60 Facing Death

That night we told Fern and she didn't take it well. She cried and screamed, threaten to hate me, and disown me but in the end, she cried and held me close. The following morning I got dressed in my old clothes. The ones I showed up in.

My hair was now past my shoulders so I quickly pull it into a pony and finish dressing. I slip on my black boots, the ones I walked two miles in with broken ankles and lanced them up. I slipped on my thigh belt and slipped in the knife that Hunter gave me.

I tie a small bag to my belt and check to make sure I have the small metal balls. Once making sure I was ready, I look back into the mirror at myself. It was me, but it was also like looking at a stranger. My eyes weren't the same... my baby fat was gone and now I looked hard and cold.

No longer the small, innocent girl I used to be. When I hear a knock, I turn to see Hunter standing in my doorway. CheeChee jumps up onto my shoulder and bounces in excitement as Hunter gives me a sad smile.

"Fern said she's not coming. She can't watch you get eaten." He says with a strained smile. I give him a knowing smile and say "You shouldn't either. Just point me in the right direction and I'll find them." Hunter shakes his head and says "Nope, I'm coming along and I won't leave until I know you're gone."

I nod and follow him out after pulling on my backpack. As we pass the kitchen table, I pull out a necklace that has a single bead of glass that I made and place it on the table. It matches the one I'm wearing and I want Fern to have it.

After that, I follow Hunter out and into the woods. Unlike before, I easily move through the woods like I was apart of them without making a single sound. After traveling for a while, we finally come to a stop as Hunter says "They're down there. Over the years, whenever they get close to the city we would lead them out here and trick them. They fall down but they can't ever get back up. We thought they would die after a while of not eating but that doesn't seem to be the case."

He looks back to me with a grave face and asks "Are you sure about this? You know you don't have to do this." I give him a small smile and say "Yeah, I'm sure Hunter. I have to do this... I have to." Hunter sighs and says "Then I won't stop you..."

I reach into my pocket and pull out a necklace, just like the one I gave Fern and just like the one around my neck. He wraps his large hand around it and pulls me into a tight hug before saying "This isn't goodbye, this is a see you later."

I nod my head and try to keep the tears out of my eyes as I pull back and smile. CheeChee fusses, demanding the same thing so I reach into my other pocket and pull out a small version of the necklace.

His eyes light up with joy as he quickly snatches it and pulls it over his tiny head. I smile and rub his head before looking back to Hunter and saying "I'll see you later." He clenches his jaw and nods as he says "I'll see you later."

I nod and walk over to the ledge overlooking the pit below. Three large Ghouls stand at the bottom, mindlessly walking from one side to the other but as soon as I kick a rock in, they all turn to look up.

My skin crawls with the memory of these things but I clench my fists in determination. I try to pull CheeChee off several times but he isn't having it. Hunter manages to pry him off and hold him as I turn and walk back over to the ledge.

"Here goes nothing..." I mutter and jump. It's not so far down that I'll get hurt but it still makes my stomach flip. CheeChee yells and before I realize it, CheeChee hits my back as we both fall down into the pit! I hear Hunter yell out as the Ghoul opens its large mouth like a large black hole!

Fear nearly stops my heart as I reach around and grab CheeChee. I hold him close to my chest and take a deep breath before closing my eyes. As soon as I hit, I feel a strange suction all over before I'm sudden spit out onto the hard ground.

I roll a few times and hold CheeChee close to keep him from getting hurt and curse. Why did it spit me out!? I quickly look up to glare at the thing but nothing's there. I blink in surprise and quickly look around.

Everything's dark... I glance around and see several trees but they're all bare like they're dead. When I look down at the ground, I notice that it too was bare! Bare and... purple? Confusion eats away at me as I quickly stand.

CheeChee stays close to my chest but stays silent as I look around us. Nothing... Not a single soul. Not even a bug... I swallow hard as I slowly start moving. When I get closer to one of the trees, I notice that it's a darker shade of blue.

Everything is strange here... the colors are all wrong. When I look up, the sky is blood red. I try to calm my racing heart as I try to think of what to do next. If I was Thane, what would I do? Shelter... I would look for shelter or even a way back.

I lift CheeChee up to my shoulder and tell him to be quiet. He covers his mouth and looks around with wide eyes. Silly monkey, he should have stayed where it was safe!