The Garden (Discontinued)

Passage 7

They skidded to a stop when the two boys froze in their tracks. Mei looked back at them to see fear written in their faces.

"Eat... Eat Rosie?"

Anna nodded, her eyes sad. Meisha was suddenly struck by the familiarity of the situation. Mei started running faster, not paying attention to already how hard she was panting. How many times had happened before? How many times had she tried to help a child, but failed? How many more times did she need to confront the horrors of knowing she hadn't been able to save someone...

"Hey! Don't run so fast! We can't keep up!" Mei slowed down a little, looking behind her to finally realize how fast she'd be running. She slowed, and Anna, Thomas, and Sean finally caught up to her.

"We need to hurry, if what Anna says is true." Meisha stated harshly, and began running again. She could faintly hear Anna mumble "If? Really?"

They started running up towards the hill. Mei could see the cave-

"That's it! I call BS!" Thomas remarked sharply. He stopped and stood, and the rest of the group looked at him.

"Thomas..?" Sean questioned.

Anna stared at Thomas, shooting daggers with her eyes. "Why are we stopping?!"

"I don't believe any of this. There's no way a place could eat a person. Come on, Sean! It doesn't make sense! Why should we believe anything they say?" Thomas argued. Meisha couldn't think of a response. Anna just stared at him. "You're just a coward. I've seen people die, and I wasn't able to help them. But this time, I am going to help Rosie! With you or without!"

Meisha looked at Anna, shocked. Thomas glared back at Anna. "You could just be lying, for all we know!" Thomas looked at Sean angrily. "Come on Sean, think about it. She's a runaway with no parents, there's no reason why she couldn't be doing this just to get attention. And look at Meisha! She lives alone in a forest for crying out loud!"

Meisha got tired of the bickering that was going on between the boys. She could still hear them arguing as she turned around and began to jog towards the cave, her pace quickening as she heard an ear piercing scream come from the direction she was running. Meisha didn't need Thomas and Sean to help her, she didn't even need Anna. Mei could do this herself. If she could save at least one child from death, it would be worth it, right?

Mei's lungs were on fire, and her legs felt like rusting steel, but she nonetheless kept running. She heard someone jogging behind her, and as she turned around, she saw Eva. Instantly, she noticed that the bickering had stopped. What had Eva done to the kids? And what was she doing right now? Meisha spent a moment, one precious moment, and realized that Eva was probably there to stop her from saving Rosie. Mei ignored her pain once more and ran even faster. She was almost at the cave's entrance when she felt something attack her back, then she fell flat on the ground, her face hitting the hard surface violently. Whatever- no, whoever was on her back began to flip Meisha over, slamming her hands onto her shoulders. Eva was right in front of her face, her face made into a scowl.

"I knew I should've gotten rid of you sooner! For the past eleven years you have gotten in my way! Now I'm going to do what I should have! You still have colour, so the Garden should like you, lord knows it's wanted you gone since you came here," Eva shrieked, and Meisha's face turned into pure rage. But before Meisha could do anything Eva latched onto Mei's collar, lifting her up and smashing her back down again. Meisha's vision turned black, her mind filled with one thought.

She had been helpless again...