Meal time started off uneventful.
It seemed the entire pack was gathered in the main chamber for their food, sitting in a large circle as they waited patiently. Chen waved her over to sit in the circle's center with him and Clouse, but she refused and sat as far away from him as possible. Leaning against the wall, she looked around at Cole and found him as he, his new friend, and a cub entered from the tunnel to the outside.
As soon as he saw her, Cole said something to Geo and sat beside her while the two wild werewolves walked in another direction.
Now that he was beside her, Skylor could see the worry in his eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when a pack member appeared before her. They were holding one of the baskets and extended it towards her. Skylor was a little confused until she looked around and saw a few other people walking around with baskets and allowing the crowd to take a piece each. Looking back at the basket, she shook her head and tried to wave them off, but they wouldn't leave. They silently thrust the basket towards her again and gave her one of those creepy blank stares.
Reluctantly, she took a small piece but didn't eat it. That seemed to satisfy the person, and they turned to Cole, who also took a piece without thinking. As they walked away, Cole was about to take a bite from the meat, but thankfully, Skylor stopped him. As tempting as it would be to smack the tainted meat away, she instead grabbed his wrist and forced it down to the floor. He gave her a confused look but let the piece go.
She opened her mouth to explain when three loud claps echoed around the chamber.
Skylor, Cole, and the rest of the pack turned their attention to Chen, who was standing proudly on the stone podium.
"Everyone! Gather around!" Chen announced, and immediately, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to watch him. He grinned and gestured to Skylor and Cole. "I thought we might welcome our new guests by hearing some stories."
Skylor glared at her father, wondering what trick he was trying to pull. Before she could figure it out,t though, Cole suddenly stood up and walked to the center.
"If I may, I'd like to share one of my stories." He offered. Chen eyed him suspiciously for a moment but stepped down and allowed Cole to take the stage. "Ladies, gentlemen, and kids up past their bedtimes, I give you the story my Mom used to tell me about the mighty Ying-Yang Knight and the King's cake," Cole exclaimed enthusiastically. "They say there was a time when the Ying-Yang Knight and his pack lost all their luck and respect; their enemies drove them out, and they were forced to live down in the caves, with the human king hoarding all the sweetest cakes to himself."
As Cole continued his story, Skylor decided it was a good chance to sneak out and look around some more while the pack was distracted.
Unfortunately, she didn't realize how creepy the tunnels would be when there was no one walking along them. They were just empty pits of oppressing darkness and silence. Even with her enhanced eyesight and the dim light the crystals provided, it was hard to make things out, and she found herself almost tripping up several times.
Although unnerved, Skylor forced herself to push on with her task, desperate to find any answers as to where the siblings had vanished. As she walked up and down the tunnels, she stopped when she could finally hear some noise.
Cautiously, she followed the sound until she found herself in the chamber with the crystal sphere.
Immediately as she stepped into the chamber, she saw several people gathered around the artifact in a circle. Despite being disheartened to see that none of them were Akita or her brother, Skylor's interest soon peaked when she saw what the group was doing.
They were all on their bare knees, regardless of the water soaking into their clothes, with their heads hung down and their eyes closed. They were all muttering something under their breaths, and it took her a moment to make out what it was.
"Devoted are we to the path they decide, praise be the Gods and our alpha for our food; blessed are we to be their humble servants, wise are we to accept their will." They chanted in hushed tones over and over again.
Officially creeped out by all this, Skylor turned and was about to run back to Cole when the light from the crystal sphere suddenly caught her eye. Her body felt numb, and the world dulled around her as the sphere grew brighter and bigger. It took a few seconds for her fuddled mind to realize that the crystal wasn't getting closer to her, she was walking towards it. In spite of her mind telling her to stop, Skylor couldn't stop herself from reaching her hand out.
Her fingers gently grazed against it, feeling the smooth, cool surface.
A jolt suddenly rippled through her body, feeling like a mixture of being electrocuted, frozen, and burned all at the same time, and the world went dark...
Skylor awoke with a violent jerk.
Instead of the cold cave she had been in prior, she found herself lying in the sun at the base of the mountain. Confused, she got to her feet and looked around. It looked like she was still in the same forest, but it looked different than the one by the den. Looking behind her, she saw the mountain the pack lived in.
She was on the other side of that mountain.
She didn't know how she knew that, but she knew it was a fact.
Laughter suddenly filled the area, as did the scent of werewolves. Following the scent, she found a small group of kids playing with a dozen wolves with a few adults supervising. She could tell they were all werewolves. Behind them was an entrance to the den, but Skylor could see that it wasn't the same den as before.
Was there another pack in this forest?
Looking into the den, she could hear more people inside. Based on the sounds and the various smells of the people inside, Skylor guessed there were probably around a hundred werewolves in this pack, give or take. Turning back to the group, she saw that they were all drastically different from Chen's new pack.
Their skins were a healthy complexation, and they were all a healthy weight. All of the ones in human form had happy smiles brightening their face, and a couple had smile lines. The main difference was their eyes. Unlike the other, these people's eyes were shining with life and joy.
Skylor couldn't help but smile at the display.
Yet she realized that they hadn't noticed her yet. Stepping towards a man a little older than her, Skylor reached out to get his attention.
"Hello, can you tell me where I-"
The second her hand made contact with his shoulder, it phased right through it.
Immediately, she recoiled her hand as if she'd been burnt. It was like waving her hand through cobwebs.
Before she could comprehend what was going on, she picked up the sound of something coming. The group felt it, too, and they all looked in the same direction. Within seconds, vehicles filled the area, ranging from cars to trucks and various construction vehicles. No one spoke for a moment before a man, assumedly the leader, snapped his fingers, and all hell broke loose.
She watched as the men came and filled the tunnels with dirt and stone. The pack was panicking, but they couldn't get out. Some did, but those few who managed to escape the tunnels and tried to run away were gunned down by armed men. She saw werewolves of various ages and genders collapsed in a pool of blood.
Skylor tried to run, but the only way was into the tunnels. Her feet moved without her say so, and she bolted to the darkness. People surrounding her were screaming and cowered in the depths of their homes.
She wanted to cover her ears to block it all out, but just then, she picked up a strange sound. It was almost like hissing and rattling. One of the rattling noises suddenly sounded at her fee,t and when she looked down, her eyes widened when she saw it was a metal can. She was about to pick it up when the can opened, and in an instant, the air turned bad. Skylor coughed and spluttered and hacked in an attempt to clear her lungs, but all it did was allow the toxic gas to fill her body more and more with each gasp.
She had to get out.
Instincts took over, and she took off in search of an escape, yet she knew in her heart that she wouldn't find one.
With all the entrances blocked,d there was no light to guide their way. The gas made it hard to breathe and gather her senses. Tunnels were blocked with dead bodies. Within a moment, she and the rest of the pack were forced into a huge chamber, but they knew that without action, it would be their tomb. In desperation, some of them started to claw at the stone walls to try and dig their way out. A few souls were unfortunate enough to find themselves in between the digging werewolves and the walls. Either the diggers didn't notice or didn't care. They cried out as their packmates clawed at their skin, cutting them to ribbons as they hopelessly worked for freedom.
Skylor nearly gagged at the sight.
Then, out of the blue, Skylor felt a feeling or a thought infiltrating her mind with one simple command.
L̷͖͈̓͌̎̉͒͗͂̓̌̚͝ŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅk̵̘̺̦͉͖̪̪͖͉͊̆̔́̈́̍̃̈́͒̂̑̀̚͜͝ t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅŏ̸̡̼̺̫̥̻͈̞̍͆̏̓́͜͝ͅ t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝ë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝ r̵̡͕͈͚͍͍̼͕̍̀̈́̽̎̍͗̍́̏̚͜͠i̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅǧ̷̡̟̲̹̩̱͉̮̭͇͚̮̖̟̽̓͊̔̓̕ḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅ!
She obeyed and saw a cloaked figure crawling through the small opening missed by the others. Without thinking, she followed and crawled through the hole into a narrow tunnel seconds before the opening collapsed.
Suddenly, everything turned mad. Skylor could only watch as a giant explosion shook the whole den, and the roof and walls caved in around them. As she ran for her life, Skylor could feel the debris grazing her back. If she slowed down for even a second,d, she would be buried alive. Running alongside the cloaked figure, Skylor could see a small cave up ahead where there were other survivors gathered for safety. Another violent tremor rocked the tunnel, causing the roof just above the opening to the cave to destabilize.
Skylor's heart sank.
They weren't going to make it.
All of a sudden, the cloaked figure's muscles tensed, and they tossed the large bundle Skylor didn't even know they were carrying. She was launched forward along with the bundle as if she had been thrown too. They landed in the cave mere moments before the rest of the tunnel collapsed, trapping the cloaked figure and the rest of the pack on the other side. After catching her breath, Skylor turned to the survivors, and her heart sank.
There were a little over thirty werewolves in the cave with her, all various ages, but none of them looked over the age of fourteen.
Sensing movement at her feet, Skylor looked down and saw the bundle of fabric par,t, and a little girl crawled out. She looked to be around 6 years old and bore a striking resemblance to that Geo person Cole had been hanging out with. She stared at the former entrance and started to cry, causing the reality of their situation to hit the others. Most were sobbing, some were panicking, and a couple of the older ones were desperately trying to move the debris to reach their families.
When that failed, the oldest boy's face suddenly turned red with anger, and without thinking, he picked up a small chunk of rock and hurled it at the new wall. It connected with a loud bang, and almost instantly, the cave started to tremble. Everyone started freaking out, thinking they were about to die.
Light suddenly flooded the cave, and everyone froze when something heavy fell from above. Looking down, Skylor gasped upon seeing the crystal ball the pack admired. When she saw it, the little girl picked it up and clutched it close to her chest. Looking up, Skylor saw a large crack formed in the ceiling, allowing the group to see a tunnel leading out of the cave. Seeing this as their only way out, the remaining pack members walked off into the dark.
Skylor tried to follow them, but as soon as she stepped out of the light, the ground beneath her feet and she fell into a cold, endless pit...
Skylor clenched her eyes shut and screamed as she felt herself falling. Yet after a few seconds, she realized she wasn't falling. The ground was solid beneath her feet. Slowly, she opened her eyes and blinked when she found herself back in the chamber where the crystal ball was kept.
Looking around, she saw the same people as before, still kneeling down and still chanting.
Distressed, Skylor ran from the chamber and back to where the pack was gathered. There, she saw Cole was still telling his story. It seemed that no one had noticed her absence. Carefully, Skylor returned to her seat and tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened to her, ignoring anything else happening around her at the moment.
"-and from that day to this, there has been no power on earth can keep a werewolf out of a bakery for the Ying-Yang Knight prompts them with a thousand tricks." Cole finally finished, but no one reacted. They simply stared in that familiar, unnerving silence. Cole looked around awkwardly, unsure what to do.
Luckily - depending on your opinion - Chen stepped up beside him on the podium.
"We don't tell human stories much; they don't mean much to us." He stated and gently but firmly ushered Cole to step down.
"Yeah, but he was a trickster, and all werewolves always need tricks." He replied as he took his seat beside Skylor.
"No, werewolves need the will and obedience to accept what has been decided for them," Chen said sharply and turned to Clouse expectedly. As Clouse took his place on the podium, Cole and Skylor noticed how the pack seemed to tense up. Then Clouse started to speak.
"The Gods lie in the evening sky. The clouds are red about them.
I am here, my lords, I am running through the long grass.
O take me with you, dropping behind the woods,
Far away, to the heart of light, the silence.
For I am ready to give you my breǎ̴̯̀͠t̸̫̫̤͕̳̻̰̣̭́̌̉͝ͅḥ̸̨̧̗̮̖̽̂̓̀̍̋͋́̅̃͘͜͝, m̵̢͕̫̓̔͑̊̈y̶͔͗ l̶̬̞͎̖͉̹̝͕̝͖̣̉͆i̶̡̹͈͎̳̞͙͖̾̂̀͑̀͆̑̓̽̉͐͘͘ͅf̵̢̻͈̫̬̻͔̘̞͈̆̇̍̈̌͊ͅë̸͓̮͉͈͇͍̖͎̩̞͈́́́̋̇̾͋̈́̾͆͑͘͘͜͠͝."
As he spoke, Skylor's breathing hitched when his eyes suddenly evaporated away to be replaced with dark, bloody sockets. Immediately, she looked up to avert her eyes and almost screamed when she saw the large roots once again replaced by bones. They were still dripping with blood, but it was much more frequent and heavy, like to downpour outside. The blood dripped down onto the pack, absolutely soaking them, though no one seemed to notice.
In desperation, Skylor clenched her eyes shut in hopes it would block out the horrors.
Something wet and metallic smelling suddenly touched her ankles, and when she looked down, she saw blood had started to flood the chamber at an alarming rate. She looked at the others, but no one reacted. The blood was rising higher and higher. It was almost at her chin. Skylor tried to move, but it was like her feet were glued to the floor. She opened her mouth to scream but started gagging and choking as the blood poured down her throat.
"Skylor?"
Air suddenly filled her lungs, and she coughed and hacked to get the horrible taste out of her mouth. The blood had vanished, and a couple of people were looking at her weirdly. Cole had his hand on her shoulder and looked very concerned. Instead of responding to him, Skylor aggressively shoved his hand off of her and bolted for the exit, not stopping until she was outside and felt the rain on her skin.
As the rain soaked through her clothes, Skylor suddenly felt a lot cleaner.
A noise behind her made her turn her head to see Cole running out of the den after her. He looked at her expectedly, imploring her to tell him what was going on.
"I've looked everywhere for Akita and Kataru, but there's not a sniff of them, and no one'll tell me where they are." She explained. She wanted to tell him about her vivid hallucinations, but for fear that he would think she was insane, she decided to keep those to herself.
"They won't answer my questions either." He replied, remembering how Geo kept avoiding giving a straight answer. His confession caused something to shift with Skylor, and she started speed walking towards the forest. "Where're you going?"
"Going back to the center." She said without hesitation. "There's something really wrong with this place, and I don't want to stay another second." With that, she disappeared into the tall bushes, and Cole, suddenly overcome with a feeling of dread, quickly followed after her.
Due to a combination of his large frame just barely making it through the small gaps between bushes and the torrential downpour, Cole found himself lagging slightly behind her but was still able to keep her in sight. Just then, he felt his foot kick something hard but light. Looking down, he realized that he had found Bonzle's ball. Not wanting to lose track of Skylor but also not wanting Bonzle to lose a toy she loved, Cole bent down to pick it up. He planned to throw the ball back in the direction of the den in hopes it would land near the entrance.
However, when he bent down to grab it, a flash of lightning revealed an unusually bright red stain in the mud. At first, Cole wanted to dismiss it as one of the berries having fallen and mushed on the floor, but then the wind shifted ever so slightly, and Cole smelt it.
The unmistakable smell of blood.
Realizing that Cole was no longer behind her, Skylor doubled back and was about to ask what was taking so long when she, too, picked up on the smell of blood. Believing she was about to have another nightmarish vision, she started to back up and leave when she and Cole suddenly heard something a few feet off to the side of them. It was a rustling sound alongside... wheezing?
Though they were both freaked out, they felt safer together. Initially reluctant, they crept deep into the bushes to find out what was going on. When they found out what was making the noise, they both wished they had kept walking and upon seeing what they had found, Skylor suddenly emptied her stomach of the few bites of breakfast she had eaten that morning.
There, lying on her side in the mud and rain, was the older woman who had greeted them when they first arrived. She was drenched, shaky, and pale. A basket was dropped off to the side with its contents spilled all around them.
Wrapped tightly around the woman's neck was a thin metal wire that was cutting into her skin and causing blood to spurt all over the immediate area.
"H-...elp, help me!" The woman wheezed, causing blood that was filling her mouth to spit out. Resisting the urge to throw up again, Skylor took a deep breath to steady her nerves and rushed to the woman's side. Due to fear and blood loss, the woman's survival instinct took over, and she transformed,d but it did little to free her from the noose.
"Cole, run to the den and bring everyone you can!" She ordered. Cole looked like he was about to faint, but be that as it may, he still bolted back to the den. After he had left, Skylor pulled off her jacket and pressed it against the woman's throat to stop the bleeding. "You're in a snare; we'll get you out just hold on." She pleaded with the woman and began looking around for where the snare was nailed in, but the rain and the bushes were making it impossible.
Cole had reached the den in under a minute and dashed inside,e where he found everyone still gathered in the main chamber.
"One of your pack's caught in a wire; we need help! Quick, this way." He said and started to leave, but none of them moved. He turned back around and was shocked to see they were all just staring at him and nothing else. "Didn't you hear me! She's caught!"
"There is no one caught in a wire," Chen responded. "There never was, and now they're gone." He said coldly and turned his back to the teen. Cole desperately looked around for any support, but everyone had turned away from him. Some were staring blankly at the walls, a few were talking amongst themselves, and a couple suddenly started dancing and reciting poetry.
"You're mad! All of you!" Cole shouted in disgust and ran as fast as he could back to Skylor. He got there right as Skylor had found the peg the snare was tied to. She pulled it out of the earth, and instantly, the wire went slack and loosed the noose around the woman's neck. When she saw him approaching, Skylor smiled up at him in relief but became confused when she saw that he was alone.
"Where is everyone else?"
"They wouldn't come." He said and looked at the woman and froze. Skylor followed her gaze, and her heart sank when she saw the blank stare of the woman. Even though her eyes didn't close, they knew she wasn't with them anymore. "We're too late."
Suddenly overcome with a feeling of revulsion, Skylor scrambled to her feet and started backing away into the bushes.
Cole watched her cautiously, about to ask her what they should do now when his eyes caught something in the light. He gasped loudly and lunged forward, violently pulling her away from the bushes before the leaves even touched her. Skylor cried out in shock, but instead of explaining, he decided to show her. Approaching the bush as if it were a bomb, he carefully parted the leaves, and Skylor gasped when she saw the snare almost perfectly hidden inside.
Eyes narrowing, Skylor knelt on the ground and placed her hand into the mud. Relaxing her body and focusing her powers, she activated jikan. With it, she scanned the entire field and was petrified at what she found.
She saw snares. Dozens of them were perfectly hidden among the bushes. Some of them even had chunks of meat next to them for bait. Now she knew where Chen had gotten the meat from.
"They're everywhere! Those wires are all around us!" She cried in horror, now understanding they were standing in a death trap. "Chen knows about them, they all do!"
"A man will come soon." Someone said from behind them, and they turned to see Geo. He stared at the body, and tears welled up in his eyes. "He'll take her away."
Something seemed to snap inside Skylor's heart. In a blink, she was on her feet, and her hands were around his neck.
"Why didn't you and the others come?! YOU COULD'VE HELPED!"
Geo swallowed fearfully. "The men and our alpha feed us, protect us from the world; there's only one thing to fear, just one."
His words drained away the fire inside her, and Skylor suddenly felt numb, releasing his neck as she lost the strength in her arms.
"That's why they dance and make shapes and poetry; to forget their fear, to hide from the truth." She realized in dread. With no warning, all of the fear and disgust that had been building inside her hit her like an avalanche. She fell to her knees and started sobbing loudly in pain and anguish at the fate that had befallen this pack. As she cried, Cole quietly approached Geo, his eyes burning in anger and betrayal.
"You all knew about the wires, and you didn't warn us?!"
"The wire got Akita and Kataru." Skylor muttered more to herself before looking up at Geo. "They've stopped running, haven't they?"
He avoided her stare. "When a wolf is gone, we never speak his name again."
"Why didn't you warn us?!" Cole demanded.
"If the wire took you... we'd live one day longer."
None of them spoke for a long time.
None of them knew what to say.
Eventually, Skylor got to her feet. She turned to the two men looking at her. One in fear, the other with concern. She said nothing to either of them. Instead, she pushed past them and marched straight for the den. Cole and Geo shared a look before following after her.
When they made it to the den, they found Chen and Clouse waiting for them. They could see several members of the pack looking out from the cave.
"Go away unless you want to fight." Chen threatened, but Skylor scoffed.
"You don't know how." She growled, getting in the alpha's face. "You're a weak, pathetic fool, and your pack's forgotten all the tricks and cunning our ancestors gave us." She mocked, and Clouse snarled at her. He made a step to get between her and Chen, but the instant he moved, Cole lunged forward and pinned the older man down effortlessly. Skylor looked to the pack, still cowering in the cave. "Leave this place, you all need the freedom of the world; you can relearn the stories of the ancients."
Instead of hearing her plea, the pack quickly retreated into the darkness of the den.
"They know the freedom you preach is a lie and that I'm the only one who can take care of them," Chen smirked triumphantly. "They don't want to leave; they don't want your freedom."
"The snares will get you all if you don't leave! Please, you don't have to surrender to wires!" She called after them, but it was evident they weren't coming back. She scowled at the man she once called father. "If you stay here, you will die too."
"It won't get me, maybe others, but never me!" He laughed maniacally as he, too, started to back away into the caves. Skylor watched him very carefully before she turned to Cole.
"Run."...
It had taken them a lot longer to return to the reserve center than before. Neither of them had dared go back through the bushes, so they had gone all the way around them. When the pair climbed back into their room, they were both shocked to see Kai and Jay already in there. Kai was standing by the door, whereas Jay was throwing all of Cole and Skylor's things into their suitcases.
After giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, Cole opened the door slightly and saw the whole class dashing back and forth between their rooms, packing up all their stuff. But this didn't make any sense.
According to Louise's new itinerary, the class should be outside studying the stars and how to navigate with them.
"What's going on?"
"Thanks to the rain, we're all going home," Jay said as he finished packing up the bags.
"Yeah, Louise is worried the place is gonna flood," Kai added as he tossed them both some towels to dry off.
Within an hour, the class was all packed up and boarding the plane. Koko gave Louise a fond farewell with a promise to arrange the trip again with next year's class. After putting away their luggage and doing a final head count, the plane took off, and they were on their way home.
As the plane soared over the forest, Skylor glanced over her shoulder to check in on the others.
Garmadon was sat beside her, but he had been oddly silent since she and Cole had returned. Kai and Cole were sat together and listening to music. Harumi was scowling at her phone, probably at something her parents had sent her. Jay and Nya were looking out the windows at the forest below, as was Lloyd. Morro was fast asleep. Pixal was ducked somewhere towards the back of the plane. Zane sat beside Koko and seemed to be in his own little world.
"What's wrong?" Garmadon suddenly asked, and she looked at him confused. "I may not be your father, but I've known you long enough to know when something's bothering you." He clarified, and although reluctant, Skylor revealed to him everything that had happened with the pack. After she was done explaining, Garmadon sighed heavily. "I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I know what kind of person Chen is, and I can see him doing something like that."
"But why do they stay there?" She scowled. "That place is a death trap, and every time they leave the safety of the den, they're at risk; hell, they're practically starving to death because they're too scared to step foot outside!"
"It is their home, and it's all they know; they're hardly going to listen to a stranger they've only known for a day telling them that their way of life is wrong and to follow her into a world they are sadly not prepared for." He explained, and Skylor clenched her fists in frustration because she knew he was right.
After a moment of quiet, Skylor chose to confess something else to him.
"Garmadon, when I was in that cave, I had a horrible vision; I saw how men came and almost wiped the original pack all out." She admitted, her voice and body trembling for the horrific experience. That perked Garmadon's interest. "It was so real and disturbing; it was like I was actually there; I could feel the earth shake, taste the poison gas, and sense the fear in the air."
"Jikan can often provide a detailed recap of the past, sometimes more than we wished."
"But that's the thing, I wasn't even using jikan it just started acting up on its own." She exasperated. "Has that ever happened before?"
Garmadon thought about it for a moment before he decided to answer.
"Sometimes the past has to make itself known and will reach out; if you're being followed by a shadow, then they only have matters with you." He clarified. "The shadows of the past will be traveling from the depths of history for but two reasons, Skylor: at times of great danger or to deliver a warning."
Skylor was silent as she allowed his words to sink in.
Were the ghosts from the past truly reaching out? She had definitely been in danger in that awful place. Were they trying to warn her of the snares?
As these thoughts whirled around in her mind, she turned to look out the window, only to realize they were flying past the mountain. Skylor stared at the base and the field of bushes surrounding an area of it.
She was glad to see the back of that graveyard, and she could only pray that she would never have to return...
NEXT CHAPTER: Morro wants to give Harumi a great birthday...