by Mary Ting
I don’t know how long we’d walked, but my legs started to ache, and they hardly ever ached. I knew Sky’s were hurting, too, by the way she was walking, even stumbling a couple of times. I didn’t mind catching her fall, though; it was a good excuse to hold her close to me.
“You okay?” I asked.
Sky nodded with that sweet, angelic smile that I loved to see. It always caused desire to explode within me. She was a good sport and never complained, unlike Amanda. Figuring that it was a perfect opportunity to speak, I purposely made us lag behind.
“I found your gifts today. Actually, someone placed them on my bed.” I swung our arms as we walked hand in hand. My smile was so big; I probably looked like a lovesick fool. It was true...I loved Sky, this I knew for sure. It was one thing that was holding me together. She was helping me wake up from the dead.
“It was Nick,” she giggled. “Do you like them?”
I smiled again, not from her words, but from the sound of her laughter. She made the cutest sounds when she was happy, not to mention the other sounds I loved to hear whimpering out of her sweet lips, like when I was purposely inflicting my light on her.
“Of course, I do. Thank you. I will always treasure anything you give me.” Swiftly stopping, I turned around and kissed her. It was just going to be a little peck, but I lost it when our lips touched. She tasted like blueberry muffins; guess I know what she must have had for breakfast.
Eyes closed, Skylar pulled back, opening them slowly as if coming out of a daze. Her chest rose and fell quickly; she was enjoying my kiss way too much. “You need to stop. I’m going to want more.” It was a good thing she made us stop. I had forgotten where we were.
After walking for a few hours, we couldn’t see the path in front of us. Zara started to dimly glow, but it wasn’t from her body—like how I would do it—it came from the stone she held in the palm of her hand. The blue light intensified, giving us enough light to see our path, so I decided not to light up myself. I realized Nick was thinking the same thing when he looked at me, shrugged his shoulders, and just kept walking. He was dimly lit, but had quickly shut it off.
“We can take a rest here,” Victor said, looking overcome and tired. “It seems safe enough, don’t you think, Zara?”
Zara glanced around at the surroundings, then looked at her stones. “I think so. I don’t feel any negative energy.”
There was something about her tone of voice that betrayed her words, but I brushed if off. After all, I had no idea what she did with those stones or what they meant.
“I think this is a good open space,” Amanda added. “There are no bushes here,” she glanced around, “just trees, dead grass, and dirt.”
Victor put his backpack down and took out a bottle of water. Everyone else did the same.
Taking out a bottle of water, I handed it to Sky and she gulped half of it down. I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t help it. She could even make drinking water look sexy, and that made me even thirstier. After I drank some, too, I gazed around to see where Nick and Amanda were.
Suddenly, something caught the corner of my eye, and I turned away from Sky. Tiny bubbles of water hovered in the air in front of us. They looked like bubbles, so I zapped one with a small bolt and it popped.
I knew it was Sky’s little joke by the sly, yet innocent smile and her giggling, not to mention a few more bubbles were now coming out of her water bottle. It was amazing to see this transformation, yet she was handling it better than I would have. Perhaps it was the fact that she was getting used to the paranormal life, and she had support around her.
I closed the bottle and handed it to her, just in case she wanted more. Apparently she wasn’t thirsty, but still wanted to be playful. With a shake of my head, I mouthed, “No, no, no.” After planting a kiss on her forehead, I put the bottle back into the backpack.
To my surprise, I saw more water bubbles, so I poked one with my finger. It wasn’t the reaction that I got last time. My finger went right through it, and it retained its form even when I removed my finger. I even used my bolt, but nothing happened.
Turning at the sound of laughter, I saw that water bubbles surrounded us, multiplying by the second. I glanced at Noah and Tim—the two that I thought were behind this—but when they seemed fascinated by it, I knew they had nothing to do with it, especially since their water bottles were closed. The only other person I thought could do this was Sky, but she appeared worried instead of amused.
“Mason, I’m not doing this. I don’t think it’s from one of us,” she said under her breath. Her eyes were wide and frightened, glued to the bubbles dancing in front of her.
Nick, being Nick, cast out electricity through his finger; it also went right through them, just as it had for me…and again, nothing happened. Seeming puzzled, he poked his fingers through one…still nothing.
Colin and Sarah swung their swords while Aaron tried to scorch them with his light, but still nothing. We were in deep trouble if none of our powers had any effect on them.
Worried, I turned to Zara. The stone in the palm of her hand had completely changed to red, unless she had a different stone. I was almost certain it was blue when I saw it give off light earlier. With her eyes locked on the stone, she didn’t move or speak. I was waiting for her guidance when suddenly, Zara jerked back.
“Don’t let them open in front of you. Swat them away,” she said quickly. “It’s a sleeping spell. Hurry, come behind me.”
“What the hell?” I grabbed Sky and made sure Nick and Amada were right behind me.
The bubbles started growing bigger, but that wasn’t our only problem. Something was grabbing me, wrapping around my ankle. It happened so fast that by the time I realized they were the roots from the trees, I was imprisoned against its trunk.
When the initial shock wore off and I managed to snap out of it, I searched for Sky. Everyone else was tied except for Zara, who looked utterly stunned. Baffled, she ran to Victor and tried to help him get loose. The grip on me was too strong, and everything I tried had no effect. Even my light bounced right back at me. I stopped when I felt the pain from my own shock. Damn it!
“Sky, you okay?” She was tied to the tree next to me.
“I’m fine, Mason. How are we going to get out of this?”
There was panic in her voice. I had to do something.
“Can’t you get us out, Zara?” Nick hollered. The roots had completely wrapped him up. He couldn’t move any part of his body, just like the rest of us, but Nick wouldn’t stay still. He kept squirming, cussing, and lighting up, but it wasn’t working.
“What you said was true,” Colin shouted.
“We’re going to be swallowed up!” Amanda shrieked.
“Don’t waste your energy. Get a hold of yourself,” Sarah said to Amanda, who was tied up next to her.
“We’re going to die!” Amanda bawled.
I tried to think of a plan to get us out, but I ran out of time. Plus, Amanda’s cries weren’t helping me either. The bubbles—which were now the size of bowling balls—began to pop. At first, it looked like white vapor swarming around in front of me, before it wafted straight for my face. The next thing I saw was a blurry vision of Sky. As I fought the urge to sleep, I had no choice but to submit, and my last thoughts were of Sky. I hoped I would still find her there when this wore off.
Something was happening to everyone except Zara and me…and something was also happening to the necklace my dad had given me. It felt warm underneath my shirt where it was hidden, as per my dad’s instruction. I assumed this was the reason why I was the only one not asleep, besides Zara. Apparently, it did protect me from the spells.
Although I was still tied up, I could see that everyone else had their eyes closed; hopefully they had just fallen asleep and nothing else was happening to them. I maintained my calmness when I saw Mason’s chest rise and fall. At least he was breathing, as was everyone else, as far as I could see. Images of them waking up as vultures crossed my mind.
&nb
sp; What puzzled me the most was that I was still awake and Zara was standing with her back against me. I snapped my eyes shut when Zara swung around. When I thought it was safe, I slowly peeled my eyes open just enough to observe her. She appeared to be talking to someone, but there was no one there.
“I will bring the girl. You have my word.”
Pause
“I will find a way to get rid of the others.”
Pause
“It won’t be easy, but he trusts me, so it won’t be a problem.”
Pause
“The water bubbles worked. How long will they last?”
Pause
“We’ll be on our way as soon as they wake up.”
I shut my eyes again when Zara turned around. The roots started to unravel and gently placed me down in a sitting position, along with everyone else. All I wanted to do was tell everyone what had happened, but my dad and his people trusted Zara. They had a history together, a bond that couldn’t be broken merely by my words. I would look like a fool, so I decided to keep a close eye on her instead.
Sitting there without moving a muscle, I waited to see what Zara would do. She ran to my dad, helping him up just as Mason ran to me.
“Sky, wake up.” Mason was bent down, caressing my face.
I opened my eyes and gave him a small smile, trying to hide what I desperately wanted to tell him. When I had the chance to talk to him privately, I would. Mason smiled back and pulled me up. With a sigh of relief, he held me tightly. “Are you feeling any different?”
“No, just a little sleepy.” I had no idea what to say, but knowing it was some kind of sleeping spell, I said the first thought that popped in my head. My attention was turned to loud voices.
“What the hell happened?” Nick looked like he was ready to punch someone. Standing up, he dusted off his shirt.
“Get off me.” Amanda pushed and pulled the remaining roots off her, grimacing and looking extremely annoyed.
It was clearly evident how much influence Zara had over her people. Mason’s family was blunt, spoke their minds, but the others were compliant and hardly complained.
“What happened?” my dad asked Zara. Their people were standing next to him, as was Amanda. Noah and Amanda seemed to have a sparkling connection every time I saw them together.
“It was a sleeping spell,” Zara replied. “Hurry, we must go before nightfall. We need to get out of the Night Forest. That was a warning.”
Warning from whom? I wanted to ask, but when no one questioned her, I decided not to as well. I didn’t want to give her any indication that I had doubts.
Zara’s words were final; we picked up our bags and followed her. After about a mile, we were finally out of the forest. My lungs immediately expanded, as I took in the cool, fresh air. The sudden icy wind stung my body, so I zipped up the jacket I was wearing.
“The journey through the Night Forest wasn’t as bad as you thought.” Zara looked at each of us. “We were a little tied up, but no slicing bodies or getting eaten up by a tree.” She let out a soft snort and looked at Amanda, who sleepily shrugged her shoulders. “Our real test will be when we get inside Mt. Hem. I have no idea what will await us.” Zara’s cape swirled as it gathered closer to her body. “It’s getting cold. Let’s try to cross the bridge in one piece.”
Mason wrapped his arms around me as we headed for a bridge. Thank God, it wasn’t like the collapsing bridge I was on last time. Although this one was very sturdy, I didn’t understand how it was built, especially since it extended for quite some distance. One thing that gave me an eerie feeling was the water that flowed underneath it. There was nothing wrong with it…it was the fact that I knew it could be manipulated in a dangerous way. Mason, who must have seen the look on my face, squeezed my hand to let me know that everything was going to be fine.
When we crossed the bridge, my body relaxed and so did my frenzied heart, but when I saw the trail, I gulped in terror.
“Seriously? Again?” Amanda looked like she’d had enough. The stairs were narrow and there was nothing to grip for support. Not only that, the stairs were not ordinary ones; the position of them was uneven, and some were barely big enough to place a foot and nothing else.
“This is it,” Zara said, enthusiastically. I think she was the only one that was excited, and I wondered what her real motive was. “These stairs will lead us to the entrance.”
“Oh joy,” Amanda murmured under her breath. She followed behind my dad’s people and Noah climbed after her.
Nick blocked Mason from moving with his hand. “Everett better be alive and be there, or I’m going to lose control with Zara.” Nick’s words might have been for only Mason to hear, but I heard them, too. I felt his anger deep down to my core. I could understand. For Mason’s family, and mine, this journey was all about finding Everett.
Mason placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder in an effort to reassure him, but it did no good. “He’s alive. You can sense him, can’t you?”
“Yes. But I won’t believe it until I see him.”
“Then let’s go. Let’s bring him home.” Mason’s words gave Nick something to hold on to, I could tell by the look in his eyes.
Nodding, Nick trudged forward. Mason grabbed my hand and took a step, then turned to me. “One step at a time. We go slow. Don’t look down, just look at my back and take deep breathes.”
After I nodded, Mason climbed higher, with one of his hands gliding across the rocky mountain surface, the other gripped tightly on mine. Thank goodness, the breeze was soft and not harsh, but it was still difficult to breathe. The altitude and being deathly afraid of heights was a bad combination.
There were a couple of close calls when Aaron and Sarah almost fell, but everything else considered, it was going okay. I didn’t know how long we’d been on the dreadful stairs, but at that point, I wished I had stronger muscles in my thighs; they were burning, aching to no bounds. Without any rest, we were exhausted and thirsty.
“We’re almost there,” Zara said, then she disappeared.
Mason kicked up his leg first, swung around, and lifted me up to another level. It was nothing except dirt and pebbled ground, but looking straight ahead was an entrance—just as I thought it would be—dark and gloomy.
“Let’s rest up here and camp overnight,” Zara directed, pointing to higher ground by the trees and bushes. “We’ll be safe here for the night.”
I didn’t know about Zara, but it didn’t look like a safe place to me, especially when we were not too far from the cave entrance. Who knew what was lurking about? Nick and Noah hustled around, picking up broken branches. After they laid them down, Aaron used his powers and started a small campfire. Huddling around it for warmth, we all settled ourselves as comfortably as we could. Luckily, Mason snuggling behind me gave me extra body heat.
Looking up, the only thing I could see against the dark blanket of the sky was the pale moon. Somehow without the sparkling stars, it made the night eerier, but the fire gave us warmth. The coldness was less noticeable compared to when we were hiking to reach this point, and the breeze was still, making it bearable.
“Here,” my dad said, handing me a granola bar. “You must be hungry.”
“Thanks,” I replied, feeling uncomfortable because he didn’t hand one to anyone else. He was just being a dad, taking care of his daughter. A part of my heart softened when I took it, though I didn’t mean to; it was a natural reflex. Everyone else started to take things out of their bags, too. I guess they were waiting for the green light to eat.
“You can sleep on me like this if you want. I’ll keep you safe and warm.” Mason pulled my hair away from my face and kissed my cheek. He also handed me my water bottle and a bag of mixed trail nuts with dried fruits. Under normal circumstances I would have passed, but I was starving. Along with those items, we had power bars that were easy to eat, compared to the beans and bread we’d had last time we went camping.
I nestled into his hold with a smile. “I will t
ake you up on your offer.”
“I’m not sleeping,” Sarah said, taking the last bite of whatever she was eating. She sat furthest from the fire. “This isn’t time to have fun. We’re not camping.” She wiggled her index and middle fingers together to quote her words.
“Neither am I. I’ll keep watch.” Colin walked closer to the cave, but kept a safe distance from it. He turned his back to us after a quick glance.
“I’ll help Colin.” Sarah got up and sat next to him.
“There’s nothing to fear,” Zara said, standing before us with my dad. “We are safe here. It’s when we enter the cave that I’m worried about.” Her smile was sweet and genuine. I could almost believe her, but not after what I’d seen at the Night Forest.
From the corner of my eye, I could see my dad’s eyes flickering to Mason, to me, then away several times. I wondered if he felt uncomfortable by the way Mason was holding me, taking care of me. If the circumstances were different, I wouldn’t be showing this much affection toward Mason in front of him, but my dad had no right to judge, no right to say anything about whom I dated…still, a part of me wondered if he approved.
Sky didn’t know I was giving her heat from my body. I could do it just enough so that no one would notice. She was shivering so much that I had no choice. I needed to make her comfortable, to make her feel safe.
I needed to focus on Sky right now. Everett being gone was driving me insane; I didn’t want to add the worry to my family, so I kept it to myself. Nick and Amanda would space out at times, and I had an idea what was on their minds. They were closer to Everett than I was, so I could only imagine the agony they were feeling.
So far, the road to our destination wasn’t as bad as I’d thought it would be. If only it would be like that where we were headed. My gut feeling told me Everett was alive, but what condition we would find him in was the question.
Before Sky fell asleep in my arms, we moved next to the tree so I could use it for back support. I wasn’t planning on sleeping, but I felt my eyes close and knew I dozed off several times, yet it didn’t amount to nearly enough sleep. Amanda parked her body close to me, and wherever Amanda was, Noah followed. I was more than happy to know Noah took an interest in Amanda. Not that I felt like there was ever a competition between us, but I didn’t like any guys going after my girl.