CHAPTER FOUR
THE CHOSEN ONE IS ALIVE
The forest was quiet, too quiet for Maya's liking. Every step crunched softly over the damp, mossy floor as she walked alongside the three strangers who had pulled her from death's door.
"Do you have any idea where the Stone of Tears might be?" she asked, her voice low but steady as they ventured deeper into the labyrinth of trees.
Person One sighed. "We've searched for years," he admitted, brushing aside a low- hanging branch. "We've turned over every rock, chased every rumor. It's as if the stone doesn't exist at all. But without it, we can't leave this cursed place. That's why we haven't stopped."
"So that's it," Maya murmured, nodding slowly. "That's why no one ever comes back."
Person Two's lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Feels like a trap, doesn't it? We heard an old legend before we came — that only the Chosen One could find the Stone of Tears. We didn't listen. And now... here we are."
Maya kept her face carefully neutral. I can't tell them I bear the mark, she thought. Not yet. I don't know who to trust.
"I didn't come here alone," she said instead. "I came with friends."
That got their attention. Person Two frowned. "Friends? Where are they? And why did we find you half-dead behind a bush?"
"They thought I'd died," Maya said softly. "Maybe they hoped for a miracle. Maybe they just didn't have a choice."
Person One crossed his arms. "So what now?"
"I need your help to find them," Maya said, her voice suddenly sharp with urgency. "If we join forces, maybe we can find the stone. They have the map book with them — without it, none of us are leaving."
At the mention of the book, Person One froze mid-step. "The map book? The one lost to time? The one that leads seekers through the forest?"
"Yes," Maya confirmed. "I carried it. They must have taken it when they thought I was gone."
Person Two hesitated, fear threading through his voice. "I don't know about chasing your friends down, girl. This place eats people."
"I can't do it alone," Maya pressed. "Help me find them, and I'll make sure you get what you want."
Person One studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Fine. We'll help you find them. But in return, we get the map book."
"Agreed," Maya said without hesitation — though her mind whispered otherwise. They'll never touch that book.
"Good," he said. "Then let's move. Which way?"
Maya pointed ahead. "They'll have followed the path in the book. I remember — we were heading in that direction before everything went wrong."
"Then that's where we go," Person One said, striding past her.
Elsewhere in the forest, things had already gone terribly wrong. Sam, David, Clara, Michael, and Mark were bound and dragged through the mud by snarling, inhuman guards.
"Take this one away," barked a tall, skeletal creature with blackened horns curving over its head.
"You'll never get away with this!" Clara shouted as they hauled her toward the shadows. "I already have," the creature smirked. "Tear her apart — limb by limb."
"Clara!" Sam sobbed, struggling against her captors. "Please — let her go!"
"Quiet!" the horned monster thundered. "Another word and you'll be the first to die." Mark thrashed against his ropes. "This is so damn annoying!"
"It'll be less annoying when I make it your turn," the creature laughed darkly.
Clara fought, teeth bared. "Get your filthy claws off me!"
"Chop off her hands first," the beast ordered with a wicked grin.
"Not on my watch!" a fierce, familiar voice cut through the clearing. Heads turned. "...Maya?" David's voice cracked, eyes wide with disbelief and joy.
The horned creature sneered. "And who, exactly, are you supposed to be?"
"Someone you should fear," Maya said, stepping from the trees with a band of hardened survivors behind her.
The creature chuckled. "You must be very brave to march into your own grave." "Don't test me," Maya warned, her hand on the hilt of her sword. "Let them go." "You dare challenge me?" the beast snarled. "Kill her. I want her head."
Steel screamed as blades were drawn. Maya and her new allies surged forward, clashing with the demonic creatures in a blur of fury and blood. One by one, the monsters fell, their black blood soaking into the earth, until only the horned commander remained.
"I see I underestimated you," he said, an ugly grin stretching over sharp teeth. "And for that," Maya said coldly, "I'll take your head myself."
The fight was brutal. The creature was fast — faster than she expected. His sword crashed against hers again and again, each blow jarring her bones. Sweat stung her eyes; pain screamed through her barely healed wounds.
"Surrender," the creature hissed, pressing her back. "I'll make your death merciful."
"I don't surrender," Maya spat, blocking another vicious swing.
A slash opened her right arm; another carved deep into her thigh. Blood soaked her clothes, and still she fought, teeth clenched, vision narrowing. Then a final blow ripped across her abdomen, reopening old agony. She dropped to one knee, gasping.
The creature kicked her, sending her sprawling into the mud. "Maya!" Clara cried.
"Get off her!" David roared, helpless in his bonds.
The beast stepped onto Maya's stomach, grinding his heel cruelly into the wound. Blood spilled warm across her skin.
"I told you," he gloated, "you can't beat me."
Pain blurred her vision — but not her will. With a grimace, Maya's hand slid into her sleeve. Her fingers closed around cold steel. In a flash, she drove the hidden dagger deep into the monster's foot.
He howled, stumbling.
Maya surged up, fury lending her strength. "Fuck you!" she roared, slashing his thigh, his
arms, again and again, until he screamed in rage and agony.
"You—bitch!" he spat.
"I'm also good at carving flesh," she growled, burying her blade into his abdomen.
The beast gasped, eyes wide with shock.
"When you get to hell ," Maya hissed, raising her sword high, "tell the Darkeone I'll be sending more soon."
The blade swept clean through his throat.
Silence.
Then — a collective exhale of relief.
"Maya," Clara whispered, awed. "You did it. You really are the Chosen One."
Reunited, they pressed on, the map now in the hands of the strangers who had saved her. Together they reached a tunnel guarded by a dragon, its scales dark as obsidian, its voice like thunder.
"Who dares approach?" it roared.
Maya stepped forward, her shoulder bare, the moon-shaped birthmark glowing faintly in the dim light.
The dragon lowered its massive head. "The path is yours," it rumbled, then spread its wings and soared away.
Laughter bubbled out of Sam. "That's one way to skip getting roasted."
They entered the tunnel. Light grew ahead. The map glowed in Maya's hands. Soon they
emerged into a hidden garden — lush, quiet, beautiful — at whose center sat the Stone of Tears, gleaming softly.
Only Maya stepped forward. The prophecy was clear: only the Chosen One could claim it without calamity.
The moment her fingers closed around the stone, power surged through her veins like liquid moonlight. A new page bloomed in the map book, revealing the way out.
Three days and nights later, they stepped free of the cursed forest.
Back at the orphanage, Pat's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "You guys—! You actually—!"
"Missed us?" Sam laughed, pulling her into a hug.
"Madam Kate made me do all your chores," Pat complained, but her grin betrayed her joy.
From there, it was on to the palace. The guards were skeptical, but the moment Maya stood before the king, the world shifted.
The king stared at the moon's mark, then dropped to his knees. "Your Majesty," he breathed. "I've waited for you all my life. The throne of Altolem is yours. Lead us — please — into the glory the Moon Goddess foretold."
Maya stood frozen, the Stone of Tears heavy in her hands, her friends wide-eyed around her.
"I'm just an orphan," she whispered.
"No," the king said, bowing low again. "You are our queen."