Escape

ARIA It was dark out. I waited by the door for Lili. I opened it once to check for the girl, but the loud squeak it made in the quiet night had me grimacing. After that, I resolved to wait till she knocked. What felt like an hour passed and I felt myself nodding off. Then I heard it—a soft knock on the door. I would have missed it if I hadn't been leaning against the door. I got up quickly to open the door. I cautiously opened it just enough to see a bit of Lili's dress illuminated in the moonlight. "Here," she whispered and shoved a black pouch into the hut. I could barely register what happened before she disappeared. Gently, I shut the door and bent to pick up the small pouch. Through the material, I could feel a spherical shape. I smiled in satisfaction. We leave tonight. Quickly, I got started on waking Sue and Jerry up. Jerry was snoring like a pig in the corner. I kicked his shin, and the boy shot up like a jack-in-the-box. He yawned and squinted up at me. "Wha... why?" "Get up, we're leaving." "Leaving?" he repeated. I didn't bother answering; he needs a minute to reboot. Anything I say till then will enter one ear and fly out the other. I touched Sue's arm to shake her but withdrew my hand at the sharp pain. Her body was boiling hot. "Sue," I called. She moaned but didn't wake up. I wanted to tap her, but then I remembered she was searing hot. Water. I looked around our room for any water, but all I could see was a lone cup in the corner. I went to get it, but it was barely half full. Coming back to her bedside, I soaked a piece of cloth with the water and placed it on her head. I swear I could hear the water evaporating. By the time I took the cloth off her, it was as dry as a freshly ironed cloth. "Hmm, I forgot to tell you that she ran a fever when you disappeared," I jumped at the voice that suddenly spoke in my ear. "Jerry, what the hell!" I whisper-yelled. "Also, how the freezing hell did you forget to tell me something that important!" Jerry lit a match and covered it with his hand to prevent the flame from going out, then he shrugged. "The same way you forgot to tell us you were going to be awol for a while." I clenched my fist as my eyes subconsciously wandered to the small empty box beside my bed. "I had my reasons," I said. A small breeze blew, and the match went out. Jerry lit another stick that gave out a weak flame. "Whatever... anyway, I hope your reason for waking me up at this freaking late hour is not a secret as well." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "I already told you, we're leaving. These people can't help us, and..." I patted Sue's hair—the only part of her that was not searing hot, "we need to get Sue to a real hospital with real doctors that can help her!" Jerry released a sigh that killed the small flame in his hand. This time he didn't light another. "How are we supposed to leave? This place is some crazy magical forest with no way out." "I know what to do. Just help me carry Sue... I don't think she will be able to walk even if she's awake." Jerry nodded, and together we hefted her onto his back. He stood straight with a pained grimace. "Let's get out of here fast before I start smelling like bacon. How is she still alive?" He shook his head in wonder but paused when he met my scathing glare. "It's probably the dark magic of this place. Now hush." I opened the door a smidge and peeped through the crack. It was dark out, and no one was in sight. I pulled the door wider, cringing every time it groaned. Finally, it was wide enough for Jerry to go through. I closed the door when we stepped out. The camp looked deserted; I wasn't sure if it was usually like this because I never stepped out when it got dark. There was a half-moon in the sky. "Let's go," Jerry whispered. I nodded and headed toward the chief's house. The path May had led us through started from there, so I needed to start there too, else I might get confused. My heart thumped in my chest with each step; I was too scared that we would turn a corner and glowing violet eyes would be staring at me with judgment. Since Ares' weird confession, I had all the more reasons to stay away from the little creep. Like what the hell? I ain't no pedophile! I shook my head. Nope, I will not be distracted. We got to the chief's place, and I started to retrace our steps. After the meeting, May had led us out of the camp area and a little distance from the stream. One thing that stood out was the stone circle formation. I led Jerry through the path I remembered, and soon we came into the clearing with the stone formation. Darkness crawled in, and the stone circle glowed just as I remembered. When I dug into the pouch to retrieve the ball, I felt something sharp beside it. I emptied the contents into my palm. It was a small green glass. Jerry looked over. "That looks familiar." "Yeah," I mused. "It does." "Keep that and use the ball already. Sue is getting hotter by the minute, and I'm starting to smell tasty." I rolled my eyes and walked into the stone circle just as May had done. I raised the hand that held the ball and smashed it down, then quickly retreated. A black whirl of smoke spread in the circle. Jerry gave me a dubious glance. "That does not look like the one May made." "Would you like me to call her to make a new one?" That shut him up. "Why don't we throw Sue down to test." I sighed. I seriously didn't even have the energy to glare at him. I secured the remaining contents of the pouch and grabbed Jerry's hand. It was cold. I shivered. Perhaps I've been so focused on Sue I forgot that Jerry had also been affected by this place. I released a sigh; it doesn't matter now. We're leaving. "We jump together." I rocked back and forth. "1, 2..." Jerry interrupted me. "Wait, where will we land?" "3!" I shouted and jumped into the vortex. "Shit," I heard Jerry curse as he jumped in.