"Go ahead, take a sip, there's nothing to fear," the lady soothed, leaving Brittany feeling uneasy with her close-lipped grin. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to tell this lady what she saw when she had touched the crystal ball; she felt like she could still feel the buzz in her finger. She looked down at the thick, golden liquid inside the porcelain teacup.
"It's safe and will revive you of lost energy," the old being added, like that was a surefire way to motivate her to drink this foreign substance. Brittany sighed, and much to her reluctance, her hand slowly reached out and grabbed the glass teacup. Looking up, she didn't make any effort to hide her wariness to the eerie smile and black beady eyes before her as she brought the teacup to her lips. She thought about fake-drinking the liquid, but that seemed impossible to do, so as she tilted the cup upwards, allowing the warm syrupy liquid that smelled strongly of citrus and mint to take shape against her lips, she hardly allowed any to seep past her lips before she brought the teacup slowly away.
When she licked her lips, she found that the flavor of the soft liquid tasted exactly as it smelled, and for some reason, she couldn't help but desire more. But that could have poison in it for all you know, a voice whispered inside her head. Take caution. Brittany pursed her lips, suddenly wishing she could purge the liquid out of her systems. Why did she just drink that? She could've said no.
"See, wasn't that tasty?" the old being enticed. "Please, finish it. It's my own special recipe. Go on…"
Brittany opened her mouth, about ready to retort, but she held herself back. She needed to be careful. One wrong word and this strange lady could go psycho on her. If anything, she'd rather stay on this being's good side, and the drink seemed safe enough… She heaved out a sigh, bringing the teacup back up to her lips. She could feel the warmth emanating from the liquid against her skin, sending a quick chill throughout her body, and taking one last glance at the being across from her, she slowly tilted the cup up, allowing its contents to drag slowly into her mouth and slide down her throat. While the taste was pleasant, there was something revolting about it that reminded her of drinking cough syrup.
As she finished up the drink, completely unaware of how much she was drinking, trying to focus on how she felt physically, the old being asked: "Now tell me what you saw within the crystal ball…"
Brittany's whole body went rigid, making it so she had the capacity to move as a Barbie doll while she slowly set the teacup back down on its matching plate. So this lady now knew she saw something…this was some serious, sketchy business. All Brittany could do as she let this sink in was stare at the being.
The lady, not seeming to notice how uncomfortable she was making her guest, began to hum a soft tune, one that sounded like it could belong to a nursery rhyme, and she reached over taking Brittany's empty teacup. She adjusted the cup in the palm of her hand, running a long, bony finger around its golden rim. "You know, he's not always going to be there to protect you," she hummed.
"What?" Brittany blinked. Her hand self-consciously moved down to where her knife rested against her thigh.
The lady continued with her eerie melody, eventually coming to a stop. It became utterly silent. There wasn't a single sound that could be heard—even Brittany's heart seemed to put itself on mute while the temperature in the air dropped and a heavy feeling settled atop her chest. She would've gladly excused herself out of that place, but the weight on her chest felt like it was holding her down. When the lady finally looked up, much to Brittany's dread, her heart just about stopped and her face contorted with horror as she screamed, except no sound came out.
The lady—no, the being that existed before her, seemed to have lost every feature that ever made it appear human. Its eyes had gruesomely changed, so where it should have been white, it was now a startling deep crimson, pulsing out thick globs of blood; there were small black dots in the cores of each eye, spazzing out with little spikes, appearing like a dying spider. This being's skin had drastically changed to a lifeless color, and whatever fat that there used to be seemed to have vanished, leaving the thin, leathery-looking outer layer to sag on nothing but a hunched skeleton. It was baring disgustingly pointy, rotten teeth at her into a kind of devilish, Cheshire Cat smile. Even its clothes seemed to have changed to something shadowy and unreal.
Brittany hardly dared to move, let alone breathe, while this being bore its eyes into her own, plunging down into the depths of her soul. And just when she thought things were at its worst, the candles from above suddenly began to go out, one by one like a countdown, until there was only one left. She could feel her heart pounding swiftly inside her chest, beating her adrenaline all the way down to the tips of her fingertips and toes.
The silence around them continued…becoming solid within the room…until the being abruptly moved, causing Brittany to jump back just as the last candle went out—but it was already too late.
The being had grasped her right wrist tightly in its bony, clawed hand and was ripping its teeth into her flesh as it pulled her across the table. A gasp escaped her mouth from the pain, and she soon began to feel something warm sliding down her arm. Blood. She tried to scream again, but once more, no sound came out. Brittany breathed heavily through her mouth as her situation slowly settled in. She looked around in the dark, stunned with fear as to what she should do. She would've tried to pull her arm free, but somehow she knew she wouldn't be getting her hand back with it if she struggled. She was absolutely terrified.
Where was Alvin? What if she died? Her mind was swarming with questions, but all of them dispersed once this being released her and she snatched her arm back, quickly falling flat on her back. She let out a soft groan as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her shoulder blades and head were now throbbing from the impact, but she forced herself to sit upright. Within a few moments, the fire on each candle quickly came back to life, and when she opened her eyes to where she last saw the being, she found the strange, old lady back in her seat, holding her teacup like nothing had just happened.
Immediately confused, Brittany's eyes dropped down to examine her wounds on her right wrist, but to her surprise, she found nothing. No blood, no wounds. Nothing
"Hmm..." the lady purred, taking a sip out of her teacup. But that was originally empty, wasn't it? Unless she had switched Brittany's teacup with her own. Brittany stared with great caution as the lady set the cup down. Her ice blue eyes rested on the teacup. "You need to be more careful, Brittany," the lady murmured. "Or else you'll never make it. It seems that Life has planned for you something very unusual…all the Trials of Drykolan …"
Brittany's eyes followed as the lady brought the teacup back up to her lips and took another sip. This time when she set the cup back down, there were some traces of something white and metallic sticking to her lips. The tip of something black came out of her mouth and cleaned it up. Brittany's eyes dropped down to her wrist, and she ever so slowly began to scoot herself backwards.
"I also find that you're in a bit of a complicated situation right now," the lady continued, dropping her beady eyes to the substance that seemed to be inside the teacup. "You need to act and choose wisely…because Death will always be around the corner for you…especially now…he is very close by…" the lady paused. Brittany had frozen as well, quite captivated by the words that had been spoken. The lady then looked up and grinned. "Welcome."
Brittany's eyebrows furrowed and she turned to peer behind her. She blinked at the tall figure, suddenly feeling relieved. Alvin. It was about time!—except he wasn't looking too thrilled. She didn't suppose it had to do with the fact that she had disobeyed him and walked off into some random tent, where some crazy being was, where she could've potentially died, was it? No, no…he was probably saving his anger about that for later when they walked out of this place. Great. Something for her to look forward to. However…
She suddenly shuddered, beginning to feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She looked up at Alvin, staring at his emotionless face. There was definitely something about him that made her glad she wasn't the one his eyes were currently focused on, battling in a staring contest. He seemed different…as if he carried a new sort of air with him—one of preeminence and something you just knew you should never, ever mess with. Was this some special power he had for being one of the three Keepers of Peace? Could Simon and Theodore create this sort of tension as well?
Alvin's eyes suddenly shot down to Brittany's and she stiffened. After a few moments, she blinked a few times, slowly dragging her eyes down to her hand that still gripped onto her wrist. Well that wasn't fair. How was she supposed to even stand a chance in this staring game with him when his eyes did stuff like that? His eyes did it again. The sky blue—there was a flicker of gold that seemed to have emerged out of his pupils. But like a wave quickly getting pulled back into the ocean, the gold disappeared within the pupil. She didn't get it—
Without a warning, Alvin had suddenly slipped his warm hands under her arms and was picking her up to her feet. Brittany stumbled back a little, running her back into his chest. He helped stabilize her by placing his hands on her arms, and that's when she remembered the strange lady who was still sitting in her chair, grinning ghoulishly at them.
"Let's go," Alvin muttered, grabbing Brittany by the wrist and pulling her along.
Brittany nodded her head, stealing one last glance at the being whom had oddly remained silent this whole time. She found it funny, considering that this creature sure had a lot to say earlier about…her future? And not to mention it seemed to know exactly who Alvin was, or at least that he was acting as some bodyguard for her…but something told her it wasn't the latter.
"You can't escape Death," the lady's old voice suddenly croaked out. "No one ever can…just like the darkness…"—its voice began to get deeper, almost like it was a dying voicemail machine—"…you'll understand…what you saw will help you…you don't know who you should really be fearing…but you'll see…" Its voice had now become something entirely different, now down to a raspy whisper as Alvin led Brittany through the beaded curtain. "I'll be watching you…I'll be watching all of you…" From behind them, Brittany could tell that the candles were going out, one by one once again, but this time there was an urgency about it within the speed they were snuffing out. It felt like something worse than before would happen, and that made Brittany's insides churn with nervousness.
She turned her head to peek over her shoulder, but Alvin's grip tightened around her wrist and he murmured "Don't"—but she still managed to catch a glimpse of the scene behind them. The fortune telling room was now a gray, decaying room that looked like it had seen a thousand years pass by; dust and cobwebs now touched every surface; the beaded curtain had now lost its gleam and was missing some length to it on some strands; there appeared to be something rusty smeared across the crystal ball and along the floor; and where the old lady sat was now a crouching, dark figure. Only one candle flame from the black, gothic chandelier remained alit.
"You're time is running out," the creature whispered.
The last candle blew out.
.
"Hey—where'd you run off to?" Simon asked, just as Alvin came up beside the bespectacled boy and Emrick, pulling a disturbed Brittany along behind him. She couldn't tell how mad he exactly was at her, but with the way he gripped her and wouldn't turn to look back at her…she was assuming a lot?
"It doesn't matter," Alvin huffed. Okay, so maybe he wasn't that mad? Maybe he'd even forget and let it slide? Brittany could only hope for so much. But didn't he think what happened inside that tent was weird? What was that granny-creature-being? She needed explanations, and she wanted them now. When she looked away from staring at the back of Alvin's head, she found Emrick staring at her with his black eyes. She immediately averted her gaze, shuffling a little behind Alvin. "So could you think of anything?" he asked. He seemed reluctant to even inquire.
Simon sighed, his face shadowing over with something resembling solemnness.
"I'm afraid," Emrick suddenly spoke up, "that no natural remedies can save your star-friend now. Twelve years is a long time, and this Dreameater has already accessed her memories. It's too strong now. You'll have to handle this case with a bit more of an extreme procedure, if you wish to save your star-friend from an early death…"
"I'm not letting her get anywhere near black magic," Alvin firmly shot.
"Alvin…" Simon looked at his brother. It seemed that they were having another one of their silent conversations; all the while, Brittany was beginning to have a sinking feeling stab into her chest.
Your time is running out.
You can't escape Death.
"So am I just going to die?" Brittany suddenly spoke up. Alvin finally turned to look at her for the first time since the events in the tent with the strange being, but this time around, Brittany couldn't bear to look anyone in the eye, so she stared straight ahead and watched some creature that resembled a hideous goblin with sickly moldy skin, picking up jars of who knows what and examining them. She didn't want to see the confirmation in anyone's eyes because the thought of dying already just seemed like too much. She had just barely gotten introduced to this strange, amazing world. She was just barely getting to learn about her actual self. And now, to have that all taken away…she just didn't want to accept losing all of this so soon.
That's when she began to feel a little angry. How come she didn't have a say in what happened in her life? Her life didn't belong to any of these guys—it was hers. If she wanted black magic to be done on her, then she'd have it done. She could live with the consequences—she'd rather know she fought for her life than just sat there, waiting for it to slip away in her fingers as time ticked by—but then Alvin suddenly spoke up, and for whatever reason, she couldn't help but be startled by it.
"No."
She blinked, finally looking over and locking gazes with her protector. "What?"
"I said: 'No.'" Alvin stared at her fiercely. "As long as you're under my protection, you're not dying. Not even over my dead body." Brittany opened her mouth, but clamped it shut. She had no idea how to respond to that. All she could do was take his words in and allow them to absorb into the depths of her mind. In reality, they sunk into her heart, where it would eventually be found, but she had no idea about that.
"But Alvin, if you're not going to use black magic, then how do you suppose you're going to kill off this Dreameater?" Simon questioned, crossing his arms. "Regular magic isn't strong enough for this, you know that."
"Might I add," Emrick began casually, "that when I said you must take to a more 'extreme procedure,' I wasn't necessarily referring to simply just black magic?" He then rested his strange black eyes on Alvin. "I believe you already knew what you would have to do in order to save your star-friend, even before you arrived here, my dear friend." He then grinned, his pearly skin and handsome face making him look completely clean and pristine. He looks like he could be a doctor, Brittany randomly thought as she examined him. A vampire doctor.
"Well, what is it then?" Simon asked, and Brittany's eyes wandered over to the attention of the conversation.
Alvin sighed, momentarily glimpsing over at Brittany, before he looked back over at his brother and said: "Clarity Falls."
"In the Forest of Dreams?" Simon mumbled, mostly to himself, but this caught Brittany's attention. That place sounded familiar—it was mentioned once before, wasn't it? She watched as Simon's face contorted with confusion. "But—we don't even know where it is—let alone, we don't even know if it even exists. It's just a legend, as far as we know…unless…" His wary eyes rested on Alvin.
"Come now, Simon. You should be old enough to know this, unless you have already forgotten, that all legends are true? No matter how bizarre?" Emrick chided with a tsk tsk. His frowning face quickly faded into a friendly, challenging grin.
Brittany tilted her head a little; all of this was actually somehow sounding somewhat familiar to her.
"Have you been there?" Simon inquired.
"No, but I know someone who has." Emrick's grin grew and he glanced over at Brittany, winking at her. In response, she checked to see if there was anyone behind her. She definitely must've seen wrong—he must've had something in his eye, or he's just weird and blinks with one eye… She could hardly see how any of this could associate with her, but…she also caught on to how Emrick seemed to know things. He obviously was an acquaintance of the three brothers, for whoever knows how long, and he had to have been someone they trusted because he clearly knew who they were and what she was….
"Well…" Simon pursed his lips. "But don't you think that's a little risky? I mean, we have no idea where this waterfall is—nobody does. Brittany could very well die all because we couldn't find this place soon enough. How are we supposed to find something that can't even be found and placed on a map accurately? There are few beings out there that have claimed they found it, and you know what happens? They all give different directions that wound up leading you somewhere completely unknown within the forest and nowhere near the actual destination."
"Simon, not everything you want to find can be found, simply because you want to find it," Alvin stated. "And you know that. Clarity Falls contains one of the world's purest, natural magic out there. Something like that—you have to need it—whether you know it or not—in order for it to let you find it. And Brittany needs it—heck, her life depends on it."
"But you know how dangerous the Forest of Dreams is," Simon countered. "Not only would we be putting Brittany's life on the line, but we'd also be putting Jeanette's and Eleanor's lives on the line as well—"
"You guys won't be coming," Alvin cut in. "You and Theodore are going to get Brittany's sisters as fast as possible to Seville's."
"But—" Simon began.
"Simon, beings from all around are already beginning to hear the rumors—our time is running out…" Alvin stressed, making Brittany's body immediately freeze up.
Your time is running out. Brittany frowned at the haunting, whispering memory. She could still hear it so vividly inside her head…
"But Alvin, we can't just let you go off on your own—it's dangerous for you, too! We can't—"
"Simon, I'm serious…" Alvin finally let go of Brittany's wrist so he could grab his brother's shoulders. "The Forest of Dreams would almost be doubling the time it would take to get the girls safely to Seville's, and you know it's a lot better this way if we separate and have you guys get Jeanette and Eleanor safely secured…."
"But Alvin…"
Brittany bit her lower lip, staring down at her wrist as she massaged it. It felt awfully warm from Alvin's grasp—in fact, where he had gripped her was slightly wet from her beginning to perspire a little. She lifted her gaze to watch as Alvin moved this conversation a little further away and tried to compromise with Simon, who really seamed on edge about separating from him. She truly felt empathy for him, for she knew exactly how he felt. She'd never want to abandon her sisters…but she knew it was for the best…and she knew Alvin would never let her have a say in this. If it were any other day, she probably would've actually joined Simon in with this fight.
However, a lot had happened today. More than once, did she truly feel fear. If what Alvin said was true…then she'd rather have her sisters be safe. This world was so dangerous…more dangerous than she ever thought…and she was now beginning to realize that.
As she watched the two brothers argue, feeling a little helpless with what she should do—what if something sketchy were to happen again?—someone suddenly tapped her shoulder lightly. She jumped at the touch, but immediately relaxed when she saw that it was just Emrick, who had now moved to stand directly opposite of her from the tables that separated them. "Siblings' quarrel," he commented while shaking his head. "This one's a lot deeper than you think."
Brittany pursed her lips, glancing back over at Alvin and Simon; beings nearby seemed to ignore them. Now that he pointed it out, Simon did seem truly distraught about this. His face expressed so much passion and worry. She couldn't help but wonder how Alvin's face looked, for his back was turned to her. That's when it occurred to her… "It almost doesn't make sense," she slowly said, briefly glimpsing at Emrick to see if he was still there. His full attention was on her, with his black orbs making her feel slightly intimidated, but she went ahead and explained what she meant. "They're immortal. They don't have to worry about losing one another forever…"
"Are you sure about that? There's always more than meets the eye. That's something you should always consider in our world—a little piece of advice from me," he hummed, looking down at all the treasures he had spread on the silky black material. "Ah, here we go—" he picked up a glittering, silver necklace with a crescent moon charm dangling from the chain "—this is a protection charm. It has five small gems, infused with Dream Miasma in it." He paused, staring at the charm for a moment before he hesitantly held it out to Brittany. "It will—I mean, it should, um, it should help slow your parasite down…and give you more time..."
Brittany stared at the charm in his hand for a while. It looked absolutely gorgeous, like it could cost her half of her life savings. "I don't have any money," she dumbly said, feeling a little sad.
"Think of this as a…as a welcome gift! Or a pity gift, if you're really feeling down," he humored, but the lightness in his voice didn't reach his eyes.
After a short time period with Brittany just staring, mostly at Emrick (but she tried to keep it inconspicuous), she finally reached over and hesitantly took the charm from Emrick. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but imagine his hand suddenly becoming monstrous and latching onto her forearm while the rest of his skin tore up and revealed a hideous beast underneath. But that never happened, and now she was holding the charm up close to her face. Like he had said, there were five small round gems running along the center of the crescent moon charm; they were each five different pure colors of red, green, blue, yellow, and orange. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she felt like she could feel some weird energy coming from it for a few seconds.
"Once you get rid of your little pest, that should keep you protected from any other Dreameaters getting into your head," he added as Brittany put the chain over her head and adjusted the necklace around her neck. "And it's probably best that you, um—" he cleared his throat— "that you keep it hidden." He suddenly seemed uncomfortable, and that made Brittany eye him as she slowly placed the charm behind the coverage of her black top. It was then that Alvin appeared at her side, looking a little worn out.
"I think we're going to be heading out now," he said, glancing over at Brittany. "It's getting late, and this place is getting more crowded. We don't want to be seen by someone that will ask for trouble." She nodded her head, getting sidetracked when she noticed Simon, who was slowly coming back over, not looking too happy. He stopped walking, looking as if he heard someone call his name, and turned, peering around with a hard concentration. She was curious how the conversation ended, but it seemed like it was personal, and either way, she knew Alvin would give her a brick wall as an answer.
"Ah, yes," Emrick chimed in his smooth voice. Upon looking over at the beautiful figure, Brittany found he had recomposed himself and looked perfectly fine. "Witching hour does tend to be the busiest. Of course that time varies. It depends on the item or being."
"We really need to start moving out—and fast," Simon abruptly said as he came up to them.
"Where's Theodore and the girls?" Alvin asked, his whole demeanor completely changing.
"I don't know—hopefully nearby," the bespectacled boy sighed.
"Wait, what's going on?" Brittany asked. She could tell that this place was now a lot more busier than when they had arrived, full of new beings she had never seen, but they all looked too engrossed with the items they were looking at to even notice any other being around them. Plus, this was a public market—weren't there any regulations that protected them from any trouble?
As if he could read her mind, Alvin stated, "Some beings just don't know how to control their desires. In this world, violence is normal and sometimes seen as a pleasure, or a way to cope with your anger. We did tell you not everyone likes who we are, right?"
Brittany slowly nodded her head, now understanding their situation. So this didn't have anything to do with her and her sisters. It had to do with some bad blood against the brothers.
"I'm going to find Theodore—you and Brittany should leave," Simon urgently said. "I think they already know."
Upon hearing this, Brittany shot him a look. "Wait—now?" But she needed to say goodbye to her sisters—see their faces one last time—no. They couldn't leave now, not without her seeing her sisters one last time.
Alvin stared at Simon long and hard, nodding his head. "Remind Theodore of that song we had to sing when we were little." He glanced over at Brittany briefly, adding, "And take care of Jeanette and Eleanor. No matter what it takes, get them to Seville."
Brittany's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and she opened her mouth, unable to find any words. She couldn't believe what was happening. She looked to Simon for help, since he was originally the one who was on edge about them separating in the first place—maybe he'd feel pity for her and alter this plan of theirs, for she knew her word was just as useful as a feather…
But Simon pursed his lips and exhaled deeply, nodding his head. He gripped Alvin's shoulder in a way that a close friend would, right before they headed off to war, with neither of them knowing whether or not they'd see each other again. Something shifted in his deep blue eyes, revealing a vulnerability Brittany didn't even think existed within any of these brothers, but there it was. That's when she realized what he had said was final. "I'll come back for you," he said, his grip getting firmer for a second before he let his hand fall back at his side. After a moment, his gaze moved over to Brittany, who was beginning to feel a dreadful horror fill up inside of her. "You'll see your sisters again soon. This is not the end." And with that, he swiftly turned away and walked off, disappearing within the crowd of beings.
"C'mon, we need to go," she heard Alvin say, and he placed his hand on the small of her back, beginning to push her forward. But before they could get far, Emrick reached over and grabbed Alvin's arm.
"It was a pleasure to see you again, Alvin," the pale being grinned with a grave look laced along his face. His black eyes glanced between the two pairs of blue eyes before him. "I hope that we'll be able to meet again in the future, with your star-friend alive and well. A lot of beings from this world are selfish and put themselves first before anybody else, but not you. So be careful, and remember that sometimes beings make mistakes." He then let go of Alvin, who simply nodded his head in farewell, and began leading Brittany away, guiding her through the crowd like she was some shopping cart.
The whole time as he guided her willing body through the crowd, Alvin murmured to Brittany to not look anyone in the eye and appear normal, to be careful of this, and watch out for that, don't touch this, we're almost to the exit, until finally they walked through what appeared to be a black hole that lead to an endless pathway of shadows, but actually lead them to standing back outside the large willow tree. Immediately, as if water had been poured over them, the night cool air flooded out the tension that surrounded them. They had made it safely outside, and now could continue with their journey.
As Brittany walked forward along the narrow pathway, Alvin's guiding hand seemed to have left her, and when she realized she was on her own, she came to a stop in the middle of the narrow pathway. Her eyes focused on watching a small firefly lightly touch the surface of the black waters that surrounded them while her brain notified her that within her chest that same horrible feeling remained resting on her organs. Never did she imagine that she'd be separated from her sisters along this journey, but now that it was happening…she wasn't sure what to think. All she knew was that she couldn't just leave without them—at least not without saying goodbye and knowing that they were okay.
When she heard Alvin sigh behind her, she gritted her teeth, preparing for him to speak.
"Brittany, we can't stay here forever."
It irritated her and she was about to snap…but when she thought of the look on Simon's face, and the words the brothers exchanged, she knew it wasn't fair for all of them. She just hated having to leave her sisters like this. It wasn't right. She took in a deep breath, letting it go before she continued walking. She could feel the coldness from the charm that rested against the center of her chest, and her hand went to touch where it rested.
By the time she made it to the outer pathway that circled the large willow tree, Alvin silently took lead, taking a pathway that almost seemed to be exactly opposite from the one they had originally arrived from, which led to Starless City. Brittany followed in pursuit, dragging her feet that now felt like there were heavy weights attached to them. She was falling behind, and he was now just a silhouette up ahead of her.
Eventually after about five minutes, he stopped. She stopped walking as well, daring to keep the distance. She dropped her gaze when she saw that he was coming over.
"We need to get away from here as fast as possible. These trails aren't safe to travel on at this time, and we don't want to run into trouble. Can you please keep up?" Alvin softly asked. She could sense that he was upset, and how he managed to contain it was beyond her knowledge, but because he asked nicer than she would've if it were her…she consented soundlessly and began walking ahead of him, pushing through the heavy weights she felt on her feet.
Brittany wasn't sure what time it was. All she knew was that it was past midnight, and that the energy she had used throughout the day was beginning to add up and take its toll on her. Hopefully they were fortunate enough to not run into any beings—she wasn't sure if she had it in her to run for the rest of the night.
Alvin then caught up with where she was, grabbing her shoulder and making her stop. She turned her head towards him, letting her neck fall limp to the side as her eyes bored into his.
"Get on my back," he sighed.
"Alvin…" Brittany groaned. She knew she was dead weight at the moment, but really, she could walk.
"Just get on my back."
She stared at him. The last thing she needed was to argue about this. So with much reluctance, she nodded her head and Alvin turned around. Hesitantly, she placed her hands on his firm shoulders, and taking in one deep breath, she jumped up onto his back and he grabbed her legs, getting her in a comfortable, secure position. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, careful to not let them go anywhere near his face or to hold too tightly on him, she couldn't help but wonder how many times he's had to do this with someone. She hoped she wasn't his first. She was far too old to have someone have to pick her up and carry her like this.
*updates 20 billion years later* ...not like I ever said I'd try and update better in the past. It's fine.
I hope you all have had a great summer! :D And thank you guys for all of the support I've received, and special thanks to all of who have reviewed/favorited/followed. :) You all have been awesome and I'm sorry for the wait. I finally now have a lot more time, and this story is beginning to form a little better in my mind, so... ;)
Thanks so much for reading! :)