Dreamscape: Saving Alex

Chapter Twenty

I shrugged and looked down, balling my fists so I didn't see the faded specks of blood. As the stupor that had clouded my mind wore off, I replayed my actions in my mind with vivid clarity. I had changed, and processing the differences hurt.

"You did what you had to do," he said, cupping his hand over my shoulder. "You saved yourself and those girls. Don't doubt yourself."

I nodded but looked away. "I don't want to talk about that right now," I whispered.

He held out his hand to help me stand. "What about something a bit more pleasant?"

"I'd like that." I smiled, taking his hand and stepping off the wagon, careful not to wake the other girls. Without the terror behind their eyes they looked younger than I'd first thought.

"Were those Berkos' men back there?" I asked.

"Probably. This seems like the sort of things he has been doing for the past few years. Ever since he took control, our youth have disappeared—kidnapped, forced into slavery, and worse."

"Worse?" I whispered. My heart overflowed with emotion as I looked longer at them. "I'm glad they're free now. Where'd everyone else go?" I asked, noticing that the rest of Arrow's men were nowhere to be seen.

"They've gone ahead to camp. I wanted to make sure you and the girls rested."

I arched an eyebrow. "So you woke me up?"

"What can I say, I'm impatient," he said. "Come with me—I want to show you the camp." He pulled me away from the cart.

"What about the girls? We can't just leave them out here alone."

"Don't worry. I brought someone to watch them," he said, pointing to a boy I hadn't noticed leaning against a tree at the edge of my vision. "Everything's taken care of. Now, let me show you the Grove."

I glanced at him curiously and then at the dark forest in front of us. The eagerness in his voice intrigued me. Where exactly was he taking me?

"This time, I'll follow you," I said, stepping to the side of the trail.

He winked back at me. "Promise you'll stay close."

I crossed my fingers and tucked my lips together. My earlier angst disappeared when he smiled at me. He led me several hundred feet away from the cart, past where the boy sat.

Wispy branches intertwined and draped to the ground, creating a curtain of variegated greens. Arrow pulled the screen of branches to the side and motioned for me to step through ahead of him.

"May I present to you my humble camp, the Grove." He bowed and held his arm out flamboyantly, letting the leaves fall behind him, blocking out the forest we had just hiked through.

I stared at him, and then back to the camp, and then back at him again. "A grove is a simple gathering of trees. This...this..." I stumbled for the right words. My composure slipped away, and my knees buckled.

He jumped to my side and held me steady for support. "This...is my home."

"Arrow," I whispered. "This is amazing."

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I've never seen something so incredible," I said, squeezing his hand.

He beamed, and I knew I had said the right thing.

I wasn't lying; I hadn't seen anything like it before. Hidden within the forest, Arrow's camp blossomed in the shadows of the trees. Built around the base of each tree, quaint cottages welcomed us. Worn by time, their white paint had begun to peel, and moss grew in the small spaces between the wooden planks. Delicate flowers and trailing vines cascaded over broken window boxes, and small rounded stones at the doorsteps finished the charming entrances. On the rooftops, ladders stretched high into the canopy above, where a suspended bridge system weaved through the forest. My feet prickled with a desire to climb those branches.