Tribe Rules - S02 E03

Story 2 months ago

Tribe Rules - S02 E03

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 3

Episode 3: Tribe Rules (2)

The Tower of Silence was very dark and very cold. Kofi and Tiya sat on the hard stone floor. They could hear the wind whistling through the tiny window high above. It was a lonely sound. It felt like the whole world was sad. Kofi held his head in his hands. He was thinking about the scroll. He was thinking about how close they came to telling the truth. The scroll was now in the hands of his father. But his father did not believe it. His father only saw a girl from the Rain Tribe. He did not see the message from the first King. He only saw an enemy.

Tiya looked at Kofi. She could see his sadness in the moonlight. She was also sad, but she was also very brave. She did not want to give up. "Kofi, we have to find a way out," she whispered. Her voice was soft, but it was strong. "If we stay here, the war will start. My people are outside the walls. Your people are on top of the walls. If they fight, the truth will be lost. The Spirit of Hate will win. We cannot let that happen. We are the only ones who know the truth is real."

Kofi looked around the room. The walls were made of huge blocks of stone. There were no windows they could reach. There was only one door, and it was made of thick iron. It was locked from the outside. The guards were standing on the other side. There was no way to get past them. Kofi felt like they were trapped in a box. He felt like the walls were closing in on them. But then, he remembered something. He remembered when he was a very little boy. He used to play in this tower before it was used as a prison. He used to hide from his nanny.

"Wait," Kofi said. He stood up and walked to the corner of the room. He began to feel the stones with his fingers. He was looking for a specific spot. He remembered a secret he had found a long time ago. He used to call it the Mouse Hole. It was a place where a stone was loose. Back then, he was small enough to fit inside. He wondered if the hole was still there. He wondered if he could still fit. He moved his hands over the rough surface of the wall. The stone was cold and felt like ice.

Outside the tower, the world was getting very noisy. They could hear the sound of horns blowing. The horns were loud and scary. They were calling the soldiers to their posts. Then, they heard a new sound. It was the sound of metal hitting metal. It was the sound of swords clashing. The war had started. The Rain Tribe must have attacked the gate. Or maybe the Sun Tribe had shot the first arrow. It did not matter who started it. The peace was gone. The people were fighting. They were fighting over a lie.

"They are fighting!" Tiya cried. She ran to the wall and put her ear against the stone. "I can hear the shouting. I can hear the horses. Kofi, we are running out of time!" The sounds of the battle were getting louder. The tower began to shake just a little bit. It felt like the ground was angry again. But this time, it was not the spirit. it was the heavy feet of hundreds of soldiers. The air in the tower felt thin. It felt like the tower was holding its breath.

Kofi found the loose stone. It was near the floor in the darkest corner. He pushed it with all his strength. At first, it did not move. He pushed again. He used his shoulder. He grunted with the effort. Finally, the stone moved back. It made a grinding noise. Behind the stone was a dark opening. It was a secret tunnel. It was very small and very dusty. It looked like a long, dark throat reaching into the earth. It was a tunnel that most people had forgotten about.

"Look!" Kofi whispered. He pointed at the hole. "It is the secret path. It leads out of the tower. I do not know where it ends, but it is better than staying here." Tiya looked at the dark hole. She was a little bit afraid of the dark, but she was more afraid of the war. She nodded her head. She went first. She crawled into the tunnel on her hands and knees. The dust made her want to sneeze, but she kept quiet. Kofi followed right behind her. He had to squeeze his shoulders to fit. He pushed the stone back into place as best he could.

The tunnel was very narrow. It was hard to move. They had to crawl on their bellies like snakes. The air smelled like old dirt and spider webs. It was very hard to see. They had to feel their way along the walls. The stone was damp and slippery. Sometimes, a bug would crawl over their hands, but they did not scream. They had to be silent. They had to be fast. Above them, the sounds of the war continued. They could hear the thumping of feet on the ground above the tunnel. They could hear the screams of the soldiers.

The sounds of the swords clashing were very clear now. It felt like the battle was right over their heads. Every time a sword hit another sword, the sound traveled through the earth. It was a sharp, ringing sound. It was a sound of anger and pain. Kofi felt tears in his eyes. He knew that his friends and his father were up there. He knew that Tiya’s family was up there too. They were hurting each other for no reason. They were hurting each other because they did not know the truth.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise behind them. It was the sound of the iron door opening. The guards had entered the room in the tower. "They are gone!" a guard shouted. His voice was muffled, but they could still hear him. "The prince and the spy have escaped! Look, the stone is moved! They are in the wall!" The guards had found the secret tunnel. Kofi and Tiya frozen for a second. Their hearts were beating like drums. They knew the guards would be coming into the tunnel soon. They had to move faster.

"Keep going!" Kofi urged. He pushed Tiya’s feet gently. They began to crawl as fast as they could. Their knees were getting bruised. Their hands were scratched by the sharp rocks. But they did not stop. They could hear the guards behind them. The guards were larger than the children, so they moved slower in the small tunnel. But the guards had torches. The children could see a faint orange light starting to glow behind them. The light was getting brighter. The guards were catching up.

The tunnel began to go down. It was very steep. They were sliding more than crawling now. The air started to change. It did not smell like dirt anymore. It started to smell like fresh water. It smelled like the rain. They could hear a new sound too. It was a loud, roaring sound. It was much louder than the war. It was the sound of water falling from a great height. The sound got louder and louder until it was the only thing they could hear. The ground was wet now. There was mud everywhere.

Finally, they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. It was not the orange light of a torch. It was the blue light of the moon. They reached the end and climbed out. They stood up and blinked their eyes. They were no longer in the tower. They were on a small ledge of rock. But when they looked around, their hearts stopped. They were not on the ground. They were halfway up a giant cliff. To their left and right, the stone was straight and smooth. There was no way to climb up, and there was no way to climb down.

In front of them was a massive waterfall. The water was white and crashing. It looked like a giant curtain of foam. The water was falling hundreds of feet down into a dark pool. The noise was like a continuous explosion. The mist from the water made their clothes wet. It was beautiful, but it was very scary. They were standing on a tiny piece of rock with nowhere to go. They looked back at the tunnel. The orange light was very bright now. The guards were almost at the end.

The first guard poked his head out of the tunnel. He saw the children and he smiled a mean smile. He held a sharp spear in his hand. He was followed by two other guards. They stepped out onto the ledge. The ledge was very small. There was not much room for all of them. The guards blocked the only way back into the tunnel. "Nowhere left to run, little prince," the guard said. He had to yell so they could hear him over the waterfall. "Give us the spy and come back to your father. Or you will fall."

Kofi looked at Tiya. Her eyes were wide with fear. She looked at the guards, and then she looked at the waterfall. The water was moving so fast. The drop was so deep. If they jumped, they might hit the rocks at the bottom. But if they stayed, they would be captured. If they were captured, the scroll would be destroyed. The war would never end. The truth would die with them. They were trapped between the spears of the guards and the crashing water of the waterfall.

The guards moved closer. They were holding their spears out. They were ready to grab the children. Kofi looked down at the dark water far below. He did not know if they could survive the jump. It was a very long way down. But he looked at the red eyes of the Spirit of Hate in his mind. He remembered the message of the first King. He knew that the truth was worth everything. He took Tiya’s hand. He squeezed it tight. He wanted her to know that he was with her.

"Do you trust me?" Kofi shouted into Tiya’s ear. He had to scream because the waterfall was so loud. Tiya looked at him.

She saw the bravery in his eyes. She saw the friend who had protected her in the Great Hall. She nodded her head. She gripped his hand back. They both turned toward the edge of the cliff. The guards saw what they were doing and rushed forward. "Stop!" the guards yelled. They tried to grab Kofi’s shirt. They tried to catch them before they could move.

Kofi and Tiya stood on the very edge. The wind from the waterfall was blowing their hair. The mist was in their eyes. They could feel the spray of the water on their faces. Behind them, the guards were just inches away. The spears were almost touching their backs. The war was screaming in the distance. The world was falling apart. Kofi and Tiya took a deep breath. They looked at each other one last time. Then, they stepped off the ledge. They felt the air rush past them as they began to fall into the white, crashing water below.

What did you think about this episode?

Will Kofi and Tiya survive the giant jump into the waterfall?

Do you think the guards will try to follow them down into the water?

Can the war be stopped now that the fighting has already started?

What do you think the first King would say if he saw his tribes fighting today?

Tell us what you think in the comments! We love to hear your predictions!

Do you want to know what happens next?