It was a full moon that night. The forest's path was visible without any torches or fire.
Vaelor and Theo were running for a long time. Their breath was getting heavier with every second. Their faces and hands were covered with sweat.
Vaelor looked behind to check if Theo was still running. He saw that Theo was pushing his hand to his stomach. Theo was bleeding fast. Vaelor stopped for a while to let Theo catch up and said "Come on, we don't have much time".
When Theo reached Vaelor. Vaelor put his one hand on Theo's shoulder and the other hand onto his stomach and they both started moving at a slow pace.
The forest was silent, Vaelor could only hear leaves and air around them with their footsteps. He turned sideways to check on Theo and saw that Theo's eyes were closing, he was getting slower with every step and his breath was getting faster.
Suddenly Theo stopped and said "Hey, wait Vaelor." He removed Vaelor's hand from his shoulder and lay down beside a tree.Vaelor stopped too. He put both hands on both knees and started breathing faster than ever.
"I cannot go any further than this, leave me here and run." Theo said.
"What are you talking about, I am not leaving you here in the dark." Vaelor stopped talking for a moment and spoke again "You saw what is chasing us, now get up and run"
"I can't, I am bleeding so much, I can't go any further." Theo said while his head was resting on the root of the tree and his one hand on stomach.
"Then let me pick you up, I am not leaving you behind" Vaelor started going toward Theo to pick him up but Theo said "no wait, I will only drag you down, just leave me"
A loud roaring sound came toward them from the forest, Vaelor can hear the footsteps of something toward him.
"You don't have much time, Vaelor, just go," Theo said. "I will hold him off as long as i can" he added.
"No, don't say stupid things." Vaelor's voice cracked as he started crying silently. "The boat is close so come on we can make it." he said again after a pause to Theo.
"Hey listen, remember when we were kids, we wanted to travel this whole land and we did it" Theo took a big pause and said again " The time spent with you travelling was the best time ever for me, Now leave!! You have to warn people of the Island about the danger of this land"
Theo put his both hands on the ground and stood up slowly. He drew his sword and put one hand on his stomach again. His whole hand was covered in blood. He bent a little to the ground and started breathing with his mouth while looking opposite of Vaelor to the forest.
Vaelor couldn't stop crying. He thought of the moment when they both started their journey to the mainland for the first time. They both were smiling while looking at the island's people who were gathered at the dock to say goodbye to Vaelor's group.
"And don't forget about the weapon, OK?" Theo paused for a moment and said again "That is our only way to ever get close to a new home."
"Please don't do this." Vaelor was standing there, his both hands on his eyes. He was trying to stop his tears but it was not working. " I never wanted to leave the island, you convinced me to come, and now you are leaving me?"
"Oh, come on, this journey was fun. We achieved more than any group. You should be proud" Theo's voice started to crack as he started shedding some tears too, he was not turning around to look at Vaelor.
The loud roar came again from the forest, the footstep were getting louder with each second. "Remember Vaelor, you have to survive, this is not about you or me. It's about our island, our home. If you don't leave right now, then people of the island will never know about the danger and we will never fix our crisis. Please just leave and let me die a hero." Theo said.
Vaelor wiped away his tears and his eyes tightened. He started running toward the coast. He looked back for the last time and saw Theo standing there with his sword when suddenly a large creature came in front of him. Vaelor closed his eyes and turned around again to run as fast as he could. His eyes were filled with tears and were coming down even when his eyes were closed.
The air around Theo got heavier all of a sudden. Theo's hand started shaking, his mind became foggy. The creature in front of him had glowing red eyes, while he was looking down at Theo in a calm way. The creature's mouths were closed and he was just staring at Theo.
Theo screamed "I am going to kill you today, you monster." and started running toward the creature. But he was not strong enough, the creature was big, he easily lifted Theo up and crushed him with his hand. Theo's sword fell to the ground and he died in an instant.
Vaelor was way ahead at this time. Theo's sacrifice allowed him to return from the creature. He ran fast and not long after, he saw his boat. He could not hear the creature following him.
He reached the boat, got in it and started sailing as fast as he could.