Chapter 10
Watch woke up to find himself still in the clearing. Sitting up, he realized no one was with him – even Amy's body was missing. Her blood wasn't though. There was so much of it; the entire area reeked of that familiar copper smell which made him sick to his stomach.
Watch couldn't believe Amy had stood in the way – she saved him. Watch looked at the spot where Amy had laid and saw two halves of the bloody arrow that had been shot at her. In spite of himself, faint tears came to Watch's eyes. He was the one that was supposed to die. And she did that for him knowing he didn't like her.
What Watch really didn't like was the fact her body was missing; she was a lot lighter than him, a lot easier to carry, and those creatures were looking for food. He took off his glasses and shut his eyes a moment, trying to drive away that morbid thought. But Watch was suddenly reminded of the boardwalk incident that morning and how Amy miraculously escaped unharmed. 'A fairy could have the power to read minds, and to heal wounds,' he remembered. He briefly mused on his theory again – he had faint doubts that she was dead.
He stood up. It mattered where Tira and Bryce were right now. If Amy was a fairy she could take care of herself, and, if she wasn't… Watch quickly wiped his eyes and put his glasses back on, realizing the prescription was mysteriously off. Odd.
Watch headed for the reservoir again, knowing it was the only source of fresh water and the most logical place for the zombie creatures to go. The terrain continued to be difficult to travel through. The trees were so dense it was hard to see twenty feet in front him. Even after a half hour Watch was still wandering and he began to believe he had been going in the wrong direction – he never was any good at them. It figured that the one watch on his wrist that contained a compass had been cracked badly during the struggle. He would have to buy a new one right away or else he wouldn't have the time in Chicago. The irony was not lost on him.
Watch finally stopped and looked around, trying to get his bearings. A little to his right he could swear he saw sunlight – perhaps it was another clearing. If it was he could figure out where to go depending on the sun's location in the sky. He began to hike again with renewed strength and hope, but these feelings were stifled not long after.
"Leave her alone!"
Watch knew that hoarse voice. It was Bryce.
"Stop!" He continued.
Bryce's voice was coming from the location Watch had decided to go to. Barging in on the action wouldn't solve anything, Watch reminded himself. He needed the element of surprise and hoped that his two friends could hold out just a little longer.
Watch tried to be extra quiet sneaking towards what he could definitely identify as a clearing now that he was maybe thirty feet away. He could make out Bryce and Tira who were sitting to the left side of the small clearing, tied back-to-back to a tree. They looked OK. In the middle of the clearing there was a fire going, but there seemed to be no zombie creatures anywhere.
Instead of seizing the opportunity to run to his friends and untie them, Watch's gut told him to be weary. The creatures could have heard him coming and hid or were hunting him right now. He looked down at his deeply stained clothing. They could have even smelled him, thinking he was a wounded animal. An easy dinner. He hurried behind a large tree and crouched down quickly. He needed to have a plan.
"Human," said an elderly voice behind him suddenly. Watch snapped his head around, but was knocked out when his head was connected with the tree trunk.
"Watch?"
Watch woke up to Tira's shaky voice. "Watch?"
He slowly opened his eyes, happy to wake up to her face although it was tear-stained. He realized he was lying on the ground and his hands and feet were tied with itchy rope.
"Are you OK?" Bryce asked worriedly. He looked him over. "You're covered…"
Watch nodded. "I'm OK, are you two?"
"Yeah," Bryce answered. Tira just nodded. His eyes lowered. "We thought– "
"No, I'm fine," Watch touched his head. It wasn't the only thing he was touched by. "I'm getting a little tired of getting knocked in the head though." He checked one of his watches – he hadn't been out long, maybe ten minutes. Pushing himself up into an awkward sitting position, he finally came face-to-face to the creature that had snuck up behind him. And it wasn't a zombie creature.
It looked a lot like an old woman actually. She wore a dirty, tattered cloak with a hood that partially covered her saggy, blue, leathery face. She had a single, penetrating yellow eye. Just another delightful creature from the other side of the Secret Path. She was currently scraping something off–
"Is that a bone?" Watch asked apprehensively.
Bryce lowered his voice. "She attacked those boardwalk creatures – took them down with ease. Then she dragged the both of us here and tied us up," he said. "And then she went back for their bodies."
The old woman stood up just then, revealing a pile of bloody bones picked clean of their meat. They had been covered with her cloak. She dumped a handful of raw, bloody meat into her metal pot and tossed the last bone on the pile.
Watch looked at Bryce. "Did that creature bring Amy here?"
Tira shook her head sadly. Bryce was silent for a while. "No," he said distractedly, realizing the implications of Watch's question: her body was missing. Watch briefly wondered if he should share his theory with them, but he didn't want to give them false hope.
The three of them turned their heads as the old creature started to hum and sharpen the dripping knife. The sharp resonating sounds of metal on metal were warning bells.
Watch looked to Bryce again. "Where's the gun?" he whispered urgently.
Bryce swallowed thickly. "As soon as you and Amy–" he stopped. "Um, they grabbed Tira and I, and I didn't get the opportunity to pick it up."
Watch studied Bryce's troubled face and then Tira's. He was surprised even after all they had been through that he was cared for so much. In fact, if he were to be killed within the next few minutes, Watch could say then that he would die happy. But that wasn't to be.
The leather-faced woman quickly finished her sharpening and approached them, pointing to Tira. "You first," she rasped and then grabbed her by her hair. Tira cried out in pain.
"Leave her alone!" Watch yelled, struggling with the ropes around his wrists. "Kill me instead!"
Tira stared at him in horror. "Watch, no," she whispered, looking at him with her impossibly blue eyes, the eyes he loved to stare into: dark like a late evening sky, but clear as a deep mountain lake. Tears flowed from them again and it broke his heart. He wouldn't have this; the idea of losing her was unbearable but now the witch raised a knife towards her neck.
"I said me!" Watch yelled, desperately attempting to goad the creature. The old woman cackled and pushed him back onto the ground easily. She now took a step towards him with her knife, but stopped suddenly when a stick cracked close by.
"Prey," she smiled, ready to hunt down another body for her meat stew. She gripped her knife tightly.
"Let them go."
Everyone redirected their gaze to the north side of the clearing to find Amy. Watch knew it; she was Naia. She was even more stained in blood than Watch, but seemingly less worse for wear despite being shot dead less than two hours ago. He noticed where the arrow had entered immediately – there was a tear in her top. There was no hiding her real self any longer.
"Amy!" Bryce cried.
Ignoring him, she continued to stare at the creature. "Untie them," she repeated.
The old woman looked her over cautiously. "…weren't you dead?"
Amy smiled thinly. "Yes," she answered. "Now let them go."
The witch studied her a moment. "Tell me your secret to immortality," she asked, taking an uneasy step toward Amy. The creature seemed slightly intimidated by the eternal being standing before her.
"Why don't you just untie them before I harm you?" Amy asked.
The witch's eyes narrowed. "I want it."
Amy shook her head in annoyance. "Just do it," she said, finally pulling the laser pistol from behind her back. It must have been tucked into her belt.
There was a moment of tension as Amy waited for the witch to comply. Instead the leathery blue creature lunged at her, however, and the two ended up crashing to the ground in a struggle. It was hard to distinguish what was happening with all the flailing limbs, but the witch, who had her knife, was bent on Amy's throat. The fight didn't last long though; there was a sudden shot and then the witch became motionless as she slumped on top of Amy. Pushing the thing off her, Amy laid motionless herself for a few moments.
"Amy?" Bryce called worriedly.
"I'm fine," she whispered. She got up slowly, picked up the witch's knife and then made her way over to them. Amy first started freeing Watch.
"We're going to have to dress that," Watch said plainly. Her wrist had been cut open in the struggle and blood now dripped freely to the ground.
"I think we all know I'll be fine by now," was all she said, cutting through the last of the threads. She passed him the knife so he could free Bryce and Tira. In the mean time she clasped her wound with her hand in a vain attempt to stop the blood.
"Amy…" Bryce said slowly. He had been staring at her from his seat beside the tree.
She turned to him. "Are you alright?" she asked, crawling over to him. She placed the gun in his hand.
"Decent," he told her – his voice hoarser than ever. He looked at her eagerly. "How about you?" he asked, eyeing the tear in her shirt.
"I'm fine," she said simply.
"That was some display of confidence," Bryce said.
Amy gave a strained smile. "I was hoping to get her to do what I wanted without having to use the gun," she explained. "I wasn't sure if it was set to stun."
Watch managed to cut through the rope then and Bryce yanked it off himself. Tossing the gun on the ground, he grabbed Amy and embraced her. She flinched.
"I'm all bloody," she warned.
"I don't care," Bryce assured her. Not sure what to do, Amy faintly placed her uninjured hand on his upper arm.
"Neither do I," Tira whispered, hugging Watch tightly. He wrapped his arms around her – any other time he would have been too nervous to do such a thing, but he was almost torn from her forever and that scared him far more. Feeling hot tears on his shoulder, he hugged her even closer. "I thought you were dead!" Tira said, crying into his chest. She then lifted her head. "I'm so glad you're OK," she whispered softly in his ear.
"I'm glad you are," Watch told her.
Although he was enjoying the hug, he pulled away. There was something that had to be dealt with. He turned to Bryce and Amy.
"How are you OK?" Bryce asked Amy, tearing off the sleeve of his shirt to use for a bandage on her wrist. He carefully handled her arm as he tied the fabric around the bleeding wound.
"I–" started Amy, but Watch cut in.
"You can cut the charade."
Amy stared at him wide-eyed. Bryce glanced back at him. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
Watch stood up and stared down at her again. "You're Naia."
Amy blinked. "What?" she asked in disbelief. "No I'm not."
"You know all about our adventures, you weren't hurt at the boardwalk this morning despite being strangled and here you are standing before us after being killed more than an hour and a half ago," Watch listed. "I should think a powerful fairy could read minds and escape death. Conveniently there's one of those missing around here."
Bryce looked at her too, thinking Watch's words over. "I'm not Naia," Amy said to him. "But…"
"You should have chosen a better story. A better form," Watch went on. He was showing a rare flash of anger, but was attempting to hide it shallowly beneath a cool exterior. "Why would Ann Templeton bring you here?"
Amy swallowed thickly. "Because she knew my wish before I made it. Because she knew you would be in danger," she said. "Why would she do anything for a stranger like me?"
"Ann Templeton gave you a wish?" Bryce asked in surprise.
"You wished to be immortal…" Tira realized.
Amy looked at her hesitantly. "I'd rather not say," she said, looking back at Watch, who was mulling that over in his head. There was a long awkward silence.
"I'm not Naia," Amy repeated softly. "But I am thinking Ann Templeton brought me here for more than saving you this one time, and I'm sorry but I don't know why yet," she paused and looked at Watch again who, for once, was the one staring at the ground. "What will it take for me to convince you?"
But Watch remained silent. Tira stood up as well and clasped his hand almost as if she were afraid he wasn't actually there. He looked at her. "The reservoir's not too far from here," she said. "Naia's close by."
Her eyes… Watch smiled faintly. He'd worry about Amy later. He looked over at her though; she was still kneeling. Their eyes met cautiously. "Thank you, for saving my life," he said.
Amy nodded softly as he and Tira turned toward the east once more.
"Let's go," Watch heard Bryce say. He was helping Amy up.
There was a brief silence.
"You're not OK, are you?"
Tira and Watch stopped and turned around. Bryce was kneeling in front of Amy who was staring at the ground, fists clenched. She looked even paler than she seemed to normally be.
Amy's eyes darted upwards at him. "No, I'm fine," she insisted. She smiled pathetically and started to push herself up, but Bryce had to practically lift her full body weight to get her into a standing position.
Watch looked at Bryce and vice versa. "I'm not used to all this walking," she told them as she noticed the look.
Despite their theories about Amy's health, the four of them continued their walk to the reservoir once again. After only a few minutes the trees had begun to noticeably thin out. In fact, they could even walk in pairs now; Bryce used the opportunity to get Watch alone.
"She must have lost a lot of blood."
Watch glanced behind him – Tira was walking with her. "I wonder why she would make that wish," he said simply.
"Watch…" Bryce said, reminding him of the situation at hand.
"I know," Watch told him. "It's a serious injury, not even taking into account the blood loss. She needs rest, but it's not like we can leave her here by herself while we go track down Naia."
"So you believe her then?" Bryce asked with a trace of annoyance. Watch just shrugged. "Was that why you were acting so weird today – thinking Amy was Naia?"
He nodded very slightly. "We should stop and let her rest for a while," he said, changing the subject. "I have a feeling that crossing the reservoir to the caves is going to be tough."
Bryce winced. "I'm sorry," he said. "I insisted we go this way and I got two people wounded. You both could have died. If Ann hadn't granted Amy that wish…."
"Don't worry about it – the regular pathway is probably many times more dangerous, like you said before," Watch said, attempting to ease Bryce's guilt.
Bryce got quiet. "Of course I'm going to worry about it."
Meanwhile, Amy had finally gotten to talk to Tira.
"I hope you don't think badly of Watch – he's been acting a little off today," Tira said, staring ahead at him.
Amy shook her head. "No, my appearance here is really weird," she sympathized. "I can't help feeling Ann Templeton had more planned out than this though."
"That would be wise to consider," Tira advised. She touched Amy's shoulder. "Thank you for saving Watch," she said softly. For a moment it looked as though she would cry, but Tira composed herself. She looked off into the forest. "How come you weren't there when Watch woke up in the clearing?"
Amy looked at her, taking note of her suspicion. "I woke up before him," she began. "I wandered out of the clearing hoping to find the gun, but I passed out again. I guess he didn't notice me when he became conscious."
Tira studied Amy. Her pasty complexion. Her heavy eyelids. "How are you doing?" she then asked.
"I'm fine," Amy lied. She could do with a long rest. Maybe a transfusion or three. "I could do with a shower," she said instead.
Tira hesitated, but didn't say anything else.
After a few more minutes, the boys stopped. "Break time," Bryce announced, taking off his backpack and pulling out some bottles of water. Handing them each one, he then plopped down beside Watch and Tira who sat on the ground, leaning against a fallen trunk. He opened his own. It was with a lot of coaxing that they convinced Amy to join them. She was obviously in pain and moving made it worse, but she needed to rest a little before the coming trial. They all needed to relax.
"She's already asleep?" Watch asked.
"Yeah," Bryce said, looking over at her. His face clouded over. "What a horrible wish," he whispered.
"I wonder if Ms. Templeton didn't warn her about the consequences," Tira said carefully, aware of Watch's feelings about the town witch; but he didn't defend her this time.
"I just want to know why she's here," Watch muttered.
"You still think she's Naia, don't you?" Bryce asked irritably.
"I just don't understand why Ann would bring her here and at this time," Watch explained. "Let's just get some rest."
Bryce started to settle down, but he thought better of it. "Why are you clinging on to your theory?" he asked, believing Watch wasn't sharing everything. "What's wrong with the alternative?"
Watch stared at him. "Let's just get some rest," he repeated.
Bryce was right in believing.