Fuzzy memories of our time together in the field of flowers come to the forefront of my mind. Did we actually kiss, or did I hallucinate the moment? My blood pumps faster as my heart beats at an increased pace. What is this feeling swirling inside?
“I believe so,” I reply.
Toto, Dorothy’s faithful robo-dog, comes to bark under my feet.
“What’s this foul smell?” Kevvan peers at the mangled creature on the floor, which is no longer moving.
“Burned, rotten flesh.”
“Is that your cyborg friend over there?” The hellioncat points with his head.
“Yes. He saved us, but I’m afraid he injured himself in the process. We must find a way to break free and help him.”
Kevvan groans as he pulls against his bindings. The moonlight shining from the glass ceiling above emphasizes the bulging veins on his arms as he struggles to tear the bands.
“I don’t think you can break free by using brute force,” I say, but the hellioncat ignores me.
He continues to struggle, his face twisting into sheer determination. His expression becomes feral, deadly, but it’s the hint of panic in his eyes that puts me on high alert. A loud pop echoes in the vast room as one of the bindings snaps. The next thing I know, Kevvan has freed his right arm.
Using his sharp claws, he cuts through his remaining bindings, landing on the floor with the grace of a nimble cat.
“Monkey feathers. How strong are you?”
Without replying, he shakes his mane and then rubs his wrists almost in a manic manner. When he keeps repeating the movement, almost as if in a trance, I hiss at him.
“Kevvan, snap out of it.”
He glances in my direction, his eyes glazed and wide.
Dunk a duckling. He’s in the throes of a panic attack.
“Darius?” Dorothy’s soft whisper catches my attention. “What’s going on? Where are we?” She blinks rapidly, maybe in an attempt to gain focus.
Her dog barks in excitement, circling the area under her, as happy as he can be.
“I’m not sure. But we must get free and leave this place immediately. I have a bad feeling about it.”
She switches her attention to the hellioncat. “What’s going on with him? Why is he acting like that?”
“I don’t know, to be honest.”
“Kevvan?” Dorothy calls his name, but the hellioncat doesn’t heed her. She looks my way, worry showing in the furrow of her eyebrows. “He’s losing it. We must help him.”
“I know. Do you have any idea how we can remove our bindings?”
She peers at her bound wrist, opening and shutting her hand. “These are vines. We can probably cut through them if we have something sharp.”
“Unfortunately, I’m out of daggers and knives.” My reply comes out more sarcastic than I intended. Mercifully, I don’t think Dorothy noticed.
With a grimace, she buckles her body forward. The shrubbery cross wobbles with the movement. She tries a few more times, gaining momentum with each attempt.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting within range of something sharp.”
“You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She ignores my comment, and in the next buckle, the potted plant loses the fight with gravity and topples forward.
“Dorothy!” I scream.
Trapped the way she is, her face will smash once she hits the stone floor.
By a miracle, Kevvan snaps out of his stupor in the last moment, catching Dorothy before she can break something. He effortlessly holds the weight of the shrubbery cross, making me a little envious of his strength.
“What are you doing?” he asks Dorothy.
“Well, I needed to get within reach of Toto’s sharp teeth. You weren’t responding.”
With a wince that I can only associate with guilt, Kevvan places Dorothy’s cross vertical once more. Then, with a swipe of his sharp claws, he cuts through her bindings as if they were made out of paper. She falls right into his strong arms, eliciting an ugly feeling in my chest. Especially when she locks gazes with him and smiles.
They don’t break eye contact until I clear my throat. “A little help here would be appreciated.”
Kevvan sets Dorothy on her feet first before he frees me from my own cross. I rub my wrists, trying to get the blood flowing again. I don’t realize I’m also glowering at the hellioncat until he speaks.
“Is there a problem?”
Ashamed by my ugly behavior, I shake my head while avoiding eye contact with the courtless king. “No, of course not.”
“Oh my stars. Reo!” Dorothy has finally spotted our fallen companion. She runs to him, dropping to her knees once she reaches his side. She touches his face, her fingers grazing his skin in a featherlight touch, as if she’s afraid to hurt him further. When he doesn’t even flinch, she shakes his shoulders. “Reo, wake up.”
Kevvan and I join her.
I kneel next to the cyborg and press two fingers on the side of his neck. “He has a pulse.”
“What happened to him?”
“He used his weapon to destroy the monster who’d kidnapped us.” I point at the disgusting remains of the creature.
“And then what?” Dorothy asks with round eyes that shine with worry.
“He got caught in the electrical blast, which rendered him unconscious.”
The sound of flapping wings can be heard in the distance. We all glance at the glass ceiling in time to see great-winged shadows fly by.
“Winged monkeys,” the hellioncat whispers while rubbing his arms up and down. “They’re coming for us.”
“We have to get out of here. Kevvan, do you think you can carry Reo?” Dorothy asks.
He answers with a short nod before dropping into a crouch. He lifts Reo off the floor as if the cyborg weighed nothing. Unceremoniously, he throws the unconscious man over his shoulder and then glances at Dorothy and me.
“I have no idea where to go,” she admits.
I pivot on the spot, taking in our surroundings. Behind us, there’s a wide hallway peppered with large, metal columns. It leads to the main exit, but on instinct, I know we can’t go out through there.
“I suspect those poppy flowers were poisonous. If I was in possession of all my faculties, I would have been able to identify them sooner.”
“You can’t blame yourself for not remembering everything. You suffered a head trauma.”
She’s watching me—not with pity in her eyes, but with unwavering trust. I don’t have the courage to admit she’s wrong about her assessment. My faulty memories have nothing to do with the hit on the head I took a few days ago. I had already been broken before I was taken by those evil munchkins.
“If we can’t escape through the way we came in,” Dorothy continues, “then we must find another way out.”
Kevvan glances at the ceiling once more. “Are you sure you want to venture out while those winged monsters are out there? At least here, they can’t see us.”
“You just said they were coming for us.” I frown at him.
“I know what I said!” he snaps and, with a shudder, rubs his face next. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not making any sense.”
Dorothy stops in front of Kevvan, looking up to peer into his eyes. “I know this must be difficult for you, but you can’t let your fears take control. We will evade those creatures, and we will get to Emerald City.”
“How can you be so sure?” he asks in a small voice, transfixed on Dorothy’s face.
Once again, jealousy spears my heart. If given the choice, of course Dorothy would choose someone like Kevvan—a warrior, a king—even if, at the moment, he’s experiencing some post-traumatic effect. I’m no one compared to him.
“We have to leave this place. Trust me, there’s something evil here,” I say, not knowing where the knowledge is coming from.
Dorothy freezes for a second before twisting to peer at the remains of the creature who took us. Without a word, she strides towar
d it.
“What are you doing?” Kevvan asks with a hint of alarm.
“I’m sensing a source of power coming from this … thing.”
I hurry to catch up with her. If he still has powers, then she’s not safe. Almost as if reading my thoughts, Dorothy unstraps the blaster from its holster. Aiming the gun at the monster, she uses the toe of her boot to jostle the twisted mangle of metal, wires, and putrid flesh.
The creature’s bionic eyes are open, but no light comes from within. Two heartbeats pass before Dorothy reaches down and sticks her hand in the hole on the cyborg’s thorax. She doesn’t twist her face into disgust. Instead, her eyebrows are furrowed together in concentration.
Finally, she pulls her hand back. Pinched between her thumb and forefinger, there’s a small shard of crystal. It’s dark green, almost black.
“So, that’s what allowed the cyborg to keep functioning, even after his body died,” I say.
“Quickly, put that crystal here. It’s corrupted.” I offer her the empty leather pouch attached to my belt.
Suddenly, the little piece of crystal begins to glow—dark green at first before its hue slowly becomes lighter and lighter. Only when the brightness is completely white does the crystal dim until it reveals its new color. It’s now clear.
“What the hell just happened?” Kevvan asks.
“She did it again. Dorothy purified the tainted crystal.” I can’t help but gawk at her with wonder and delight.
“I wish I knew how I was doing it.” She drops the crystal inside her belt pocket without giving much importance to her act.
Doesn’t she realize how wonderful her ability is? Perhaps not. She’s not from Oz. She doesn’t know the powerful crystals were the catalyst of our war.
Kevvan’s nostrils flare as he takes a deep breath. Can he pick up something with his nose that we can’t?
“What is it?” I ask.
“Can’t you smell the fresh breeze that is free of overwhelming flower perfume?”
“No,” Dorothy and I answer in unison.
“Well, it’s coming from that way.”
Dorothy and I follow Kevvan’s line of vision.
“If the flowers in this place are toxic, maybe we should head in the direction this breeze is coming from,” Dorothy says.
“I agree. Lead the way, Kevvan.” I motion with my hand, but the hellioncat seems hesitant.
Dorothy places a hand on his forearm, catching his gaze. “It will be okay, Kevvan. We haven’t heard the winged monkeys in a while. I believe they’re gone.”
Not a second after she utters those words, a loud crash echoes from the main entrance, followed by the sound of guttural babbling noises.
“They’re here.” Kevvan’s eyes widen.
Making the motion for silence with her forefinger, Dorothy grabs Kevvan’s arm and spins in the opposite direction of the noise. As if his senses kick-started, he takes the lead, advancing with long strides down the narrow corridor toward the back of the building. Dorothy and I follow close behind. She has Toto in one hand and her blaster in the other. Reo bounces off the big hellioncat’s back, still out cold. I hope the blast didn’t do irreparable damage to his system.
The glass building is, in fact, a great greenhouse. As we leave the domed-ceiling atrium, we veer into a hallway where several plants and flowers hang from the glass walls. I keep my eyes peeled for any sign of the dangerous scarlet flowers, but it seems there are none. Their absence doesn’t mean there’s no dangerous plant life here. The Razor Forest comes to mind.
Behind us, the winged monkeys wreak havoc at the entrance of the building. My guess is, they haven’t reached the atrium yet. It’s possible they aren’t looking for us after all.
Despite our dangerous situation, I can’t keep my brain from wandering to my blurry memories of that kiss. Does Dorothy remember? If she does, does she regret it? Covertly, I spare a side-glance at her. My eyes drop to her lips, making my skin feel warm. I’m not sure what’s happening to me, but I hope that, whatever it is, Dorothy feels the same.
A loud shriek by one of the winged monkeys, followed by similar responses, makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The cacophony of destruction is also getting closer to us.
Without warning, Kevvan takes off, running faster than Dorothy and I could possibly match. He disappears in the dark hallway, carrying Reo with him.
What now?
22
Dorothy
I can’t believe my eyes when Kevvan takes off like a lunatic and disappears from view. But my shock only lasts a second before I take action. I lock gazes with Darius for a brief moment, and it’s enough to communicate what I’m thinking. Together, we run, the noise of our steps echoing around us. The winged monkeys might hear us, but it’s a risk we must take. We can’t lose Kevvan and Reo in this place.
We reach a bend in the corridor, realizing in that moment that we don’t know which way Kevvan went. The ruckus the winged monkeys are making is not even a concern right now.
“How are we going to find him?” Darius asks.
“Toto will.” I set him down and let him sniff my hand. It should still have Kevvan’s scent from when I touched him. “Go find our friend, Toto.”
The robo-dog only needs to sniff around for a few seconds before he catches Kevvan’s scent and speeds off like a bullet. I try my best to avoid making eye contact with Darius as we both run to keep up with Toto. There’s an underlying tension between us now that has nothing to do with our current predicament.
When I woke up, I didn’t remember right away what had transpired in the poppy field. But slowly, my fuzzy memories returned, and with that came the embarrassment. I’d made out with Darius. It was my first kiss, and I’m sure I behaved like an idiot. It’s possible those damn flowers were responsible for making me act recklessly. Despite the reason, I’m consumed with a sense of guilt. Not because I regret kissing him, but because I enjoyed it too much, and I can’t entertain the idea of letting it happen again.
I have a mission. I spent half of my life being excellent at avoiding distractions. Even when my hormones made me notice the cute boys in my class, I ignored them. Now, I’m finding myself craving another kiss from Darius. And I also can’t seem to stop ogling Kevvan or Reo in an inappropriate manner. What’s wrong with me? Have all those years of avoiding romantic relationships turned me into a deranged woman who can’t control her primal impulses?
Nonsense, Dorothy.
Besides, I have more pressing matters to worry about. Like the tainted crystals I’m not only able to sense but also purify. Why do I have the ability? And what does that mean?
I groan, and belatedly, I realize I did it out loud. Darius moves closer without slowing down.
“What is it?” he asks, his eyes focused on my face with a shadow of worry.
Mortified to have drawn his attention over nothing, I blush, breaking eye contact to make sure I don’t lose Toto.
“Nothing. How far can Kevvan have gone?” I ask.
“The air is getting fresher and cooler. Maybe he’s going for the exit.”
It would make sense that, in his panic mode, his survival instincts took over. I hope Darius is right, but at the same time, we must catch up with Kevvan before he leaves the greenhouse. I don’t know what’s beyond the glass building.
Toto barks several times in an excited manner up ahead.
“He must have found them,” I say, already feeling a little breathless. We haven’t been running for that long, which only means the disease is taking its toll again.
Toto’s happy yapping changes to a snarl just around the corner. With shoulders tense and finger ready to pull the trigger, I turn the bend with Darius next to me. From the corner of my eye, I see he has a small energy ball floating over his palm.
I let out a breath of relief when I don’t find winged monkeys or any other terror that could have sparked Toto’s reaction. He’s grunting because he caught onto a piece of Kevvan’s pants, and h
e’s trying to keep the large hellioncat from running through the small door at the end of the corridor. The image reminds me of an ancient folklore tale of David and the giant Goliath.
“Kevvan, please stop.” I run past him to block his path.
“You don’t understand. I have to escape. If the winged monkeys find me, they’ll take me back to the mines. I can’t go back to the mines.”
“I do understand. But you can’t run away and leave us behind. We need you.”
The crazed glint in Kevvan’s eyes dims a little. It seems my words have managed to break through his haze.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t think.” He drops his gaze to the floor.
“It’s okay. Now that we’re together, let’s keep going. I’ll feel better once we’re back on the yellow road.”
“Reo said we should stay off the road,” Darius chimes in.
“Well, Reo is out for the count, so he can’t complain.”
My reply has a bite I didn’t intend. I’m acting like a bitch for no reason. Here I go again, allowing my lack of social skills to ruin everything. But maybe that’s exactly what I need to do. Without meaning to, I’ve become embroiled in the problems of this planet. I’m caring too much over the fates of Darius, Reo, and Kevvan when I should be thinking about Adrian.
A deafening boom sounds outside, followed by a blinding light. The noise was so sudden that it made me jump where I stood. Kevvan walks backward until he hits a display with several small flowers. The frame jostles, and with the rattle, the flowers seem to wake up. They blossom, and as they open their pink petals, they reveal several rows of small, serrated teeth.
“Kevvan! Get away from those!” I yell but not before one of the flowers bites his arm.
He yells, dropping Reo to the floor as he moves away from the carnivorous plants. To my dismay, the one flower who attacked him is still attached to his forearm. Kevvan yanks the plant from his skin, grunting as the little sucker lacerates his arm open.
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