Sorry if this is longer than the other intermissions. Enjoy... or not.


"I'm sorry, Mary." I keep apologizing to the weeping girl in front of me. "I'm so sorry." And just so that Mary will cheer up, I insult myself. "What a big jerk I must seem to you, Mary. I know you wish you've never even met a big, insensitive idiot like me…" the words go on and on.

"I don't." Mary squeaks. She looks up at me with those sea-green eyes of hers. "I don't wish that. I'm crying because you're right. About me being a coward. About me being brave enough to tell you that I love him. You're right about everything, Maysilee."

And those tears she has been hiding from me finally come out. Mary cries her eyes out, inconsolably. About thirty minutes after Mary started crying, it started raining, as if the sky was crying with her. And it still is. Mary finally notices. She gets up and says, "It's finally raining. I'll get the water."

I nod, and give her the bowl from my backpack. "Come back when the bowl is full. And don't go far." I tell her, like an overprotective mother. Mary nods determinedly and hops from branch to branch, until she reaches the ground safely.

I reach for my backpack, and pull out the dried beef inside. I set aside some for later, of course. Then I dig in.

But before I could, I hear a scream. My name, again and again. "Maysilee! Maysilee! Help me! Maysilee! Maysilee!" Mary cries repeatedly. My eyes go wide, and I jump down from branch to branch, like Mary did a few minutes ago. Before I know it, I'm on the ground.

Oh, wait. Scratch that. I'm on the ground with Mary, surrounded by at least four of the most violent Careers I've ever seen. And I realize one more thing: I forgot my gun, and my darts. One of the Careers flashes me an evil so-what-are-you-going-to-do-now-girly grin.

I roll my eyes, and start talking confidently, even though inside, I am whimpering in fear. "Hello," I say to the Careers. "Would you like to come up to our branch for some dried beef?"

What a stupid question it is. And what a stupid person I am. Inviting a group of bloody Careers for food, only to let them kill us later?

Mary elbows me. "What are you thinking?" she mutters to me.

I elbow her back, and murmur, "Mary. Let's keep them busy, okay? And then we run away."

"But what about your backpack?" Mary whispers.

"Never mind it." I whisper back.

"No thank you," one of the Careers replies. She flashes me a cruel smile, like a hunter about to kill a deer. "We're not so hungry. But we're thirsty. For blood!" The girl cackles. She reaches into her jacket, and pulls out a large knife. She throws it at our direction.

Mary screams, "Run!" and I start running like there's no tomorrow. I hear the girl swear, and throw the knife at us again. Missed. Mary runs faster, and so do I. With my long legs and my quick feet, I soon overtake her. But I can't lag behind, or I'll be dead meat.

Suddenly, I hear a choke. I spin around. It's Mary, lying on the ground in a small pool of blood, which was about to get bigger. I gasp, and sprint to her. The Careers must have gone after hitting their target, as they are nowhere to be seen. "Mary!" I shout.

"May…si…lee…" Mary croaks. The Career girl's knife had hit her in the back, causing her to fall down. And while that was happening, I was running, ahead like a coward. "Maysilee… you have to win…"

"Mary! You're going to be all right. It's okay." I try to console her. She might as well feel calm on her last moments here on Earth.

But Mary shakes her head and closes her eyes. "Goodbye…" she whispers. And her eyes close for the last time.

"Mary!" I shake her shoulders, trying to call her back into this world. But it is no use.

Mary is already in the other world, with her dear Perry.