Everburn

The chief spread a small brown map on the table, and with a red marker, he drew a line as he spoke. "The Pathfinder will lead you here," he drew a small circle around what looked like a cluster of trees. Also, it seems the guiding light is called a Pathfinder. He continued, "You will wait till evening twilight. Only then can Pathfinder see the road to Everburn." "Everburn?" I asked. "That sounds... hot." "It is," he bobbed his head and drew a larger circle at the end of the map. "But that's where the glasses are." "What are we to do about the guardian?" May questioned with furrowed brows as she stared at the map. "It's a water beast, so it can protect itself from the fire." "But its protective shield creates a thick, never-ending steam fog. It'll be hot, but it will reduce visibility and keep us hidden," Purple eyes spoke. I shook my head. "Hold up, Chief, I thought you didn't know what its guardian was?? Also, us? What do you mean by 'us'?" I wearily eyed him. "You're not coming along, are you?" I turned to the Chief. "Is he?" The Chief tapped his chin. "Okay, firstly, I never said I didn't know what its guardian was," he frowned thoughtfully. "As a matter of fact, you never even asked." He grinned. "Secondly, he will be going along." What? Why the heck would he make us take a kid on what could be a very dangerous mission? Will I have to watch out for my neck and his? No way! "Why should he? He'll only be a burden," I resisted. "Hehe, I assure you he won't. As a matter of fact, he is to make sure you both return safely." "H-him? A little doll like him? Are you kidding me?" My mouth ran like tap water. "Pfft, hahaha, she's looking down on you, Ares. Won't you say anything?" Ares was expressionless as he stared at me. I shrunk my neck a bit. Yet, I couldn't back down. There was no way I would allow him to come with us. The whole journey would just be painfully awkward for me. And I do not need any more distractions. My parents need to be found, and they need to be found quickly. These past few weeks have been nothing but freaky and just weird. I need my mom and dad! So I raised my eyes to meet his gaze. One would think I was confronting some demon and not a barely ten-year-old kid. May interrupted our stare-down. "Enough, you both. We need to move along. The road to Everburn is only visible at nighttime, and we're wasting daylight here." "I am not going if he is!" I flinched. The Chief's face did not change as he sipped his tea lazily. "Then it seems we've wasted our time. You can return to your hut," his eyes narrowed. "Cross your pretty fingers and hope your parents return for you." My eyes widened. "You can't do this. You promised you would help me find them." "I did, didn't I?" he remained unmoving. I took a deep breath. I do need their help. But how I wish I could just storm out of here with the confidence of finding my parents without their assistance. I clenched my fist. And unclenched it. "You said the kid can help, how?" The Chief smiled meaningfully. "Now you're talking, but it would be better for you if you kept your temper tantrums to the barest minimum, darling." I pulled at the bird on my charm bracelet. Its pointed beak poked my thumb till it hurt. However, the pain distracted my anger. I smiled. "I'll try." Back to now. I turned away from the glowing pair of eyes to look at May. On her shoulder lay the small Pathfinder, sleeping. "Let's set up a little camp and have dinner," May dropped her backpack on the ground. "Once we start on the road to Everburn, I'm not sure when we can eat again." "Could you call him?" she nodded towards Ares as she handed me a tin foil. My mouth watered at the aroma of meat and bread, and then I processed what she said. I glowered at her. "Why? Don't you have a mouth?" She paused and rolled her eyes. "He clearly doesn't like me, and you two seemed close... I mean, he has been staring at you the entire trip here." "That just shows that he's a creepy little kid, and he can starve for all I care," I bit into my sandwich forcefully and stalked away. As always, the pair of violet eyes followed my movement. There was no doubt that he heard what I said, but he didn't react or move to take his food. I didn't care either way, but I glanced at the last sandwich. If he doesn't eat that in two minutes, then I will! I squeezed the tin foil before tossing it into a shrub. My eyelids were getting heavy. I burped into my fist; it was probably the turkey... May was already lying on the ground. She had found a spot and piled a few dried leaves together. "Are you going to sleep?" I asked because I wasn't sure we could fall asleep. What if the path appears and we miss it? She turned to look at me. "There's still about two hours or so before the path appears. I think we can catch a little shut-eye." "Oh, good," I sighed, but then I looked around. "Is it safe?" "Of course not," her tone was light and teasing. "There are bugs that could kill, murderous magical beasts, and don't get me started on the snakes." I rolled my eyes at her dramatics. "Don't worry. I'll watch over you." I turned to Ares. "You?" I held back a scoff. I'll just ignore him. He's a weirdo, alright, but he better be able to do what the Chief said he could, or else! I lay down with my hand under my head as a pillow. I tried not to sleep. Although May was clearly teasing, I didn't want to risk being bitten by any death bug or snake! I didn't even tell Sue and Jerry that I was leaving! I wanted to, but I was worried they would want to come along. Sue can barely get out of bed from being weak, and Jerry has been behaving like a ravenous beast. He's listless and out of it until he eats, and when he does, he eats nearly twice his weight! I know this place is affecting them. Affecting us all. I can feel something burning inside me. I could easily suppress my anger under a mask of sarcasm, but now I blow up at the slightest provocation! I sighed and subconsciously tugged at my bracelet. The one thing that has kept me grounded. I sighed and felt my eyes slowly close. I tried and failed to stifle a yawn. Maybe I should take a little nap after all. I felt myself being shaken. My body rocked back and forth. Dull sounds drifted into my ear. Someone was calling me. I struggled to bring myself out of sleep's sweet embrace. "Wake up, sleepy head," the voice was clearer. I thought it was May, but opening my eyes, I saw a glowing white light that made me squint. It was Pathfinder. I sighed and shut my eyes. "I see you're all charged up." The tiny floating creature giggled. "Mhm, let's go. It's nearly time." The path to Everburn... well, we couldn't see it. But Pathfinder could. Apparently, it was a shimmering path that gave off a milky scent. All I could see was dried grass and fallen leaves, and the only scent in the air was animal doodoo. Ares walked ahead, May next, while I followed behind. Although walking at the very back freaked me out, I didn't want to be close to Ares. Now that I was no longer mad, I was back to being creeped out by his violet-purple eyes. We walked for nearly an hour before it started getting hot. I wiped off the sweat from my face with the back of my sleeve and tried to cool myself off with a big leaf I had pulled off a tree. It didn't cool me much, and waving it made my hands hurt... but as they say, 'it's the thought that counts.' I smirked at my little mind joke and shrunk my neck when a blast of steam hit me. "The hotter the steam, the closer we are," May said. I retorted, "Yeah, I figured that one out, genius." She turned her head to look at me. "You seem testy lately... I thought you were the chill one?" "Does this—" I waved my hand, indicating the hot humid fog surrounding us "—situation in any way make you feel chill?" She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. "Point made." "We're here," Pathfinder's chipmunk voice called out. We all stopped in our tracks. At this point, the fog was thick enough that I was sure I could cut it with a dinner knife... speaking of dinner, I'm kinda hungry. I touched my flat and somewhat sunken stomach. It rumbled softly. I moved my hand and felt the thick-set rope around my waist. A rope that connected us three to make sure we do not lose each other in the fog. I wore goggles to prevent the steam from making my eyes water. The other two didn't need such a mortal instrument. I scoffed once again. Magic really was way too convenient. I bet they don't feel as hot as I do. "Thank you, Pi," I heard May whisper. "Transform, I'll hang you around my neck." Then followed by squeaky sounds I assume is Pi, the Pathfinder, replying. But before I knew what was going on, I had a white, almost transparent crystal stuffed into my hand. It was attached to a green luminescent string. I looked up at May. "This is?" "Pi," she said simply. "I know," my tone was flat. "Why did you give her to me?" She shrugged. "Her choice, not mine." I frowned at the faint outline of her figure in the fog and then glanced at the crystal in my hands. I sighed and shoved it into my pocket.