shocked by watching those beautiful things. It seems it is a very different forest from what we had confronted last time.

We see all the animals of the forest are so active monkey jumping all over the place dear is running through the forest it seems all are very happy.

We arrived at the main path leading to the enormous tree, and there was a large signboard that said "World's Oldest Tree." We knew the tree was ancient, but we hadn't noticed the sign before. It seemed like someone had recently put it there.

Hilda asked Floyd if there was another research team working in the area. Floyd replied, "I didn't know about any other team. If there were one, I'd be the first to find out."

We also spotted some horse tracks at the start of the path. Lily noticed them first and said, "Hey, take a look at this, Floyd." Floyd checked and said, "Oh, it looks like horse tracks." Hilda added, "Look, the horseshoe marks are different from normal ones. They seem much bigger than a regular horse."

Floyd asked the group, "Do you think it could be that mysterious dark horse people have mentioned?" Hilda chimed in, "It's possible because if you look at the hoof print on the ground, it's much larger than any regular horse's."

Floyd said, "I have a plan. I'll head down that path to reach the big tree. I'll set a trap for that creature and one for the horse. If I see either of them before you, I'll let you know so you can come with the tranquiliser gun. But be cautious; anything could happen. I'm not feeling very comfortable here. I'll just set the trap and return to you."

We all nodded as we looked at Floyd. The path was quite wet from the rain, making it hard for him to move with all the equipment. So he decided to go with the trap first and then return for the rest of the gear one by one.

So, Floyd went down the path with the trap, and we watched him leave. We started talking about the weather, and suddenly, raindrops fell on my shoulder. I looked up, and it was raining all over the forest. We tried to move our jeep to a safe spot and found a cave-like opening. The rain quickly turned into a storm, and we couldn't stay where we were. We drove our jeep toward that cave and decided to wait there until the weather improved.

Inside the cave, it was pitch dark, and we heard some bats making noise. But we had no other choice; it was the only safe place from the sudden rainfall.

. Hilda was the bravest among us, so she went straight into the cave. Lily was uneasy, muttering that we shouldn't have come to the forest, seeing it as a bad omen, and fearing the worst. She believed our friend's illness was a bad sign, and now we were all going to die in the forest with no way out.

Hilda tried to reassure us, saying, "Don't worry, I'm just listening to what they're saying." Then, I flashed my flashlight towards the left side of the cave and saw something glowing. Lily noticed it too and shouted, "What's that?" Hilda turned and switched on her flashlight as well. We saw ancient carvings on the walls, strange and glowing. It was shocking because the carvings appeared to be from a different time, and every piece of art was glowing in a vibrant red color.

."Lily, I've never seen anything like this in my entire life. I learned about glowing carvings when I was researching the ancient tree, but I thought it was just a myth. Now, seeing it for real, it means the ARKON tree is real too. We've only read about it in books, and no one's been sure if it's real or not. There are stories about a secret group of people who lived far from others, and they were incredibly fast and strong. They used to live in hidden places, often in caves, and some even said they lived in a different realm. But these carvings are fascinating. We need to do more research on them," I explained to Lily and Hilda.

As we listened to my speech and admired the beautiful carvings, Hilda took out her camera and snapped some pictures. We were all standing beneath this amazing sight. Suddenly, the storm stopped, and it reminded us of Floyd. We were nervous and worried about what might have happened to him in that strong storm. Lily said, "The storm was so intense; he might not have made it."

We quickly went to the jeep and got to the path's entrance. Out of the shadows, two figures came toward us slowly. When they got closer, we saw that one of them was hurt and needed help from the other. Our hearts raced as we realised that the injured man was Floyd, our leader. We were scared and curious about what happened to him, and we all wondered who the person helping him was.

As the two men got closer, I tried to see the person helping Floyd more clearly. His face looked oddly familiar, like a picture from a far-off memory that I couldn't quite remember. I kept thinking hard, trying to remember where I had seen him before.

Floyd, the injured man, was in really bad shape. He was out cold, and it looked pretty serious. We all felt worried and panicked, realising how serious things were. We knew we had to act fast to help our captain.

The guy helping Floyd introduced himself as Sam, someone who rescues people. Hilda, looking doubtful, asked, "Who are you? I've never seen you before." Sam calmly explained, "I just joined the team yesterday. When I heard someone scream as I was passing by, I rushed over and found him unconscious." Hilda nodded, seeming satisfied with his answer.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that I knew Sam from somewhere before. His eyes seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen him. Despite this, we had a more immediate concern – getting Floyd the help he urgently needed.

We carefully picked up Floyd and put him in the jeep, making sure he was as comfortable as possible given the circumstances. The atmosphere was tense as we decided to take him to our research lab, where we could treat his injuries and get further help.

Sam came along with us on the journey, offering his support and knowledge. His presence was reassuring, even though I still couldn't remember where I'd seen him before. The jeep's engine started, and we began our journey through the jungle, praying that we'd reach the research lab in time to save our captain.

As the jeep rolled ahead, the forest changed around us. I couldn't help but think about the glowing carvings we found in the cave. I wondered if there was some link between those strange carvings, Sam being here, and the unexpected things happening to us.