13. Raging Forest

-Sky-

Something woke me up, and I hurried to sit. I looked around in confusion, and for a moment, I couldn't understand what I was seeing. Why was I in a forest? Then I remembered how I had gotten there, and why. I sighed and slowly stood up, stretching my back and legs. I had no idea how long I'd been sleeping there, and what was it that had finally woken me up.

Not until a horridly loud sound made me jump, and I looked up at the sky. A bright flash of light illuminated the dark sky, and I instinctively counted the seconds. Three seconds, and the rumbling thunder shook the ground under my feet. And it wasn't the last one.

"Oh, crap..." I muttered when I remembered what my Dad had told me.

The weather was getting bad. In just mere moments, the wind turned into a storm, and heavy rain fell down on me. The sky was flashing angrily all around me, like Zeus himself had just hit his pinky toe in a corner of his table. It was bad. It was really bad.

I turned around, and was about to start running towards the school to get to safety, but then I had to turn around again. And again. I had no idea where I was, or which direction I needed to take to get back! The sky was so dark I couldn't see the sun behind the angry clouds, so I couldn't even tell what time it was. It could've been late evening for all I knew!

I tried to look for clues or signs or anything that could tell me where I was or which way to go. Then I remembered my phone! It had a map! I looked around to see where my bag was, but I couldn't find it. Of course I couldn't – I had stupidly left it by the road!

I had nothing else with me except my wet clothes.

"Now I've done it," I whispered, but I couldn't hear myself over the furious thunderstorm.

I had to find somewhere to stay. The thunder was right above me. It was dangerous to stay in the forest, and not just because of the lightning. The wind was blowing so strong the old trees were bending, and I could hear loud bangs all around me when the wind mutilated them.

I didn't waste a second. I started running, hoping I was going towards the city. I heard a tree falling down somewhere close by, but it was too dark for me to see it. I rushed through the bushes and thick grass, trying to keep my eyes out for a shelter.

I tripped and almost fell on my face when a lightning hit a tree close by. I saw red and blue sparks flying everywhere, and the tree collapsed. I stumbled back on my feet and kept running in another direction.

I didn't know how long I'd been stumbling through the raging forest when I saw a river looming up ahead. I laughed cheerfully when I saw it. I knew it was leading to the city! I'd been studying maps a lot, and it was the only river that size in this part of the forest. When I ran towards it, another lightning struck the ground close by. I picked up my pace, but ended up tripping again.

It was a struggle to keep moving forward without clear paths. I had to push through thick bushes, grass, and small trees to get to the river. Once I finally got to it, I had to stop to think how to proceed. The rocky riverbank was steep, and I could easily break my neck if I lost my balance, so I had to move carefully.

But I wasn't being careful enough.

The rocks were slippery from the rain, and when another booming lightning hit the ground only a few hundred feet away from me, I nearly jumped out of my skin, missing my step. I slipped down the big rock, my foot getting stuck between the rocks. But my body was still moving forward.

I screamed in pain when my leg bent in a way it wasn't supposed to, and I hit my head when I fell. For a moment, I saw sparks flying around, and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't because of the pain. Another tree got caught on fire right above me, and it was crackling furiously when it fell in my direction. Somehow in my slight panic, I managed to free my foot, and I hastily crawled my way out of the danger.

The tree fell right next to my feet and its huge branches buried me under them. I felt stinging pain all over my body as the branches scraped my skin, but my throbbing ankle was much more unbearable. I could only hope it wasn't broken.

I crawled from under the tree and saw a little ledge right above the water. There was just enough room for a small boy like me to squeeze under it, but it was hard to get to it with my injured leg. I cursed myself for walking on the slippery rocks. I cursed myself for leaving my bag and my phone behind. I cursed myself for ever leaving the school.

I wondered if anyone had noticed me missing. I didn't know what time it was. It was possible school was already over, and everyone was happy – and safe – back in their homes, watching the thunder under warm blankets.

There was no time to dwell on those thoughts. I reached the little cave and pulled myself inside. I hoped there wouldn't be any animals around. I was sure everyone in that forest was panicking, and would attack me without asking any questions. I took a deep breath and curled into a little ball, trying to be careful not to hurt my ankle even more.

My clothes were completely wet, and I was shivering from the cold. Even in the dim light, I saw holes and red stains on my sleeves, but I ignored them. I turned to look out of the cave and saw the dark river and trees behind it. The wind seemed to be getting worse and worse, and the river flowed faster, turning angrier by the second.

It took me a while to understand the cave had a few inches of muddy water in it, but it was still a better place to be compared to being out there in the open. I wished the thunder would end soon, so I could continue my way down to the city. I was getting tired and drowsy, but I couldn't let myself fall asleep. It was too dangerous to fall asleep.

It wasn't the first time I got lost in the forest, and it wasn't the first time I was outside in the storm. I knew I would be just fine, so I wasn't scared. Well, maybe a little scared because this was the first time a thunderstorm had caught me off guard and I had lost my phone. I didn't have a map, and no one knew where I was. And I had just injured my leg.

Okay, maybe I was a bit more scared than just a little. I wanted to freak out and start screaming and crying for help, but somehow, I managed to keep myself somewhat calm. I was going to be just fine. All I had to do was wait for the storm to pass and stay focused. That's all.

An average thunderstorm would last only for half an hour anyway, so I knew it would be over soon enough. Unless there was a tornado. Then I was screwed.

-Max-

There was a tornado outside the city. It was far away from our school, but we were still gathered together in the inner classrooms on the ground floor. There were no windows, so even if the tornado would come in our direction, we should be fine.

I wasn't worried about us. I was worried about Sky. He'd been following us when we left the biology class, but as soon as I had turned my back on him, he vanished. Troy told me Sky had needed to use the toilet, but he never returned to us. When I went to look for him, he was nowhere to be seen.

I hoped he wasn't out in the thundering weather that was getting worse by the second. If he was out there... But there was no way he could be out there, right? He knew about the tornado warning, after all. That was all people had been talking and tweeting about the entire day! And we all heard the announcement during biology. And his Dad had warned him about it. Sky said his dad had told him to come straight home, so Sky was safe somewhere inside, right? He had to be!

But... he wasn't afraid of bears or wolves... Could that mean he wasn't afraid of freaking tornados either? Was it possible he didn't know how bad those were?

Where was he??

Troy was sitting next to me on the floor. It was quiet in our room, except for the distant rumbling of the furious sky. We were waiting for the tornado to die so we could go home. School had ended already, but we weren't allowed to leave the building until the tornado and the storm would quiet down.

I just wanted to go look for Sky. I was getting really anxious and worried about him. No one seemed to have seen him after biology. Troy was sure Sky said he needed to use the restroom, but he hadn't actually seen him stepping in.

Why had he disappeared like that? Where was he? Why didn't he say anything? How could anyone just disappear like that? Did something happen to him? Did someone kidnap him or something? Maybe someone pulled a prank on him. Maybe he was injured. Sick? Hurt and scared, alone somewhere and panicking and screaming for help...

"I can't take this," I muttered to Troy. "I have to go look for him."

"Look from where?" Troy whispered angrily. "Out there? In that freaking storm? You'll end up dead if you go out now! As if the teacher would even let you leave."

"What if he's hurt?" I asked frantically.

"He's not hurt! You are overreacting!" he hissed at me. "We'll get out of here soon enough. I'll help you look for him, but right now you need – to – stay – put!"

Troy wasn't a big fan of thunderstorms. Or tornados. They scared the crap out of him.

I sighed and gritted my teeth together. I wished again that Sky was somewhere safe, but that bad feeling kept bothering me.

When it was finally safe enough for us to leave the school, I grabbed my bag and headed out with the rest of the students. Troy followed me to the boys' restroom.

"I'm sure he came here," Troy said and looked around.

"We need to go check the nurse's office," I said.

"I'll go ask the front desk if they know anything about him. Meet me there," Troy said, and we parted our ways.

I rushed to the nurse's office, but Sky hadn't been there. I quickly returned to Troy, but he had no luck either.

"She promised to–" Troy spoke, but he was interrupted by the loud voice in the speakers.

"Attention please! Could Mr. Skyler Jenkins report at the front desk? I repeat, Skyler Jenkins to the front desk, please!"

"Good idea," I said when the announcement was over.

I turned to look around at the crowded hall and crossed my arms. Sky wasn't the only one who was missing after the chaos, but it seemed like everyone else made it to the front desk. We waited and waited, and soon there were only the two of us left.

"He's not here," I said and turned to look at Troy, who was looking nervous too.

"Excuse me?" I heard a girl's voice and turned around. "You're looking for Skyler?"

"Yes!" I breathed out, taking a step towards the girl. "Have you seen him?"

"I saw him leave the school hours ago. He passed me by. He was running into the forest," she said. "He dropped his bag. I was going to bring it here, but that tornado happened..."

She gave me the bag. It was definitely Sky's.

"Can you show us where he went?" Troy asked when I stared at Sky's bag.

"He came out at the back and went straight into the forest. There's a small path just across the street. You won't miss it," the girl spoke.

"Are you sure it was Sky?" I asked.

"The nerd who suddenly turned into a hottie? Yeah, it was him all right," the girl said and blushed lightly. "I have to go. My parents are waiting."

"Sure, and thanks a lot!" Troy told her before he turned to look at me. "Come. He can't be far."

"He left hours ago!" I said angrily. "He can be at the other side of the mountain by now!"

"No, he can't. Come on, let's go," Troy snapped at me, pulling me with him when he started walking towards the back entrance.

It was still raining when we got out, but the sky wasn't so dark anymore. It was a complete mess out there with fallen trees and trash everywhere. There was a piece of white wooden fence at the schoolyard, and a trampoline. When we got to the street, there was a lot more trash, and the streets were flooding. Further down the road, there was an abandoned car in the middle of the street, and I could hear a distant echo of car alarms, and the sirens of police cars.

"There it is," Troy spoke and pointed across the street.

There was a fallen tree right in front of us, so we had to climb over it to get into the forest.

"We will never find him here," I said. "This forest goes on for miles!"

"Let's just check if he's somewhere near," Troy said, and I was grateful for his calm nature. I wasn't able to make any decisions at that moment.

"If we can't find him soon, we need to tell his parents that he's missing. At least we know where he is, so they know where to start looking," Troy spoke while we hurried deeper into the forest.

"What if he's hurt?" I asked, and that question gave me shivers. "What if someone or something attacked him? What if–"

"You have to stop thinking about it and concentrate," Troy said sternly. "See if there's anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he has dropped something or–"

"What? Left a note?" I asked angrily.

Troy gave me an angry stare. "I am trying to help, idiot!"

I glared back at him for a moment, but then looked down at the ground, muttering my apologies.

"Now – see if there are any clues or anything showing where he might've gone," he said as we continued walking forward.

But there was nothing. Nothing showed Sky had even been there. I almost wished the girl was wrong, and she hadn't seen Sky coming into the forest. It was just so huge, and it could take days to find him even with a big group.

"Maybe he's at the river," Troy suggested.

"Or maybe he's on the moon," I snapped.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that just because I know how worried sick you are," he said calmly and followed the sound of the furious river. "My girlfriend and I used to hang out here."

"Ex-girlfriend," I muttered, but Troy didn't hear me. Maybe it was for the best. Troy was a little sensitive about her girlfriend leaving him, so if I now managed to piss him off, he would probably leave me to search for Sky alone.

"This way," Troy said, and led me to a narrow path between tattered bushes.

The whole forest looked somehow exhausted after the storm. The trees were leaning in different directions, there were branches scattered all around, and the tall grass was lying lifelessly on the ground. We got wet in no time, but I didn't care. I kept looking in every direction at the same time, frantically trying to find even a small hint of Sky's whereabouts.

Soon we came to the muddy river, but there was no one around. The water was rumbling past us so loudly that Troy had to raise his voice so I would hear him.

"I don't know where else to look!" he said.

"We can't find him on our own! We need to go get help!" I replied to him.

"Maybe he's gone home already!" Troy yelled.

"I have no idea where he lives!" I said angrily.

"Check if there's something in his bag!" Troy suggested, and I grabbed Sky's backpack and opened it without hesitation.

"His phone is here!" I shouted in anger.

"Shit! I was about to ask if you have his phone number!" Troy said and turned to look away. "I hope he's all right!"

"So do I!" I sighed and dropped the bag when I couldn't find anything useful.

I looked at Troy, and I was about to ask him what we should do next, when I saw something gray moving towards us next to the riverbank.

"Sky!" I yelled as loudly as I could and started running towards him, Troy following only half a step behind.

I knew it was Sky. I'd been staring at him for long enough to know it was him, even though he was still far away from us.

And it really was him! When we were close enough, I saw him collapsing onto the ground, pressing his hands against the rocks. Troy and I stopped to a halt right next to him, and I wrapped my arms around his muddy body.

"Max..." Sky muttered against my ear when I pulled him on my lap.

"Thank God..." I sighed in relief. "Why did you leave like that?!"

"Max..." he muttered again, and his body turned limp in my arms as he passed out.

"We need to get him out of here," Troy said and helped me up. "Can you carry him?"

"Yes," I nodded, and followed Troy back to the school.