Page 73 of What did you do?
We pressed on as the forest grew denser and more beautiful, with bright, flowering trees and pines.
Looking ahead on the path, I understood exactly why it was referred to as the pits.
“Let me guess, we’re here,” I said as I stared down into the wide-open pit that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The spongy, green moss around the edge of the hole camouflaged it, making it virtually impossible to see. Glancing around the shaded forest, I saw no other holes in the ground.
“Yes we are here, and watch out—the pits move. They usually don’t show this far out, but it looks like they are being temperamental today,” he said. His jaw tightened. “We need to find Tarani. Stay by me. You won’t see them if they appear in front of you, and if they even cause you to lose your balance, they will be relentless,” he said before he moved in front of me.
As we continued through the forest, I moved to the side, feeling stupid for letting him shove me behind him. I had eyes. I was able to see a hole the size of a house just as well as he could.
“You hear that? What is that?” I asked Eli.
He turned around, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Shit! That’s Tarani!”
We took off into the forest, my short legs struggling to keep up with Eli. Tall trees with bushy tops appeared to move as we ran. Were we running that fast? Or were the trees really moving?
A deep rumble started, vibrations buzzing up my ankles, making my whole body quake.
“Come! You have to move quicker, Caly!” Eli shouted just as a pit the size of a minivan opened right in front of me, nearly taking me down with the rubble and dirt that it swallowed.
I leaped to the side just as there was another shout off in the distance, this one more panicked.
Tarani was in trouble.
“Go without me!” I screamed at Eli, praying he would leave me behind and go to his sister.
“I’ve done that before. I’ll never you behind again,” he stated as he ran back several feet, trying to get to me.
“Fucking go, Eli! Stop trying to rescue me every five seconds and go get your sister. I can make it out of here on my own,” I hollered. “Stop treating me like I can’t do anything.”
“Fine, stubborn ass. Keep running and don’t stand still, or they will sense it and open under you. Go back out the way we came!” he shouted.
Eli was panicking as he spun back and forth between me and his sister’s screams before letting out his own gruff shout. His golden wings spread with a sharpthrapbefore he took off running in the direction of her voice. Mystified, I watched as my best friend rose gradually into the sky. Eli could fly.
I had had no idea he could actually fly.
Of course I knew he had wings. Beautiful, sparkling wings that I could picture a god or archangel having, but I had never thought they could actually carry his weight. Still a science nerd at my core, it felt terribly wrong. The weight should have been too uneven, and how did they just seem to disappear into their skin when they were not in use? Mendax’s wings of smoke did the same thing. Magic made no sense.
I realized I had stopped running and was standing in the still forest—precisely what I had been instructed not to do.
I made a mental note to ask him more about his wings. Maybe Eli would humor me and let me run a few tests on them, for the sake of placating my curious mind. I knew he would. He would do anything for me. Sadness gripped my chest, thinking about how much he would hate me soon.
Another shrill scream sounded, shaking me out of my thoughts.
Was that a growl that came after?
This time the shriek came from my left—not the way Eli had flown.
Logically, I knew that I shouldn’t wander off into a forest I was unfamiliar with, especially one with creatures I knew nothing about. I glanced around. The humid air was heavy with the aroma of woody earth. Everything was peaceful—bright-green moss and grass, pink and yellow flowers I didn’t recognize. It was beautiful in a way that you couldn’t imagine being real.
I stiffened immediately, hearing the high whine again.
I knew better than anyone that if something dangerous appeared beautiful and calm on the outside, it was far more twisted and devious than anything that looked spooky and ominous. Those that hide their darkness under a mask of beauty and good are filled with the worst kind of evil—the kind that will betray and trick you once you trust it.
Feeling the ground beneath my feet tremble, I bolted to my left.
I felt a pull in that direction. It wasn’t in the hopes of saving Tarani—honestly, it’d be easier for me if she died now.
I would be fine. I’d continue running while I paid close attention to the ground.
