Authors: Mary Ting
Chapter 20
Skylar stretched her arms up to yawn and lazily opened her eyes. She jerked back when Mason appeared in her vision, staring at her. “Were you…like…watching me sleep?” she spluttered.
“Don’t flatter yourself. I was just about to wake you up.”
Why did she use such a poor choice of words? She should’ve known Mason would say
something insensitive like that. She was almost sure he was lying…but then again, she didn’t care.
Embarrassed, she crawled out of the tent first. The sun was rising, lighting the world with golden hues, revealing a splendid view. She had never seen a sunrise before. Then again, she’d never woken up early enough to see one. Just the sight of it warmed her. Though there wasn’t much of the land to look at, besides the trees and the mountains, somehow the glowing sun gave beauty to it.
Skylar looked to the distance, saw Kayla ready to go, and waved her hand. Kayla shook her head to reply, but Skylar was more interested in looking at Kayla’s mangled hair. Though she couldn’t tell from the distance, she wondered how Kayla looked from not washing her makeup off. Without changing clothes or refreshing her makeup, she wondered how she looked, too. As these thoughts circulated through her mind, she turned to see Mason packing.
Skylar was staring, but she couldn’t help it. The sunlight kissed the tip of his hair, radiating his body as he stood, and creating the illusion he was heaven sent.
His muscles flexed when he stretched and yawned, showing a glimpse of his sexy abs.
Afterward, he folded the tent to a precise size to fit into his backpack, and the way he tossed it around his shoulders, sliding his arms through it, made her lose herself into him.
“I know Mason is attractive, but don’t make it so obvious,” Amanda whispered, then she continued to follow Everett’s steps.
Skylar blushed.
Was it that obvious?
After thinking, she knew it was.
Darn! Why does he have that effect on me?
After a short distance, they came upon a long bridge. Swaying slightly from side to side, it looked steady enough. Made from wood, each narrow plank was tied to the next with rope-like material. There was even a safety grip on each side, looking like a fisherman’s net. It didn’t look too bad from where Skylar stood, but when she approached, her courage faltered.
“Leave your bags here,” Amanda ordered. “You won’t need them where we’re headed, but don’t forget to take your flashlight.”
After the backpacks were dropped, they stood closer to the bridge.
“I’m not crossing that bridge,” Kayla said, shaking her head.
“It’ll be fine, Kayla. I’ve crossed it before,” Nick said, but his tone was not convincing.
“Uhhh…is there another way, Everett?” Amanda looked terrified.
“Does it look like there’s another way across to the other side?” Everett huffed. “You’ll be fine. We crossed it before. I didn’t want to come here in the first place.”
“Who told you to come?” Amanda fired back.
Everett eyed Skylar. “We need answers.” Then he nudged Amanda out of the way. “Might as well get this over with.” He took a step onto the bridge.
“Hold onto me and close your eyes,” Nick told Kayla, draping his arms around her.
“Don’t let go,” Kayla said, dragging her feet.
Mason extended his hand, gesturing for Skylar to go first. “I’d rather go last,” Skylar said. “I’m going to take my time.” Terrified and not wanting to show it, she wanted to stall as long as she could.
Crossing the bridge didn’t seem all that bad when Skylar stood on stable ground, but as soon as she took her first step, the bridge swayed. It was already swaying, but it was a whole different story when she felt it. With her hands on the rope to steady herself, she looked straight ahead.
Curiosity got the best of her and she made the mistake of looking down. She couldn’t see the bottom since she only looked down for a second, but that was enough to scare the living day lights out of her. Mountains started closing in, and so did the clouds. Winded, she took a moment to compose herself.
After telling herself to calm down, she proceeded ahead. Though her heart pounded out of her chest and her stomach felt like it would drop, she had to be brave. The gang was almost to the other side, but she was only half way there. Occasionally, Mason would turn toward her without a word. Either he was telling her to hurry or he cared enough to look back. She hoped it was the latter.
Suddenly, the bridge rocked harder. The wind that wasn’t blowing a second ago seemed to come from nowhere.
“It started!” Nick yelled. “Run!”
“Run, Skylar!” Mason yelled over his shoulder.
What started and why did she have to run? She knew now. The wind blew stronger. It howled with rage. Shaking violently, the bridge had a life of its own. She ran as fast as she could, but she fell flat on her face. Her feet slipped into a gap and she started sliding off the bridge. She would have fallen off if Mason hadn’t gripped her wrist, pulling her up in the nick of time.
Skylar heard Kayla calling out for her, saying something, but she couldn’t hear. Adrenaline zapped through her as the will to survive kicked in. Unable to breathe from the force of the wind, she took short breaths, trudging through the wind. They were almost there.
Without warning, the bridge started collapsing, starting where they had taken their first step. Plank by plank, with a rippling effect, it plunged. It happened so fast, the section of the bridge underneath her feet plummeted. “Hold on tight to the rope,” Mason bellowed, forced to let go of his hold on her.
“Ahhh!” Skylar screamed. Holding tightly onto the rope, she was soaring straight ahead. Her body thumped hard against the face of the mountain, sending piercing pain through every nerve, bone, and muscle. Bouncing from the impact, her body slammed against the ridged rocks again. Looking up, she could see that Mason held on to the same rope she did.
“Hold on, Skylar,” Mason yelled. “Whatever you do, don’t let go. Do you hear me?”
“Okay, Mason,” Skylar mumbled, but her voice wouldn’t carry, too afraid to move even her lips. Tears streamed down her face. She had never been so scared in her life. Sure, running away from the vultures and almost drowning was pretty scary, but falling to her death was even worse.
“Hold on, Mason!” Nick said out loud. “Everett and I are pulling you guys up. This would’ve been a piece of cake if our powers weren’t limited here.”
“Hurry up. Get Skylar up. She won’t be able to hold on much longer.” Mason looked down at her.
Skylar was more than elated that the wind had died down, and the rope sliding upward gave her hope, knowing they were being pulled up. Not having much upper arm strength, her arms were shaking. Her palms were moist, making them slippery, and sweat trickled along her forehead. Blood drained down her arm, and her fingers, firmly gripping the rope, burned.
Luckily, Mason had made Skylar keep the swathes on her hands. They helped her keep her grip somewhat, but it wasn’t going to stop her from slipping. With shooting pains all over her body, she held as tightly as she could. Though she knew she shouldn’t, she had a strong urge to look down again.
“No, no, no. Don’t look down.” Mason had reached the top and was safe, but they had to stop pulling; the rope was unthreading itself from the weight. “Skylar, look at me. Give me your hand.”
Skylar hesitated, knowing the length of her arm wasn’t long enough. To make matters worse, the loose rope dropped her lower with a jerk. Skylar screamed as the rope unraveled even more, thread by thread…there was no hope. At this point, she knew she had to accept death. When she looked up to say her good-byes, she saw Mason drop to her and grip her wrist just as the single thread of rope snapped.
“I got you,” Mason heaved. Everett and Nick pulled Mason up by his feet to bring Skylar up to safety. Releasing a relieved breath of air, Mason held her tightly. Her body trembled as she panted from being out of breath, and tears streamed down her face. Continuing to embrace her, his shoulders and tension relaxed. As his hand laced through her hair, he caressed his cheek to hers.
Mason pulled back, gazed into her eyes, and ran his hands over her face, arms, and hands, looking for wounds. “You’re safe.” He wiped her tears. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Skylar shook her head, unable to speak. From her peripheral vision, she could see Kayla sobbing, waiting for her turn. When Skylar was stable enough to stand, Mason gestured for Kayla to come.
Skylar clung to her cousin tightly. Their bodies shook from crying…there was no need for words. She had just escaped death, and holding onto Kayla comforted her beyond words.
“Thanks,” Mason said to his brothers, taking in deep breaths. “That was a close call.”
“You know we’ve got your back, bro,” Nick smiled, patting his back.
“What happened back there? This didn’t happen the last time we were here,” Mason commented.
“I’m telling you and I keep telling you, it’s because of Skylar; but you won’t believe me,” Everett whispered. “Whatever that was, it wanted her dead. If she wasn’t here with us, we would’ve been fine. The bridge would still exist.”
“I kind of agree with Everett,” Nick said. “Something is different about her, but I don’t think she’s dangerous.”
“That’s why we’re going to see the Oracle,” Mason murmured.
“We should get going…like now,” Everett snipped. “We’ve lost time. It’s getting dark on the other side.”
“Chill,” Amanda snapped. “She almost dropped to her death. Think like a human for a bit, will ya?”
After Skylar and Kayla composed themselves, they headed out again behind the boys. After a few yards, they stopped.
“Are you ready?” Mason asked, looking sternly at his brothers and Amanda. “This is it. There’s no turning back.”
“Ready for what?” Kayla asked, but they just ignored her. “What’s going on Nick?”
“Hold my hand.” Nick grabbed Kayla’s hand while her other arm was still linked to Skylar. As they took a step forward, like magic, another world materialized in front of them.
Chapter 21
“What the…where are we?” Kayla asked, looking around. She looked over her shoulder as if she could see the world she’d left behind a second ago, but she couldn’t. “How is this possible?”
It was like a world within a world. At the campsite, Skylar had stood in reality, and now she was somewhere else. Though she should be just as stunned as Kayla, she wasn’t. In some ways, she had expected it; though it was not quite the picture she had imagined when Mason told her about the swamp. Regardless, she was mesmerized, and wondered how it could possibly exist just by taking that step—surreal.
The sun was setting, getting darker and colder, just like Mason had said it would. From a distance, a blanket of thick fog stirred, gliding toward them. Just the sight of it gave Skylar a chill. Though they were standing on solid ground, it was mushy and wet. The air was humid, and mist trickled on Skylar’s arms and face. Surprisingly, she was calm, but Kayla was still unbelieving.
“Am I dreaming? How in the world…how?” Kayla pinched herself. “Ouch.”
“I’ll explain later, but right now, you need to keep your voice down.” Nick pulled Kayla closer and to Skylar’s surprise, Mason held her hand.
Stunned to have her hand in his, she looked at him, wondering about his sudden change to niceness. But she welcomed it. Almost losing her life today, she didn’t want to have angry thoughts toward him. After all, he did save her life, and she was grateful.
“We can take that boat,” Everett pointed to the left side of a dock. A massive body of murky water blocked them from heading forward. “Hurry, but don’t use the flashlights…not just yet.” He led the way.
One by one, they got in. The wooden rowboat was just big enough for the six of them. Everett and Nick each grabbed an oar and pushed through the water. The eerie fog had completely surrounded them, and their vision was limited to nothing but white.
“Do you camp like this all the time, and is this your idea of fun?” Kayla whispered.
Everyone snapped their heads, narrowing their eyes at her, except for Skylar. Kayla shrugged her shoulders sheepishly, looking like a child who had been scolded.
“Don’t talk. I’ll explain later,” Nick whispered, flexing his muscles, synchronizing the pulling and pushing with Everett.
The ride was calm, somewhat soothing. The soft, cool breeze brushed against Skylar’s face. Nothing but the swooshing sounds of the oars moving in and out of the water was audible as they paddled cautiously, trying not to make too much noise—swoosh…silence…swoosh…silence. Moving further, the fog finally disappeared, giving them a better view of the path ahead, but it was dark. Flashlights were turned on, providing some light.
Though Skylar would rather be anywhere else but there, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, except when she looked at the trees along the bank; they looked uncanny. Oddly, the trees were black; what was even creepier were the bare branches, thin and long, like spider legs. With multiple hollow dents on the trunks, looking like the shape of eyes, they gave her a chilling sting down her spine. She could’ve sworn the “eyes” popped open when viewed with her peripheral vision, but when she turned to look, they were just creepy trees.
Suddenly, anxiety crawled through her and her pulse raced the way it did when she watched a scary movie, anticipating something dreadful. Though she had no explanation for what she was feeling, she sensed that something was following them below the water’s surface. At first, she thought she was imagining things, but then her fears were confirmed by Amanda’s erratic movements.
Amanda suddenly turned to the left, then to the right, focusing her eyes on the water. “Can you feel them?” Amanda whispered, shuddering. “They’re all around us.” She huddled closer to Everett.
“Don’t worry. They won’t touch the boat as long as a human is with us,” Everett said, looking at Kayla. “They can try to manipulate around it, but they won’t appear in their true form.”
“Human?” Kayla asked, but she didn’t pursue her question any further. She looked upset and worried.
Skylar knew what Everett meant by the word human. Kayla was the only full human on the boat for sure, because if Mason was right, Skylar was only part human.
Abruptly, Skylar heard a low hum. She zoomed her eyes in front, behind, to the left, and to the right, to see if some kind of bug or anything else was buzzing around her—nothing. When the low hum turned into whispers, she knew it was in her mind. At first, it didn’t bother her, but when it got louder, she started freaking out.
She placed her hands over her ears, hoping it would go away, but it rambled faster, over powering her and becoming more irritating by the second. In pain from the intensity of the voices, she curled herself in.
“What’s wrong Skylar?” Mason asked worriedly when she broke out of his protective hold. His hand gripped her shoulders to calm her, but it wasn’t working.
“They’re…everywhere. The sounds…in my head,” she stammered. “Make them go away.”
“Skylar, what’s wrong?” Kayla questioned with a loud concerned tone.
“Hurry up!” Mason shouted to his brothers, reaching for her again.
Skylar didn’t answer Kayla; in fact, she couldn’t hear anyone else. It seemed as though the sounds were projecting from the water, as if the water creatures were communicating with her, but she didn’t know what they were trying to tell her. Perhaps they were a warning? Shortly after, it didn’t matter; the sounds disappeared as quickly as they had started. What had just happened? Stiffly, she waited for the whispers to come back, but when they didn’t she felt more at ease.
Sitting upright, shoulders relaxed, she turned to Mason to let him know she was fine. Wondering why everyone else was focused on the water, she looked too. Waves rocked the water surrounding them, as bubbles formed around the boat. Their intensity and size grew larger by the seconds, like boiling water in a pot. Then the bubbles shot out, shaped in the form of human hands, and reached for the boat’s occupants, but were unable to touch them.
“I thought they wouldn’t come near us when a human is around,” Amanda sputtered.
“This is nothing,” Nick bellowed. “You want to see their true form?”
“Everyone hold onto something,” Everett warned. “They’re trying to tip the boat.”
Kayla screamed, holding onto Nick.
“Will you shut her up?” Everett said with a harsh tone.
Nick didn’t say anything. Everyone was holding on for dear life. Just when Skylar thought the boat would tip, she was jerked hard. Mason’s hold on her kept her rooted to the boat or she would have been flung out, like Amanda.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked, standing up to see his cousin on land.
“Why am I the only one off the boat?” Amanda got up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. The boat had collided with a huge boulder that was oddly set, preventing the boat from advancing. Thankfully, it was what had prevented them from being tipped.
Extending his long legs, Everett took a step to Amanda. He examined her body from head
to toe with his eyes and the flashlight. “You’ll live. Let’s go.”
“Whatever, Mr. Insensitive.” Amanda rolled her eyes.
Mason got off the boat second to last and extended his hand to Skylar. “Jump. I’ll catch you.”
Skylar wanted to, but her legs wouldn’t listen; still weak, they were shaky and unstable. It was difficult to see, but she knew water separated her from Mason. Managing to stand on the edge of the boat, she could see Mason and his flashlight, so she jumped, and flew into Mason’s arms.
Without a glance from him, he held her hand in silence, lagging behind the others. After several steps, he stopped. “What happened back there in the boat?”
“There were loud whispers in my ears, like they were trying to tell me something. But it was overwhelming. Why is this happening to me?”
“I’m not sure. That’s why we are going through all this trouble to find the Oracle. Supposedly, they have answers to everything.”
“Have you seen them before?”
“No. We tried, but they didn’t show themselves to us. I guess our question wasn’t worth their time.”
“What was your question?”
“Before Nick’s mother died, she said that our father told her there was a prophecy foretold by the Oracle that something evil would enter the human world that could possibly end the lives of all the gods’ children and Hades’ evil creations. Being curious idiots, we decided to risk our lives to find the answer.
“We came here before, though our journey wasn’t as rough. We saw the swamp monsters the last time we were here. They looked ugly as hell, like the vultures, but they left us alone. Anyway, the prophecy states that the keeper of death will destroy us all. Hades’ monsters were bad enough. We needed to know what this something evil was. We still don’t know to this day.”
Hearing Mason’s words gave Skylar goose bumps, making her suddenly cold. She recalled Remus and Everett asking her if she was the keeper of death.
“Do you think that’s what I am?” Skylar asked hesitantly, afraid of what he might say.
“No…why would you think such thoughts?” Surprisingly, Mason tucked strands of Skylar’s hair behind her ear so he could see her eyes after a sudden breeze ruffled them.
Skylar’s heart fluttered. Timidly, she whispered, “Remus asked me if I was.”
“Remus was weird, odd, and malicious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was one. Don’t think of him. And besides, I’m sure the keeper of death would look hideous, and you don’t…I mean…you’re more pleasant to look…I mean…you’re not….”
Shyly, she shot her eyes down. She knew what he meant. In a way she wanted to think that it was a compliment. Then she noted she never thanked him for saving her life. Though she was humbled that he would go out of his way to help her, she knew he was doing it for himself too, especially since she’d killed Remus…or at least he thought she did. He needed answers.
“Thanks for um…saving my life back there. I thought…well…I thought that was it.”
Mason fixated deeply on her eyes as his lips parted to speak. He looked as though he had much to say. Changing his mind, he closed them, and nodded with a grin. Skylar smiled back.
“You should smile more often. I like your smile, Echo.” He grabbed her hand and started walking.
They finally caught up to the rest of the gang, but they all stopped when they couldn’t go any further. Strangely, dark had turned to light. It was as if they had stepped into another dimension without knowing they had. In front of them was an old structure, looking almost like a castle. Vines and branches with dead leaves cascaded downward, covering a dark, narrow entrance and parts of what was once a marvelous construction.
“You want to go in there?” Kayla murmured, grimacing, looking terrified and annoyed at the same time. “Why? For the love of God...why?”
“If only humans continued to believe in the gods, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Amanda commented.
“Why do you all keep saying ‘humans’?” Kayla scoffed. “Of course we believe in God…and what mess are you talking about?”
Disregarding her, everyone looked deep in thought.
“Let’s go,” Everett snapped, heading in first, followed by Amanda.
“Don’t worry. I got ya,” Nick winked at Kayla, wrapping his arms around her waist. “It might be fun in there.” He gave her a playful look.
Taken in by his charisma, she giggled like a schoolgirl, and snuggled closer to him as they paced forward. Skylar abruptly stopped when Nick and Kayla bounced back upon attempting to enter. Kayla stumbled backward and almost fell, but Nick caught her just in time.
“What just happened?” Nick huffed. Looking confused, he entered by himself without a hitch. With his finger, he gestured Kayla to enter. As directed, she dragged her feet cautiously. As if there was an invisible wall in front of her, she couldn’t take another step.