What Lies Beyond

Chapter 15

As soon as we walk into the room, Matthew and I run to a wall and stay there for a few seconds.

Matthew glares at me and whispers, "Run, run, run, then we'll get the gem. Then run and run and run."

I stare at him back, shrugging it off, but still taking in every piece of the advice. "Run for our lives," I mutter softly.

Matthew nods, knowing that I'm right. We know he's right as well. It's a compromise, or combination of efforts from each party in the plan. Neither of us could afford denial, especially me. I can not afford denial, until we get to Autumn. When we get to Autumn, Matthew will probably... Leave... But, I don't think I would like him to leave. I think we would have a great time, running for our lives like we're doing currently.

Autumn and Goldilocks would teach us random skills that they've picked up along the way. I laugh at what Matthew and would I have done. We would have fought in all the wrong ways, received the most terrible glares, and would have called Goldilocks by the wrong name.

This journey has been exciting, enchanting, but most importantly, relieving. I'm not the only one struggling to live in this land. Autumn probably is too. It breaks my heart but also refreshes it. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

We have done stuff that I would never do when I'm at home. Never. usually one to eat pizza and do my hair. Autumn usually gorged on cupcakes, watching me do my makeup. Autumn went to school with crazy hair in every other day than crazy hair day. On crazy hair day, she wore her hair nicely, saying that's crazy for her.

Matthew and I stay as solid and solitary as soldiers, as we slowly creep across the wall, making sure that no guards are around us. Matthew nods his head, as a signal for me to run. I run towards the jewel at full speed. My face hits against something hard. The glass case. There is a bruise starting to form on my face, which I don't care about, but it might ruin my disguise completely.

"You idiot," Matthew mutters under his breath, crossing his arms across his broad and muscular chest.

I chuckle silently to myself. I shrug it off, but I also know that he's very right. How right he is.

I slowly open the box and take the jewel out. I run at full speed, tightly clutching the jewel with my left hand. I know I'm losing blood circulation, but it's the best I can do. My hand is turning blue, but now, I don't really care.

My personality has changed since I arrived here. And, I want my unicorn to come back to me. I took it all for granted back with Autumn, but now, I know why the staircase came down. I understand why everything happened. Everything happens for a reason. That's just life. Life is unfair. That's just the way it goes.

I feel like a mixture of salt and chlorine, due to the hideous smell of my body odor and my extreme anxiety. I'm still running at full speed, not paying attention to anyone or anything else around me except for the jewel. I remember my speed accelerating so much that my feet are swept off the ground. I remember a blue liquid pouring out of my hands and feet making me move so briskly, and making my body go higher, higher, higher! I remember being at such a high altitude, it was hard for me to breathe.

"Hello?" I asked.

"SUMMER!" Matthew asked, then the world went black.