Johanne decided to search Alex's room one more time before calling someone. She had woken up from her drunken stupor this morning, ashamed and disgusted with what she had done yesterday. If Alex really had run away, who could blame her? If Johanne had ever seen her mother act like this, she would have been out the door faster than you could count to three. But it just wasn't like Alex to take off with no notice and leave all of her things behind. Johanne just refused to believe it.
She opened Alex's bedroom and scanned it one more time. There were her bed sheets, still damp from the night before. Her cell phone still lay on the bed where she apparently left it last night, leaving Johanne with no way to contact her daughter. Everything was just as it was every time she'd checked her daughters room that day, and she had checked it a lot, hoping each time that she would open the door to find Alex lying there in bed, still asleep. Each time, however, she was disappointed to find that Alex was gone, missing, away.
Frustrated and worried, she picked up Alex's phone and looked at her recent call list. If course, Jason was the first on her list... and she had called him at 3:38 AM! Johanne put the phone to her ear and hit the send button, calling Jason's phone. It went straight to voicemail, and she listened to Jason's voice talking to her.
"Hey, this is Jason, sorry I didn't pick up, but if you leave me a message, I might get back to you. Later!" There was a loud beep, and Johanne spoke, her voice cracking.
"Jason, this is Johanne, Alex's mother. If you could give me a call as soon as you get this, that would be great. Thanks..."
She shut the phone, listening to the line disconnect. She slumped down onto her daughter's bed and cradled her head in her hands, feeling the hot tears come spilling out.
***
Heath and Raul walked steadily side by side in the hot spring sun, feeling its warmth on their skin. As they crossed open field after open field, Raul began to get bored.
"So do you know the quickest way to the Kingdom?" he asked Heath.
"Our first stop will be Engimous," he replied. "After that, we could go one of two ways. We could either go directly through the Endless Plains, which would be much quicker, but is also much more dangerous, or we could go around them, taking the immensely longer but substantially safer route over the Rafredore Mountains. Either way, once we get on the other side, we'll need to hire a boat to ferry us across to the other side of the Great River, and then from there it's a straight shot to the Kingdom."
"How long is all this going to take?" Raul asked, his happiness from being on the road quickly diminishing at the news of the distance and time this was going to consume.
"We'll reach Enigmous by nightfall," Heath said. "If we go through the Endless Plains, it'll
take two days to get through to the Great River. Going over the Rafredore mountains would take probably close to three weeks to get across." Raul's mouth dropped open at the sudden news of a three week journey through the coldest part of Earth. "From the Great River to the Kingdom is only about a day long hike though."
"So," Raul reasoned, getting his bearings. "This could only take about three or four days?"
"If we go through the Endless Plains," Heath said, annoyed at the constant chatter. "Taking the mountains means it could take over a month. Personally, I'm a little more partial to the mountain idea myself. I spent much of my childhood there, but I've never set foot in the Endless Plains."
"Why not?" Raul asked. "I mean, I know it's easy to get lost in there, but as long as you have a guide you should be fine, right?"
"Wrong," Heath said after a moment. "There are other things to worry about besides getting lost. Poachers, for one thing, after unicorn horn. They kill anyone who catches sight of them. Then you've got to worry about the natural predators, like the buffalo, or the Wendigo."
At the word Wendigo, Raul's face paled and his eye widened.
"Then there's always the tribes people that live out there," Heath continued, "they hate people trampling all over their land."
"Is it really their land?" Raul asked. "Isn't it the Kingdom's land?"
"It would be if the Kingdom wanted it," Heath replied, "but would you want to own anything that had the Wendigo living there?"
Raul thought about this, and saw his point. He also heard the annoyance in the way Heath had snapped, and so he dropped his chatter, and continued on in silence.
This lasted for a total of about thirty minutes, until Raul spied something on the horizon that struck him as strange.
"Look at those birds," he said, pointing. "Do you see how they're flying?"
"What," Heath asked, "like all towards us and everything?"
"Exactly," Raul said. "Do you have any idea what kind of bird that is?"
"It's too far away to tell," Heath replied, looking at them curiously.
"They're eagles," Raul said assuredly. "They usually travel in total isolation, but the recent natural disasters are driving them from their typical nesting grounds. Soon all the other animals will be doing it as well. Before you know it, even humans will be migrating."
"Migrating to where?" Heath asked. "Where are we supposed to go?"
"Anywhere but here," was all he could guess. "Maybe to your other world."
"My father's other world," Heath corrected. "I've never been there. I'm from this world."
"Either way," Raul said, hitching his large, heavy bag up higher on his shoulders. "Soon, we may all have to go there. If this world is deteriorating like I think it may be, it's only a matter of time before we'll need to find somewhere else to go."
Heath didn't say anything to this, but instead lost himself in his thoughts, ignoring Raul's constant chatter.
***
Alex sat on the edge of the fountain, watching the townfolk walk by, no one giving her a second glance in her new clothes. She watched as a man, looking too old to still be alive, hobbled over to a small, rickety looking shop and enter, looking around cautiously before he shut the door behind him. She watched as a woman dressed in long, flowing emerald green robes swept through the crowd of pedestrians, her abnormally long neck allowing her to tower over everyone else. She watched as a short, pudgy man with a stubby nose and thick, fuzzy eyebrows lumbered past her, muttering something about the price of beetle wings. Delightedly, she looked up toward the sky and watched as odd looking birds flitted through the clouds. They looked to have four wings, their second pair situated above the first, making them look like little X's flying through the air. She looked back down again to see her hedgehog -- yes, she had begun to think of him as her hedgehog -- sniffed the city streets cautiously.
Everything in this new world fascinated her. She knew she had to get back home eventually, but other that that fearsome giant bush, and the Royal Guardsman from earlier, Alex had to say she was enjoying herself more than she thought she would be.
"Hello, Alex," said a voice as a boy sat down next to her. Alex looked at him curiously. He was wearing a blue coat looking thing, but it had a hood which was drawn up tight, casting his face in shadow.
"Jason?"
"Nope," he said, pulling his hood back. "Try again."
"Oh, Ben!" Alex exclaimed. "Where'd you get the clothes?"
"I found them hanging on a clothesline across the street, you know the ones high in the air?" he asked excitedly. "I stole them. What about you? What's up with your dress, it looks like you made it yourself... and not very well at that."
"Shut up," Alex snapped, ignoring his question.
"So where's Jason?"
"Not here yet," Alex said disappointedly. "You think he's okay?"
"Yeah, probably," Ben said, looking around. "He probably can't find his way back."
"Probably..." Alex mumbled, thinking of how much she hoped Ben was right.
"How long have you been sitting here?" Ben asked.
"Just about fifteen minutes," she replied. "I found this little cottage outside the city earlier though, and I met this woman... she was so nice."
"Really?" Ben asked, interested.
"Yeah," Alex replied. "She was taking care of this unicorn, and it --"
"A unicorn?" Ben asked sardonically.
"Yeah," Alex said. "But it looked more like a mix between an elephant, a deer, and a wolf. But it was really smart, and it could like, talk to you through your mind, I swear!"
Ben looked at her with raised brow.
"I'm not even playing," Alex said. "It was really weird... And it told Marissa -- that's the woman -- that she was supposed to help me, and it knew something about me, it was so weird."
"Wow..." Ben said, looking off into the distance. "That really happened?"
"Yeah," Alex said, "and I figured out that the bush is really a hedgehog. It's a plant, not an animal."
"That would make sense... I... guess..." Ben said to himself, thinking about it, then giving up, deciding it was too confusing. "Well you had a more interesting morning than I did. After I realized that guy wasn't chasing me anymore, I just sort of wandered around, looking for clothes to change into. When I finally found them, I went into a few shops and looked around. I saw some pretty crazy stuff... But I couldn't buy anything, because I don't have any money from this world... or our world either for that matter. I left my wallet at Jason's house."
"Speaking of Jason," Alex said, squinting her eyes as she looked up to the sun. "He should have been here by now. It's past noon."
"Well, I don't really wanna just sit here..." Ben muttered under his breath, almost too low for Alex to hear him.
"We can look around," she said, stretching her legs as she stood up. "We just have to keep an eye out for him, and not leave this area."
"Cool," Ben said. "There's some shops around here I wanted to check out."
"After you," Alex said, gesturing for Ben to choose one. She was curious to see what kinds of things these shops had inside them.
"I don't know where to go..." Ben said, looking around. "You choose."
Alex exhaled sharply in annoyance. She hated it when no one else would make a choice about something. Then she stopped.
"That one," she said, pointing to the small, run down looking shop the ancient man had
entered earlier.
"Why that one?" Ben asked, stupefied. "It looks shady. Is it safe?"
"I don't know," Alex said. "But you wouldn't choose, and that's the one I want to go to."
Ben grimaced. "All right, fine... See if I ever let you make a decision again."
Together they headed over to the old building, and Alex realized it looked more like a large shack, with several stories on top of it, like most of the other buildings in this city. Unlike the other buildings, however, which looked like they were made of stone, or fine, expensive wood at least, this one looked like it was crafted from random sticks and twigs.
Shrugging at Ben, Alex stepped forward and tugged on the door handle, pulling the door open. A warm blast of stuffy air hit her like a brick wall, and a strange odor was emanating from inside. Ben wrinkled his nose and took a step back. "Alex..." he said slowly, looking at the place with a look of disgust.
"Oh, come on," Alex urged, grabbing Ben by the strange shirt's collar and dragging him in after her. The door shut behind them, and the tinkling of a bell sounded throughout the store. Alex looked around and peered through the smoky haze that filled the entire building.
Shelves were strewn about the store as if by no means of any sort of organization whatsoever, and they were piled precariously high with what appeared to be an assortment of the most strange and random objects Alex had ever seen in her life. The walls of the store were lined with piles of junk as well, strewn about with no care to see what was what, and what went where. It was enough to drive Alex insane, but her curiosity overpowered her sense of caution, and she stepped further into the shop, looking around for any signs of life. Behind her, Ben was following closely, examining some of the things for sale from a distance.
Suddenly, Alex heard laughter coming from somewhere. It was an old, wheezy laugh, and it sent shivers down her spine. Though she didn't know why, Alex was sorely tempted to keep as quiet as possible as she crept across the floor and around a few piles of junk to peer around the corner of a shelf. Behind a low, wooden counter sat a very obese man, his rolls of ft folding over each other, coming to rest on the floor on either side of where he sat on a low, uncomfortable looking chair. He was completely bald, and looked to be sweating profusely in the shops immense heat.
On the other side of the counter stood the ancient looking man Alice had seen enter the shop earlier. Up closer, she could see that he did indeed look like he should be dead. His skin hung loosely on his bones, and was so wrinkled it was almost grotesque. He had no hair on his head either, but a thick beard that hung down low to the ground. He wore glasses like Alex, but his looked primitive and awkward, too large for his shrunken face, and Alex couldn't fathom how they could possibly aid his vision in any way. The robes he was wearing were black and filthy, covered in grime and dirt, and they trailed behind him, obviously much too long for him. It was this man who Alex had heard laugh, and he was still laughing at something the fat man obviously didn't find funny.
"You're off your rocker, Bartles," the fat man said, pushing something across the counter towards the old man. Alex hadn't noticed it before, as it was barely noticeable in the dimly lit store against the dusty counter. It was a small package, wrapped in brown paper as filthy as the old man.
"Come on," the old man beckoned, pushing it back towards the fat man. "It's a rare bargain, all I'm asking is twelve silver for it."
"There's no way I'm paying more than five silver for something that could get me arrested," the fat shopkeep insisted. "Do you have any idea what the Royal Guard do to people who try selling stuff like that?"
"Oh, come on," Bartles said slyly. "Do you honestly think they'll find it amidst all this junk? You want to buy it from me, I can see it. Besides," the wrinkly man continued, "do you have any idea how much gold you could sell this for to the right customer?"
"I said no, you old coot," the fat man groaned, leaning back in his chair, and Alex was shocked that it didn't collapse beneath him. Below her, Alex felt the hedgehog nudge her ankle, but she ignored it, paying close attention to the scene playing out before her.
Bartles glared furiously at the fat man. "You know what I could do to you?" he threatened.
"Ahh, you don't scare me," the shopkeep chuckled softly. "You ain't got no tricks I don't know about, and you can't do nothing to me that you'd get away with."
The old wrinkly man's hand darted into the front of his robes, and he was in the process of pulling something out when he stopped suddenly. He retracted his empty hand from his robes and reached instead for the crummy package lying on the counter. He fingered it slowly in his hand, a strange look on his face.
"I don't want no cursed things in my shop," the fat man said, putting his final word on the argument. "Take that damned thing elsewhere."
Bartles glared at him, but let his arms drop to his sides. "Fine," he said, defeated. "I thought you might know a good business investment when you see one, but apparently not."
"I'll see you the same time next week?" the shopkeep asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course," Bartles mumbled, heading away from the counter, and directly toward Alex, Ben, and the hedgehog.
Silently, Ben backed up quickly, ducking behind a large pile of junk. Alex bent and scooped the hedgehog into her arms, heading for the nearest pile, making it behind just in time. The old man turned around the shelf she had been looking around just seconds before, and he saw nothing.
He headed for the door, and Alex held her breath, knowing he would have to pass her pile to reach the exit. He was just a few feet away... almost there... and then he was practically upon her, and Alex hoped desperately the hedgehog would be able to stay quiet for these next few seconds.
But then Bartle's stopped. He looked down at the pile Alex was hiding behind, and he got a strange expression on his face. Alex couldn't believe it. She was sure he could see her, she could reach out and touch his robes.
Luckily, however, due to the hazy smoke in the room, or the lack of light, or his bad eyesight, or a combination of any of the above, he didn't seem to see Alex. Instead, he tossed the brown wrapped package onto the pile, smiling to himself.
Then he continued out the door, letting it shut behind him. Quickly, without letting Ben see her, Alex reached out and picked up the package. It was small, about the size of a ring box, and it was heavy. She put it in the only pocket in her dress, and felt its weight against her.
Then, a split second later, Ben was at her side, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the door. She allowed herself to be led out, and was shocked by the harsh sunlight and the fresh air.
The hedgehog jumped from her arms and ran around, reveling in its sudden freedom, and Ben headed back over to the fountain, where Jason was nowhere to be seen.
"That was stupid Alex," he said angrily as Alex approached him. "We could've been killed! That one guy was trying to do some sort of illegal drug trade or something, and we were almost caught!"
But Alex just stayed quiet, taking the yelling silently, feeling the weight of whatever it was she had taken in her pocket, not sure why she wasn't telling Ben she had grabbed it.
As if he could read her mind, Ben steered the conversation in that direction. "What do you think the old guy... Babbles? What do you think he was trying to get that guy to buy?"
"Bartles," Alex corrected. "But I don't know what it was."
"I wish we could find out," he said in though, leaning back farther over the water of the fountain. "Do you think it was really cursed?"
"Why not?" Alex asked, stroking the hedgehog in her lap. "Everything else seems possible here, why not curses?"
Ben just shrugged, then looked around the crowds of people. "I'm scared."
"What?" Alex looked at Ben as if she had mishear him.
"I'm scared," he repeated. "I have no idea where Jason is, and I hate not knowing... it scares me. I want him to be okay... I would give anything to make sure he's okay. And what happens if we find a way back into our world again, and we still haven't found Jason? I hate this. This place... It's like everything I've dreamed of, what every kid's dreamed of... But without Jason, it's like living in hell."
Alex just looked at him curiously. She had always regarded Ben with a sort of polite disregard. She was her best friend's boyfriend, but they had never really connected, or even talked in any way, and it shocked her that he was opening up to her now.
"I'm... I'm sorry," Alex said softly, feeling awkward, not knowing what to do to help. "But we'll find Jason. I miss him too... I'm sure you two were closer than he and I, but he was my best friend, and I love him too. We'll find him."
Ben looked down at the ground, and sighed heavily. The hedgehog stepped down from Alex's lap and brushed against Ben, surprising Alex. The hedgehog had never approached another human from what she had seen, and it touched her to see it... him rub comfortingly against Ben. Alex smiled.
From somewhere in the distance, the ringing of clock bells were heard, and Alex looked up. The sun was beginning to set already, and the clock bell rang six times before resting silently once more.
Alex looked around and saw the swarms of people were thinning out, and the setting sun cast an orange glow on everything, making it all seem surreal. Then a certain man caught her eye.
He was cute, but in a rugged sort of way, and the way the sun struck his bronze skin
made her eyes dazzle. The way he carried himself made it look like he was trying not to be noticed, but Alex found it impossible to not notice him. He looked like he was a few years older than her, maybe twenty-two. Alex didn't normally find herself attracted to older men, but something about this man was different.
Then her eyes moved over to the boy he was walking with, a boy who looked about sixteen or seventeen, definitely a little bit younger than her. As soon as she saw the younger boy, her jaw dropped open, and she lost her breath.
He looked so familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen before. She was puzzling this when suddenly, he felt her gaze on him and looked over to see who was watching him.
She dropped her eyes a second too late, and she knew the boy had seen her looking at him. She cursed herself in her mind, then glanced back up at him. He and his older companion were walking toward her.
