The Mistakes

"The rip will never get sealed if we don't make it to my house alive Mr. Fawn!" Ari said as she gripped the handle above the window of Mr. Fawn's car. Ari had told Mr. Fawn everything about Friday night when she took the book home. Where she was, what she did, and what she saw. As soon as she told him about the eyes his face went pale. He said the word crasem again under his breath, quickly gathered the four books into a satchel, rushed Ari out the door and into his car headed for her house.

"I don't think you understand," Mr. Fawn says with a slight panic in his voice, "something has already come out of the rip. If we are lucky it went back in, but regardless we have to seal it quickly." Ari nodded her agreement as they pulled into her driveway. They made their way to the patio and her anxiety lessened as they approached and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Mr. Fawn turned to Ari and asked, "You're sure this is where you opened the book?"

Ari nodded and said, "Definitely" Ari looked around and that's when a shimmer of purple hit her peripheral vision. Her heart sank as she kept walking toward the tree line. A few yards into the trees she saw it borrowed into the base of a tree. The rip was much bigger than she anticipated and it was beautiful, but scary to look at. It really did look like a purple geode rock like Mr. Fawn had described. Its edge was a shade of lilac and the more you looked towards the middle the deeper the color. Its crystals jutted out slightly away from the tree and Ari couldn't imagine that walking through such a rip would be comfortable. Despite the rip being foreign to this world it looked like it belonged in the tree, like an owl roost or a woodpecker nest. Mr. Fawn, close behind her, pulled her back away from the tree.

"Careful, don't get too close..." Ari was about to ask why when she heard Derek's voice only a short distance away.

"What is that?!" he said as he approached Mr. Fawn and Ari with Joseph closely behind him.

"What are you doing home?" Ari asked Derek as she blocked Joseph from getting closer to the rip.

"It was a half day today, the teachers will be in conferences for the rest of the day. Now what is that?!" he asked again this time a little frustrated.

"It's dangerous and we have to seal it quickly." Mr. Fawn interjected before Ari could explain. "Ari, grab a lighter or some matches from your house and Derek go find some sticks. The sigil must be written ash. I'll go get the book from the car. It has been a long time since I have drawn it and I don't want to get it wrong."

Derek headed towards the woods without further prompting and Ari ran into the house to grab the box of matches she used to light the stove. She came out the backdoor just as Mr. Fawn rounded the corner with the third volume in hand. She handed him the matches and then a scream pierced the air and then stopped abruptly. Ari heard Derek yelling Joseph's name as she ran toward the tree. Derek turned to face her, his face confused and scared. "Something grabbed him and pulled him in!"

Derek pointed to the rip that seemed to be rippling. Breathing became harder in that moment for Ari. She had left him out here while they all went to get things. Ari's stomach began to knot and she turned to Mr. Fawn who was shoving a hand into his hair and clenching his jaw.

"What do we do?" Ari whispered to him.

Mr. Fawn stared at her in silence for a moment and said "I don't have a choice...I have to go get him."

"Take me with you" Ari said with no hesitation.

"No! It will be too dangerous" Mr. Fawn said as he walked towards his car. "If I'm successful I'll only be gone for a few minutes or hours maybe."

"What do you mean?" Derek said as he and Ari followed him.

"Time works very differently between our world and Aldatu. I spent almost 6 years in Aldatu, but our world and my body were the same when I came back through. It stands to reason that it will be the same this time" he told them.

"I don't care what you say, I'm coming with you" Ari argued.

"No! I will not let you put yourself in...." Mr. Fawn started to say.

"I left him alone! I left him alone around a rip I opened! It's all my fault!" Ari screamed "I have to go and get my brother back. He's probably scared and hurt and I can't stay here while you risk your life too. I'm going and nothing you do is going to stop me!"

Mr. Fawn paused at that and studied her then. He could see the tears she was barely holding at bay and her clenched fists. He knew then that she would do whatever it took and this brought him comfort he hadn't had since she told him that she had opened the book outside. "Ok, but you'll have to listen and follow my commands, understood?"

Ari nodded her promise to him and he instructed her to grab a bag. "Fill it with essentials, food and clothes. Take only what you can carry comfortably. I'll do the same and come back in an hour."

Ari watched as Mr. Fawn got in his car and pulled out of the drive turning in the direction of his house. She hurried to her room and grabbed her camping rucksack since it was the biggest she owned. She was packing a few changes of clothes when Derek came to stand in the doorway to their room. "What about me?" he asked timidly.

She stopped then to look at him. He was scared and she didn't know how to comfort him, but she knew what her mom would do. She dropped the rucksack and went to wrap him in a hug. He instantly latched onto her and she held him tight as she said "It'll be ok" she released him and dropped to her knees. "If what Mr. Fawn says is true, about the time differences, you can wait here for me. If I'm not back by 6 p.m., I want you to go across the road to the Williams' house and call mom. Tell her everything that has happened. Don't let anyone come into the rip. Got it?"

"Yeah" Derek nodded. She patted his shoulder and then went back to packing.

Moments later, after she had determined she had packed enough socks, Derek said "I saw something grab him."

Ari froze and looked at him over her shoulder. He was staring at the floor, but not really focused on anything. He was remembering as he told her "At first all I could see was its head. It was big and scaly. It was like a snake, but I think it had horns. Joseph was looking at me and I was about to warn him, but then it....it took him" a tear ran down Derek's cheek as he got the last words out.

Ari walked over to him and wiped the tear away. "We will find him Derek. I need you to trust that, ok?"

He sniffled and wiped his face on his coat as he said, "Yeah"

"Ok, want to help me raid the pantry?" Ari asked. Derek smiled at that and followed her to the kitchen.

Derek and Ari were sitting on the front porch with the rucksack in between them when Mr. Fawn pulled back into the drive. He exited the car and retrieved his bag from the trunk. It was larger than Ari's and packed to the point of bursting with a pot and bedroll strapped to the outside. Mr. Fawn handed Ari a similar bedroll and a rope. "Strap this to your pack and let's get going, we've had Joseph waiting long enough."

Ari did as he instructed and after she tied the final knot she realized what he was saying. "How long has it been in Aldatu?" she whispered to him, not wanting for Derek to overhear.

"If I've done the math right, a little over a month" he whispered back. Ari felt the color drain from her face and she had to fight the need to run into the rip right then. She controlled the urge enough to run back over the plan with Derek and make sure he went back in the house before they turned to head toward the tree. Mr. Fawn was facing the tree with his backpack tightened down on his shoulders and Ari stood behind him as they looked into the rip. A few seconds passed and Mr. Fawn said "I think it's safe to go in. Hopefully we don't run into anyone waiting on the other side.

"Mr. Fawn? Does it hurt to go through the rip?" Ari asked as she eyed the points of the crystals within the rip.

"No, it feels more like walking through fog" he answered. That gave Ari a little comfort. "I do need to tell you," he continues, "that I may revert back to how I looked when I left Aldatu. It may be a bit startling."

Ari nodded her understanding and asked "Will I change too?

"You would eventually, but it would be gradual and hopefully we won't be visiting Aldatu long." He sighed heavily and continued "I don't know what we are going to find over there, but stay close and keep your eyes open."

"I will" she answered.

"Ok, we'll have to go through together so there isn't a time delay. Are you ready?" He held out his hand to her. She looked back towards the house and she could see Derek standing back door.

He locked eyes with her and yelled out "Go kick some ass!"

She knew what she had to do, even though it scared her to leave the safety of her world. She promised herself she would come back with Joseph. That this would not be the last time she stood here. She took a deep breath and grabbed his hand in silent answer to his question. He led her behind him as they stepped through the rip.