The Severance Game, page 5
Regardless of SJ’s wishes for full disclosure, this was something I simply could not bring myself to share either.
I mean, I’d only just found out about it myself. And despite the fact that SJ had seen the file by accident, and that she’d learned about my dreams of the bunker, I was resolute that these were still my secrets to wield until I had a better grasp on what was happening to me.
None of it made any sense. Why were my dreams seeping into reality? Why was Natalie so important? She didn’t just have a file in the antagonists’ bunker; I’d also found a similar file in Fairy Godmother Headquarters a few weeks prior. And most importantly, why were all these weird things converging on me?
The sad truth was I didn’t know the answers to any of these questions. But I did know that they were bizarre, unsettling, and confusing enough to make me want to keep them private. At least if I actively chose to handle their burden alone it gave me a sense of control. The thought of unveiling all my issues to the others prematurely felt too violating to bear.
Which was why—standing there in the shrouds of nightfall and my own self-preservation—I locked my gaze with SJ’s and I lied.
“No,” I responded flatly. “There isn’t.”
She glared at me. I glared at her. Then Jason abruptly cleared his throat a second time. It broke the staring match between SJ and me, which was good. Alas, his subject change added a newer, deeper layer of tension to the conversation.
“Um, guys, what about Mark?”
Mark.
I felt guilty that I hadn’t thought about him until now. Though in all fairness there had been a lot going on.
Mark was a friend of ours from Lord Channing’s. He was a prince and he’d been Jason’s roommate for a couple of years. However, at the beginning of the semester their school’s headmaster had made the announcement that Mark was taking a leave of absence for health and personal reasons. Incidentally, it was his absence that had brought Daniel to us; he had been assigned as Jason’s new roommate at the start of the semester.
Until this afternoon we hadn’t thought twice about Mark’s specific reasons for being absent. We just assumed he was sick or something and would return next semester. But after finding a file in Arian’s bunker with Mark’s name on it, along with the words “threat neutralized,” a horrible thought had been born. What if our friend’s leave of absence was way more suspicious and permanent than the school had let on?
The words “threat neutralized” could mean a lot of things. But—combined with the understanding we now had of what those antagonists were capable of—one interpretation was something far too dark to comprehend. It very well could’ve meant that Mark was, you know . . . that he’d been . . .
No. I can’t even say it.
It had to be something else. It had to be.
“I think as far as this Mark kid is concerned, if we want to find out more, our best bet is still the Author,” Daniel asserted.
Blue cocked an eyebrow. “How do you figure that?”
“Well, Mark was a protagonist, right? That means he has a book, a book the Author wrote. If we find the Author, maybe we can look at it, see what really happened to him, and if it was something messed up then it’d serve as the proof we need to show the schools.”
A beat of reflection passed.
“He’s not wrong,” Blue said eventually. “Plus, if we find the Author we can also use her original books as proof that the realm’s ambassadors have been forging protagonist books.”
Ah yes, I’d almost forgotten about that little chestnut.
The trusted ambassadors of our realm’s twenty-six kingdoms (not including the antagonist kingdom of Alderon) were evidently in cahoots with the Scribes and the Fairy Godmother Supreme, Lena Lenore, to manipulate protagonist selection by both creating books for royals who weren’t chosen as main characters and destroying those for people who were but didn’t fall within their “realm quota.”
I had no idea how long they’d been doing it, but their reasons had become clear to us when we’d eavesdropped on their meeting in the Capitol Building.
Evidently they considered putting a cap on the number of main characters allowed in our realm—and sticking with the tradition of all royals being protagonists—to be a vital part of keeping order in Book. The five of us, however, saw it as a twisted betrayal by the very leaders charged with keeping this kind of malevolence at bay. It was a problem that we somehow, someway needed to bring to an end.
We all thought on both Blue’s and Daniel’s proposals. It made sense to continue heading for the Author. In the meantime, we just needed to push past our worried feelings and trudge onwards. It sucked. But realistically, it seemed to be our best option.
“Fine then,” I agreed, looking around at the acquiescing nods of the rest of our group. “I guess it’s decided. We keep searching for the Author. Which means that now that we have the first item on Emma’s list to break the In and Out Spell, we should probably figure out how we’re going to find the second.”
“I actually have a few thoughts on that,” Blue piped in. “I think we have to go to Adelaide. Well, to the Forbidden Forest first, and then to Adelaide.”
Blue began to recount the gears that had been turning in her head about how to find the next ingredient for deconstructing the In and Out Spell around the Indexlands (i.e., “The Heart of the Lost Princess”).
While she wasn’t quite sure what the whole “heart” thing was referring to, Blue (like the rest of us) was sure that Book had only one “Lost Princess.” Princess Ashlyn of Adelaide—daughter of our land’s most famous hydrodynamic main character, the Little Mermaid.
A small spark tickled my brain at the thought of her. Being several years older than me, I’d only seen Ashlyn in passing at school. But suddenly I remembered that I had actually met her once. It had been during my first ball at Lady Agnue’s. The introduction had just been so many years ago, and for such a brief moment, that I’d forgotten.
When Ashlyn vanished a year and a half ago, all signs pointed to her being lost at sea, off the coast of her home kingdom in Adelaide. If we were going to find her, that was where we should start our search.
Of course, to search for anyone in the ocean, you have to hold your breath for more than a couple of minutes. That’s where the Forbidden Forest came into play.
Many mythical and magical entities were rumored to exist deep within our realm’s infamous forested area. The most whispered-about was called the Valley of Edible Enchantments. This place was said to house an assortment of different magical foods that people could consume to achieve a myriad of goals.
Blue’s obsession with fairytale history (and the fact that she was from Harzana, which bordered the Forbidden Forest) made her pretty familiar with its legends. She informed us with relative certainty that one part of the Valley had something we could use to breathe underwater for a prolonged period of time.
My friend’s logic was sound, and it made sense that the Valley should be our next stop. Our only hesitation was that it was a gamble to enter the Forbidden Forest at all. You had to be wary of monsters and magical creatures when you set foot in most forests in Book, but the Forbidden Forest was different. Few people had ever made it out alive, and even fewer had managed to find the legendary Valley we were seeking.
Then again, I supposed it was also a gamble that we would even be able to locate Princess Ashlyn, given that tons of people had already failed to find her.
Since risk, faith, and presumption were all we had to work with at the moment, we all agreed to the course of action anyways. Next stop—the Forbidden Forest and an accompanying order of highly probable doom for five.
Yeah, I know that’s not a real optimistic outlook. But I’ve had a long day.
As we proceeded to make camp for the night, I could tell SJ was still a bit uncertain about the idea, while Blue and Daniel seemed unfazed.
He hardly ever showed emotion, so I couldn’t tell if his indifference was due to lack of worry, or lack of ability to show it. Blue’s calm, on the other hand, was genuine. Things rarely got under her skin. And in this particular case, she was the most prepared of all of us.
The combined knowledge she’d acquired researching the Forbidden Forest in her books, and from the accounts of people in her village who’d survived its trap was impressive. For goodness’ sake, even her own older sister (Little Red Riding Hood) had firsthand experience of the Forbidden Forest.
Red’s journey had allowed my inquisitive friend to glean a very rare inside understanding of some of the Forbidden Forest’s internal workings. Knowing that, I understood how Blue could be so even-tempered about the mission ahead.
Not worried about her, my eyes drifted to the area of the campsite where Jason was chopping wood for the fire. He hacked away with his trusty axe at a steady pace—silent, focused, and keeping to himself as he tried not to burden us with the emotions that must’ve been whirring around his head in regards to Mark.
I felt bad for him. Our friend’s unknown state was gnawing at the back of my mind just as it was no doubt gnawing at the back of Blue’s and SJ’s. But the three of us didn’t know Mark anywhere near as well as Jason did. Up until this year, we typically only saw the boys once a month for our school balls. Jason, on the other hand, had been Mark’s full-time friend and roommate for two years. He must’ve been really worried.
Despite how he was probably feeling, Jason remained stoic. Not because he was too proud or closed off to admit such feelings, but because he didn’t want to weigh down our mission. It was his way—putting aside his needs for the needs of the many and the greater good.
I admired him for that, just as I admired Blue for her bravery, SJ for her compassion, and even Daniel for how secure he was with himself. They were all pillars that stood for something. What with everything going on, I wasn’t sure I felt that kind of power in any part of myself anymore. How could I when my life was becoming an epicenter for change and conflict?
Jason, Daniel, Blue, and SJ continued to move about the campsite. We’d packed more than enough supplies in the trunk of our carriage. While SJ rolled out the sleeping bags, Jason prepared the fire and Daniel removed the harnesses from the Pegasi and set up an area for them to sleep. I, meanwhile, went to aid Blue with unpacking the food.
As I helped her, my focus was not so much on the various cans of beans she’d brought with her, but on the journey that lay ahead—the fate that awaited us in a place that so few had ever dared explore.
It would be a tricky, risky endeavor, and I was anxious just thinking about it. But despite my initial skepticism over the likelihood of our success, I wasn’t afraid of the Forbidden Forest. The term “forbidden,” in my opinion, had always been more of a suggestion. And honestly, the stories I’d heard about the place sounded far too far-fetched to be taken seriously . . .
Secrets & Lies
eace.
Peace and quiet.
In my experience there was nothing comparable to the calmness of a crisp ocean breeze paired with the smell of saltwater. I smiled contentedly with my eyes closed—basking in the pleasant atmosphere. Everything was perfect. Then I opened my eyes and saw myself standing about five feet in front of me.
And I wasn’t talking about a reflection. There was quite literally another Crisanta Knight standing before my eyes.
Other me was at the edge of a dock. She was wrapped in a blue blanket and clenching her fists nervously, a slender, gray boat with a scarlet sail passing across the water in front of her.
In a trance, I walked over to her and reached out. My hand went straight through her like she was a ghost. Or rather, since it was my hand that seemed to dematerialize as it passed through her, I was the ghost.
I figured I had to be dreaming. But no matter how realistic my dreams were, I always knew they were just that—dreams. For one, they were usually fairly blurry. Two, I’d never been a character in them; I was just an observer.
Yet there I was, standing right in front of me. So what other explanation could there be other than insanity?
“Hey, you sleepwalking or just taking in the sights?”
Me and other me spun around to find Blue trotting toward us. She approached the other me though, not me, me. And her not being able to see me, me reaffirmed that I was actually dreaming.
“Just getting an early start to the day,” dream me told her.
“You sure you’re okay?” Blue asked. “You look pretty beat. And SJ’s been looking out the kitchen window to check on you all morning with this worried expression on her face. But when I asked her what was up, she wouldn’t tell me.”
Dream me nodded absentmindedly. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Then she raised her eyebrows—seeming confused by whatever realization had just occurred to her.
“I’m surprised though,” she said. “Between your Bruce obsession and what happened back in Book, I wouldn’t have expected you to notice . . . or even care for that matter.”
“Well, I’m not over either,” Blue said slowly, “but I think Bruce would want us to move forward. Don’t you?”
“I do,” dream me agreed.
A beat passed and she bit her lip—processing some unknown thought. Then she glanced in my direction.
I could’ve sworn she was looking at me. But she couldn’t have seen me because I wasn’t really there. This was but a dream. A vivid one, mind you, but a dream nonetheless.
Turning her attention back to Blue, dream me exhaled and continued her conversation. “Which is why . . .” she began slowly. “Which is why I need to tell you something, Blue. Something important.”
Whatever dream me was about to tell Blue must’ve been big because I’d never seen so much conflict wrought across one person’s face. It made me cringe to witness. Imaginary or not, that was still my face. And seeing that much pain so deeply etched into my own features was as strange as it was unsettling.
Dream me’s eyes drifted toward the floor as she got ready to reveal whatever grand secret was weighing down on her. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to know what she intended to say. As quickly as I’d been deposited into the scene, I was ejected from it.
Ripped away from the dock, my consciousness was flung to the sandy shores of Adelaide. I hadn’t been on those beaches since our schools’ field trip weeks ago. Nevertheless, I instantly recognized the cave-dotted cliffside.
SJ, Blue, Jason, Daniel, and dream me were running down the beach with great haste. Something was wrong. They dashed inside one of the cliff’s cave openings and merged into a great tunnel system. When they rounded the corner, though, dream me vanished.
I wasn’t sure where she’d gone, but the others were now running on without her. They proceeded through the cliffside labyrinth, passing countless caves, many of which were half-submerged in water. All around them the ceilings and floors sprouted large, luminescent crystals—clear like sea foam and sharp like daggers.
Eventually they turned into a low-roofed cavern. Jason and Daniel continued ahead to make sure the coast was clear, leaving SJ and Blue behind.
An unfamiliar, heart-shaped silver locket outlined in lime green crystals swung from SJ’s neck. Blue drew her hunting knife and paced as she waited for the others to return. SJ started to bring her fingers to her temples as she always did when she was stressed, but stopped short and stared off in the direction they’d just come.
“We should not have let her go off alone,” she stated abruptly. “It was a mistake.”
“I may still be upset with Crisa, but her plan makes sense,” Blue reassured her.
“It does if we assume she was being honest about all the factors in play.”
“She told us the truth,” Blue said firmly.
“Yes, but are we certain she told us all of the truth?” SJ responded. “Lately Crisa has been a need-to-know-basis type of girl.”
“That’s only because she was trying to deal with everything on her own instead of bugging us with it,” Blue replied.
SJ gave Blue an incredulous look. “And who is to say she is not doing the same thing now?”
Just then I was yanked away from Blue and SJ’s conversation. My consciousness zoomed through the elaborate tunnel system until it came to a stop in front of dream me. I didn’t know where we were. The surroundings had faded to indiscernible black and we were squared off in a void, me watching her and her concentrating on a threat I could not see.
It was weird to be staring at myself like this. What was substantially weirder though, was when my consciousness was suddenly absorbed into that body.
The feeling was like having your soul suctioned out by a giant, electric toilet plunger. I merged with dream me and looked through her eyes just in time to see a massive purple blast shoot out of the void in my direction.
The horizontal tornado pulled me off my feet and dragged me forward, consuming me inside its swirling abyss. No matter how I struggled, the strange force would not let me go.
At the last second I felt someone grab my arm—trying to pull me out of the vortex. But it was too late. The help was not enough to hold me, or keep me out of the vortex’s grasp. I was gone—trapped within its power as I was sucked deeper into some kind of black hole heart.
I was about to make full impact with this dark endpoint when I was curtly dumped into another room entirely.
The forceful tornado, the cave, and whoever had been holding onto my arm had all disappeared. I was in some kind of theater now—surrounded by the vague outline of a vast audience and the dim light of torches lining rock walls.
There was a performance taking place on an enormous stage across from me. Blue was there (on the stage, I mean), only instead of her typical blue cloak she was wearing a blood red one like her sister used to.
