The Search for the Eoz Potion

2. The Welcoming Forest

They took off as fast as they could, leaving Claire's bag behind them. Two more rocks had fallen nearby when they heard what sounded like galloping horse hooves beating the ground behind them. Stealing a glance back as they ran, the girls saw four horses pulling a large carriage. But it wasn't like any horse and buggy they had ever seen pictures of in school. It was a long green and brown rectangle that camouflaged with the trees. It was made of wood but looked far too big for the horses to be so easily pulling. It was hard to tell as they ran, but it didn't look like there was anyone driving the horses, and the carriage didn't seem to have any windows to allow anyone to steer from inside. Still, the animals expertly dodged between the trees and the falling rocks as they tracked the girls.

The carriage pulled up beside them as they ran and a door on the side slid open. A young man stood in the opening, reached out his hand, and called out something that neither Hailey nor Claire could understand. His shaggy hair was blowing in all directions and he wore a beat up old leather jacket over a t-shirt and had on torn, dirty jeans. He looked to be in his early twenties, but even in the excitement of the moment, there was an evident pain in his eyes that made him appear older than he was. As they ran, Hailey tried to size him up to see if he was trustworthy, but Claire grabbed his hand as fast as she could and let him pull her on board. She would evaluate the situation later, she just wanted to get away from the falling rocks. Hailey then felt forced to do the same.

"Get to the back and buckle up," the man said gruffly once the door was closed. They could hear the sound of the boulders still falling outside like a thunderstorm. "We're going to get you somewhere safe."

Holding on to the walls for support, the girls looked around the car and saw about ten other kids their age sitting on a bench that ran along the perimeter of the back half of the carriage. Large harnesses came down from above them, like on a rollercoaster, and held the kids in place as the carriage raced and bounced through the forest. All of them looked like they had just been through the same thing that Hailey and Claire had, covered in dirt and afraid.

It reminded Claire of what Dr. Hampton had told them about finding people in the forest to help them. The Searchers' Guides, he'd said they were called, a group of people that had organized themselves to help people like Claire and Hailey navigate their way safely through the Garden of Yllop. Claire wondered if this could be them when she noticed a circle patch on the arm of the man's jacket. It had the letters "SG" written in brown script over a red background.

"It's okay," he said bluntly, as if to him it was an unquestionable fact. After reading the concern on Claire's face, he took a breath. "It'll be okay," this time with a softness that, though forced, was still reassuring.

His appearance was not overly inspiring, dirty and disheveled. Still, there was a quiet confidence about him that put both girls at ease. Hailey noticed the "SG" patch too, and they moved quickly to the back of the carriage as it swayed from side to side and took two of the last remaining seats.

"They should really think about renaming the Welcoming Forest," Hailey said sarcastically.

The girls looked around at the other kids in the back of the carriage. Claire wedged herself between Hailey and another boy and struggled to pull down her harness. She tried her best to squeeze closer to Hailey to give the boy more room, but contact with the stranger was unavoidable. Hailey, however, eased into her seat without issue. She was relieved to see other people and saw the opportunity to find out more about what was going on. She watched as the man who rescued them opened a door to another room at the front of the carriage and left them without explanation. She looked at the boy sitting next to her, a young kid who couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old, and smiled at him warmly.

"Are you here looking for the potion too," Hailey asked.

"Yes. When I got into the forest, the rocks just started coming down and. That guy saved me."

He was scared and his fear made him talkative. It was a defense mechanism that endeared him to Hailey. She understood it well. He had the same steely look in his eyes as all the others, fear mixed with hope, but he seemed so young to Hailey. His voice shook as he spoke.

"My grandma is sick," he continued weakly. "I read about this place in a book. I'd do anything to help her. She's lived with us my whole life."

"You think there's a potion out there to save her?" Hailey asked.

It was a genuine question. Even though the portal had clearly worked, they were in the Garden of Yllop, there was still so much they didn't understand about the potion.

"There has to be," the boy said without question, looking Hailey in the eye.

The answer stopped her heart for a moment. This boy had put all his hope in the Eoz Potion. Hailey wasn't sure she could say the same. She was there in the garden to find it, and she wanted it to work, but she hadn't invested everything in it. She believed there was possibly still more the doctor could do, and she wasn't entirely sure the potion could do what had been promised. Hailey looked back over at Claire to see how she was doing.

"There are a lot of them," Claire said, referring to the other people there looking for the potion.

The comment made Hailey think about something else. She had just assumed they were going to have to find the potion and bring it back to Dr. Hampton in order to heal Faith. But how would they do that if one of these kids found it first? And if the girls found it first themselves, did that mean the people these other kids had come to save would be lost? She started to wonder if this group of kids were friends or enemies.

"A lot of us," Hailey corrected.

She figured there had to be more to it if the SG was going to help all of them find the potion. While she thought about this, however, another young boy walked out from the door at the front of the carriage. He was closer to the girls' age, but he had the same calm confidence about him as the man who had rescued them. Claire noticed it right away but couldn't explain it to herself. There were experiences hidden behind his boyish appearance, and he carried himself with a steadiness that betrayed the moment. Before he even spoke, before she knew anything about him, there seemed to be a kindness radiating off of him. He had short brown hair and a pale, round face that made him look innocent and trustworthy. He wore the same jacket as the older man, with the same SG logo on the arm, but it hung off his shoulders much more neatly. Underneath the jacket he had a shirt buttoned all the way up and tucked tightly into his jeans.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked as he walked through the group of kids inspecting them for any injuries. "Did anyone get hit by anything?"

Miraculously everyone had been saved without any major injuries. There were a few cuts and scrapes that the boy attended to as he chatted with the other kids, but nothing serious.

"My name is Zack," the boy said. "That was Josef who rescued you. He's one of the leaders of the SG and we're going to get you to a safe place for the rest of the night."

"What's the SG?" one of the other kids asked.

"The Searchers' Guides," Zack explained. "We patrol the forest when the portal opens and help get Searchers like you to safety and provide whatever other help we can. They drop these rocks every time the portal opens, so we do our best to get people help."

Hailey and Claire looked at each other thoughtfully. They knew what he was saying, Dr. Hampton had told them. But that wasn't all he'd told them.

"What did you say your name was?" Hailey asked.

"Zack. Zack Miller."

Yes. They knew who he was. The doctor had also told them about him.