"That's not how the story goes"

Chapter 14

Alex jumped into the river, splashing Denis and Sub behind him. Denis took off his jacket and shoes before jumping in as well. He tackled Alex and shoved him under water. Sub stood off to the side laughing. Alex and Denis both splashed him.

Sub laughed and jumped in as well. Elijah sat perched on a large rock, watching the group splash and shove every other.

"AH! Something touched my leg!" Denis screamed and ran out of the water. Sub looked where Denis had stood. He bent down and lifted a leaf out of the water.

"Ooooh! So scary!" Alex laughed. Denis kicked water at Alex's face and crossed his arms.

"Elijah!" Alex called. "Come in with us!" The dragon shook their head.

"No thanks," Elijah mumbled. "I don't feel like getting leeches." Sub and Alex quickly got out as Elijah laughed.

-

"I'm gonna go change," Denis as he took his shirt off.

"Me too," Alex grabbed his bag. "I'm already cold." The two walked off. Elijah jumped down from the rock and walked over. Sub sat against a tree, looking down.

"Are you ok?" Elijah asked and sat next to him. Sub looked up.

"What? Oh-" He looked away again. "It's nothing." Elijah tilted their head.

"What's wrong? If you don't feel comfortable with me here-"

"It's not that," Sub sighed. Sub lightly lifted his shirt, revealing his chest wrapped up. "I'm just not comfortable with my own body."

Elijah sighed and licked his face, making Sub smile. "I'll go over there while you change. I don't want you sitting around in wet clothes and getting cold." Elijah walked off.

-

The stars in the sky shimmered through the clouds. Denis, Sub, and Elijah had fallen asleep already. Alex laid there, staring at the sky. He looked back at his friends and smiled. There was a breeze. Alex curled up to warm himself more.

"We need to find a place to go," He said to himself. He pulled out the pocket watch his grandmother had given him.

Alex traced the engraved pattern on the front, a tear falling down his face.

-

"Get up boys- and Elijah!" Alex called. The three of them wearily sat up and rubbed their eyes.

"What are you doing?" Sub yawned.

"You all need to get up! There's an abandoned town a little ways east of here. We could go there for shelter." Alex explained while gathering the groups supplies.

The others helped him and soon began walking.

"So- how'd you find out about this town?" Denis asked. Alex pulled the pocket watch from his grandmother out of his pocket.

"This showed me," The others looked at Alex confused. "Look! It's a compass! The red line points north and this orange one points to towns! It'll change color to show what's where!"

Sub took the compass. The orange line pointed semi-east while another pointed north.

"How'd you know that?" He asked, handing Alex the compass again.

"There's this small button here," Alex pointed at a bump at the top of the compass. He pressed it and flipped it over. On the back, there were colors and what each meant. "There's also a second button that changes the color of the line so it'll point to different things."

Soon, the group arrived at the town. Vines and other overgrown plants covered the buildings.

Sub, Denis, and Alex ran off to explore. Elijah sat outside one of the building, waiting for the others. They looked at the town. A large tower stuck out to them.

Elijah began making their way towards it. It was connected to a large house. Elijah went inside to explore. Most of the down stairs was covered in vines, making it difficult to get through.

They decided to explore upstairs instead. They made their down a hall to a large door. On the other side, a spiral of wooden planks.

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