Lost {Ongoing:In Editing}

A Nightmare Brought To Life

Chapter XXXIX

THE NEXT DAY CAME quickly. Joey was half amazed at how sound asleep she stayed the entire night, but really after everything her body went through, she wasn't surprised at how peacefully she slept. Glancing around, she saw the weary faces of the others, but still they pressed on in their search for the second Dome. She lowered her head staring at her boots as she trudged along. Truth be told, she didn't care about finding the exit anymore. Not since she discovered the truth about her dad.

Shifting her eyes upward, she watched as Mr. Magnus shot her an occasion glance. Before she had drifted off last night, Thomas had explained all that happened. Jenny and Heather returning, the Pikulo, Chase's death, the door they thought would maybe lead to their escape, and Mr. Magnus the assassin, and Lucinda's escape. So much had happened while she was trapped in the dream state.

Peering at the back of her friends heads, she gulped as her heart beat quickened. The thought of losing them never left her mind, and the fact that Lucinda was now roaming around out there freely brought back the dream, vision, future, whatever it was that Lucinda seared into her brain. Even though she wasn't close to Chase, she had started to consider him a friend ... and she wasn't planning on losing anymore.

Her legs grew weak as they tired and from the lack of lifting them high enough off the ground, the tip of her boot rammed against a stone in the earth and she collapsed to her knees, her palms smacking the dirt. Drawing everyone's attention, she blushed and panted from her racing pulse. "I'm alright," she assured. She felt Thomas's familiar grip around her shoulders as he helped her to her feet. Gazing into his gentle eyes, she grinned and gave him a slight nod.

"We'll rest for a few minutes," Michelle declared, her voice strangely tender. "We're getting close to the edge of the Dome anyway."

"The edge?" Joey asked, whirling her head towards Michelle as her brow pulled together. "But we haven't found the doorway to the next Dome."

"Not in this direction," Michelle responded mildly, "but there's three other directions to try." She glanced around at the others tired faces. "We'll find it!" She said a little louder. "We will."

Feeling defeated, Joey plopped down on a fallen log and rested her hands on her head. This journey to find the second Dome felt like it would never come to an end. She desperately wanted to get out of here, as she was sure most, if not all, of the others felt the same way.

"Michelle's right," she heard Thomas's sentimental voice in her ear. "It has to be here."

At first, she didn't reply, but her frustration kept her from being silent. She flung her hands to the side as she mockingly quoted, "Then where is this exit that's supposed to 'lie beneath our feet?' Huh?" She crossed her arms and looked away. "I thought surely we would've found something to suggest it's whereabouts by now."

Thomas placed a hand on her knee. "You're being too hard on yourself. Just a day ago you were laying on the ground dying." Her shoulders sagged. "And to be fair, the Dome is brutal! It feels like every five seconds we're trying to save someone, or ourselves, from dying. That doesn't give us much chance to keep searching for the doorway."

Joey sighed as she looked down. "At this pace, it'll take us years and half the people here to find the exit."

"Joey, I think—"

"Shh!" She quickly cut him off as she sat up straight. Her ears perked as she listened intently to the sounds around her. A few spurts sounded, kind of reminding her of the sound of popcorn, but eventually it grew louder into a crackle. "Do you hear that?"

After a second, Thomas replied, "Hear what?"

Her gaze shifted up towards Michelle who returned the worried glance. Clearly, the fearless leader was hearing the same thing she was. Her heart leapt when Michelle perked up and raced into the forest disappearing out of sight.