Page 44
Story: Raelia
Alex reached out and gently pulled Skyla to her feet. She was wobbly and couldn’t place any pressure on her left foot, but at least she was upright.
“Do you think you can continue? Or do you need me to go and find help?” Alex asked.
“Don’t leave me alone out here,” Skyla pleaded again, clutching desperately at Alex’s shirt. “Please, don’t leave me.”
“It’s all right,” Alex soothed. “We’ll stay together. But that means we have to finish the task. Hunter was pretty firm about not dismissing us until it’s done. Unless—you know him better; do you think he’ll be lenient because you’re injured? Should we just go back now?”
Skyla shook her head, her face pale. “Tom snapped his wrist in class last year—the bone was poking out and everything. But Hunter just wrapped a bandage around it, gave him a vial of pain reliever, and made him wait until the task was finished before he was allowed to leave with the rest of us. Hunter said it was character building.”
Alex felt sick at the thought. “Right. Let’s just—let’s just hurry up and finish this, then. We’ll be back in no time, I’m sure.”
Bearing most of Skyla’s weight, Alex helped her hobble along the mushroom path deeper into the forest. A few times she noticed more evidence of Hunter’s traps—a tripwire that crossed their path; mushrooms of a slightly different shade that led in a different direction; and even a rope snare on the ground that would have trapped their feet and hung them upside-down in the air. Alex wondered what would have happened to them, had they fallen victim to any of those perils.
After what felt like forever, they came to the end of the mushroom trail. It led them into a clearing where the fungi grew in an almost perfect circle. The moonlight streamed through the trees, creating a beautifully eerie atmosphere.
“That’s a fairy circle,” Skyla said, hopping backwards a few steps and dragging Alex with her. “No way am I stepping in there.”
Alex looked at the mushroom ring then back up at Skyla. “Don’t tell me you’re superstitious?”
“It’s not superstition,” Skyla said, her voice thick with nerves. “You read the note we were given. Even Hunter knows how dangerous the Fae can be. Uh-uh, no way.”
“He didn’t say they’re dangerous, just that they’re tricky,” Alex argued, amazed that she wasn’t debating the possibility of fairies being real, but whether or not they were a threat.
“He said there could be a price to pay!” Skyla replied, her voice rising. “Everyone knows that if you step into a fairy circle, you might never come back!”
“No, he wrote to be careful what wesay, not what wedo,” Alex reminded the frightened girl. “I’m sure Hunter wouldn’t make us do anything that would result in us getting stuck in… wherever the Fae live.”
Skyla folded her arms stubbornly. “I’m still not stepping in there.”
Alex sighed and looked at the circle again. It was large, filling most of the clearing. But what caught Alex’s eye was the small statue in the centre—apparently the rhyme’s ‘figurine of clay’ that they needed to retrieve. The only way to reach it was by entering the circle.
“All right,” Alex said, propping Skyla up against a tree trunk. “You wait here and I’ll go get it, okay?”
“No, you can’t!” Skyla shrieked. “Then I’ll be stuck here all on my own!”
“I’ll just be over there,” Alex said in her most calming voice. “You’ll be able to see me the whole time.”
“Not if you disappear—then I’ll probablydieout here!”
“It’s nice to know you’re so concerned formywelfare,” Alex commented under her breath. Louder, she said, “Listen, the sooner I grab that statue, the sooner we can get out of here. Just relax. We’ll both be fine.”
Ignoring the desire to hesitate, Alex walked forward and determinedly stepped over the edge of the mushroom ring intothe clearing. Once both feet were inside the circle, she released the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. She then turned to look back at Skyla with a reassuring smile.
“See, I’m—”
Alex stopped dead.
… Because Skyla was gone.
ind a way
Nine
Alex whipped her head around, frantically searchingthe moonlit clearing. She was in exactly the same place, mushroom circle included. Nothing had changed, and yet,everythinghad changed. Because the clay statue was now missing. And so was Skyla.
“This is like a scene straight out ofThe Twilight Zone,” Alex murmured, her body tense with anxiety. “What am I supposed to do now?”
A whisper in the wind answered her: a musical voice, poetic and lilting.
“Do you think you can continue? Or do you need me to go and find help?” Alex asked.
“Don’t leave me alone out here,” Skyla pleaded again, clutching desperately at Alex’s shirt. “Please, don’t leave me.”
“It’s all right,” Alex soothed. “We’ll stay together. But that means we have to finish the task. Hunter was pretty firm about not dismissing us until it’s done. Unless—you know him better; do you think he’ll be lenient because you’re injured? Should we just go back now?”
Skyla shook her head, her face pale. “Tom snapped his wrist in class last year—the bone was poking out and everything. But Hunter just wrapped a bandage around it, gave him a vial of pain reliever, and made him wait until the task was finished before he was allowed to leave with the rest of us. Hunter said it was character building.”
Alex felt sick at the thought. “Right. Let’s just—let’s just hurry up and finish this, then. We’ll be back in no time, I’m sure.”
Bearing most of Skyla’s weight, Alex helped her hobble along the mushroom path deeper into the forest. A few times she noticed more evidence of Hunter’s traps—a tripwire that crossed their path; mushrooms of a slightly different shade that led in a different direction; and even a rope snare on the ground that would have trapped their feet and hung them upside-down in the air. Alex wondered what would have happened to them, had they fallen victim to any of those perils.
After what felt like forever, they came to the end of the mushroom trail. It led them into a clearing where the fungi grew in an almost perfect circle. The moonlight streamed through the trees, creating a beautifully eerie atmosphere.
“That’s a fairy circle,” Skyla said, hopping backwards a few steps and dragging Alex with her. “No way am I stepping in there.”
Alex looked at the mushroom ring then back up at Skyla. “Don’t tell me you’re superstitious?”
“It’s not superstition,” Skyla said, her voice thick with nerves. “You read the note we were given. Even Hunter knows how dangerous the Fae can be. Uh-uh, no way.”
“He didn’t say they’re dangerous, just that they’re tricky,” Alex argued, amazed that she wasn’t debating the possibility of fairies being real, but whether or not they were a threat.
“He said there could be a price to pay!” Skyla replied, her voice rising. “Everyone knows that if you step into a fairy circle, you might never come back!”
“No, he wrote to be careful what wesay, not what wedo,” Alex reminded the frightened girl. “I’m sure Hunter wouldn’t make us do anything that would result in us getting stuck in… wherever the Fae live.”
Skyla folded her arms stubbornly. “I’m still not stepping in there.”
Alex sighed and looked at the circle again. It was large, filling most of the clearing. But what caught Alex’s eye was the small statue in the centre—apparently the rhyme’s ‘figurine of clay’ that they needed to retrieve. The only way to reach it was by entering the circle.
“All right,” Alex said, propping Skyla up against a tree trunk. “You wait here and I’ll go get it, okay?”
“No, you can’t!” Skyla shrieked. “Then I’ll be stuck here all on my own!”
“I’ll just be over there,” Alex said in her most calming voice. “You’ll be able to see me the whole time.”
“Not if you disappear—then I’ll probablydieout here!”
“It’s nice to know you’re so concerned formywelfare,” Alex commented under her breath. Louder, she said, “Listen, the sooner I grab that statue, the sooner we can get out of here. Just relax. We’ll both be fine.”
Ignoring the desire to hesitate, Alex walked forward and determinedly stepped over the edge of the mushroom ring intothe clearing. Once both feet were inside the circle, she released the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding. She then turned to look back at Skyla with a reassuring smile.
“See, I’m—”
Alex stopped dead.
… Because Skyla was gone.
ind a way
Nine
Alex whipped her head around, frantically searchingthe moonlit clearing. She was in exactly the same place, mushroom circle included. Nothing had changed, and yet,everythinghad changed. Because the clay statue was now missing. And so was Skyla.
“This is like a scene straight out ofThe Twilight Zone,” Alex murmured, her body tense with anxiety. “What am I supposed to do now?”
A whisper in the wind answered her: a musical voice, poetic and lilting.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161