DARKNESS

DARKNESS | Chapter 25

"Sometimes working together is the only way."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

One of my hands clutches the strap on my backpack like I'm trying to hold onto dear life, as I ascend a steep hill with Kale and, unfortunately enough, Blake. We left my old house an hour ago, after fully raiding it for any supplies or equipment that could come in handy on our most recent expedition; going west.

As I found out from the brothers' themselves, no one is crazy enough to venture west any further than my house. The other kingdoms are located east or north. Nothing is west.

West is where the animals have complete reign and the forest becomes thick. West is where there are no forms of civilisation and the sun can no longer properly reach the ground through the tall trees' canopies. West is unpredictable. West is dangerous.

"Harper, are you sure you're reading that compass right?" Blake questions wearily.

"You'd better hope so," I tell him, purposely doing nothing to put his mind at rest. My eyes are fixed on the compass in my hand, watching the hand as it takes us even further west.

The jewellery box had, in fact, contained a secret compartment. In that compartment was the compass I now hold, alongside a single piece of folded-up paper. It read:

'David & Olivia:

To find us you must travel west at a good pace for six hours. You will enter a bare area of land, from which you will be able to see a tall tree. Go towards that tree. Follow the stream. At the same pace, it will take you about two hours. The stream leads you to a waterfall. I will meet you there. Good luck.

- Angelique.'

Whatever happened, the three of us learnt that my parents knew Angelique. We learnt that Angelique hid from something in the depths of the forest in the west. But these pieces of information have only arisen more questions, and more curiosity from the brothers. I now know that there is no way Blake will be leaving us anytime soon, no matter how much I manage to piss him off. This journey means a lot to them. It means a lot to me.

"Kale, would you mind?" I ask him wearily, holding out the compass. He takes it from me and with it, he also takes the lead. We reach the top of the hill.

"There's no 'bare area of land' in sight," Blake says pessimistically, eyes scanning along the horizon.

"We've been travelling for one hour," I remind him. "We need to go for six. Don't be expecting anything for a while yet."

"Looks like the forest changes from here on out," Kale observes, drawing my attention to the jungle-like terrain on the other side of the hill. "It's going to be tough."

"The sooner we start, the sooner we finish," I state as we begin to descend the hill, leaving behind everything we've ever known; something I've gotten used to over the past several months.

With every step I take, I think of how my parents travelled this exact same path. They made the same journey I'm about to. Angelique probably did as well. Where will these directions take us? They will take us as far as a waterfall.

We are not my parents; we won't have anyone awaiting our arrival. When we get there, we'll have to figure out what to do; we'll have to improvise. Thanks to my constantly-failing plans, I'd say I'm pretty good at improvisation.

I'm not sure if it's the prospect of not knowing what lies at the end of these directions, or if it's the fact that I don't know what information we will stumble across or gain during this journey, but something about it holds a certain air of mystery. Knowing that I can solve this mystery, that the answer is within reach, only serves to enhance my eagerness in reaching our destination.