Do not hide from the truth
You belong to something greater than your wildest dreams
Find the girl, she is the key
The heat of Summer finally awakens Sarah, her surroundings darker than usual.
Sarah looks around, the left side of her face strangely wet. She tries to place her hand on the ground but it sinks with moisty ease.
Apparently she slept on a bed of mud.
Sarah murmurs words of confusion as she attempts to get up, the lack of any natural light making things complicated.
Sarah's memories are nothing more than placeholders of emotions she's already forgotten.
Sarah rises from her muddy bed, the world around her almost completely black; only sounds of dripping water accompany Sarah.
In an attempt to locate her location, Sarah notices a collection of small sun rays. She looks up, a familiar sight comes into view. Somehow Sarah ended up back in the cave.
The small sun rays shine through the trapdoor, leading back to the cliffs, back to The Nest.
If Sarah can remember correctly, the last thing she did was leave the cave. Everything after that is hot fuzz.
Sarah treks back up the slope, the sun illuminating her azul eyes. The mud still has the imprint of Pretty's fall. Sarah almost laughs, but the realization that Pretty is still alive worries her.
Oh Six, I hope you made it out. It looks like I'm going to have an extended stay…
Sarah pushes on the trapdoor, with no barricade it opens easily. The sun shines brilliantly, almost blinding Sarah. She walks onto the barren earth, her surroundings familiar in unfamiliarity.
Thankfully and unfortunately, Pretty is nowhere to be seen.
Sarah inspects the land around her, some discrepancies standing out. A shrub sits perfectly dead, all of its green leaves fallen to the ground without a second thought. Even with the conditions of the cliffs, the sweet Summer sun should keep every little weed happy.
A trail of perfectly dead shrubs carries onwards, high into the cliffs.
Sarah looks to the open sea. It shines diamonds while the sea breeze carries a refreshing blow of cold air. In a way, it's beautiful.
With no other options, Sarah follows the strange trail.
The ground is hot, but not unbearable; Sarah wishes she still had shoes.
As Sarah continues along the path, a faint ringing starts to grow in her ears. It's hardly noticeable but definitely irritating.
Sarah wipes some mud off her face, sweat already forming on her temples. She needs to get out of the sun, fast.
With some time alone, Sarah thinks.
Chances are, Six found a way to escape. Which means Sarah is stuck.
Stuck with Pretty, stuck in The Nest.
What a nightmare.
Sarah wonders how she'll escape. Without Six, she's mostly flying solo. The Nomes might help, but Sarah can't even decipher their language. Not to mention, her hot-air balloon is totally wrecked. Sarah might be smart, but there's no way she's going to build a raft strong enough to sail the open seas.
It seems, for now, Sarah has no way out.
Sarah looks around her surroundings.
The Summer sun stands tall, blessing the earth with its unbearable heat.
The plants and bushes of the cliffs remain at odds with itself. The perfect trail of dying bushes slowly fades away, green returning to the barren earth.
Then, it happens. The ringing stops. For a moment, Sarah feels relieved.
Mere moments afterwards, a massive pounding pain takes the ringing's place. It grows in volume, like something is trying to break out of Sarah's head.
Sarah groans in pain as she holds her head, squeezing her eyes tight. Sarah can barely move, the pounding knocks her to the ground. She balls her hands, grabbing some of her hair. Whatever the pain is, it feels familiar.
In an attempt to weaken the horrid sensation, Sarah starts to slam her fists against her head. No book she's read has prepared her for this type of pain. As the colossal pounding reaches its peak, Sarah tries to scream. Yet her voice becomes completely inaudible.
When Sarah closes her mouth, the thundering pain begins to lessen. Slowly but surely it weakens.
When Sarah opens her eyes it feels like nothing has changed. Only, her head hurts from the unnecessary hitting.
Sarah stands back up, confusion painting her face. She continues onwards, deciding to completely ignore whatever just happened. Her first priority is to get out of the sun, after that then she can ponder the pain.
Not long after, the trail fades into obscurity. Sarah's surroundings are still unchanged.
The silent, blazing sun feeds the ground with heat, making the whole ordeal all the more irritating. Sarah follows the direction of the lost trail, no other option truly viable in her situation.
It's too late to go back to the cave now.
The sun hasn't skipped a beat. Sarah feels like she's melting, even with the lack of a raincoat.
Panting like a dog, Sarah keeps trudging forward. The Nest is barely out of view, providing no comfort to the exhausted Sarah. She can't explain it, but Sarah needs to find Pretty.
Something deep in her conscience points her in Pretty's direction.
Maybe it's Sarah's empathy pulling her strings.
Maybe it's Sarah's cleverness wanting an ally in The Nest.
Maybe it's Sarah's curiosity needing to know what happened at the bench.
Whatever the reason, Sarah would love to see a green dress with white hair.
Far in the distance something looks odd. Not only in sight but in sound. Sarah can hear faint cries from afar, towards a small patch of perfectly dead plants.
Sarah approaches the sound, some excitement bubbling within her.
Time stands still as Sarah sees a sight to remember.
There Pretty sits, curled up into a ball of guilt. Tears litter her hands yet they look dry. Any sort of royalty is gone, dirt and weeds collect the green dress.
"Pretty? Is that you?" Sarah calls out, the white puff of hair colliding with the brown cliffs.
Pretty whips her head in Sarah's direction. For a second, the duo share a glare of relief.
That is quickly broken once Pretty realizes her current condition.
Pretty changes her face to one of embarrassment, quickly rising from her seat of solitude to run away. She runs into the cliffs, ignoring the steep drops soon to come.
Sarah chases after Pretty, her big-dumb-emotional heart forcing her hand once again.
The roles are reversed as a new chase begins, Sarah hoping to save the idiotic Pretty.
Sarah runs with nimble ease, her feet constantly harassed by natural objects.
Pretty runs with cluttered difficulty, her dress yet again hindering her abilities. Pretty raises her dress to run easier, but ultimately loses sight of the ground.
Sarah knows very well that Pretty won't stay pretty if she falls into the ocean. Again.
"Hey!" Sarah calls out, getting closer to her target. "Stop running! You might fall!"
"Just leave me alone!" Pretty responds, her emotions warping her words. "I hate you!"
Ouch. Rude.
Sarah keeps running, ignoring the splinters and various rocks stabbing her feet. Pain is temporary, guilt is eternal. After all, Sarah's saved Pretty once, what's twice?
Before Sarah can finally catch Pretty, something unexpected happens. Pretty runs to a dying tree, choosing to create a barricade.
Pretty grabs the tree, her small hands barely wrapping around the trunk. She grunts loudly, looking very strange to any outsiders. However, the tree's texture starts to rot. Matter of fact, it's dying rather quickly.
In a matter of seconds the tree loses its nutrients, making it weak enough for Pretty to throw onto the ground. The tree slams onto the earth, its roots almost withered to dust. It lands mere inches away from Sarah, stopping her from chasing Pretty.
Sarah stops, in total awe of what just happened. With an advantage, Pretty keeps running.
Sarah snaps back to reality, climbing over the dead tree to resume the chase.
Admittedly, Sarah is impressed. It's not easy to knock down a tree.
As the chase nears its finish, Pretty finds her need to stay pretty her achilles heel.
With limited vision of the ground Pretty trips on a rock, tumbling forward. All the way down to the edge of the cliffs.
As Pretty trips, she yelps, desperately grabbing onto the various debris around her. Rocks, bushes, grass, they all serve no help as Pretty tumbles.
Sarah tries to run faster, but it's no use.
With a cry, Pretty falls off the cliffs.
Sarah, without a doubt in her mind, rushes to the cliffside.
Thankfully and unfortunately, Pretty hangs by a thread. Holding onto the root of a nearby tree, Pretty dangles over the sea, face to face with death.
Sarah looks at Pretty, the fear on her face saying more than enough.
The root holding Pretty begins to weaken, mimicking the dead tree from before. It won't be long before Pretty falls.
Sarah lays on the ground, extending her hand to Pretty.
"Hey! Don't kill me, okay?!" Sarah exclaims, still unsure of Pretty's powers.
"Yeah, I'll try!" Pretty says with a worried smile.
"Wait, you'll try?"
Before Sarah can pull back, Pretty swings her other arm and grabs onto Sarah. Just as Pretty latches onto Sarah, the root reduces to dust. Sarah almost falls forward, but keeps balance; Pretty has a deathgrip.
Sarah, with all her strength, pulls.
She pulls hard.
With every fiber in her body, Sarah pulls.
She's too heavy!
"Pretty!"
"What?"
"Cut the dress!"
"What? No! I-"
"We'll both fall if you don't! Do it now!"
Pretty winces, knowing very well the gravity of the situation.
"Hurry dammit!"
In a quick motion, Pretty reluctantly pulls something from her neck, causing her whole gown to fall. It falls into the ocean, joining Sarah's raincoat.
With less weight, Sarah pulls Pretty back to the cliffs.
Pretty wastes no time grabbing onto the cliff, pulling herself up.
With a grunt, both girls fall backwards. They lay on the ground, taking in greedy gulps of air. They both take a moment to rest, the adrenaline in their veins slowly fading away.
Pretty now dons a long sleeve shirt, made of the finest cotton. Along with that, a very elegant skirt.
"You can thank me now." Sarah gloats, a smug smile plastered on her face.
"You can leave me alone now." Pretty responds, a foul frown placed on her face.
Sarah groans with frustration, completely sick of Pretty's apathy.
"Seriously, what's your deal?" Sarah turns on her shoulder, looking at Pretty with displeasure. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've saved you twice now!"
"All you've done is make things worse!" Pretty snarls, turning over to meet eye to eye with Sarah. "Just look at me! You ruined everything, you ruined my life!"
Sarah gasps, almost in awe at how oblivious Pretty is.
"And how do you think I feel?!" Sarah exclaims, letting the adrenaline from before influence her emotions. "The last thing I want right now is to be stuck on this damn rock! Not just stuck here, but stuck with you! You're the most annoying brat I've ever met!"
Pretty gasps.
"You take that back." Pretty lowers her voice, speaking very clearly and very slowly. "Right. Now."
"Why should I? It's not like you listen to me anyways!"
With an ear piercing shriek, Pretty screams at Sarah.
"I SAID TAKE IT BACK!"
Pretty hastily climbs to her feet, her adrenaline making the situation even worse.
Sarah quickly realizes how south the situation has gone, taking a moment to think of a way to survive.
Oh damn, I'm sorry!
With a swift kick, Sarah knocks Pretty to the ground. She slams her face onto the ground, almost completely stunned. With an upper hand, Sarah starts to make her getaway. Not long after, Pretty rises from the floor, even angrier than before.
As they both climb to their feet, another chase ensues.
Sarah retreads old ground as Pretty continues the chase.
With less clothing Pretty runs with much more speed. Sarah realizes this as she quickly vaults the dropped tree from before, turning around to see Pretty already inches away from touching her.
Pretty slowly climbs over the log, giving Sarah more time to run.
With Pretty nowhere in sight, Sarah thinks fast on her feet. With endless cliffs galore, Sarah thinks of an exit. Her first thought: the cliffs.
Genius, I know.
Sarah runs to an uphill side of the cliffs, latching onto loose walls to climb. While climbing here is harder than before, Sarah can make do.
"HEY!"
Sarah looks down to see Pretty underneath her, pouting like usual. Before Pretty begins to climb, a miscalculated step sends a rock tumbling down to Pretty.
A familiar scene plays out as a piece of rock falls onto Pretty's head, the rock less effective than the boulder than before.
Sarah watches from above, guilt sagging her soul.
"Hey! You okay?!"
Pretty rubs her head slowly, groaning audibly. She shrugs weakly, clearly hurt.
Before Sarah can consider the possibility of helping Pretty with her injury, the proper girl begins to climb after Sarah.
And so the chase continues.
Sarah reaches the top of the cliff, her surroundings almost identical to the cliffs from before. She climbs to her feet, surveying her choices before Pretty arrives.
Sarah could climb up more cliffs. As appealing as that might sound, Sarah's hands are bruised enough.
Sarah could throw more rocks at Pretty. On paper, good idea. In practice? Well, Sarah would rather not cause a homicide, even if Pretty is sturdy.
Sarah looks down the cliff, Pretty already 3/4th's the way up. Sarah has to make a decision, fast.
Far off lies another cave, the interior almost pitch black.
Bingo!
Sarah sprints to the cave, hopping over rocks and weeds. Pretty reaches the top, ready to grab Sarah.
As Sarah runs into the dark cave the ground switches back to mud. Each step releases a faint, squishy sound.
As Sarah gets deeper into the cave she raises her hands, scanning her surroundings. Sarah would rather not walk face first into a wall.
"Hey!" From the entrance of the cave Pretty calls.
"Get out of there you cheater!" Pretty points maliciously into the cave, a scowl painted on her face. Sarah isn't entirely sure what will happen when Pretty gets her, but she really doesn't want to know.
Sarah keeps traversing through the mud, scanning her surroundings for safety. The farther from Pretty the better.
Pretty remains outside, her irritation unchanged by the circumstances.
Then, she gets an idea.
Sarah finally reaches the end of the cave, her surroundings still silent and soggy.
Sarah remains still, but the sounds of squishing mud remain. Sarah looks to the entrance of the cave, a silhouette of a girl marches inside.
The sounds of squishy footsteps echo through the cave, ever growing in volume. Sarah realizes that the situation has gone from bad to worse.
Sarah slowly starts to walk to the exit, hoping she doesn't collide with Pretty.
Suddenly, both of them stop walking. Silence echoes through the cave.
Sarah takes a step forward.
A very audible, very wet footstep echoes through the cave.
Sarah stands completely still.
She can hear me.
Silence returns to the cave, only the drippings of water can be heard.
"Pretty, we don't-"
Before Sarah can finish her sentence, Pretty starts rushing in her direction. The sudden sounds of splashing footsteps urges Sarah to run forward, the mud slowing her down.
"Stop running!" Pretty shouts, mere inches behind Sarah.
Sarah almost responds, but decides to focus on running. The cave entrance grows ever closer, yet the sounds of an impending Pretty also grow.
As Sarah runs out of the cave she turns around to watch Pretty trip and fall, falling face first onto the ground. She barely made it 5 feet before tripping.
With an opportunity to run, Sarah runs.
Until she stops.
And turns around.
"Hey." Sarah stands over Pretty, politely nugging the fallen girl with her foot. "Are you okay?"
Pretty lifts her head, tears sprinkled in with the dirt and grime occupying her face.
"I'm perfectly fine." Pretty says, lifting herself from the ground. "Now leave me alone."
Sarah takes a step back, watching Pretty dust herself off. Without her green dress, Sarah can finally get a full look at her body.
Sarah hadn't noticed before, but Pretty lost her ballerina shoes.
Calling Pretty white would be an understatement. It's unlikely that she leaves The Nest very often.
Before Sarah can keep examining Pretty, she pouts and begins to march in a random direction.
"Hey— wait!" Sarah reaches to Pretty, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Where are you going?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Pretty questions, clearly tired with Sarah.
Sarah shakes her head, prompting Pretty to sigh.
"I'm going home. Without you."
"Do you even know how to get back?"
"Of course I do!" Pretty remains silent.
Sarah gives Pretty an unimpressed look.
"Whatever! It's not like you know any better." Pretty announces, marching off again.
"Pretty, wait!" Like before, Sarah grabs Pretty by the shoulder. "Can we talk? Please?"
"Ugh, why? If you want to follow me, then don't! I don't need a murderer running around in my house."
Sarah sighs, her patience growing thinner by the second.
"Okay. Just, listen. How about we do a deal?"
"A deal? What are you, a lawyer?"
"What? No, just listen to me! Please!" Sarah emphasizes the please, already tired of trying.
Pretty folds her arms, impatiently waiting for an answer.
"Let's work together."
Pretty raises an eyebrow.
"I can tell you don't know where to go. I get it. Just… please. Don't try to go back alone. I don't want you to get hurt." Pretty raises both eyebrows, showing some shock. "We can walk back and once you're back home, I'll leave. You won't see me again."
Pretty digests Sarah's words. She's almost convinced.
"If we work together, I won't kill you. Pinky promise."
Sarah extends her pinky finger, some truth painted on her face.
"Hey. Remember the cave? The one where I held your hand?"
"Yeah. That was stupid."
"I'll keep you safe like I did before. Pinky promise."
Pretty accepts her unwillingness to accept offers, frowning with a familiar smile.
"Whatever. Let's just hurry" Pretty reluctantly agrees to the pinky promise.
The two shake pinkies, a conflicting feeling washes over them.
"Thank you. C'mon, let's go."
Something within Sarah begins to sing. It's an odd song, it reeks of nostalgia and fear. Yet the melody sounds soothing.
It's a long hike back to The Nest.
Sarah is happy that she's alive, but feels an odd connection towards her new companion.
All she can do now is hope for the best.