The four packed and gathered their few belongings and put it in a single burlap bag.
Cole watched his older brother, his friends and Zane quickly and quietly find and stuff everything in the bag, preparing for the Hermit's hut, which Cole still had no idea what it was.
"Cole, pass me my shoes," Nya told the overwhelmed boy, and he obeyed. He was wise enough to know that when they moved this fast and urgently, it was important to do what they asked, and quickly.
Zane barely had anything; just a couple of flashlights and several extra shirts, so it was easy to pack for him.
Once they were all ready, they stood at the door, with Jay's arm around Cole's shoulder, keeping him close. "Stay right by me, okay?" Jay whispered fiercely to his brother. "Don't wander off, especially in the woods. We don't know what's out there."
Cole averted his eyes to avoid Jay finding the truth.
He had decided not to tell his friends of his findings; not yet. Because if they knew what he had experienced and what was really out there, his protective older brother would never let Cole leave his sight. That was the last thing that he wanted. He did not want his brother breathing down his neck on the Dark Island, when they do eventually get there, and especially not the rest of his life.
It was selfish, Cole knew. But maybe it was for the best. Maybe Jay would let him in on the action and Cole could be the one to protect them. In his mind, he was actually helping them.
Nya, who was in the front, leaned against the door in front of her and pushed it open slowly, the creak of the door sounding throughout the hallway. When she was sure that it was safe, she opened it fully. "Come on," Nya whispered, and the others followed out, with Zane in the back, closing the door soundlessly behind him.
They carefully made their way down the stairs in the mayor's house, moving gradually to the front door.
But suddenly, a chill ran through Kai's spine, and he shivered. He looked up, and stared, aghast, at the woman in the flowing gray dress.
She was floating through the air, with pale yellow light as her eyes. Her eyes were filled with only the light; no pupil or center. And it was so disturbing for Kai that he almost knelt down and cried in fear.
The woman walked toward him in the air, slowly touching the ground when she came to it. And she was standing right in front of Kai's face.
Kai looked around, waiting for his friends to see the woman, who seemed to be threatening him. Then he realized that, mysteriously, everybody has frozen in place. Nya's left foot didn't even touch the next step.
"They're frozen." she told him, whisking his head towards her.
"What?" Kai asked. "What do you mean?"
"Time has stopped," the woman spoke again. "And I can do it forever, if you like."
"But how is that possible?"
"There is more magic in this world than you think, Kai." the woman said, staring deeply into him with her odd-looking eyes. "How do you think an entire day lasts thirty years?"
"What do you want with me?" Kai spoke, and quite loudly.
"I wanted to warn you," she replied. "Warn you that Night is coming in mere hours. Do you remember my last warning?"
"Yes," Kai responded. "You said we can't go into the woods at Night. That there is something dangerous out there."
"Oh, so you do remember." The woman flew around Kai in a circle, whispering in his ear with a devilish smile on her ghostly face. "Then tell me, Kai, why do you lead your friends to certain doom? With Night so close?"
"Because it's not going to matter," Kai replied fiercely. "We are going to the Hermit's hut where it'll be safe. He'll take care of us,"
"Wu?" the woman chuckled. "That senile old man is going to take care of you? Isn't he on the boats?"
"No." Kai said. "He never leaves the island for Night. For four whole Nights, he has been under the protection of his house and his defensive skills." This was what he had learned from the few things that the parents told him and his sister before leaving.
"I see," she said, looking at Kai with empty and pale yellow eyes. "And you believe that that will protect you?"
"I do," Kai told her. She became quiet, and Kai turned. "Now if you release the spell you somehow cast, I'm going to go. I have things I need to do."
The air outside felt different than it did the day before. It wasn't only cold, but it was piercingly bitter. It made the group's faces freeze in seconds.
"We're running low on food," Nya told them aloud. "I'll gather some fruits by the town. I'll rejoin you in thirty minutes."
"But it's dangerous to go alone," Zane said, hardening his grip on her shoulder. "Jay is right. We don't know what's out there."
Jay scoffs. "Did you guys hear that? Zane said I was right! How'd that taste in your mouth?" he taunts.
"Not now." Zane said, his voice as cold as the air. It shut Jay's mouth, but not the arrogant smirk on his face.
Zane turned back to Nya. "I'm coming with you."
Nya swiped her boyfriend's arm off of her shoulder. "No. I can go on my own." she told him, staring into his pale eyes. "I don't need anybody's protection. I'm not made of porcelain, you know."
"But-" Zane started, but Nya shut him up with a kiss on his cheek. Zane hides a smirk, for out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jay grit his teeth in fury.
"I'll be fine, Zane." Nya said. "I'm just going to get some food. I'll be right back here in no time."
Nya strolls away from the group, heading toward the town. Convincing Zane and the others to let her go alone had not been very easy, but this was something that she had to do.
She steered clear of the town, and instead headed straight for the docks. The same docks, in fact, that the five had first been left behind; the last place on Ninjago where her parents were before they left for the next fifteen years.
When the docks came into view, she stopped in her tracks, looking at the mess on the shoreline.
Suitcases; open, closed, ripped, over flowed, messy, and scattered lay askew on the shoreline.
Nya walked alongside them, looking for the right one; the only one that mattered now.
And soon, she found it; a turquoise suitcase with red polka dots plastered all over it. It was her suitcase, and it was her good luck that it was the one that held exactly what she wanted to find.
Nya tore it open, and like a dog digging in the dirt, dug out all of the contents; her clothes, shoes, books, sunglasses, everything she had packed for the Dark Island. And suddenly there it was; a blue velvet bag, smaller than her own shoe, but containing something much more valuable.
She wrapped her hands around it, and opened it tenderly. Then, she pulled out the small and smooth object.
It was the sapphire ring; the same one that Jay had gone back for. The same one that got them all stranded here in the first place.