The Realms [Watty 2017 Shortlist]

Caught - Part 33

I come out in a field of wheat or hay; I was never much of a botanist. I thought the huts were largely surrounded by a wasteland and I'm surprised that a field this robust is so close. I can just make out the faint glow of the huts from where I stand. A wisp of light is starting at the top of the sky and later it'll lower like a screen from a ceiling. I debate whether to continue on or wait for at least some form of illumination to finish my journey. The huts at the edge of the realm are a mystery to me and I'm not sure it's a place I want to navigate without any light. Lowering myself into the field, I hope that once the sun breaks through, I will find Ryan's father.

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I wander cautiously around the huts in the half-light. Each hut is bigger than most houses on the Second or Third Realm and they're made of marble and granite. An expanse of sand surrounds each one, making my movements feel laborious. If I wasn't so nervous, I would find the name funny. Huts. Clearly some ruler at some point had a sense of humor. I slowly push open another door and start going from room to room, poised to come face to face with Grayson at any moment.

I round a corner and fear plows into me like a truck, but it isn't my fear. I stop in the middle of the room and try to pinpoint who or what is so afraid. To my right is another door, smaller than the others; I approach it warily. I crack it open and my heart is pounding as I duck my head into the room. There, in a corner, bound by something I can't see, is Maizie.

"Maizie!" I cry as I rush to her side. "What happened?"

"Don't touch me. Don't touch me." Her eyes are moving frantically and her emotions and thoughts overwhelm me. She can't speak.

I immediately draw back my hands which were poised to embrace her. "What happened?" I ask out loud.

"Grayson. I sort of stumbled on him and he trapped me here. I can't move and he said that anyone who touched me would become trapped as well. I can't risk it."

I look around the room, trying to find something to test the theory without putting myself at risk. "Where'd he go?"

"He said something about finally going home and then he just vanished."

"Where's Ryan?" I'm wandering around the room, picking up random objects, trying to find something, anything that might work to free her. Everything in the room is glossy, hard and secured to the floor or walls. Despite their grandeur, the huts were always meant to be a punishment on this realm, not a reward.

"I don't know, Hannah. We appeared together because of the bracelets, but almost as soon as we arrived, he altered the bracelet somehow. He has so much power; I think he must be feeding off his father or... I don't understand it. But, he said he had things to do and he just vanished. He travels throughout the realm like our father; I've never seen anyone else do it."

"Grayson didn't kill you?" I pause my search and turn to face her, even though our conversation is mostly mental. "Did you know that we can be killed now, but he thinks he can't?" I lean up against a wall. "He's altered the realm."

"Apparently he can't kill any of his children, regardless of how he came to have them or what rules he's managed to change."

"So, Grayson has gone back to his house. We don't know where Ryan is," I glance at my watch, "and we have sixteen hours to get Grayson and Ryan's mother, Violet to head to the First Realm." So much time was wasted on this dead end. "Even if I run to the house, it's going to take me hours to get there. We're in exactly the wrong location. And..." I glance down at her invisible restraints and raise up my empty hands. "It doesn't look like I'll have your help."

"I'm sorry, Hannah. I don't know what Ryan's doing; I don't know what Grayson has planned. I tried to keep my thoughts blocked, but I'm out of practice." Tears flood her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

My heart stutters and stops at the implications of what she just said. "So, he might know that he can be killed."

"I think I avoided thinking about that, but I don't know. I just—I don't know if he got in." Her internal emotions are scrambled and feel like an assault on me. I consider putting up my mental wall, but I don't want to leave her alone.

I look around the room, trying to think of some way to help Maizie. I have sixteen hours and each minute is starting to feel more and more precious.

"Hannah, you have to go. I'll be okay, no matter what happens. If you succeed, I'll be freed. If you fail, Grayson can't hurt me any more than he already has."

I want to hug her and thank her. Instead, I say, "You've been a great friend, Maizie. If I succeed and I don't see Ryan, can you just..." A massive lump forms in my throat and I swallow a few times to push the sob down. "Make sure he knows that I love him and that there wasn't anything he could have done to change my mind. None of this is his fault."

Wave after wave of sympathy washes over me as Maizie releases her emotions, allowing me to feel her love for me and her sadness over what's to come. "I love you too, Maiz. I love you too."

I back out of the room and I start to run.