Instinct: The Sequel - Episode 5

"Today's training is going to be different," Noah had told me at the early hour of that morning, and I guess I hadn't stopped to consider just how different he truly meant.. Well, until he'd eventually revealed. "We're going to play a simple game: Hide and seek. We" he emphasised on that very word, pointing at himself, Milo, and Thato, before moving along. "- are going to hide, and you have to seek."

"And why exactly are we doing this?" I inquired noncommittally. 

"It's all part of developing your perceptive mind." Thato replied. "All you have to do is to rely completely on your instinct.."

"One more thing," Noah chirped. "I don't care if it takes a whole day, or even a week. Neither of us will come out of hiding, until you find us," Noah assured; the seriousness etched upon his visage was enough for me to realise he wasn't joking, he really did mean every single word. 

But before I even had the chance to say anything at all, they'd already disappeared, leaving me all by myself in the middle of nowhere.. 

Frankly, their absence didn't bother me that much, at first. I was merely following my instinct, just like they'd instructed, but then, the loneliness had really set in some few minutes later, as I found myself feeling extra-cautious.

I suppose my paranoia was based on the fact that I'd grown so used to having them around me

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/instinct-the-sequel

. I'd become so comfortable amidst them, that being seemingly far away from their sheer comfort made me feel nothing short of vulnerable. 

I was so wary of my unsettling surrounding, looking back and forth as I took my first turning to the left. And I'd walked through that very path for at least five minutes, before taking another turn to the left again. 

My destination was obviously obscure, but I was partially confident of my route, I guess.  

And soon, I'd eventually inched closer to the end of that particular lane, but once there, my mind had suddenly gotten clouded by a pang of indecisiveness. 

Do I go right? 

Or do I go left? 

It'd been quite easy to turn left the first time. It'd been even easier to turn left again the second time. However, at that very moment, there was some sort of confusion going through my head. Overwhelmed, I  slowly closed my eyes in surrender, with the aim of attaining a mental state of peace.

Read " After Grad " by the same author ( Ishola Ubaydah )

. And once I flung it open, I was feeling more certain; It'd been easy to conclude on a final decision. 

So, I turned left yet again, whilst I'd walked through that bushy path for only a few seconds, before I caught sight of Milo, behind a distant tree. 

He was grinning, and so was I. 

"One down, two more to go," I whispered to myself. 

"Good one banshee," he yelped, before jogging over to where I was stood. "You just earned yourself a bodyguard," he continued, once he was close enough. "You lead, and I'll just follow."

"Sounds good to me," I responded enthusiastically, undoubtedly more confident than ever.

Milo lingered quietly behind me all through, literally following my every move. The moment I turned left, he also turned left; and when I turned right, he also did the same. I was in control, and I guess he wanted me to be perfectly aware of that. 

Letting out a sigh of frustration, I rubbed my hands across my face, feeling the wetness against my palm.. but then suddenly, I noticed it. The series of footprints on the sandy ground, - though it was faint. 

Grinning childishly, I trode that very path anyway, until it'd suddenly disappeared at the edge of a stunted tree. 

"Yes!" I hollered enthusiastically to myself yet again, grinning at Thato who smiled warmly in return. However, my happiness hadn't lasted for too long, because there was still one person yet to be found.

Noah. 

Even before the game started, I sort of guessed he'd be the most difficult to find, which was exactly the case. But as the afternoon had slowly began to come to an end, a thought had suddenly struck my mind amidst the inevitable fatigue. 

The camp.  

I couldn't pinpoint why I'd thought of it exactly, but I just had this inexplicable feeling that he was there. Milo and Thato hadn't stopped following me about either. Together we'd made it back to our makeshift shelter. 

And one could just imagine my sheer relief the moment my gaze landed on the alpha, standing with arms folded across his broad chest. 

"Well, welcome home fam," he hollered, smirking.