All Chapters of The Golden Leaf: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

 I jogged crouched down towards the warehouse, my senses on sharp alert and clutching my sword and shield like my life depended on it. The spine-tingling thought was that it did. To my left, a column of black smoke was rising like a demon waking up from the jaws of hell. To my right, the relentless hailstones of arrows thrusting through the night sky whilst the ruthlessness of our predators acted as the perfect diversion for me to infiltrate the warehouse.  I was about thirty feet away from the warehouse when a thought rushed to my mind. I realised that I had to act like I was meant to be here. I straightened my posture. Took a deep breath. I strode towards the solitary door confidently. I checked my watch. Five minutes left till the warriors returned to their position.   I glanced l

 I froze.  The President of Obsidian strolled into the warehouse confidently, wearing a cunning smirk on his evil face. He was still dressed smartly in his suit and had no weapon on him. Strange considering we had just wiped out his whole army.  He walked over his dead warriors, giving each of them a look of hatred. He stopped on the other side of the glass box, facing us. The fire in his eyes intensified as he glared at us. Our three predators got ready to pounce on him, but Señor Ramirez put his hand up, a gesture ordering them to hold back. For now.  “So, Gerard Ramirez, it’s been a long time. How long has it been?”  &l

 We stood back to back, assessing our one and only option.  Battle.  Two of the warriors fired their arrows. I instinctively ducked, as did Zak and Señor Ramirez. Rachel screamed and dropped to the floor.   I looked over to her and I was zapped of my senses. Everything was in slow motion. I could not hear the clinking and swooshing of Señor Ramirez’s and the warrior’s swords right next to me, nor could I see our predators fiercely pouncing on our enemy. A pool of blood formed next to Rachel as she gazed distantly into the ceiling, with the arrow protruding from her stomach. I rushed over to her and bent down beside her, ignoring the possibility of also getting hit.   

 Just as my muscles were burning and my lungs were screaming for breath, the predators ground to a halt.  Right in the middle of the island. No sign of a laboratory or anything that resembled one. Thick green bushes were dotted around us and soaring canopy trees quietly observed our every move from up above. To the right of us, in the distance, were the treacherous mountains and to the left of us, the severely damaged warehouse. Where exactly was the laboratory?  “This is it,” Señor Ramirez said.   Zak and I stared at him.  “Are you two still shocked, despite all that we’ve been through? You’ve forgotten how a

 We split up and desperately searched for any opening from this deadly trap. Señor Ramirez used his muscular shoulders and barged against the invisible wall, yet it remained firm. I darted to the back of the laboratory, frantically pushing over chairs and stampeding on some of the equipment that was lying on the ground. A vast array of tree trunks from the towering canopy trees were in sight and I almost fell into the trap of charging straight into the invisible glass, as the sight of our escape became more and more tempting with every second that mercilessly ticked by. I nudged the butt of my sword against the rigid invisible wall. Nothing. Zak was in the opposite corner and used his iron sleeve to swing a punch at the barrier that stood firmly between our life and death. His wrist slammed against the wall and he yelped in a mixture of pain and rage as the wall remained persistent in its duty to prevent us from escaping. Our thre