Dominic led the way in their journey into the thick forest. Rita and the principal were only a few distance behind him.
"Take a look at Dominic. He really is worried about his sister and I feel bad for him", said the principal.
"Yeah! Me too", Rita sighed, looking stressed out. A fruit suddenly dropped in front of her. "I feel so hungry", she said and bent down to pick up the fruit.
Dominic heard what she said and turned behind to yell;"Don't pick up that fruit!" Rita shook with fright over his sudden stentorian voice. She could see how anxious he was looking.
"What's wrong with the fruit?", she asked, feeling curious.
Dominic pointed at a tree rounded by a rope that bore tiny human skulls for her to see. Seeing she did not get what he was trying to imply, he pointed at various trees that bore the same rope of tiny human skulls.
"What you see round the stems of these trees tells that this area has been consecrated. You dare not eat of any tree in this area", he warned.
Rita immediately threw her fruit far away from them. "But how did you about this?", she asked.
"I studied about those things", he pointed at the rope of skulls, "in the black magic book."
"What black magic book?", the principal became confused.
"The one we found in your beloved Mr Joseph's home", Dominic replied vaguely.
"Wait! What you said about Mr Joseph being involved in black magic was really true?!", the principal gazed at Rita.
"You can see how the tour is going very wonderfully. He's such a good man", Dominic spoke with sarcasm.
"I was beginning to feel he was probably a wolf in sheep clothing but I never believed he was into black magic", the principal became shocked.
"Now you know!", Rita said in a dramatic manner.
Dominic spotted footprints on the muddy floor and hushed both of them. "I see footprints!", he informed them. Rita and the principal eagerly wanted to see the footprints.
"So that means...", the principal was about deduce something when Dominic interrupted him.
"They were here!", he was so delighted. He noticed the footprints headed to the right. He decided to inform Mr Donald over the walkie-talkie right away.
"Sir! Sir!", he called twice, "I just found some footprints that probably belongs to the students", he said enthusiastically.
"Wait! Where are you?", Mr Donald inquired of him. Three of them could hear his voice nearby around them.
"I can hear his voice close by", said the principal. He and Rita had their nose round to find him.
"I don't really know how to describe where I am at the moment", he looked around to find out where the Lieutenant was.
Mr Donald and three Constables walked out of a narrow bush track opposite them. "Here we are!", he opened his arms wide. They turned behind to see him and the Constables approaching them.
"How did you get here?", questioned Rita.
"Well...we were just walking into any track we felt like. We saw a lot of creepy things I'm sure are of black magic", said Mr Donald.
"You mean something like this?", Dominic pointed at the ropes of skulls round the stems of trees around them.
"Yes! Yes!", he reacted, "They're everywhere", he looked round.
"It means this place is consecrated and nothing from any tree should be eaten", Dominic revealed to them. Mr Donald and two Constables turned to the third one, looking at him strangely.
"What happened? He ate a fruit?", Rita became worried.
"No!", the Constable then giggled, "I didn't have any fruit", he said.
"He would have if I hadn't slapped it off his hand and told him to focus", another Constable added.
Dominic who was so eager to go catch up with the students, especially his sister, interrupted them. "Let's follow the footprints. Over there", he pointed, "is the end of the boundary. Beyond it is not concentrated", he said with urgency.
"How do you know all this?", Mr Donald gave him an inquisitive look.
"I read the black magic book", he replied.
"Ohh!", Mr Donald reacted in remembrance.
"Let's hurry up please!", Dominic showed his impatience. He began the journey and the rest followed him briskly.
* * *
The farmers had given food and water to everyone and all the students ate and drank to their satisfaction. They were all feeling energetic again.
"At least our lifespan has been increased for a few days surely", Jonathan joked and chuckled over it.
"Don't be so morbid please", Samuel frowned at him dramatically.
Tricia and Ben sat at the base of a big tree on one of its roots having a conversation when the farmers went to see them. Tricia and Ben thanked them once more for giving them something to eat.
"How many times will you children keep on saying thank you?", the woman giggled over it. Her husband wore a glaring smile.
"We need to. We don't know how we would have ended up had you two not come to our rescue", Tricia insisted.
"Speaking about that, I would like to talk to you", the woman said to her, "Don't worry, you're safe here", she smiled.
"Let's go have some chitchat young man", the man offered Ben his hand so he could assist him in getting up. They went to another place to discuss, leaving the females to have their own conversation.
The woman sat beside Tricia. "Hope everyone ate to their satisfaction?", she began in a cheerful manner.
"Yes Ma'am. The food was a lot", said Tricia, "I was beginning to think you and your husband were expecting to meet a group of hungry people on the way and kept everything ready at home", she said playfully.
The woman found what she said ludicrous and laughed it away. "You see that tree there?", she showed Tricia an orange tree not too far away.
"You mean that orange tree?", asked Tricia.
"Yes! That orange tree!", she responded, "It has never died. It was planted by my great times 12 grandfather", she revealed.
Tricia could not believe her ears. "Did you just say great times 12 grandfather?", she felt startled, "It's still looking so strong", she said.
"That's no ordinary orange tree. It has been the cause of the fertility of this land passed on from generation to generation", she said, "Why I inherited this land was because my parents had no son and as the first child, I inherited it in the end", she added.
"That's really nice", Tricia nodded her head, enjoying the conversation already.
"As long as one plants on this land, there will be abundance of harvest, food can never get rotten. That's why you all saw enough to eat", she simpered.
"Oh!", Tricia exclaimed, "What a valuable property your first son will inherit from you", she smiled.
The woman's mood went sad at once. "I hope so. I've been married to my husband for nine years but we have no child of our own", she said softly. Tricia felt guilty and sorry for her. "If my husband wasn't supportive, I wonder how I'd have coped about it. He's such a good man", she said, watching her husband engaged in a playful chat with Ben, wearing a worried smile.
"I'm so sorry about everything Ma", Tricia tried consoling her.
"It's okay", she forced a smile, drying up the tears that had just rolled out her eyes, "I have faith I'm going to have a child. I just feel mine was delayed for a reason", she said confidently.
"Yes Ma! You'll surely have a child", Tricia assured her with a cheerful smile. Silence then reigned for a short while.
"So the reason I wanted to have a word with you", the women rested her back on the tree, "You're ready to tell me what made you all end up in that sordid state with nowhere to go in the woods?", she expressed her readiness to listen to what Tricia had to say.
Tricia heaved a sigh. "We're students who were brought into the woods to take a tour but we never knew our supervisor never wished us well", she replied.
"What did he do to you people?", the woman became curious.
"He's into black magic and wants to use us as sacrifice. I feel he's the one that sent the spirit of Father Christmas to haunt us last night", she answered.
"Father Christmas?", the woman expressed shock, "Your tour guard brought you guys out here in the name of a tour only to make you guys his sacrifice?", she felt disgusted.
"Yes Ma! He abandoned us yesterday but I'm sure he sent Father Christmas to hunt us down. We had to quickly leave the building and were now stuck in the middle of nowhere, not having anything to eat or drink for hours", Tricia explained.
"Are you aware you all were in the land of black magic?", the woman gazed at her.
"We had no idea. We were only following the instructions of our supervisor. We only found out the land was cursed when a friend of mine had a bite of a fruit and was consumed by ants", she shivered on remembering what happened.
The woman heaved a sigh, she could understand the dilemma the students must have gone through. She stared at Tricia out of pity for a while. "You all are looking for a way to leave this forest and get back home?", she asked.
"Yes Ma! Our parents are surely worried sick", Tricia replied desperately.
"First thing the next day, we'll lead all of you out of the woods and make sure you all are taken home", she promised with a smile.
"Tricia became very happy. "Thank you very much", she greeted, "But what about Father Christmas? I feel Mr Joseph has involved his spirit to hunt us down?", she became anxious suddenly.
"Who's Mr Joseph?", questioned the woman.
"He's our supervisor that deceived us into coming here...the one that does black magic", she answered.
"Ohh!", she exclaimed, "Don't worry about Father Christmas. He won't be able to leave that land of black magic to hunt you guys down here. It has never happened", the woman assured her, patting on her back. Tricia nodded her head in hope. "I don't know why he invoked the spirit of Father Christmas but what I know is that it can't get you guys as long as you're not in the land of black magic", the woman assured again. Tricia nodded her head the second time.
"I wish I could reach out to my brother so they could track us down but there's no reception over here", Tricia complained.
"Who said so?", the woman got surprised. Tricia turned to her at once. "There's network over here but you guys were in the land of black magic that's why you couldn't find any she said.
"Are you for real?", Tricia hurriedly brought out her phone from her trouser pocket and saw what the woman said was true, "Let me dial my brother's line right away."
Unfortunately, her brother's line could not be reached. "Now his own is unreachable", she grumbled.
"Don't you have someone else to call? Like your parents?", the woman suggested.
"My Mum! Let me call her right away", she hurriedly dialed her Mum's line, waiting eagerly for her to pick up.