A hug?

Some Hours Later

I started coming back to consciousness, I wasn't able to to understand what was going on. I realize that someone was holding me in his strong arms struggling to remove me out of the stream of water. My vision was completely blurred, I was trying to make out who he was, but unfortunately he was unrecognizable.

'I was alive, that was a biggest relief'

TOM'S POV, The Apstristone Forest, 2:45

(As this is Tom POV going on, every 'I' over here refers to Tom's and not Serena's)

"It's already 2:45, they are still not here" Shawn said with concern

"Hopefully they found the tree, orelse all our handwork will go in vain. We searched so much, found so many Banayan tree but not all the one we were looking for" Micheal said in dissapointment.

"I just hope they all are okay" I said

"Maria aren't you still feeling alright?" Micheal asked Maria.

"Yeah, I'm better. Thanks for asking." She said.

Everyone was outside the car, at the same place where the two routes had parted. We had searched every corner of the right side, there was nothing to be found.

"I think you should have lunch, Empty stomach nothing gonna happen anyways. We need energy to think and to fight what comes next." Maria said and started going in the other direction of the forest

"Where are you going Maria?" I shouted

"I will be right back, you all have your lunch." She shouted back and raced into the forest.

"What this girl even wants to do?" Shawn said. All three of us had blank look on our face.

"Shit, No network." Micheal screamed in frustration.

Fifteen minutes had passed and there was no sign of Maria.

"I think we should go and check her up." Micheal said with straight worries on his forehead.

"Yes" I agreed.

"No need" Maria said, coming out of nowhere. Smiling, she looked freshed and fit unlike before.

"Where on have you been?" Shawn asked

"Nevermind. Did you all eat the lunch?" Maria asked

We nodded.

"So let's go" she said

All of us was puzzled "where?" Micheal asked

"To the left side. Shawn was correct the Banayan tree is on the left side, we need to go there and get the book before the dusk at any freaking cost." Maria said with full energy.

"How are you so sure?" I asked

"Intuition and I getting a gut feeling that all of them need us the most at this moment." Maria said with extrem spark in her eyes.

"Then let's go" Shawn agreed and we moved to the left route.

Maria was looking at the sky again and again as if the sky was telling her the route. She was instructing the way to Micheal as he was managing to drive somehow in the fog and this heavy rain.

"STOP" She shouted on the top of the lungs.

She got out of the car and started running outwards

"Where are you going Maria?" Shawn asked but there was no reply. I, Shawn and Micheal ran out the car behind her without our umbrella.

No sooner did we reached there, we found Alan lying over there bleeding on his head.

"Holy shit" Michael sweared.

"Damn, what even happening." I said totally frightened.

"There is a cave out there, let's take Alan over there, Micheal get the car to that cave." Maria said pointing towards the cave.

We did as Maria instructed. All three of us holded Alan somehow and got into that cave. Micheal came too with the car.

"Get the first aid box" Shawn said

Micheal came with the first aid box.

"There is water in his body, we need to removed the water first." Micheal said and all three of us started pushing up his chest to remove the water. Yes the water did come out with this technique.

Alan was hurted on his head, Maria started treating his wounds. She covered it with a bandage.

After few minutes Alan kinda opened his eyes and close again. There was panic all over us.

"Don't worry, his veins are working as well as his heartbeats, he is just unconscious for now, he will be okay."

"Don't we have any tablets for his fast recovery?" I asked

"Sadly no" Micheal said

"I wish Aphrodite was with us!" Maria said

We all looked at her stunned, we all thought that Aphodite and Maria hated each other.

"Waith, if Alan is here lying unconscious, where is the rest?" Micheal asked.

All of our smiles fainted...

Meanwhile, Aphodite and Jared was sitting in a shelter. Jared kept on sobbing.

"Stop your drama" Aphrodite said, "I don't even know why are you with us? What are you trying to prove that you are great human being- No Jared you are not. You can hurt Serena, that's all you can do."

"Aphrodite seriously? Serena is gone, God knows where she is, is she even alive or- , Alan is not there either and God knows where Jason disappeared? And you are seriously thinking that I'm doing drama, you think that much humanity I lack." Jared answered Aphrodite.

"Why do you pretend to care so much about Serena?" Aphrodite questioned

"I don't pretend, I really love Serena." Jared Screamed

"Then why the heck did you cheat on her?" Aphrodite shouted back

"Because I had to- Because I had to" Jared said and started crying like hell.

Jared told the whole story to Aphodite

"I don't believe you." Aphrodite said, "tell me you are pretending." She said with pain in her eyes.

"No I'm not" Jared said and hid his face with his palms.

Aphrodite went and tightly hugged Jared. It was a brotherly-sisterly hug but maybe that was something the universe needed.