by Jamie Ott
Just like the day before, the students came in and, one by one, fell to the floor and re received the memories they had lost. Doctor Mandel took them, in groups, into the office just to the side of the Great Hall. He put spells on them, and then they went for breakfast and to class.
The students looked even more dazed and confused than the day prior, as the constant enchanting and disenchanting seemed to be wearing them thin, even though they didn’t realize they’d been tampered.
That day, Lin told them to do more of the same, which was read for each class. Funnily enough, none of them remembered that they’d done the exact same the day before. This made her feel extremely guilty. She just hoped that by the time they were ready to make their escape, their brains weren’t completely addled.
After everyone left the grounds, they had a meeting just as Ms. Crackwell said.
“We got it,” she said. “It was way easier than either of us imagined. I think we might just make it, after all. All we had to do was rewrite a simple child’s rhyme!”
“That’s great!” Lin exclaimed.
“What’s the plan?” asked Professor Riley.
“Tomorrow, when everyone crosses the threshold, we let them recuperate from the exhaustion they’re feeling, no doubt, from being worked over with magic repeatedly. Once they are feeling better, we all go from business to business, home to home, school to school, and demand an urgent town meeting. We’ll say anything; we just need to get them to cross the school threshold. Once they do, they get their memories back. We explain that we’ve found the way home, and we make a run for it.”
They all stared at her in silence. Finally, Milton spoke up. “Shouldn’t we figure out something a little more covert; something less dangerous?”
“If you can, let me know, but this is the best that we’ve got. We can control the so called shadows, but we can’t make them. They’re only visible to us when on the mountain. Now, we could try slowly spreading out our return home, but the thing is the shadows, even inside the metal boxes, won’t last more than a few weeks. Eventually, they, too, must die. Given our position on Avalon, and considering the fog that makes the mists visible to us, well, we might not get another chance at escape for quite some time. It won’t take long for Golshem to be onto us, and that is why it’s simply best that we make a run for it, now!”
“I agree,” said Lin. “I don’t like it, but remember, the fairies have only given us two days.”
“Okay,” said Ms. Riley. “Let’s eat and rest up. Tomorrow is going to be one hell of a day.”