Evermoore: Chapter 15, pt 3

Continued from part 2

A firm hand grasped her by the wrist. “Fayth!” Shay shouted. “What’s happening to her? Make it stop!”

“The battle cannot be stopped,” she heard Jorumangar say. “And we are here as observers, for this is the past of long ago, as it is written in the Tome.”

His hand released her wrist, and she nearly cried out, before they were replaced on her shoulders. He held her steady, and through the swirling mass of light and darkness, two steady eyes remained fixed within her vision.

Difficult as it was, she forced her eyes to stare within his. The rest of the world spun wildly around her, but his cat-like eyes remained still. There, in the depths of his eyes, she saw something. Something bright, warm, and faintly familiar. She longed for it; longed for it more than anything she ever wanted before. And it wanted her as well, wanted her to reach for it, wanted her to join it. With clenched teeth, she focused hard on his eyes.

The swirling mass began to change. The light became stronger, and the Darkness began to receded. The cold tendrils around her heart loosened, warmth return to her arms and limbs, and the voices which carried the dark thoughts silenced.

Soon, the world became still, and her eyes remained on Shay’s. He continued to hold her by the shoulders, keeping her steady each time she swayed or swerved. When the Darkness was nothing but a faint flicker, and the voiced had been reduced to a faint murmur, she reached out to meet his embrace, causing the Tome to slip from her grasp.

The remaining traces of the battle fought within her were instantly swept away. Startled, she held her gaze, her hand hovering inches above Shay’s arms. She could not longer feel the light, no longer feel the darkness. The cosmos had become completely still, and she became aware of several sets of eyes watching her intently. Shay’s were the first eyes she saw, and they still had not moved from her. He quickly released her shoulders and they leaned away from each other.

They both stood quickly a moment later. Fayth ran her fingers through her hair, and looked down, unable to meet his gaze. “Thanks,” she said quietly.

“Mhmm,” Shay replied, taking a few steps back.

The Tome was laying at Fayth’s feet. She stared at it ominously.

“The war between the Light and Dark is written in the Tome,” he said. “Those who hold it can feel the battle rage within them.”

Fayth rubbed her temple. A little warning would have been nice. Then she stopped. “It was so intense,” she said. “Yet now matter how strong one side became, the other was always able to push back. How is that so?”

“The balance,” Jorumangar replied.

She narrowed her eyes. “What does that mean?”

Thin wisps of smoke arose from his nostrils. “The balance is the order of the cosmos; the divine design. The two forces are equal, as is the swinging of the Cosmic pendulum. As strong as one side becomes, the other will become equally as strong. As long as the balance was maintained, the Cosmos would never be condemned to either the light or the darkness.”

“But you said the strength of the either the Light or the Darkness depended upon people’s choices? What they choose to live by,” Sirius said.

“Choice means each being must choose one or the other,” Jorumangar replied. “But the cosmic the where one chooses light, a shadow is cast, and when one choose darkness, it is to flee the light.”

“I don’t think I understand,” she said. “Well I do, I understand…a least part of it. But I don’t understand what this has to do with the Light of Love.”

“And why did you say when the balance was maintained,” Corindra said, suspiciously.

“I don‘t understand either,” Shay said, sharply. “We came here to learn how to restore the Light of Love and undo all the Darkness has done. Each moment that passes the Darkness grows stronger, and Evermoore succumbs more and more to its decay. Enough of your history lesson, for it has little to do with the present.”

Fire seemed to leap from Jorumangar’s eyes as they burned brightly. He clenched his maw tightly, his rows of sharp teeth gleamed against the pale light. “It has everything to do with the present,” he roared.

Shay stepped back slightly, but Corindra stepped forward. “Do not speak in riddles or parables. Tell us plainly. How can we defeat the Darkness?”

“The Darkness cannot be defeated!” Jorumangar roared. “This is your folly.”

Fayth watched as Shay’s eyes became wide, and Corindra’s became narrow as if to challenge Jorumangar. “If not defeated, then driven back. For as you said, the Light will push back,” she said.

“That was true when there was balance,” Jorumangar said. “But the balance has long been upset. You know this, you have always known this. Yet you have come here, seeking answers, and I said I would provide them. Though now I give the answers you did not seek.

Fayth felt cold fingers grip her heart. Both Corindra and Shay became as still as statues.

“The balance was destroyed when the Light of Love was extinguished,” he said. “You have seen it, you have felt it. With the Light of Love gone, the other lights have grown weaker. The pendulum is now in flux, and cannot swing back. As the Darkness grows stronger, the Light will grow weaker, until it is nothing but a faint flicker with the darkest shadows pressing down on it.”

“But the Light of Love, it can be restored,” Shay said.

Jorumangar’s eyes narrowed, then drooped. He suddenly appeared weary, or looked as old as he was.

“Time does not move backwards, only forwards,” he said. “And once change has occurred, it cannot be undone, only changed again.”

He flapped his wings once more, and they flew swiftly through space. The celestial bodies long white steaks, becoming normal once more as they settled over Evermoore. They settled once more in the mountains, outside the Silver Gates once more, staring down at the Ivory towers of the Silver City.

Fayth eyebrows lifted. The was not as bright and pure as it had before. It was… dull. The streets showed signs of age and wear, the luster of the gold now dim. The Ivory towers showed scars of harsh weather, long winters leaving marks of cold and dark. The Light which beamed from the tallest tower flickered violently. Then the earth began to shake.

The sky roared violently above them. Cracks of thunder, bolts of lightening, and harsh winds. The clouds began too swirl, and Fayth’s eyes grew wide as her heart began to beat furiously.

Sirius lowered his head and hunched his shoulders. “I say,” he said, shouting over the wind. “What is happening?”

“More tricks,” Corindra shouted. “I have had enough of the them, Dragon!”

“No!” Fayth shouted, her eyes fixed firmly on the flickering light.

The Ivory tower exploded. There was an explosion of light, causing the companions to shield their eyes. Then darkness spilled forth, and the world shook even harder. A moment later, it was over.

The sky calmed above, the world beneath. The winds settled and the clouds dispersed. The mountains beneath them, the golden roads, the silver gates, and the Ivory Towers were gone. Large masses of rock floating aimlessly in the blackness of space beyond in their place, and Darkness filled the void where the Light of Love had once been.

“What just happened?” Shay asked.

Jorumangar said, “The Light of Love…”

“Gone,” Fayth said, cutting in. “This was when it was destroyed, wasn’t it?”

“And when her mother and father were killed,” Corindra added, slowly.

“This was the moment when the Balance was disrupted,” Jorumangar said.

“But how did it happen?” Sirius asked.

“I cannot tell you wholly, for I do not honestly know. The Tome, as expansive as it is, is actually …limited. It records all that has happened, for anyone to see. But the Tome does not record thoughts, it cannot determine intentions.” He turned to Fayth, the fire in his eyes having settled to a faint flicker. “Your father was taken by the Darkness, and the Diamond of Love was shattered. This we know because it is what we can see. But why,” he sighed sadly. “I cannot say, and it is not written in the Tome.”

Fayth nodded slowly. “I see,” she said softly.

“Your father was everything Love should be,” Jorumangar continued. “He loved all things within the Light, and despised that which was not. He watched over the Light of Love diligently, spreading its warmth, keeping it pure, and basking all who yearned for it. But the shadow of Hate always stood against him.

“The war was never ending, and the toils wore heavily upon him. With each defeat he suffered, Hate grew stronger, and he grew weaker. His wariness turned to anger, and his anger turned to hate of his own. Hate for the Darkness, hate for Hate itself. Yet he never ceased his efforts, never gave into the Darkness, except the Darkness which was growing in his own heart.

“It was this Darkness, which had festered in his own heart, that took him.”

Fayth felt her cheeks grow warm, and moisture filled her eyes. Feeling suddenly cold, she wrapped her arms around herself, and stared at the remains of the Silver City. “And there’s nothing I can do, is there?” she asked.

“The Light of Love has been extinguished,” Jorumangar said. “The balance has been upset, the design broken, and the cosmic pendulum has become still. The essence of love fades further with each moment, and Hate grows stronger.”

“So there is no hope then,” Corindra said.

Fayth swallowed, and felt the cold tendrils around her heart squeeze. Beside her, Shay’s breathing became uneven, and he turned away from the ruins of the Silver City. Fayth listened as he walked away from them and sat on a rock and hid himself away from the others. Sirius sat beside her, and stared longingly at the ruins of the Silver City.

Fayth paused at each of the ruins, and thought of her dreams. She tried to imagine the people, her people, and what they must have been like. To live with Love in their hearts. Then, she clenched her fists.

“No,” she said. “Love has not been extinguished.” They all turned to her, but she spoke to Jorumangar. “If the Darkness cannot exist without the Light, then Hate cannot exist without Love. It must be out there, somewhere. I know it is.”

Jorumangar looked at her compassionately. “The Tome…”

“I don’t care what your Tome says,” she spat. “The Tome only records what it can see. It’s not complete. And people choose to act upon Love everyday. I’ve seen, here on Evermoore, and on Earth. Perhaps Love is just a flicker, but it still means its there. And that means it can be brought back.”

“Weren’t you paying attention child,” Corindra snorted. “We cannot restore the Light of Love. Time does not move…”

“Yes, yes, Time only moves forward and change cannot be undone,” Fayth said. “I understand that. But perhaps Love can be born anew.”

Sirius’ ear perked up. “Born anew?” Shay looked at her thoughtfully, and she found herself able to look into his eyes again.

“Yes,” she said. “When the Avatars brought me into the Lights, I could feel the void left by the Light of Love. Hate was filling it, but there were still many who resisted it. Then, we found it, a faint flicker of light, which was Love. We came here wanting to learn how to restore the Light of Love my father wielded, and we know we can’t. But maybe a new light was born. Its small, just a baby, but it exists because people still want love. They yearn for it, are desperate for it.”

“This still doesn’t answer our question,” Shay said. “How then do we find this new light of Love, and raise it to stand against the Darkness.”

Fayth shook her head, but then turned to the Tome, which was still laying beneath her.

“I don’t know, but there’s someone who might,” she said.

Sirius’ other ear perked up. “Who, my lady?” he asked.

Fayth bit her lip. “The one whose been here since the Light first burst forth. The one who passed over this world and the Cosmos each day of her existence,” she said, looking at the Tome. “Lady Sun.”



END



***

The following is a bit of fun. I’ve been working on Evermoore non-stop for a long time now, and really needed a break. So I wrote this with the intention of just having fun. I didn’t write an outline, I didn’t have much of a plan. I just knew where I wanted to start, and where I wanted to end, and figured I’d just make up the rest as I went along.

In order to keep up the fun, I didn’t do any editing or even a second read through. So forgive any grammar and spelling mistakes, and just think of this as my mind running wild and my hands trying to keep up. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy.





THE BOOK OF DREAMS



CHAPTER ONE



OF MEETINGS, CASTLES, DANCES, AND STORMS





A brisk breeze blew through the forest. The air was cool, the leaves rustled gently, the sun was beginning to rise in the east, and a young boy stood alone, staring strangely at the forest around him. He knew each of the trees by name from the thick maples, to the tall and sturdy oaks, and the pine scented firs. Yet he did not know this place, for he had never been in this forest before.

The sun shined through the leaves of the canopy, and glinted off the morning dew. The boy covered his eyes and searched the horizon, but saw nothing except endless trees. There was however the familiar sound of running water, and he could tell its source was not far off. Swallowing, his throat felt thick and he realized he was thirsty, so he headed in the direction of the running water.

He didn’t have to travel far, as he found the source of the running water behind a row of bushes. It was a stream. It wasn’t very wide, perhaps two or three lengths of his body, and its current wasn’t very strong.

Carefully, he leaned over the edge and scooped some water into his hands. He was just about to take a sip, when he caught sight of his reflection in the water and paused. His face was dirty, and his hair was a mess.

Quickly, he splashed the water on his face and began to scrub furiously. He moved from his cheeks, to his forehead, the corners of his nose, and the flat of his chin. He rubbed his fingers so hard they hurt, and his skin began to feel warm like it was burning. When the water had run of his fingers, he looked back at his reflection.

He looked the same.

Again, he scooped out a handful of water and began to vigorously rub his face. Each time he checked though, his face remained the same. Each time he washed, he rubbed his face harder and harder. He continued on and on, panic rising within him each time he looked at his face and saw it hadn’t changed. He was so focused, he didn’t even hear the tiny sounds of soft feet touching the earth as someone drew near behind him.

“Hiya!” said a bright a cheerful voice.

The boy nearly yelped, and whirled around with wide eyes and a heart threatening to burst out of his chest. However, he saw the voice belonged to a little girl, perhaps five or six, the same age as him.

“Hi,” he said, sheepishly.

“Watcha doing?”

He looked her up and down, hearing the words of his parents warning of strangers. She had hair as black as the evening sky which flowed past her shoulders. Her eyes were deep black pits which the sun glinted off of brightly. She was wearing a simple dress white and blue dress that stopped just past her knees, and she was barefoot. Her smile was bright, with two dimples appearing on her cheeks, and two black spots on her top row of teeth where her big girl teeth hadn’t grown in yet.

“Um, I’m just…I’m just,” he began, then stopped. “I don’t know. What are you doing?”

“I was just walking in the forest, then I heard someone over here. So I came over here, and here you were, washing your face it looked like.”

“Yeah,” the boy said, feeling his cheeks turn red as he remembered how dirty his face had been.

The girl’s eyes left him and began wandering around the forest. “So what is this place?” she asked.

The boy cocked his head and blinked. “You don’t know?”

“No, am I suppose to?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Well, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know where we are either, I guess I thought…”

The boy stopped. He didn’t know where he was, or how he got here. The last thing he remembered was laying down on his bed and his parents turning the light off. Then what? How did he get here? And where was here?

He had to get back home, had to get back in bed. If his parents returned and didn’t find him in bed where he belonged, he’d be in trouble. Big trouble.

“I have to my find my mom and dad,” he said.

“Don’t think they’re here,” the girl said airily, her eyes wandering around the forest again.

“What? How do you know that?”

The girl shrugged. “Don’t know. Just guessing really. I don’t know how I got here either. Last thing I remember was being curled up under my blankets after…” She paused then, and the brightness that lit her face faded, as did her dimples. Her eyes wandered down, until they accidentally met the boys. Her smile returned then, though it looked as though it had been forced.

Then she snapped her fingers. “I know where we are,” she said.

“You do? Where?”

“This must be a dream.”

“A dream?” the boy asked, skeptically.

“Yeah, gotta be. How else would I have gotten here. There aren’t any forests where I come from, just sand and rocks.”

“Really,” the boy said. “There’s lots of forests where I come from.”

“So do you know which forest we’re in then?”

“Well…no,” he said.

“See, gotta be a dream then.”

The boy frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense. And I’ve never had a dream like this…”

“Hey,” she said, in a bossy matter of way. “Who said it was your dream. This is my dream.”

The boys eyes narrowed. “No, if this is a dream, its gotta be my dream.”

The girl stepped forward, her eyes glaring into his. “It can’t be your dream,” she said. “I’m… I’m real.”

The boys back stiffened as she came right up to him. He was standing right on the edge of the stream, and one step backwards and he would fall in. “Well…I’m… I’m real too,” he replied, though his voice cracked.

“Well we can’t both be real,” she said. “We can’t both be having the same dream. And if you‘ve invaded my dream, you should leave.”

“Well what if you‘ve invaded my dream?” he said, a bit defensively.

“I haven’t!”

“Well…you say it’s your dream, and I say it’s mine,” he said. “… how do we find out whose dream it is?”

The girl’s sharp expression softened to one of thoughtfulness as she pressed her lips together and hummed. A moment later, she snapped her fingers and grinned, the black spots of her missing teeth showing prominently.

“I know,” she said, before taking a pinch of his cheek within her fingers, and squeezing.

“Owww,” the boy said, tearing himself away from her. “What did you do that for?!”

“To see if you’d wake up,” she said. “Looks like you didn’t, so this must be my dream, and I think you should leave.”

He rubbed his cheek. It still hurt! Frowning, his hand leapt forward, and grabbed a pinch of her cheek and squeezed.

“Owwww!” she shrieked, then tore herself away from him. “Whatcha do…”

“You didn’t wake up either,” he said quickly.

Her hand slowed then, and her mouth hung open slightly. She closed it a moment later, looking defeated.

“Fine then,” she said.

“So whose dream is it?” he asked.

Her eyes began to wander again in a curious fashion before she shrugged. “Don’t know, but who really cares. A dream is a dream, and if we’re sharing the same dream, oh well.”

Then, she walked past him, following the bank of the stream in the direction of the current.

“Wait,” the boy said, when she had walked several feet away. “Where are you going?”

“To see what’s around here,” she said over her shoulder.

The boy felt his heart beat faster as she walked farther away. “I think… I think we should stay together,” he said.

The girl stopped and frowned. “Why?”

“Because… because…we’re lost, and someone could be looking for us. We should stay in one place in case someone is looking for us,” the boy said, the stern voice of his mother echoing in the back of his mind.

The girl laughed. “Whose looking for us?”

“I don’t know, our parents.”

The girl stopped laughing. Her smile became a sort of smirk and she looked down. “Well in my dreams, parents are allowed,” she said. “So I don’t think they’ll be looking for me. Now I’m gonna look around. I’ve never been in a forest before, and I want to see what its like. So if you don’t wanna be alone, you better catch up.”

She turned and began following the streams current again. The boy felt his chest tighten, and heart began to race. The familiar sounds of the forest grew louder as the girl walked farther away. Birds chirping, small critters dashing through the leaves and brush. And the sound of the water lapping softly against the rocks along the banks. The sun had fully risen now, and the morning dew was beginning to fade. Yet the air still seemed cool and peaceful.

“Hey, wait,” he said.

He took off after her, running clumsily through the brush. He slowed his pace, fearful he would fall and tear a hole in his pants, or worse, gain a stain on his shirt. A few moments later, he caught up with her.

“Glad you decided to come along,” the girl said, her toothless grin returning.

The boy rested his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. “Yeah, well, its better to stay together. That‘s the rules.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “You always worry this much?” she asked.

They followed the bank of the stream through the forest. The girl looked around excitedly, often pointing to every tree and animal and asking what they were called. The boy answered her as best he could, trying to remember their names from school. As the stream wore on, the forest began to thin, and the sunlight became brighter, turning the air warmer, until at last they reached the edge of the forest.

They were met with a breath taking view. A big blue ocean, stretching as far as they could see to both the east and the west, and straight out into the distance. Before them was a large beach, with white sands that glittered like diamonds in the mid day sun, stretching far to the east. To the west, the beach turned into large rocks and tall cliffs, leading into rolling hills of a vast plain of tall wild grass.

“Cool,” the girl said, her eyes wide with excitement. “Do all forests have a big ocean like this at the end of them?”

The boy frowned. “No,” he said. “This isn’t right. This can’t be an ocean. Forests have to grow around lakes and rivers. That’s what teacher says.”

The girl bobbed her head back and forth. “Yeah, that sounds like something teacher would say.” Then, her bright smiled returned as she nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. “Guess they never saw this forest huh.”

“Well no, but this forest…”

“You know what this place needs,” she said, cutting in. “A castle. We should put a castle in here.”

“A castle?” he said. “What do you mean put one in? Like build one?”

She laughed. “No, no, no. Come on, this is a dream. If we want a castle, all we have to do is think of one.”

“But where would a castle go?” he asked.

She placed her hand over her eyes and hummed while looking the shores up and down. “I don’t know,” she said shrugging. “Here, at the end of this stream.” She snapped her fingers excitedly again. “I know, how about the stream flows into the castle. It could bring you right to the front gate, or lead into the moat. Every good castle‘s gotta have a moat you know.”

“Well yeah,” the boy said. “To keep the bad people away.”

“Yeah,” she said, excitedly. She began speaking so rapidly the boy could hardly understand her. “So it has a moat with a huge draw bridge that leads to a courtyard where all the knights and archers practice before going into a great hall where the king and queen sit but I don’t like kings and queens cause they make rules so they’ll just be a great hall where everyone can hang out and dance all night before they go running through the forest or the plains or riding on unicorns or catching flying rabbits or playing on the beach or swimming in the sea yeah that sounds good but what about you what would you want?”

She stared at him with eyes as wide as silver dollars. He blinked, still trying to make sense of all she said.

“Well, what would you want?” she asked.

“For the castle?”

“Well yeah, haven’t you been listening?” she said in a bossy sort of way.

“Yes I have,” he said defensively. Then, something in the ocean caught his eyes. A glint of light catching off the bright sun above. The ocean was blue, a pure blue that seemed both calming and mysterious. He had always loved water, and swimming, and the ocean too. The ocean was a world completely separate from his own. A world that seemed wonderful and free. The smell of the water wafted through his nose, and filled him with longing.

“I’d just want a tower,” he said.

“A tower?” the girl said. “That doesn’t seem very exciting.”

The boy ignored her jest and smiled. “Just a tower, tall enough so that when I woke up every morning, I could see this.” He motioned towards the sea with his hands, spreading them as wide as he could. The girl moved beside him, and stared out into the ocean as well.

She smiled too. “Yeah, that’d be nice,” she said.

“Oh, and I’d like some moon windows in the ceiling,” he said.

The girl cocked her head. “What’s a moon window?”

“It just holes in the ceiling, kinda like a sun window, but without any glass. Its so I could see the stars at night as I’m falling asleep.”

The girl laughed. “What about when it rains?” she asked.

The boy shrugged. “It’s a dream right?” The girl nodded her head assuredly. “Then I’d make sure it never rained.”

“You don’t like the rain?”

The boy shook his head. “I can’t go out to play when it rains,” he said sadly.

“You can play in the rain,” the girl said. “You just gotta know what games to play.”

The boy shook his head. “It’s against the rules.”

“You gotta a lot of rules where you come from don’t ya,” the girl said.

The boy looked at her curiously. “Don’t you?” he asked.

The girl looked at him with a surprised expression, apparently caught off guard. “Well…yeah, but…I don’t know….hey look!” she said.

She was pointing over his shoulder, towards the end of the stream just before it ran into the ocean. The boy turned, and gasped. Where there had once been nothing but the edge of the forest leading into the sand with the stream cutting through it, stood a castle. The stream fed into the moat which circled around it, and a large drawbridge connected their side of the moat to the castles. It was lowered, and the boy could see a courtyard through the gate.

“Where did that come from?” he asked with a wide-eyed stare.

“Don’t you know,” the girl said. “That’s our castle, the one we just imagined.”

The boy blinked, expecting the castle to disappear as simply as it had come. Yet each time, the castle remained, with the draw bridge lowered as if to invite them inside.

“How did it get here?” he asked incredulously.

“Because we wanted it here, remember,” the girl said. “Look, there’s the moat and the drawbridge and the courtyard inside.” She grabbed him excitedly by the front of his shirt, pulling him with her as she began walking towards the bridge. “I bet the grand hall is in there too. And hey, look up there.”

He looked up, following the direction of her arm, and saw his tower. He blinked again, for it looked exactly like he had pictured it. It towered over the rest of the castle, with a great balcony overlooking the sea. The balcony circled round the tower, providing a view for the entire coast line. There were other towers attached to the castle, but none stood as tall as this. He could even see the holes in the ceiling for his moon windows.

There was however, one problem.

“I’m not going in there,” he said, shaking his head.

The girl sighed and rolled her eyes. “Why not?”

“Those,” he said, pointing up.

Now the girl followed where he pointed. Above the tower, the sky had turned black. Dark clouds swirled around the tower, thundering furiously between flashes of bright lightening. The two squinted their eyes, and could see thin trails of rain falling hard upon the tower. The rays of the sun could not break through the swirling mass of dark clouds, and it cast an eerie and ominous shroud around the tower.

“Well, guess those moon windows aren’t going to be too fun after all,” the girl said laughing, before she started heading towards the castle.

“Wait,” the boy said, quickly grabbing her by the wrist. The girl whirled around and snapped her wrist out of his grasp. She held it close to her, cradling it with her other hand as it to guard it. The stepped back as a hard look came across her. “You’re not thinking of actually going in there, are you?” he asked.

The hardness was cracked with her toothless smile. “Of course I am,” she said. “And you are too, now come on.”

“Uh huh,” the boy said. “Those clouds are scary, and there could be strangers in there. I’m not allowed to go to places with strangers.”

“The only difference between a stranger and a friend is a hello,” the girl said brightly. “Now come on!”

The boy held stood, dodging her attempts to grab his shirt again. “Na ah. There’s more than that,” the boy said.

“No there’s not, just look at us, we said hello, and we’re not strangers anymore. Now lets go!”

“We’re not strangers?” the boy asked. “Does that mean we’re…friends?”

“Sure, why not,” the girl said. “But we won’t be for long if you don’t hurry up and move,” she added impatiently, before turning and breaking into a sprint towards the bridge.

“Wait, the scary clouds,” the boy said, starting to run after her. “What if its haunted in there?”

“Really! That’d be sweet! I’ve never met a ghost before,” the girl shouted behind her.

Continued in part 4