43 End (2/2)

Meanwhile, since the test was nearing its end, Yabang and the other two already left Rin alone in the cave. Yabang was still hesitant to leave but he knew he could not change the other child's mind. Aside from being concerned about Rin as well as Ling and Maga, he was also afraid of how to tell Ling's parents about the situation.

It was known around the village how Mahina and Bobo loved and worried about their son. Due to the unlucky circumstances the child had encountered since Ling was born, their hearts were more tormented everytime the boy was out of their sights.

As Yabang sighed while running in front of Lino and Tang'ga, his thoughts were disturbed when he heard a roar not far from their position. He stopped running then signaled for the two to stop too, then they all heard another roar.

The animal sound was familiar to them since they heard it on the second night of the test. And it was different from any other animal sounds they heard before. Yabang smiled at the two beside him before unhesitantly running to the direction of the sound.

The forest was a blur for the three rushing. Despite the short time they had been together with the other group, they were still excited that the two were safe. Fortunately, they didn't encounter any ferocious beasts. Probably because they also knew that the creature making that sound was more ferocious than them.

As they got near, they heard another roar,this time more urgent, making the three increase their pace. From the sound, the animal seemed like it was irritated and in pain. A whimper even came out after the urgent roars.

When the three reached the place where the noise was coming from however, they were surprised with the scene in front of them. Ling was standing outside a cave opening, unharmed, while pulling a stuck Maga out of the hole.

The hole was actually big. It could fit the dragon if its size was the same as it was two days ago. If the three didn't know the story about the dragon's growth, they would have thought that this one was a different dragon.

Another growl from the dragon woke the three up. The look it gave was also saying that they weren't any help while standing with their mouths open.

As a support to the dragon's growl, Ling also turned to the them with pleading eyes. Unfortunately, he currently could not speak since he hadn't drunk any liquid for the past days except for the lava inside the caves. For Ling, it was better to drink the lava than to get dehydrated in spite of the burning throat after.

After a while, even with the four children, two on each arm, pulling the dragon, it still took almost an hour to wrench Maga out of the cave. Later, back at the earlier cave where Rin was left alone, Ling managed to drink some water to explain what happened to them when they fell.

Taking a breath after the long monologue, Ling reminded the others, ”What day is it now, by the way? Shouldn't we be returning to the village? My mom will get mad at me if she didn't see me right after the test.”

Therefore, they did not talk for long, since they still had to go back to the village to finish their hunting test. It was already the test's sixth day in the afternoon and the sky was getting dark, indicating the return of the night. If they never moved before dark, they would not be able to reach the village on time since they could not travel when night came.

As the five children were getting ready to leave with the dragon sadly watching, Ling remembered and suggested that they hide the incident about the earthquake and his fall. Nobody was opposed to the idea since they knew they had to tell the villagers about Maga too.

Soon, Ling knew he had to tell the adults about the dragon but he was also hesitant about leaving the village. Aside from that, he was afraid of having only the two of them travelling alone outside the village.

Even so, after two years, the secret of the five children regarding the dragon was not discovered. The volcano was still having sporadic activities though it was not alarming or affecting the village except for the hotter weather.

Nevertheless, the elders were having frequent discussions of whether they should start evacuating their clan now or still wait for further observation. Of course, this means that it was exposed this year, and it was because of Tang'ga.