Chapter 3
I close both locks below the window,
I close both blinds and turn away,
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple,
Sometimes goodbye's the only way
I spent the next few days job hunting under Hannah and Steven's supervision. It was actually kind of fun following them around all day long. I found out how horrible Hannah's students were, and I learned to keep a pair of earplugs with me for when they were practicing, but I always listened while Hannah was playing.
I learned how much fun it was to be a newspaper reporter while I was with Steven. He wrote for the city newspaper, and we would go around searching for good stories all day long, even though we were supposed to be searching for a job for me. We went to every part of the city, and to a lot of places outside of the city.
After five days of looking, we still couldn't find a decent job for me. I was ready to give up, we had searched everywhere, and even though there were openings, my reputation had spread from my previous jobs. No one wanted to hire me.
On the sixth day, it was Steven's turn to babysit me. They kept insisting that that's not what they were doing, but honestly, there's no other word for it. Someone had tipped the newspaper that there were some odd noises and strange creatures appearing a few hours south of the city, so that's where we were headed. We both doubted the stories, but it was a chance to escape the hectic settings of the city and replace them with the calm and soothing scenes of the countryside. He, Hannah and I had all grown up in rural and suburban areas, and sometimes we liked to get away and visit a quieter place.
As we were nearing the area where these strange sightings were taking place, the scenery changed from fields to a large forest. We parked on the side of the road and made our way down a narrow trail that wound through the forest.
The farther in we got, the more things started to look like we might have been wrong to doubt those stories. We found the remains of several small animals that looked like they had been torn apart. I was starting to feel nervous, but I wasn't about to turn back. I always hated to leave a mystery unsolved, even if it was something as simple as figuring out what animal was responsible for these events.
A few minutes later, we heard a rustling in the brush off to our right, and then some screeching and hissing. We turned to see what was coming towards us, and saw a small group of lizards coming toward us. That wouldn't have been very alarming if they had been regular lizards, but these were at least as tall as I was, and they walked on two legs while carrying swords. I gasped and turned to look at Steven, but he was already pulling me down and farther along the trail before the lizards could see us.
He shoved me in front of him and whispered, "I think I saw someone back there, I'm going to check it out," then he turned and crept back along the path. "Keep going, and don't look back," he added over his shoulder. I wanted to follow him, but the look he gave me made me feel like I would rather face a hundred of those sword carrying lizards than suffer the consequences of disobeying him.
I was only a few feet farther on the path when Steven's voice reached me again. "Lya, RUN!" He shouted as I heard something large running up the path behind me. I turned around to see where Steven was, but all I could see was another group of those lizards coming towards me. I spun around and took off running as fast as I could. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going, and I ran off the path and couldn't find it again. I fought my way through the bushes and trees, but the farther I went, the closer those things got to me.
The trees and bushes thinned out around me, and before I knew it I was running towards a small cliff. I couldn't stop myself in time, and I tumbled down the steep slope, and into a group of bushes at the bottom. I guess the lizards gave up after that, because I didn't hear them come down the slope. I peeked through the bushes, and looked around. When I was sure that there wasn't anything around me, I started crawling away from the cliff.
I had been wandering around for what felt like hours, and I was hopelessly lost. After a while I stopped crawling and just kept a wary eye out for anything weird. I was exhausted, and I was on the verge of tears. I had no idea what had happened to Steven, and I couldn't find my way back to where I had last seen him. Even if I could have, he probably wouldn't still be there.
I had to stop abruptly when I came to a small clearing. In the center was a dark, swirling portal. There was nothing else around it, and even though I knew I shouldn't have, but I walked toward it. I felt drawn to it for some reason. I looked at it, and started to step closer, but I pulled back and looked around.
What am I doing? I thought, I have a life here, and friends, and I have no idea what this thing does. Sure it could send me somewhere else, or it could kill me. I backed away slowly, and I was almost to the edge of the clearing, about to leave, when I stopped. My life's a wreck, why should I go back? Maybe this is my chance to find better things…
I strode up to the portal, and turned around to look at my surroundings. A few tears rolled down my face as I stepped through the portal and left my life behind.
Put cards and flowers on your window,
Your friends all plead for you to stay,
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple,
Sometimes goodbye's the only way
Song Lyrics: "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park