I turn in place, circling slowly but surely, eyeing every shadow, every crevasse, and every single possible hiding spot a creature of Faerie could hide. I see nothing.
A gentle breeze kisses my bare shoulders, and goosebumps rise to return the gesture. Leaves rustle and I jump to face the noise, but see nothing. Only the gently waving golden and oddly finger-like leaves. It’s another several minutes before I can relax enough to assess my situation.
I’m alone in an unfamiliar land filled with murderous and ravenous creatures. I have 12 hours to either find a fantastic hiding spot or escape. And seeing as escape was at such large odds, I was prepared to try for the former. I turn again, eyeing the surrounding fauna; from the flapping finger leaves to the beautiful baby blue flowers shaped like origami cranes, to the chocolate brown bushes that held secrets in their depths, tothe black-barked trees with their ivory leaves. The earth at my feet is pliant and crunchy, like compost without the stink. It looks moist, and it must be for the plantation surrounding me to be so well nourished. Unless the plants ate humans, too. I squint suspiciously at the blue cranes, then chide myself when all they do is bob with the light breeze.
I needed to focus. First, I needed to choose a direction to run in. It was so stupidly likely that the direction I ultimately chose would take me back to the clearing. But, I rationalize, perhaps I could use that to my advantage. I couldoutsmartthem. Maybe I could duck back into the tents while the males were Hunting and hide out until the 24 hours were up. Then they’d return me to Earth.
But I wouldn’t leave Akari and Jasmin, and Jabira if I could weasel her out of her fate, too. And so, I set myself some goals for the next 24 hours:
1. Find Akari and Jasmin
2. Return to the camp and hide within the tents
3.
All the while, evade the monsters that lurk behind trees and those that Hunt us for sport
4. Stay alive
It sounds so fucking easy. And I know it’s not.
I creep through the forest on light feet, oddly grateful for the lithe ballet flats that are quiet and leave little to no trail behind me. The forest is dark, and my heart is practically palpitating in my chest. It was at about this moment in the horror movies where everything went to shit and I usuallyhid behind my pillow, or Waverly and Rihana, if they were around. But there was no pillow, nor Waverly or Rihana here to defend me. And even if I came across another Chosen who wasn’t Jasmin or Akari, I couldn’t trust them. If there was a bus to be thrown under and it was out of them or me, I know for a fact I would have to fight to come out unscathed. All that mattered to me right now was keeping Akari, Jasmin, and myself alive. I would do everything in my power to protect those girls. We had known each other for not even a week, but these girls had grown on me like a blind pimple.
It doesn’t take long for me to retract my earlier thoughts about the light slippers as the moist earth seeps through the thin fabric. Before long, my toes are practically frozen, and my feet squelch and squeak with every wet footstep. They say feet are the temperature control center of the body and it sure as shit shows as my skin pinpricks with goosebumps and my nipples pebble beneath the thin fabric of the flowy dress and cheap bra. I fold my arms across my chest and rub furiously at my bare arms, hoping the friction will bring some warmth back into my blood. It doesn’t. I’m still freezing my tits off.
I think hard, trying to come up with a way to warm myself up before I freeze to death. There aren’t many options available to me. I can’t light a fire. Wouldn’t have a clue on where to start without a lighter at my thumb. I have no jumper or blanket to cocoon myself within. The thick tree tops hide the warmth of the beautiful sun. My best option is to keep my blood flowing quickly through my veins with some brisk walking. So I do just that.
I walk.
And walk.
And walk.
As hours pass of endless nothingness, I almost wish forsomethingto happen. It seems my very thoughts curse me, because seconds later, a shrill scream splits the air and sends heavy stones launching through my stomach.
Because I recognize the voice beneath it.
Chapter Fifteen
“Jasmin!” I scream as I break into a sprint. “Jasmin! Where are you?”
I dodge thick umbrella-like leaves and yellow flowers with sharp stinging nettles jutting from their pretty cores. My feet seem to find the wettest path possible, and it’s not long before black dirt and muddy droplets cling to me from the knees down. The woodland, not long ago silent as midnight, is teaming with noise. It’s as if the forest itself is excited.
I almost stop running as I swear I pass a collective of twinkling and glowing pixies. Minuscule little Tinkerbells in a variety of colors that titter excitedly amongst themselves. But another scream, this one pained and softer than the first, has me firmly ignoring the odd little beings as I push on.
Suddenly, I break out of the thick foliage and come to a skidding stop within a beautiful and sunny clearing. I almost moan at the feeling of sunshine kissing my clammy flesh. My eyes search frantically for Jasmin, and after a moment, I spot her.
My stomach sinks, and I throw a hand over my mouth, as if that could prevent the roiling sickness from rising up my throat. I turn to the side and vomit into the rich soil.
Jasmin is dead. Her petite form lies crumpled amongst a circle of basketball-sized moss-covered stones. Her head is twisted at an unnatural angle, with an even more unnatural and bloodied hole in her skull. Herwide eyes are vacant, and her mouth is forever frozen in a scream of desperation.
And standing above her is the unChosen woman who had murdered her.
“What-” I can’t even finish the question. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? No question seemed tangible enough to ask. This woman had just killed one of our own. No answer this woman could give me was ever going to be enough.
She’s big boned and wears an ugly sneer, made even more so by the pattern of blood, like a trail of rose petals, cooling across her cheeks. Jasmin’s blood.
She laughs, then, high and mad.
