Between Two Worlds (complete)

Chapter Fifteen: Just Pure Rotten Luck

Aya heard the jingle of keys in a lock and the dungeon door creaking open in the dark. She and Jay slunk back into a dark corner. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her back. Then they heard a voice.

"Time to be moved. We have a worse dungeon for you," said a deep voice. It sounded like one of the soldiers who had brought them here. "Get up!" He kicked Jay's parents and they leapt up. Aya and Jay still sat huddled in the shadows of the corner, not daring to move. "Where are the others?" the soldier asked.

Jay's dad, realizing what they were planning, said, "They were already moved. To a different dungeon,"

"Well, which one? We will avoid putting you two in it," the soldier asked.

"I don't know. They didn't tell us,"

"Whatever. Let's just hope it's not the one we were planning to move you to," And with that, the guard led them out.

He left the door open.

Aya finally dared to breathe. They let go of each other and smiled.

"Yes! Yes! We did it! Jay, we can get out now! The door is unlocked!" Aya whispered. She rubbed her necklace and then tucked it under her shirt.

"Thank you again for this," she said. Jay shot her an embarrassed smile and blushed. He was so shy. At that moment she decided that she would teach Jay how to come out of his shell, if they ever escaped.

The pair slowly stood up and slipped through the small opening between the door and the frame, being careful not to touch the creaky bars. They crept along the walls, watching out for guards.

They were doing good so far when suddenly a pair of loud, stomping feet could be heard around the corner. Aya spotted a door next to them and found that, to their luck, it was unlocked. She twisted the handle around and they slipped in quickly.

Aya looked around her. They were inside a storage closet full of random items.

"This is probably where they keep the prisoners' belongings. It'd be of no worth to them," Jay said.

"Oh, maybe our things are in here!" exclaimed Aya. They searched around and finally found their bags in the vast closet. They knew no one was in the corridor outside, but they stayed inside the closet.

They needed some rest before rescuing Jay's parents, because, after all, it was nighttime, so they leaned back on the hard ground and waited to fall asleep. Aya pulled her book out of her bag and started reading. Maybe she could get some valuable information out of it. But she eventually fell asleep, not even reading a word.

Aya was dreaming. In her dream, she was back in the forest, but this time there was no dirty camouflage tent. There was a beautiful house standing in place of it. She walked towards it, but before she could get to the door, her parents burst out. Her parents. Her dead parents! Even her father.

She ran up to them and hugged them. Her father's dark brown eyes were sparkling, and her mother's rusty-red hair looked just as it always had been: just like hers. She smiled at her parents. Then Jay, Cadie, Toni, Suddenly, both of Jay's parents, and even Solona came rushing out. She was about to introduce everyone, but it seemed like they already knew each other. After all, it was a dream. There she was, standing right in the middle of everyone she loved. But then Aya spotted a mass of bright white light on the horizon. It was coming towards them fast, enveloping the world in light.
But before she could say, "Watch out!" the white light swallowed everyone up. She screamed, groping around in the light. It was so bright she couldn't even see her own hands.

"Jay! Mum! Dad! Cadie! Anyone! Are you there!?" she yelled. Suddenly the darkness ended and she was in the middle of the forest, alone.

No house. Not even a tent. No friends. No family.

She screamed. That was when her eyes snapped open. She spotted Jay sleeping next to her and sighed in relief. It had just been a nightmare. He woke up.

"Aya, are you alright?" he asked worriedly, sitting up.

"I- I had a dream. Everyone was there- even my parents- and then... and then... you were all gone!" she sobbed.

"It'll be alright," said Jay, sitting up and putting his pale arm around her shoulders. "We're not gone. We're all here,"

"Not all of us. My parents- my parents- they're... dead," Aya started crying again.

Suddenly she stopped. Why am I crying!? It was just a stupid dream! she thought.

"I'm sorry. Maybe we should go now," she said, wiping her tears and feeling like an embarrassment. That was when the door creaked open.