Searching for a Myth

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Poppy's POV:

"Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are ..." Basil trills softly, before closing her eyes.

Currently she, Violet, and I are laying down on a soft grassy area, with large oak trees circling around us like some type of wooden barrier hiding us from the real world. A navy blue sky decorated in sparkling stars hangs above, so peaceful it's as if the atmosphere itself is asleep.

Everything is so calm and placid, yet there's a knot in my stomach telling me that something bad will happen tonight. It's strange; Violet and Basil are both snoring contentedly beside me, catching up on the sleep that they've missed for days in order to keep traveling because I always said we were "in dangerous territory." They deserve to rest. Me, though? Nope, I just can't.

Maybe I'll go gather some nuts and berries, or whatever I can find around this area. I grab small cotton pouch, and slowly get up, careful not to disturb my two sleeping friends. Then, I begin walking around the smallest tree, the one we stationed our camp around, and start searching.

Obviously, all humans have very bad night vision, but I once played a game back at the orphanage, where we all had to close our eyes and use our sense of touch to figure out what object someone put in our hands. Hazel failed miserably at it-and threw a mini tantrum after being laughed at-but I found it pretty easy. You just had to use the elimination process to scratch out whatever things didn't feel like whatever thing you held, and study the texture real hard.

Now is a good time to play that game. I reach my hand out into something that felt like a bush, and float my fingers over the surface. Nothing. I dig in deeper; all the good berries should grow on the very inside of the bush, not the rim. However, I pull my arm out with my hand sadly empty.

Luckily, I score a handful of blueberries in the next bush I locate. I shove all of them inside my bag, but can't resist popping one or two small ones into my mouth. The burning, sour taste is amazing, contrary to the raw meat coming from the rabbits and squirrels we've eaten before

I lift my legs, walking back to where Basil and Violet are still sleeping. But now, they seem to have woken up for a couple seconds and moved closer so they could share each other's warmth in the chilly midnight air.

Putting the bag down by my side, I lay down too and force myself to dissolve into a world of dreamless sleep.

⁓Time skip ⁓

"POPPY! BASIL! WAKE UP!"

My eyes instantly blink open when I see Violet crouched over us with the fear of a deer just about to get shot in her eyes.

"Hmm?" Basil stirs beside me. "What-"

Violet cuts her off. "We've got to move on! I heard a few shots in the air and s-saw a flash of w-white!"

Shots? White? I think, and then a thought hits me. Peacekeepers!

"Okay, let's go." I sloppily pick up all our stuff and shove them into my small backpack, slinging it onto my back. "Where did those shots come from?" I ask Violet.

"Around there." She points to an area with fewer trees.

Basil brings out the compass. "That's around east. We're heading north. Let's get running." She takes off silently, with Violet and I at her heels.

The wind seems to be defying against us, pushing at our bodies with each gust, but my legs move keep moving. However, we all skid to a stop when we come across a clearing with a bunch of trees all standing together, branches intertwined.

"I think ... we ... can stop now." Basil pants, taking breaths between words as she speaks.

"Yeah." I sit down. "We've lost them."

Violet kneels down too, picking at blades of grass but saying nothing.

A chilly breeze runs through my hair and birds begin to sing, announcing the start of a new day. The sky is a beautiful mixture of pink, orange, and blue, and the trees are like silhouettes below it. Everything is so cheerful. I breathe out a sigh of relief and close my eyes to this natural symphony-

BOOM!

Basil, Violet and I all stare at each other at the same time in shock, but before we can do anything a loud, cracked voice shouts,

"Stay still and hold your hands up. We're taking you to court for illegal trespassing."

The bushes around us move a little, and a quiet footstep slides on the forest floor.

"Trees," Basil mouthes, and she and I move to a giant, thick tree, grabbing the branches and pulling ourselves up. I'm about to snatch another twig, but snap! The branch I'm stepping on cracks, and I tumble a good ten feet down before Basil snatches my hand, and pulls me up again. We keep ascending until we can see what's down on the ground.

Violet perches on a tree right beside ours, a finger to her lips.

To my horror, Peacekeepers walk into the clearing below us, more and more of them coming in like a colony of ants. They stay there for a very long time, whispering to each other. Then, five Peacekeepers go away, but the others are still looking around like hawks.

One of them calls out, "Whoever is hiding, come out right now or you'll be charged more than the crimes you've already committed."

Basil's face is dangerously pale, and she's slightly shaking. I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be alright," I mouth, although it probably isn't.

Finally, all the Peacekeepers shake their heads and exit the clearing. However, we all wait a good five minutes before climbing back down again and heading north.

The rest of the trip is silent, until the hot noon sun rises over our foreheads and Basil exclaims, "That was seriously close!" and smiles.

But her statement has a little bit of hesitation, and her smile seems to be forced.

Chapter by the wonderful Ruler-of-Fandoms