The Chronicles of Narnia: The Children of New

Chapter 4: Moving Forward in Hard Times

Zoran's POV

"Yeah. Thank Zor—" Anna started to say but then was cut off. I had to watch in horror as the ground beneath her gave way, and my little sister went over the cliff. It all happened so fast there was no time to try and grab her. She was just gone. It was like time was frozen for everyone because no one moved a muscle or said a word.

"ANNA!!!" I yelled after I broke out of the trance I had been in. I raced towards the spot where she had fallen as fast as my feet could carry me. I was about to look to see if there was anything left to grab. Or if just maybe she had managed to grab a root or something. But I was stopped by an arm and I had to stand there and watch her continue to fall. She didn't even scream or cry out for help. She just kept falling towards the water that was at least 100 feet below the cliff. Angrily I spun around to the person who had stopped me, "What the hell, Justin! First, you're a clone that breaks her heart and now you just stopped me from going after her and possibly saving her! What is your problem?!?" I yelled at Justin while trying to get out of his grasp.

"Zoran. ZORAN! Just stop for a minute!" Ray yelled at me. Ray was standing in front of my face, helping Justin keep me away from the edge of the cliff. I stopped trying to fight Justin off so she took his place and hugged me. I went limp with disbelief. "We need to get away from the cliff Zoran. I know you want to go down and find her body, but we have to leave. There's no telling what will happen if we stay here. The cliff probably collapsed due to too much weight." Ray said softly

"But I--" I started to say before I realized she was right. But part of me desperately wanted to go after my sister. I'm her older brother. Her safety is my responsibility. Or was my responsibility. God Damnit!!! I thought while Ray began leading me away from the edge and back towards the group.

Jackson and Patrick were still staring at the cliff with sorrow, shock, and disbelief in their eyes. Everything was all happening so fast and the tension and fear in the air was thick. "Let's all go over to that clearing over there and talk about what we do now," Justin said, trying to break the tension.

We all just simply nodded my head and started to slowly walk over. There was a spot not too far from the cliff that was clear enough for all of us to fit and possibly make camp for the night. Once we were all sitting, it was Patrick who spoke first, "This is getting way too crazy. First, we show up in Narnia, a place that is supposed to be fictional, then we all almost get killed by the other side of whatever this war is, and now Anna is--" But he couldn't finish the sentence, no one wanted to be the first to acknowledge that she was gone.

Justin sighed, "She's gone. She's gone. I hate to admit it but it's true. No one could've survived that fall. It's just-- no way. She's dead and now Princess Ariana is going to kill me," he rubbed his face in frustration. They continued to talk but I wasn't listening.

(Play song 2) My head was splitting and my heart was broken. I felt like someone had just pushed me into freezing cold water and then ripped away my air. She was so young. She had so much ahead of her. Her life had barely just begun! Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been me? I mean I had ONE job and I failed. All I had to do was make sure she doesn't get hurt. That's what any older brother would want and do. And what did I do? Failed drastically. I was so in my head that I did not hear or pay attention to what the group had decided on.

"Zoran, did you hear what we just said?" Ray asked softly

"No, I didn't, sorry,"

"That's ok Zoran. We were just thinking of camping here tonight and then early in the morning setting out again," said Justin

"So what we're just going to keep going without even looking for her body?" I asked them all darkly. Not looking for right now was understandable, but leaving without looking for the body is just wrong.

"We have to Zoran. Do you want to get captured? Or worse killed? The princess wants you all back at base camp as soon as possible. We have to go." Justin said as he kicked the pebbles in front of him. I noticed that he wouldn't look me in the eye.

"It's not fair at all and you know it. She deserves to be at least buried here. She won't even get to graduate let alone be buried at her own home. It isn't fair for us to just leave and not do anything about it. Especially when she wasn't supposed to be here in the first place," I snap back at him

"You heard me earlier. I don't know why you five were chosen to be here. But you were and you are here for a reason. It's about time you all except that and deal with the fact you might be stuck here for a little bit,"

I was ready to clap back at him when Patrick spoke first. He looked distraught and upset, "I think by now, Justin, we've all accepted the fact that the only way home is after we talk with this Princess. But Zoran does have a point. Shouldn't we at least try and locate her body?"

Justin stood and said "We can't and both of you know why. We have to keep moving forward. We really shouldn't have even stopped to rest. But given the circumstances... I think that'll be best for all of us,"

"I hate to say it, but Justin is right. I mean look at us. None of us knows where we are really, what war is going, where we're going, or how to get home. Justin is the only one who can lead us to answers. Plus he also has the most experience,"

We all nodded and silently made the decision. Patrick turned to me with what looked like tears in his eyes. "You know, I always liked her. She never knew it and I doubt she liked me back. But I always did. I just never had the courage to tell her. She was always so kind to anyone she met but also had this presence around her that she could get anything done if she put her mind to it. I just wish I hadn't been so worried about stupid labels and talked to her sooner. I wish I could go back and try and befriend her. She was an amazing person,"

"Thanks, Patrick. And just so you know, she did like you back. She just never did anything about it because she thought she didn't stand a chance with you. But you're right, she was an amazing and kind person," Ray said for me. She knew that I needed time to process and wasn't going to make me talk unless I had to,

"Zoran," Jackson said as he ran a hand through his hair, "Anna would have wanted us to keep going. You know that as well as I do. She also would've wanted you to not blame yourself,"

Ray let out a sigh and shook her head at Jackson, signalling him to shut up. It worked because he stopped talking and went to go tend to Jethro. Patrick soon followed suit taking the hint Ray had given Jackson.

"I'm fine Ray. We'll rest here and then go to base camp in the morning," she looked at me worried while I stood up, "I'm going on a walk. I'll bring back some wood," I then squeezed Ray's hand before walking away.

I hadn't walked that far away before I broke down. I began thinking to myself, I can't believe she's gone. She can't be gone. I won't believe it. It should have been me. It should have fucking been me! THIS ISN'T FAIR!!! I kicked and punched the nearest tree. I had so much anger that had built up from the accident and everything else that had taken place during the day. Too much had happened for me to keep it all bottled up inside. I could feel blood trickling down between my fingers. So I stopped fighting the tree and slid down it. I just let everything go. "Why did it have to be her? How am I supposed to keep going without her? This isn't fair. THIS IS FAIR" I cried out into the empty forest.

I'm not sure how long had passed but it was a reasonable amount of time since the sun had set. I was still sitting against the tree thinking and reminiscing to myself. Ever since she was born, I made it my job to protect and watch over Anna. Even though we were incredibly close and I knew that she didn't need protection, I told myself I would always be there for her. No matter what. And now she was actually gone. I've been angry, scared, tired, upset, and depressed before. But losing my sister was the most painful thing that's ever happened to me. I felt emotions I had never experienced before. While looking up at the stars, I said the words I would always say to her whenever she was upset or crying, "I love you Anna and I will always be your brother. Your brother under the sun" Then I whip my tears, put on a brave face, and headed back to camp as if nothing ever happened. Anna would've wanted me to get up, move on, and keep going. So that's exactly what I planned on doing.