Chapter 14: The Dangers Of The Unsafe Zone

Going along with his plan, Zax had a few things to fear from but each had the potential to end his endeavor.

One was the nurse or the doctor, whichever she was. If she would awake up to see that he is not in the resting bed and alert the staff members and representative Guardians before he will enter cave zero thirty nine again then his plan will most likely fail.

Second were the staff members that distribute the green time bracelets. If even one of them will notice that they are missing one time bracelet and will figure out Zax's plan, what will follow will only be Zax's plan failing. Not being caught by the staff members was only half of why Zax tried to avoid them. Zax also did not want to enter cave zero thirty nine with a time bracelet. Zushi told Zax of the different features that the time bracelets have and that one of them allow the event's Guardian and possibly the representative Guardians, as well, to track the participants.

Third thing was that his big sister, Zetsa. Yes, Zax realized that his big sister could not stay with him and had to return the group of participants back to cave twenty five. If she would return and notice that he was gone before he will enter cave zero thirty nine, she might figure out what he was doing, which will most definitely cause his plain to fail. Zax hopped that when the group of cave twenty five left cave one hundred and thirty nine it was already late and that was why his big sister did not return for him yet.

The last thing Zax was scared of was the old lady, the attendant, at the end of tunnel three hundred and twelve. If that old lady was at the level of a Mist Master or worse, a Mist Lord, and used her Soul Sense to note who leaves or enters cave zero thirty nine, she would definitely discover Zax and right there and then his plan will...

Zax could not do anything about the nurse\ doctor waking up or when his big sister will return. He decided to leave this worries at the back of his mind as the group he mingled into passed the entrance to tunnel three hundred and twelve.

So as not to arouse the suspicions of the hundred staff members in the tunnel as they distributed the time bracelets, Zax switched lines whenever a staff member was about to approach with a time bracelet to the place in Zax walked in the line.

Using his Soul Sense, it was easy workout. With the space between rows and lines being so dense it was difficult from the sidelines to notice his movement if one did not specifically looked for him. Within the rows and lines, as long as it also was within the domain of his Soul Sense, Zax could read the body movement of those around him, so to not even bother or make the other participants notice what he was doing.

Finally he was about to reach the end of the tunnel. Zax hid his hands in his pockets, to not reveal to anyone that he did not get a time bracelet. The representative Guardians turned to the groups of participants under their care after receiving the approval of the old lady and deciding between themselves who will send the young participants off.

One representative Guardians began to talk, but Zax did not listen to what he said. Zax read about how expert can notice if one among ten thousand looking at them in an eerie way and even to locate the one among ten thousand who looked at them. To avoid this mistake, Zax lowered his head till he felt the participant around him begin to move a fading " ... head out".

Running to the cave, Zax did not dare to look back or even ask why or wonder if the old lady, the same one from two days back that saw his batch dashing to their search, used her Soul Sense or not. All that he cared about at that moment was keep running and keep hiding his hands. He was in and nothing would make him turn back.

Little did Zax know that the old lady only covers only the left side of the tunnel, the return side, with her Soul Sense to count and evaluate the results of the young participants. Before that, when the participants head off to the cave, it is the job of the representative Guardians to know how many entering and later inform her.

Four hours after the beginning of the search, eight o'clock in the morning.

For the past four hours Zax looked for the river he and his friends followed. It took him a few hours to get to the river since he wasted time avoiding other participant and by being maybe too cautious from being discovered by the event's Guardians or representative Guardians. Zax knew that if they will detect him in any other way but their special sensor, his second attempt in the search will end. So he could not allow himself to be casually seen or heard.

Luckily for Zax, among the different kinds of Guardian which roamed in cave zero thirty nine, only one was at the level of a Mist Master. So even if his presence in the cave will be known and the Guardians will use their Soul Senses as a last measure to find him, he will only have to worry about this one Mist Master.

Zax did not know the compass of a Mist Master's Soul Sense, but he was sure that it is not large enough to detect him by engulfing a large space. Only by reading the environmental essence and detecting his unique print he will be found. And that was also a temporary expedient since – unless one creates some sort of an impact on the environment – a person's unique print does not linger and fade quickly. It was something which Zax discovered accidently and up till not did not think much about it.

In the end it was unavoidable for some participants to see Zax when he reached the river and began to follow along the river's banks. From there it also was redundant to keep avoiding prying eyes. When participants found a searching ground they stuck to it and did not care who come by, unless he or she interrupt them or got their hands on the price they were looking for.

Since he entered to the cave Zax had not used his Soul Sense. He was worried that the moment that he will use it, he will lose control on himself, if because the environmental essence of the cave, the hidden Earth's Core or something else entirely.

"Not before I'll go far so no one will be able to see me". Zax said to himself. "It's not like I don't know where I'm heading, Zushi said that I ran to the unsafe zone. And the river of Earth's Cores ... that I remember, if just a little bit, it's..." He continued to reason with himself, however, when he attempted to remember the feeling, the desire and need from when he "lost it", it was like trying to express something that just at the tip of the tongue but not quite there.

When it was getting to ten o'clock in the morning, even if Zax looked as far back as he could, he did not see any participant. Zax could only assume that he reached the unsafe zone.

"This batch has nine representative Guardians". Zax lay on the ground, hidden beneath a bush, and recalled the seven female Guardians and two male Guardians as he pondered on how many event's Guardians can be beside them. "If there is an equal number that would already be too much if all nine patrol in the unsafe zone..."

Though the size of the unsafe zone was not small, Zax did not belittle the event's Guardians who might be guarding in it.

"I must proceed carefully, can't use my Soul Sense, either ... Zushi said that the event's Guardian caught to the group on the river. They probably know that a lot of participant search in the river. In this case, a few event's Guardians might patrol not far from here. I'm also positive that there is at least one event's Guardian on this mountain".

It was hard to see it through the dense vegetation, but when Zax walked along the river's banks he did see a mountain couple of hundred meters east to the river. It was a good high ground to monitor the clearings in the surrounding.

"The place I need to go to ... it's in the other side of the next tunnel ... in the next beasts' cave..."

To say that Zax's spirit did not waver when he thought about and got closer to where that feeling, which was both alien and at the same time a part of him, instructed him to go, could only be a wretched lie. Zax was not stupid, even if he will overlook his deceiving actions; he knew that the path he was taking led to a place much worse and forbidden than the unsafe zone. But it was out of his control, the pull that made him keep going tormented his mind if even for a split second he thought to oppose it. And when he did as it want, it was as if every step forward was like walking on something he only read about, walking on a cloud.