by Lola StVil
He’s already on it, typing the coordinates into a laptop he set up in the lab.
“It’s in Madagascar,” he says.
“Where exactly, Pest? We only have five minutes, so the portal needs to open as close as possible.”
Sadie moves to stand next to Pest, and she peers over his shoulder.
“Got it,” she says.
She raises her hands.
“Sadie? What are you doing?” I ask.
“I wanted to come to the Land of Lost Souls with you, but I understand why you don’t want that. But I need to help somehow. I can’t just stand back and let you do it all. Please, just let me do this for you.”
I shrug. It doesn’t really matter who opens the portal, and I don’t have the time to waste arguing with her.
“Go ahead,” I say.
She smiles gratefully and opens the portal. I go to her side and peer into it. I swallow loudly.
“Okay, guys; let’s go,” I say.
Saudia and then Langston step through.
“Marty. You next. Step through the portal,” I command.
His eyes beg me to reconsider, but I meet them with a steely glare, and he is compelled to do as I say. He steps through, followed by Regal and Carla, Rachel, and finally, Perry.
“Bring him home,” Sadie says as I step through and the portal closes behind me.
We stand in a lush, tropical paradise of greenery, trees, and exotic flowers. Opposite us, a large black gate looms from the jungle, looking so out of place it’s like it’s just been dropped there.
It would be impossible to miss it from this distance, and I wonder how many people have seen the gate and tried to enter it with no idea what lies behind it. I don’t think many will have gotten that close unless they were seeking out the Land of Lost Souls.
The gate has a foreboding presence, and I can feel despair flowing from it in waves as I walk towards it. Anyone who stumbled across this by accident would have turned and run as far and as fast as they could. I almost want to do that myself, but I resist the urge and force myself to walk up to the gate.
I glance at my team on either side of me, and knowing they’re with me on this gives me the strength I need to power through the despair and reach the gate. It’s only when I draw level with it that I realize I have no idea what happens next. Do we knock? Just walk in?
Langston isn’t waiting around to find out. She reaches out and pushes the gate, and it swings open. She goes in without looking back.
“Marty, follow me until I say otherwise,” I say as I follow her.
The gate opens into a tight, tree-lined path. The trees are so closely packed I can’t see through them at all. The branches meet overhead, casting us into darkness. A few small shafts of light break through, enough that we can see to walk. The ground is gray concrete.
The feeling of hopelessness from outside of the gate is more intense here, yet I know I’m one step closer to Kane, and that knowledge gives me a happiness that’s stronger than the hopelessness around us. I hope the rest of the team all have something equally strong they can cling to so they don’t succumb to the feeling.
We walk in a silence that is broken only by Marty’s panicked breathing. There are no birds calling to each other, no hoots or screeches, none of the noise you would expect to hear amongst trees. Even the slight cold breeze that blows down the tunnel doesn’t make the leaves rustle. It’s disorientating, like the trees are just props and not real trees at all. Once I think the thought, I can’t get that idea out of my head, and I’m almost waiting for the trees to change into something far more ominous as we walk through them.
I walk next to Langston at the front of the procession, and up ahead, I see the tunnel widening. I quicken my pace and reach the wider part. I step forward, and I’m in a clearing. Opposite me is a door.
This door is guarded by five hooded, faceless figures. The brown hoods cover their heads and sweep down their bodies, covering them right to their feet. The sleeves hang below any hands they might have. All that is visible is the smooth skin where their faces should be.
One of the hooded figures steps forward and meets us halfway across the clearing. Marty’s breathing is almost at the hyperventilation stage now.
“One of you comes not of your own free will,” the hooded figure says. “How does such a thing occur?”
I’m shocked that he can speak so clearly, that he can speak at all really, with no mouth. Rather than hearing his voice, it seems as though I can feel it like he’s communicating without words and my brain is translating it into a medium I can understand.
“He is under my command,” I say. “He is a gift from Marianna.”
“Ah,” the hooded figure says. “I have been expecting such a soul. Let the one not here of their own free will step forward.”
“Marty, step forward,” I say.
“He is no longer under your command,” the hooded figure explains.
Marty registers his words, and I hear a scuffle. I turn. Marty has tried to make a break for freedom and go back the way we came, but the team has closed in around him. Regal reaches out and pushes Marty forward.
He stumbles and lands on his knees in front of the hooded guard.
“Stand,” the hooded figure commands.
Marty drags himself to his feet and stands as the hooded figure commanded. I can see him shaking. The other four figures step forward to join their master. They quickly arrange themselves so that Marty is flanked on both sides, and the front and back of him. The ones at either side reach out and grasp his arms.
His muteness falls away, and a scream of fear and agony rips free from his throat.
“Ahhh. Get off me, get off. It burns. Please. Ahhh. Somebody, please help me. I’m begging you. Ahhh.”
The hooded figures release his arms and he pants, getting himself back under control. He looks over his shoulder and meets my eye.
“You absolute bitch,” he hisses. “How can you do this? What sort of a monster are you? You sat there trying to convince yourself this was the lesser of two evils. Well, it wasn’t. My only crime was not wanting a kid to die. My kid! I raised her! I want you to think of that for every minute of the rest of your life.”
His words hit home, and I feel all of my resolve, all of my certainty that this was the right thing to do, melt away. Would I have been so quick to condemn him if he could have begged for his life sooner? I don’t know, but I know I have to help him.
I automatically step toward the four figures who surround him, but the leader steps into my path before I am even close.
“Don’t even think about it, girl. We are beyond pain and beyond death. You will not stop us in the conventional way. But there is one thing you can do to save this man.”
I weigh my options. I handed Marty over to them. That means my deal with Marianna is fulfilled. Marty now belongs to the hooded guards to do whatever they like to him. So, if I can save him now, then Perry and Kane won’t be killed.
“What is it?” I ask.
“We were promised a soul from Marianna. A soul who rightfully shouldn’t be here. A toy to amuse ourselves with. And now we have it. But we don’t care who the soul belongs to. If you want to save this man, you have two choices. You can make the ultimate sacrifice and take his place, or you can find someone else who will volunteer to take his place. A willing victim. Someone who understands the consequences of their decision and yet makes it anyway. Is there such a person among you?”
“I—” I start, ready to rage at the unfairness of it all.
I am cut off when a voice speaks up from behind me.
“Yes. I am that person.”
My stomach falls away from me as I recognize the voice. I spin around and see Sadie.
I hear the hooded figure step forward behind me, getting closer to Sadie and me. I spin back to look at him as I plead.
“No. Wait. Please,” I say.
“Five minutes,” he says. “If no decision is reached, I shall take them both.”
Marty snorts. “You soon stopped wanting to help me when one of your own stepped up,” he says.
“Hey, listen here,” Langston snaps. “I get why you’re pissed off, but she didn’t do this to you. Marianna did. And you have no fucking idea what’s going on here or why it’s bigger than you, me, and all of the rest of us. So give her a break, or there’ll be nothing left of you to hand over.”
“You’re feisty when you want to be,” Rachel says to her.
“You have no idea,” Perry adds.
“Sure I do. She must need to be on her toes all of the time to keep you in line. Seriously, girl, how do you deal with him?”
“You realize he’s like a male version of you, right?” Regal says.
I realize I’m wasting the time I’ve been given, concentrating on the team because the conversation I’m about to have with Sadie is going to hurt too much. I force myself to turn back to Sadie, and I go to her, taking her hands in mine.
“Sadie, please don’t do this. I know you hate me for what I’m doing, and you’ve made your point, okay?”
I can hear the panic and despair in my own voice, and it hits me then. Yes, I’m angry at Sadie, but I will always love her more than I hate what she’s done. She smiles at me, a genuine smile filled with love. Tears shine in her eyes as she gently disentangles one of her hands from mine and reaches out to me and gently strokes my cheek.
“Oh Atlas, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. You are the daughter I wish I had and nothing can ever change that.”
“So what are you doing then?” I ask, confused.
“I am here to take Marty’s place, but not as a punishment for you. Atlas, I can’t bear the thought of an innocent being tortured because of something you had to do preying on you for the rest of your life.”
“How will this be different?” I ask. “You’re innocent, and you’ll be tortured because of me. I’ll be responsible for Kane losing his mom all over again.”
“This is different because I’m not being condemned on your orders. This is a sacrifice born of love. And Kane will understand. Wait until you are back at the loft, and then explain it to him. And tell him I love him always.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” I admit.
Sadie smiles. “Say thank you, because you’re not going to talk me out of this, and I would rather our last conversation be a happy one.”
I let it go. All of the anger, all of the disappointment, everything. I throw myself into Sadie’s arms.
“Thank you,” I say. “I love you, Sadie. I had a mom, a perfect one, but you’ve been a damn close second.”
She squeezes me tightly and then steps back from me. She gives me another teary smile and then turns to the hooded figures.
“Take me. Let him go,” she says, her voice hard now.
The master guard nods to the others. They step away from Marty.
“Leave,” the hooded guard orders him.
He doesn’t need telling twice. He spins and runs back down the tunnel towards his freedom.
“Well, he could have said goodbye,” Rachel mutters.
The hooded figures turn their attention to Sadie. The four who surrounded Marty now surround her. They reach out and grab her and begin to march her towards the door, the master guard bringing up the rear.
My scream of anguish mixes with Sadie’s scream of agony. The guards don’t look back. They march Sadie through the door, and it slams shut behind them. I fall to my knees.
“Sadieeeeeeee,” I scream. “Sadieeeee. Come back to us. Please, come back.”
My screams taper off to a helpless whimper, which becomes a sob. I put my hands over my face, and I let myself cry. I feel warm arms engulf me.
“It’s going to be okay, Atlas,” Regal whispers into my hair.
No, it’s not. How can he say that?
“We’re going to find Kane, and we’re going to get the hell out of here,” he says.
“We can’t just leave Sadie behind,” I say, pulling back from his embrace a little.
“We have to, Atlas. It’s the only way. Don’t make her sacrifice be for nothing.”
I picture Kane in my mind. His smiling face, his beautiful eyes. The way he looks at me, the way he kisses me, the way he holds me like he never wants to let go.
I give the smallest of nods and push myself up onto my feet. I sniffle and try to wipe the tears from my face.
“I guess we go through there,” I say.
Langston shakes her head.
“First, you fix your face,” she says.
“Are you kidding me? You think now is the time to worry about my make-up?”
Langston smiles.
“No, I’m not that shallow, Atlas. I care about what I look like, but if you’re happy to look a mess, that’s up to you. No judgment. This isn’t about looking pretty. It’s about Kane not seeing you like this and knowing something is wrong. Sadie told you not to tell him about her until you’re back at the loft. If he works it out before we leave this place, then his desolation might become real, and he might be stuck here forever,” she says.
I know she’s right, and I take the compact mirror she offers me. I rub at my cheeks, trying to shift the black streak marks. Langston rolls her eyes and takes the compact back, snapping it shut. She pulls out a tube and squeezes foundation onto her fingers. She begins to apply it to my face. She pulls out more tubes and pots and lipsticks of various colors. She works on me for a few minutes and then she steps back and nods her approval.
“There,” she says.
She lets me look in the mirror again, and I have to admit she’s good. No one would ever know I just came within an inch of having a full on breakdown on the ground not five minutes ago.
“Thanks,” I say, handing the compact back to her.
I walk to the door before I can change my mind and let the utter hopelessness of losing Sadie engulf me once more. I push it open and step through. Before us lies a vast, gray-tinged wasteland. Dark clouds litter the sky, and although the wind howls, they stay firmly in one spot.
The ground is arid and cracked, and the only plant life is a couple of sad trees with their branches dead looking and totally bare of leaves. A few people mill around, each of them looking lost and hopeless, their mouths downturned, their eyes not really seeing anything. They wander in circles or back and forth with no destination in mind.
They are dressed in gray rags, and even their skin looks gray. I gasp as I see the team dressed in similar gray rags. I look down and find myself wearing the same rags.
The Pearl potion!
I frantically pat at myself, and I feel it there. It occurs to me that I can still feel my jeans against my legs, and I run my hands over them and then up and over my T-shirt. The rags are an illusion.
“Which way?” Carla says.
I shrug. Kane could be anywhere.
“Shame there isn’t a neon arrow saying Kane is here,” Rachel says. “And a bar. There should be a bar.”
“Yeah, I could use a drink right about now,” Carla agrees.
“Atlas, you know Kane better than any of us. Think like him. Where would he go?” Saudia says.
I think about it.
“He must know there’s a chance we’d find a way in here. And he doesn’t want to be found, so he’d get as far away from the door as he could. He would try to find somewhere that wasn’t in the open like this so we couldn’t easily spot him.”
I squint, studying the landscape more carefully this time. I spot what looks like a dip in the ground over to the right.
“That way,” I say with sudden certainty. “There’s a valley or something. He’ll figure that will be the toughest route as we’ll have to find a way to cross it. I’m sure I’m right, but keep your eyes peeled. Check everyone’s faces and look for anything that suggests Kane might have been by.”
We begin walking. It doesn’t feel like the valley is getting any closer, but I don’t want to say it out loud. I don’t want the
team to doubt me, even as I doubt myself.
Come on, Kane; give me a fucking sign or something.
It is starting to feel like we’ve been walking forever. I am tormented by Sadie’s screams of pain echoing through my skull. My mind decides that’s not quite enough to break me completely, and Sadie’s face changes, her voice deepens, and her face is replaced with Kane’s face. Twisted in agony, his screams sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before.
Relax, I tell myself. He’s strong, stronger than anyone I know. They can’t hurt him here, can’t torture him. He’ll be just fine.
There seems to be more people wandering around in this section of the land, and I start to think I’ve made the wrong choice. Kane would choose somewhere as unpopulated as he could find. That notion solidifies the idea that I’m actually going the right way. Kane would choose somewhere unpopulated, and he knows I would know that, so he’s chosen the opposite to it.
I feel myself smile.
“What have you possibly got to be happy about here?” Saudia whispers.
“I just realized we’re definitely going the right way. We’re going to find him, Saudia. And we’re going to get out of here. I asked Kane for a sign, and he’s delivered.”
She gives me a sideways look like she thinks I might be losing it, but I am suddenly deliriously happy. I recognize the feeling. It’s something I thought I had lost: hope.
Suddenly, there’s a bright flash of light, and I hear a soft whumping sound fill the air, like the wings of a thousand birds flying as one flock. I glance above me and the air is full, but the creatures there aren’t birds. They’re fairies.
They look like real children’s book fairies, like a thousand little Tinkerbells flying around us. I laugh with delight. I can’t help it.
The others have spotted them, and they too look up to the skies with delighted expressions. Carla holds out her hand, and one of the tiny creatures flutters down and sits on her hand, smiling up at her.
I realize all of the gray-clad figures are fleeing away from us. Does the good of the fairies remind them of their own sorry states?
A fairy lowers herself to my eye line and hovers there in front of my face. She smiles eagerly at me, and I smile back. She nods at me, prompting me to do something, but I don’t know what. She doesn’t leave. She just floats there, her beautiful golden wings flapping so fast they become a blur.