Hey guys! Not the stuff I usually do, if you know me. I usually write collab ATLA fics with GeekForAang. I, myself, dislike fanfics that continue the book, but, the hypocrite that I am, wrote and published one anyway. ;) This is ONLY chapter 24, there won't be chapter 25 after this from me... UNLESS... I get enough people REVIEWING and asking me to write another one. :D There's a little incentive to review. Say, like, 15 reviews from 15 different people, and I'll do chapter 25. Sorry for the periods between the paragraphs. It was the only way I could get them to separate. Enjoy! -ShyGuy
As the sled slid to a stop, Jonas stiffly climbed out, clutching Gabe to his chest. He squinted through the thick snow swirling in the air. As Jonas peered through the
snow, he became aware of the silence. There was no noise, no singing, no music. Had he hallucinated the warm, friendly lights? Was he just making up the music? No,
he could still see the flickering, colored lights and the music was altogether a new sense-surely he couldn't have made the glorious sound up.
.
Jonas abruptly took a step back, startled, as a face appeared in the snow, backlit against the colored lights, staring back into his own. Mismatched eyes flicked over
Jonas, taking in the thread-worn, dirty tunic, the bundle he hugged to his chest, and the sled behind him.
.
Silence. Deafening silence. Jonas didn't know how long he stood in the snow, staring into the face. A man's face, he realized, with shaggy brown hair flecked with
snowflakes, a crooked nose, and thin lips that pressed together at the sight of him. But, the feature that stood out most was his eyes. He had one green eye and one
brown eye- an anomaly that would've gotten him Released, had he lived in Jonas's former Community.
.
A voice cut through the thick silence like a knife. "Well? What are you staring at, Noah? Don't leave us in suspense!"
Noah- the man staring at him- ignored the voice and shook his head, dislodging the snow starting to gather on his head. "You're a young'un, eh? Whatcha got there
huddled against your chest?"
.
Jonas shook his head. He couldn't risk exposing Gabe to the cold.
.
"All in good time, I suppose. Come here, child," Noah said, grasping Jonas's arm and tugging him towards the colored lights. The last thing Jonas could remember was
the freezing cold, sinking into every ounce of his being and Noah's voice faintly chattering, "You'll be alright in a few, we got warm foodstuffs and heat and whatnot.
Sorry about leaving you in the cold so long, that was awfully rude…"
.
Jonas awoke feeling warm. So deliciously warm. Jonas savored the precious heat, so precious after the freezing cold. He should probably share it with Gabe. No, he had
to share it with Gabe. The only person he had left to love. Speaking of Gabe…
.
He suddenly sat up, straw rustling underneath him. The aroma of meat stew filled the air and Jonas's stomach churned. He was so hungry… He hadn't eaten in days.
Jonas looked around. He was in a small, dark hut. A woman sat in front of the fireplace (imagine the danger of having fire inside a dwelling!) stirring a small pot. Gabe
was nowhere to be seen.
.
"Excuse me, ma'am, where is Gabe?" Jonas asked. At the sound of his voice, the woman turned around to face him. She had a kind face, with wavy dark brown hair
framing it. She was slender, in her mid-30s, he guessed. She had sparkling dark brown eyes that peered into his own pale ones.
.
"Gabe? I assume you mean the little babe you brought with you. He's in Claire's hut," she said.
.
"Oh," was all Jonas could say. Then, "Can I have some of that stew?"
.
The woman laughed. "Of course! I made it for you. You must be hungry, traveling the long distance that you did. The nearest village is miles away," she chattered on as
she ladled some stew into a bowl.
.
Handing a spoon to him, she cheerily said, "Drink up!" before resuming her chit chat. Jonas was ravenous. He inhaled the soup in record time, and the woman nodded
approvingly and refilled his bowl. After the third bowl, he leaned back and sighed, finally satisfied. His hunger taken care of, Jonas started to pay attention to what the
woman was saying.
.
"My name's Leah, by the way. I'm Noah's wife. You'll be staying under our house until we can find some place to relocate you. Or maybe not. I like you- you're good
company. A good listener, you are… Goodness me, you must have a billion questions. How rude of me to keep talking, not letting you say a thing! Sorry about that, as
you can probably tell, I like to talk. I get in trouble for it all the time… Like this one time, I was- There I go again! Ok, I'll shut up now and let you ask your questions."
Leah sat down on a chair across the table from him and waited expectantly. "Well?"
.
Like a dam broke, a flood of questions came pouring out of Jonas's mouth. "Where am I? Is Gabe safe? Is he happy? Who are you, exactly? What is this place? Who
else lives here? Is this another Community?"
.
"Whoa there! Hold your horses, young man!" Leah chuckled. "Let me answer one at a time. So: you are in our village. It doesn't have a name, really, it's just our village.
Gabe is doing well, he's safe, he's fine. As I said already, I am Leah, Noah's wife, and Mother of this village. Noah is the Chief. This place is a refuge for all the others
who have been cast out from their villages. And I don't know what in the world a Community is."
.
Jonas sat back, trying to absorb all the information. One thing stuck in his mind. 'Cast out from their villages'… Like…Released…?
.
"Why were they cast out?" he asked.
.
"Oh, probably because they're misfits, or cripples, or they have some feature that makes them different from the others or weird or something. But, mind you, don't go
asking that around. It's considered rude around here," she replied.
.
So, Released indeed. They would've been Released. Killed. But… over here… Was this "Elsewhere"? Had he really reached Elsewhere, where the different people go?
Why, it all added up! He had! He was in Elsewhere! He had succeeded! Jonas threw his head back and laughed, laughed from pure joy.
.
Leah looked at him strangely.
.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and stopped laughing, but inside, he was lighthearted and happy and Jonas felt like he could do anything. He had reached Elsewhere.
Review! :D