"Come on, I'm hungry." He walked as fast as his little legs could take him, with his sister in tow. She soon took the lead as they walked.
"There's a gas station in a quarter mile where those hills start." Sarah pointed to the long dusty road ahead of them. Toby's eyes followed and he nodded.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the feeling of the warm pavement and sun. Sarah had just graduated a month and a half ago, and she was taking Toby on vacation to her father's vacation home Irene bought in North Carolina. That was one of the purchases Irene had that he actually agreed with. He was not for the yacht she purchased two years prior. He immediately sold that. A few questions bubbled into her mind as she hummed along.
"How was your last day school?" She asked as she glanced down towards him.
He smiled as he thought back to earlier today.
Everyone was very excited for school to end, all day his friends kept staring at the clock. Toby was excited because he knew as soon as the bell rang he would be able to run out the front doors and into Sarah's car. Then their adventure would begin. He had two suitcases packed in her trunk, and snacks in his backpack. He also had a deck of cards, you never know when you might need them. He had been ready for three days now, it was a few months ago they started to plan their adventure. His leg shook anxiously as he looked to the clock, four minutes left. The teacher was praising the class for being so enjoyable during the year. They all appreciated it; but what they would appreciate even more was a certain sound to ring out throughout the halls. Toby clutched his book bag closer to him. He could feel the outline of the book he always liked to read, and a small bundle of his favorite stationary in the front pocket. It was two minutes until he was free. His stomach was tying its self in a knot. That annoying sour knot that happened when you had no patience left, when you were desperate. He almost felt sick to his stomach.
The teacher smiled and clapped her hands together, allowing the class to leave and beat the rush of the other students. It was still surprising to Toby how fast the evacuation of classrooms on the last day happens. He blinked and he was running among a crowd of his classmates. He saw the beautiful glass doors in front of him, they were twenty feet away. Fifteen feet. Ten. Five. He was out. He was gone! The bell rang as he ripped open the door to the dusty blue sedan parked in the front of the pick-up lot and flung himself inside.
"Go! Go! Step on it!"
Sarah raised her eyebrows in amusement as she carefully pulled out of the parking lot. Purposefully making sure to check her surroundings extra slowly.
"Hurry, Sarah! I want to leave now!" Toby was bouncing in his seat with anticipation. He wanted to see the rolling hills and mountains. He wanted to be away from his small hometown and relax on a porch with his sister. He wanted to write to his friend and not be scared of Irene walking in on them when he actually came to visit.
"Hold your horses there, cowboy. Speed limits on country highways may just seem like a suggestion, but I can't fight the school limits." She laughed as she tossed him a snack bag of Doritos from the seat behind her at the stoplight. "You might want to snack on these. I don't plan to stop for another three hours."
Toby grinned and immediately dug in, his sister was the best. He continued to munch away as they merged onto the freeway minutes later, successfully beating the after-school traffic, thanks to Toby's amazing teacher.
"When will we get there?" Toby asked as he threw the empty bag into a trash bag in the back seat.
Sarah tapped her thumbs against the steering wheel in thought. "I'd say in twelve hours. I have money in my bag for two nights of motel stay in case we need it for some reason."
Toby nodded and brought out a sketchbook, ready to draw what he saw in the windows as they passed. Sarah raised her eyebrows as she saw the red leather bound book under the sketch book.
"Why did you bring that hunk of junk?"
Toby raised his eyebrows in return as he ran his hands over the cool leather. "I just always like having it."
"The Labyrinth… I remember reading that book when I was younger. I never imagined you would be so into it."
Toby sighed sadly. "Yeah… well… what do you remember about the story?"
"Hmm… there's a strong female lead character. She wishes her younger brother away, and is confronted by a king of some sort. They have a challenge and she has to travel through the evil king's labyrinth by midnight in order to reclaim him. She succeeds and proves that the king cannot defeat her by any means."
"There's more to it than that though!" Toby exclaimed with a little too much energy.
Sarah jumped in surprise at his voice. "Well, if you're so into it don't let me stop you. What else happens? I suppose my memory of it is foggy."
Toby narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms, staring at the dashboard he muttered a sentence to himself.
"What was that?" Sarah asked, glancing over at him.
"Nothing." He replied too quickly. Toby huffed and began to explain the rest of the story to her. "The story has so much more to it than just a competition! It was about love! The point of the Labyrinth was to show the runner how to truly appreciate her family and learn how to love. In fact, the king fell in love with the runner!"
"Is that so?" Sarah chuckled, admiring how much Toby loved the story.
"Yes, it is so!" Toby mocked her. "The king saw the girl for a while before she ran the Labyrinth, watching her and admiring her. Why do you think he personally showed up to take her brother and not just one of his goblins?"
Sarah shrugged. "I had never thought of that before. I doubt that would be the reason. But it is suspicious that the king would show up for such a routine event."
"It was the reason!" Toby muttered as he resumed his previous pouting position. He huffed and began to dramatically re-read the story to her. He especially drew out the scenes where the runner was being a bit dense, giving a little more annoyed detail than necessary. Throughout the read Sarah asked him if what he said was actually in the book.
"I'm just telling it how it is."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Tobes."
"Just listen and remember."
"Remember what?" Her thumbs rapped against the steering wheel.
"…The story…" His voice was oddly lilted for a moment before he continued to described the howls of Ludo's summons.
Sarah rolled her eyes, the kid was weird, but she loved him for it. She would support him in whatever he wanted, as long as it was good for him. Why not indulge in his obsession with the book. She was sure it was just a tool he used to keep himself at ease at home. She nodded along to his vivid storytelling, ooh-ing and ahh-ing here and there just to tease. He rolled his eyes when she commented on the flamboyancy of the Goblin King and his confusing manners towards the runner. It had taken up an hour or so. They were happily on track with Sarah's schedule. That was… until the engine shuddered. The car lurched along the dusty country road, simultaneously Sarah threw out her arm in front of Toby to prevent his movement in case anything else happened. Sarah quickly pulled off to the side of the road and shut the car off. Toby groaned as she popped the hood and began to inspect.
(A/N)
Hello again! It's me. The uneducated author. Ha. So I totally forgot where they lived, as I have not seen the movie in a while. I searched for where their house was but Wikipedia was no help. I changed the vacation home from Arizona to the mountains of North Carolina. From New York to Arizona it is a 38 hour drive. New York to North Carolina is about 10 hours. It makes more sense. I also forgot the color of the cover of the book, for shame! How dare I call myself a fan. I believe I changed everything that needed to be corrected in this chapter. As always, message me or post a review stating what I need to change and where. Resources are always appreciated! Thank you so much for reading!
14:06 - 06-05-17
