The occasional howling of the faraway wolves breaks the silence of the night. Grabbing a bunch of branches in its jaws, Tommy looks up at the blanket of stars that stretches to infinity. The pale crescent moon shines like a silvery claw in the night sky. It knows it's time to go back to Isaac.
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“Isaaccccc! I’m back. How are you doing? Is everything still okay?” Tommy gushes.
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But there’s no response at all.
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“Hey, Isaac. Quit fooling around and come out from wherever you are”
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Yet, only the sound of the rustling leaves and the humming of the insects could be heard.
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Losing track of Isaac’s whereabouts has fueled Tommy’s irkness. It flattens its ears and raises its tail. With a stentorian snarl it produces, Tommy pierces through the bushes of evergreen.
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There is no smell of Isaac. No footprints of him. No marks of him struggling. No notes were left by him either. Only the piles of fish stacked together and the string bag can tell that a person has once existed.
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“God, you must be kidding me. How come he vanishes in this menacing place where peril abounds? It has only been two hours that I haven’t seen him!” Tommy raises his voice.
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Tommy casts about for Isaac near the waters where pebbles are glistening. It ducks its head so as to have a closer look, ensuring that he won’t be missing any paramount traces of him. It scours off the twinkling fireflies lying on the tip of the grass by wavering its tail. Tommy howls into the silent night. Some wolves are responding to it by baying back. The flying fish in the flow are hopping out of the water, splotching water all over Tommy. Everyone in the forest seems to have heard of Tommy’s words—except for Isaac.
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“I’m gonna teach him a good lesson after I find him. Right now, my one and only wish is that he isn’t captured by George. Otherwise, both of us will be dead meat” Tommy utters.
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“ Isaac, are you here?” Tommy excavates the ground with his white, furry paws.
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“Isaac, are you hereeeeeee…hereeeee? ” Its voice echoes back when it has reached the end.
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A mole pops out from the hole, its eyes are half-closed. Its eye sockets are dangling.
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“Hey, mister, would you mind lowering your voice? I have already been suffering from insomnia for three days and I’m trying my best to fall asleep. Unlike you, I am still in my prime age and I just can’t get those wrinkles all over my face!” The mole yells.
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“Sorry sir, but if you could just move a bit to see your reflection in the river, you will see that some wrinkles are already lying safe and soundly on your face,” Tommy mocks the mole.
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“Shut up! Go back to where you are, you blatant beast!” The mole says as it shrinks back to its hole.
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Tommy shakes the dirt off his body and his eyes fall on the dangling ropes hanging from one branch to another.
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“Uh-huh, gotcha Isaac Thomson,” it says as it sinks its teeth into the ropes, trying to weigh them down with its own mass.
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Soon after a second, before Tommy could react to it, the ropes start hissing and some of them are strangling Tommy.
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“Guys, look who’s here? Our glorious traitor, Boomer has returned. Let’s give him the warmest welcome with our venomous fangs, shall we?” The most gargantuan snake among all taunts Tommy.
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“Get your crooked tail off me, Draven. I have no extra moments to monkey around with you. I am in serious business now.”
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“Serious business like buying flowers for Diana’s funeral right? Awww, you are such a sweet friend to her,” Draven chiacks.
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“Don’t ever spit out her name from your nauseous mouth, Draven. I am so fed up with all these torments, let me go already!”
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“Sure haha, a warm reminder from your royal friend, Draven, her funeral is the day after tomorrow at 12 pm at the Moonblast Cove. Don’t be late or her spirit will be haunting you for a lifetime,” Draven snickers.
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Tommy dives into the hazardous jungle with a snarl. Tommy’s mind has already been bombarded with all the possibilities that Isaac would have been, then adding insult to injury, the snakes make fun of Diana. The worst situation keeps circling his mind—losing two friends in a row, and it never halts.
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Tommy sobs as he makes every step forward. It is so desperate, vulnerable, and forlorn.
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“I never knew that you are such an impudent individual deep down there. Come clean, what do you want from me this time? My jewelry? My throne? Or my life?” A voice resonates.
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