The Hotel

Back Again

 Chapter 22

B a c k a g a i n

"JULIA!!" Julia's eyes opened suddenly. She was back on the side of the road. Her head was raised on what felt like a pillow or blanket. She could feel that the weight was back on her shoulders. She was trying to catch her breath, gasping for air. The weight seemed so much bigger now that she had felt what it was like to have it gone.

Ally, Claire, and Charles were around her, with shocked looks on their faces. Everything was so sudden, she didn't know what to address first! Possibly the fact that her dead friend was standing right in front of her, living, breathing, staring straight at her? Or maybe the fact that it felt as if there was a thousand pounds on her chest? Or why her friends looked so confused and scared? Or maybe the sudden change of scenery from the mirror room in her beautiful silver gown and glowing skin to this burning forest road? She simply stared at her friends for a moment. She didn't know what to feel.

She just screamed as loud as she could. She made the conclusion that it was the only thing she could do. She started to sob. She was so overwhelmed from everything that had happened. And pain was all around her body. She just wanted to go back to the mirror room. She looked down at her legs and arms to see deep cuts all around her body. Streaks of blood were trickling down her legs and arms.

"How..." Julia mumbled. She didn't know the strange void could change her physical appearance. "I think you almost died." Claire said breathily. Tears started to form in her eyes as she leaned in to hug her. Ally and Charles were still shocked, but they joined in the hug. Everyone was crying, clueless of what to do next. "Well, we should probably get in the car and leave the forest... this is dangerous." Ally said as she got up and dusted herself off. She brushed her tears away quickly. By then, Julia's blood had dried.

As the rest got up, they looked around to see the forest, perfectly intact. It had stopped burning somehow. They didn't want to take a second to ponder why this was. They wanted to take advantage of this and get home as quickly as possible.