What Lies Beyond

Chapter 16

My eyes flutter open, only to see me being carried by Matthew into the forest. My stomach plummets, as I realize I'm hanging upside down. My legs are wrapped securely around his shoulders while my hands and head are dragging onto the ground. I squirm briskly, trying to save myself.

"PUT ME DOWN!" I exclaim extremely suddenly without thinking.

Matthew briskly drops my body onto the ground. My forehead is suddenly in major pain.

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" I exclaim in pain, clutching my forehead while laying on the ground.

Matthew just glares at me, while I slowly scramble to my feet.

"Where's the jewel?" I demand.

Matthew takes a step back. "Woah, calm down, Summer. Calm down."

"I'm calm enough," I snap instantly.

Matthew takes another step back, obviously petrified by my attitude today. But, I'm not ready to wait on him or wait for him. I'm ready to do this thing. All I want to do is find Autumn... That's it! I'm infuriated by the favorable thought of having Autumn here. I'm irate, because Matthew's the idiot who cannot carry a sleeping person correctly. But, I'm an idiot too, so who's to say? Well, I can say whatever I want. Freedom of speech is the law in America. I'm not sure if there are any rules in the Land of Stories. It's just a land, full of mythical characters.

"The jewel is in my hand," Matthew mutters softly and innocently for once.

His dark brown pits stare into my grey eyes. We stare at each other while walking for a few moments.

I see another kingdom right in front of my eyes. My eyes widen as I walk towards the kingdom, as Matthew sprints in front of me. It makes me wonder how exciting my life would be back on Earth. On Earth, everything turned out... Well, almost everything... I feel like in dying, my hands in front of my feet as I walk. The kingdom is beautiful and shiny, making me both irate and excited. The haughty guards walk around the palace as we approach it.

"Hello?" I ask.

Matthew pulls me to the side, shaking his finger at me.

"What am I, a dog?!" I practically yell in his face.

Matthew gives me the dirty look.

Matthew pins me to the wall at the limit, which is the choking point for me. I gulp my own saliva just as Matthew drops me onto the cold, hard ground. The sickening proportions of the smelly air to the millions of people here made me start to believe again. Now, I can finally complete all the stuff that I wanted to.

I finally feel some what of a sense of complete triumph. Matthew's a dictator and I'm staying strong. Matthew punches a guard in the neck.

"NOOO!" I exclaim with cowardice.

Matthew glares at me harshly. A guard grabs Matthew's neck and pulls him back. Then, he knocks him down. One guard reaches for me, the I kick him in the face, but he doesn't collapse. He still holds a tight grasp on me. And, it bothers the heck out of me.

Then, he punches another guard and elbows him in the gut, causing the guard to punch Matthew.

Now, I finally have come to my senses. "Your a criminal. You're Lloyd's son."

"And right you are," Matthew snickers, "I need to tell you something surprising. I've never committed a crime, before I saw you."