Lonely

Chapter 48, Sadie

Almost there, I kept telling myself. I hoped to be there by tomorrow, no matter how long it took. I was carrying Sophia, her weight resting on hip and her head curled at the base of my neck. Ariadne had offered to take her little sister, but I could see how tired she was without the load. Libby and sully were walking a little ways behind us, talking as they always did with each other. Ryder was leaving little trails of green grass in the places he stepped. Jett was walking sullenly along, kicking up the leaves, listening to Roxi tell him about funny things she had seen people let to other people. Probably not the best idea for her to be going through people’s personal stuff like that, but it didn’t really matter. Rex had showed up and was following Ryder. We walked in silence, all of us tired.

Suddenly, something burst out of the woods and grabbed Ryder. Sully was there before it could move, hitting it with a stick over its head before it could move. I realized it was a gorilla. A big gorilla, twice the size of a regular one, with rough, black, hair, big black eyes and sharp teeth. It snorted when Sully hit him and spun in a circle, still clutching Ryder. I stood in front of it as it zeroed in on me and dropped Ryder heavily on the ground. The other kids huddled around him and dragged him some distance off. The gorilla pounded its chest and roared wildly, then swung a massive fist the size of my head at me. I ducked. How does one fight a monkey? I asked myself. I remembered I was alone. They may be just kids, but they would have to learn to use their skills on the offensive anyways. A sudden idea struck me. There was really only one person who could help me with this.

“Vines! I need vines around him!” I shouted, ducking under another one of the monkeys swings. I spun in a full circle just in time for his massive fist to slip my cheek and send me sprawling backwards. Vines started growing up his legs, but he simply pulled away from them. “A distraction! Sully!” I cried. Within moments there was my back pack swinging slowly through the air like a pendulum. The gorilla stopped moving to watch it with wonder. Ryder’s vines grew thick and long up its legs, and encircled its waist. It wasn’t until it was too late did it notice that the vines had wrapped thickly around its arms and was continuing up. Suddenly, a rusty, large pipe swung through the air behind the gorilla and cracked it on its head with a sickening sound. The gorilla dropped like a rock and laid limply on the ground. Sully suddenly appeared next to Libby as I rubbed my cheek and caught my breath. I turned my gaze from the beast to Ryder. “Are you alright?’ I asked, kneeling down in front of him. He nodded, and I managed to gather them all in my arms for a semi hug. “We’ll be back to Arianna’s tomorrow night, and then we’ll be safe, okay?” I said. They all nodded. I looked back at the beast.

“We need to keep going.” I ushered them all forward, Sophia a vibrant shade of red as she stalked angrily past the beast. Roxi flicked her hand. “You know, gorilla’s can be very dangerous.” She said. I raised my eye brows at her in mock surprise. “Really? Who would have thought that.” I said. She smiled at me.

Ariadne was lying on her back watching the sky. She looked peaceful enough, but clouds blocked out the moon and every now and then a cold wind blew through. Sophia was asleep at her side, and Roxi was on her other side. Libby and Sully were back to back, leaning against each other and somehow staying upright. Ryder and Jett had fallen asleep on either side of me. Ariadne sighed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her. She turned her head towards me, momentarily surprised. She looked at her two younger sisters to make sure they were fast asleep. “I just worry, you know? I’ve known Arianna for a long time, and she wouldn’t have called us all together if there wasn’t something serious going on.” She sighed. I patted her arm. “I know you’re worried about them,” I said jerking my head towards her sisters, “but Arianna never would put them in any real danger. If there is going to be battle, she’ll make sure each and every one of these kids is safe.” Ariadne nodded, her face was still pinched, and I knew my words had done little to appease her. I doubted anything I would say would make it better. She was big girl, and all she had was her sisters, who she had always taken care of. Libby and sully relied so heavily on each other, because they had been best friends since they met. Jett was probably going to stay behind enemy lines, because he would be there for the wounded.

The wounded. I didn’t like the thought that we would need Jett. Ariadne settled down between her sisters, and soon fell asleep as I hummed a song one of my nannies had taught me. Tomorrow I would be back with Hanger, and everything would be alright. As long as we were together, we could take anything. I hoped he would be there when I got there. I let myself drift back to that day in the rain, underneath that old bent willow tree on the edge of the pond. They way he looked at me, looked at me still, with his wide dark eyes and secretive face that was like an open book to me now. The way he could be so dark and serious, yet be as gentle and playful as a school boy. He never ceased to amaze me.

I rested my head on top of Ryder’s and shut my eyes, imagining Hanger’s face. I loved him so much. I knew there would be no more searching for me. Hanger was the one person I actually, truly loved in my life, and I intended on keeping it that way. I hoped he did too, because now that I had a taste, I couldn’t get it off my tongue. It was permanent, and couldn’t be washed away. I opened my eyes and looked at Libby and Sully. They were young now, and maybe clueless as to what love was, but they wouldn’t be for long. In a few years, maybe they would be like me and Hanger. I hoped they all would find someone like that, even quiet little Jett who liked small spaces and being by himself. I had no doubt that somewhere out there, in ten years, there was the perfect person, waiting for him. God knows that I began to doubt it. I never had a boy friend. My mother always told it was because I was too rough around the edges, and if I would just clean up my act, I could have any one. That she approved of, anyways. I didn’t have to change for Hanger though. He wanted me the way I was, and that was enough. I closed my eyes again and let the thought lull me to sleep.