The friends slept on the backs of seven rocs, one for each girl. They were unworried about being attacked, mainly because they were too tired.
The sun no longer shone red, but was now the colour of their own sun and the moon, when it rose, was pale again. The land was beautiful once more, and when they passed into the marsh the spirits of the fauns were lounging about and grinning as the little marsh dragons scampered around them. At Farai's house the friends got off the rocs, who waited patiently at the door. It was a shock when the girls found someone sitting in a chair by a crackling fire. No, not just anyone - Farai. He turned round and smiled at them, a sad smile, his soft brown eyes crinkling at the edges behind half-moon reading glasses. Then he faded away. Nothing but a spirit.
The friends took one last look around the tiny house, before going back outside and clambering slowly onto the rocs. The eagle-like beasts tossed their heads and spread their wings.
When the desert was at last in sight, it was no longer black marble but sand, and sandmen were coming out of newly-appeared cacti and gazing around in wonder. The sun was hot and the girls were glad when they finally reached the Keep. It was now grey stone like the castle had become, and was somehow intact again. Not even the Keeper's spirit lingered in the peaceful place. At the end, the Beast House that had once sheltered mythical creatures seemed to be a resting place for them. The girls found the portal further on, a shimmering hole in space and time, and wasted no time in going through it. The rocs flew off as the white light grew, with that black hole in the centre and, aching and weary, the friends went home.
***
Not a second had passed in their world. It was still night-time when the black hole deposited its travellers onto the grass. The Keeper had said that, long ago - no matter how much time was spent in his realm, no time had passed in the human one. It was strange to think that, but no one was paying much attention to it as they crawled into their tents and slept.
***
The morning sun was hot in that little dip in the ground. The girls had packed up and were sitting ready to go. There was just one problem.
"How are we going to get home?" Cera asked. "I can't run and carry all you guys at the same time - I can barely carry one!"
Abbie smiled deviously. "Well, I might just have kept one bit of paper and a pencil..."
A giant roc was quickly conjured. They all rode back to the place their parents thought they had been camping at and trudged to the car park. The roc refused to leave and Abbie sighed. She had torn the pice of paper she had kept in half, and on the second half she wrote roc x7. Suddenly the roc split into seven smaller ones which shrank into each girl's bag. "Now we all have a magical eagle," Abbie laughed.
Sofia's mum came first and goodbyes were said. Sofia was starting at a new school after the holidays, and wouldn't see her friends.
Cera's dad came next, offering to take Cherry, Breanna and Jodie along too. Then Alex's mum came, and the remaining two ran into hiding. "Let's run to the bottom of the road so she doesn't see us," Chloe whispered and they both fled. As they walked along a field border Abbie asked Chloe if she wanted a lift, but she shook her head and said that she and her mum were going out for lunch. Abbie shrugged and climbed through the hedge to intercept her own car as it turned into the road end. When Chloe's car finally came, she urged her mum to go - another car was coming down the road towards them and she knew who it would be.
Alex's mum was puzzled as she drove home, but decided he had got a lift from someone. Little did she know that her son was far, far away and not ever coming home.
***
The girls regularly talked about their experiences at lunchtimes and Sofia thankfully didn't kill anyone else at her new school. They all still missed Alex, but time had taken the edge off their grief. They had told Alex's family that he was the last one to be picked up so they didn't know what had happened to him, and were questioned frequently as a search for him was issued. The girls knew it was futile.
And, of course, they all still rode their rocs, the only reminder of their time in that realm of myths.
YOU ARE READING
The Eight
Adventure*NOTE* This story is mainly about me and my friends so I'm sorry to any of you who don't know me and are confused. Also it's REALLY bad since I wrote it years ago. Please don't judge my account solely on this book. Eight friends, all completely norm...
