The Experience of Being Alive

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“I don’t think we’re near Winterfell after all.”

The group had traversed the innards of the enormous wall of ice only to come out on the other side. But instead of walking into one of the nineteen fortified castles that periodically defend the 300 mile long structure, they found themselves in of all things, a desert.

Arya continued, “No, we’re definitely not in the North.”

“It’s almost like we had just a sliver of your book. Just enough for the wall to exist, and now we’re in some new book.” Binny observed.

Katniss was churning through the observations in her mind. “I’m beginning to think you’re on to something Binny. It’s like they built this place very carefully just to keep people out.”

“Do you think they are hiding something?” Michel asked.

“I don’t know, but I want to find out.” Binny said.

Hermione stayed quiet.

¤

Sand stretched for as long as they could see. The farther they walked, the smaller the strip of ice and rock that was the top of the wall seemed behind them. Sand got in their shoes and the heat of the bright sun rested heavily on their backs.

When the wall was long behind them, a dot appeared on the horizon. The sun was making it difficult to judge just how far ahead the dot may be. Yards? Miles? Binny wasn’t sure. 

There seemed to be no choice but to move forward. After Binny’s bravado with Three there was no chance she was going back now. If the others had their doubts, they kept quiet about them.

As they approached, the dot grew into a shape. And the shape was that of a woman. Well, at first it seemed like a woman. The head part at least. But soon it was clear, the woman’s head was gigantic. Her head was attached to what appeared to be mostly the body of a lion. And she had wings.

“The Sphinx.” Katniss said quietly.

“My god.” Michel uttered.

“At least she’s sleeping.” Binny was grateful. And then, to Hermione, “Do you think music will work?”

“That was Cerebrus. This is a Sphinx. Totally different.” Hermione rolled her eyes a little.

Arya looked to Binny for permission as she put her hand on the hilt of her sword and pulled it out a couple of inches.

“I don’t think that’s gonna do you much good.” Binny joked.

“It’s okay. I know the answer. Man. Man is the answer.” Katniss told the others.

“The answer?” Binny asked.

“To the riddle. The sphinx will ask us a riddle. If we know the answer, it will let us pass.”

“And if we don’t?”

An enormous booming laugh surprised the fivesome. The guffaws seemed to shake the very ground. Apparently the sphinx hadn’t been asleep it all. “What will happen to you if you don’t know the answer? What indeed?”

The Sphinx had raised her head. Even lying down she looked gigantic. Roughly the size of a bus Binny thought to herself. Binny also thought that this was perhaps the most frightening moment of her life. But for some reason, she stayed put.

Strangely, it wasn’t the thought that nothing could really happen to her here in the Stacks. She imagined that even if she was reincarnated from her book, that the process of getting rended limb from limb by the jaws and claws of the Sphinx would be a terribly painful process that she’d rather avoid. And yet, Binny stayed rooted to the spot. The thrill of fear coursing through her veins.