(This is part 2 of my Untitled Story. Click the link to see the first part. Credits to GravityCentered for story idea.)
Another hour of searching went by. Time seemed to be passing fast and the sun was gradually beginning to disappear, yet I was determined to find my brother before it was replaced by the moon.
I climbed a tree, which I had not done in a long time, to get a better view of the area. I managed to link a knee over a branch and pulled myself up. Then my foot got hold of another branch, and holding on for dear life as I swapped sticks, I climbed up as far as I could. My legs were scratched from numerous branches when I finally reached the almost-top of the tree, unable to go farther. Holding the tree trunk, I scanned the area, looking through the thick trees around me as I hoped to see a figure of anyone.
“Oh, Gabriel!” I shouted as loud as I could.
I tried to stand taller, atop my toes, but my foot slipped. My jacket ripped as it was caught on a branch and, startled, I began clinging to the tree, loosing balance on my other foot. I screamed. I hugged the tree, my feet dangling, trying to find a place to step on, freaking out. My heart raced and it felt like I was being punched inside my chest over and over.
“DAPHNE!?” a voice from below yelled.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON’T DIE!” another shouted.
Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die.
Finally my foot caught something and I could stop clenching the tree. I grabbed a branch for both my hands, but one branch felt awfully weird.
Looking up, I saw my brother, holding the tree happily above me, his arm extended and my hand gripping it, and he was trying to move downward. I immediately let go to move to an actual branch and tears began to flow from my eyes.
“Gabriel! How the heck did you even get up here?” I exclaimed.
Gabriel, of course, just smiled at me.
I let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Here. Can you get on my back?”
My brother made his way over to my back and held tightly as I began to try and climb down. My foot may have slipped more than once, and I may or may not have almost fallen a second time, but I reached the bottom of the tree.
“Daphne! Are you o-“ Veronica began before she saw Gabriel. “Oh my god, you found him!”
“She what?!” Malakai ran over, and a slight flicker of annoyance flashed across his eyes. “Good job!!”
I let go of Gabriel and he decides to cling to my leg. I winced.
“Uh, you have a lot of scratches and your jacket is ripped, are you good?” Malakai inquired.
“Er- yeah,” I said. “It’s nothi-“
Veronica interrupted me. “I have a first aid kit in the car. Let me try and fix you up.”
Without letting me say anything she grabbed my hand and led me to the car, and Gabriel ran over to Malakai.
Her car was perfectly clean inside, which was yet another thing I was impressed by. She sat me down on the back seat and brought the kit from the front. Veronica opened the kit and took out hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball.
“This is going to sting a little bit.” Carefully she dabbed my skin with the wet cotton ball. I cringed, my scratches burning as she cleaned them. She then put on an ointment and fully wrapped both of my legs with a bandage. She also put bandaids on the few scratches on my arms.
“Thank you,” I said, feeling embarrassed she did this for me.
“Anytime,” she replied, the corner of her mouth turned up slightly.
Suddenly the car door opened, revealing Gabriel wielding a small bunch of flowers and Malakai behind him.
Gabriel excitedly handed them to me, and I caught Malakai winking at me before he took the front seat.
Astonished by everything happening, I hoped I wasn’t blushing at all. “Thank you for your help, you two.”
“No problem,” they both said at the same time, then giving each other a side-eye.
I exited the car with my brother, holding the flowers, waving goodbye at the two. I heard arguing before they drove off.
“Ah… well… let’s go home now,” I motioned to our car, and Gabriel nodded. I strapped him in his car seat and we went home, my mind racing with all sorts of thoughts, specifically about the siblings…
I hope you liked this! There will be more parts still, this just concludes what happened last time. Stay tuned!
