SKIPPING TIME

Chapter 10.5

Cacee peeled off her hoodie and threw it on the ground before opening her backpack. When her hand closed around a bottle of water, she almost died of relief. She'd never been so scared and confused, but her thirst overrode even that. A layer of dust coated the inside of her mouth, her tongue was cracked and swollen, her body as shriveled as an old snake skin.

She twisted off the cap with weak, rubbery hands, almost dropping the bottle more than once. When she managed to get the lid off, she took a huge gulp and barely kept from spitting it back out. The water was hot, like it had been in the sun for hours. Making a face, she lifted the bottle to her parched lips again, drinking more slowly this time. But her body didn't care about the temperature of the water, only the hydration it provided. She ended up chugging it, not caring how it dribbled down the front of her. It would have been easy to finish. Instead, she stopped at the half way point and held the bottle out to Jess, warning him, "It's hot."

He grabbed it, but only gulped a few swallows before trying to give it back.

She waved her hand. "Finish it. We can find more. I'm pretty sure we're in a city." She couldn't help the way her voice skittered on the word "city."

Jess just nodded and drank the rest of the bottle. When he finished, they moved to the shade of a rusted fire escape.

She tried not to flinch as she stared at Jess. He was nothing but bruises and filth. His hair had gotten matted to his face with the dried blood that ran from a gash in his forehead, he had smears of mud all over him, his clothes were torn, most of his exposed skin black and blue. Even his neck wore a collar of bruises. She looked at him bemusedly, unable to get a grip on how he'd gotten all beat up or why they were here. Her brain seemed stuck in slow-motion.

Jess seemed to pick up her thoughts. "It's crazy, huh? I can't get my head around it. I keep expecting to wake up even though I can tell it's real." He spoke in a rasp, like his voice needed more oil in its hinges.

Her mouth went dry again, this time from fear. She said, "You know what? We can figure this all out later. Right now, I just want to go home."

She dug in her backpack again and pulled out her cell phone. Her stomach clenched at the thought of trying to explain this to her mom but, at the same time, she longed for the reassurance of her mother's voice. She hit the button for her mom and waited. A few seconds later, she took the phone away from her ear and frowned. "No signal. Not a single bar."

Jess said, "Let's go. It'll probably work once we get out of this alleyway. We've got to get somewhere safe anyway. The sun is setting." She looked up and saw he was right. Despite the torrid heat, the sun was draining from the sky, leaving runny rivulets of pink and purple behind it.

She was afraid to leave, afraid to confront the evil witches of this Emerald-City world, but sitting here wouldn't get them anywhere. She spoke reluctantly. "You're right. And maybe if we figure out where we are, things will start to come together. Plus, I have to tell my mom where to come get us. And you have to call your aunt and uncle."

Jess made a face of pure disgust.

She looked at him in surprise, and then, wondering if he thought he'd get in trouble, offered, "We should say we got kidnapped or something. I don't know how else to explain this."

"That's probably a better idea than the truth—whatever that is."

She nodded in agreement and stood, fighting off a spell of vertigo. When her legs were solid, she turned towards Jess. Shane stood by him, trying to nudge Jess to his feet. Jess made it to his knees, and Shane seemed determined to give encouragement. She offered Jess her hand.