The Adventure of Fel

chapter eleven

       The next few days consist of me complaining it's too hot every five minutes, Gwen letting out exasperated sighs, and Leo singing awful show-tunes, mixed with a healthy dosage of sleeping in trees and eating Birdy's soup. It's an especially hot day when we finally arrive at Lucinda's Meadow, tired, sweaty, and bickering.

       "You're a cat!" I cry after a particularly bad ballad. "You've never even seen  a play before."

        "Have too," Leo says. "I mean, I've seen them on TV. You know, looking through people's windows."

       "Is that where you go when you're supposed to be helping me hunt?" Gwen snaps. "Sometimes, Leo, I swear to the stars - "

       "Shh!" I say. I bend down to the ground. "Look!" 

       "What?" Leo asks. I don't reply. "What?" 

       "There are fewer trees," I grin. 

       "So we're here?" He says, sounding on the verge of tears. "We made it? Finally? I don't have to walk anymore?" 

       "Nope. It just means we're close," I say. "And stop being so lazy. I'm the one who has to carry all the food."

       "Yeah, well the minute they make backpacks for cats I'll pitch in," he grumbles. I give him a pat on the head and keep moving forward. 

       It's midday, the hottest time of all, when the trees begin to space out even further, revealing us to the hot sun. It's early evening when, finally, the meadow itself comes into view. The grass appears almost as tall as me even from a distance, shining a dull gold in the setting sun. It looks  how I imagine the surface of a star would after you die. No longer a fiery ball of gas that walking on would certainly lead to death, but a paradise.

       "What a lovely place to die," Leo pants when we stop to rest. "Bury me under the finest patch off meadow, Gwen, and Fel, preform the funeral service. And I'll have nothing but the finest fish for the reception. Salmon, maybe?" He flops gracelessly onto the ground, belly facing the darkening sky, and goes still.

       "If you don't stop acting so dramatic, this very well may end up being your deathbed," Gwen mutters. I laugh as my eyes scan the meadow. We're on the edge of it now, sitting next to the last tree of the forest. It feels as if we're on the border of two separate worlds: one with rich, earthy grounds and towering trees, the other with golden floors and open skies. I have to say, I don't like the idea of leaving the forest's shelter. I mean, once we're in the meadow, anything could emerge from the open skies and thick grasses. I imagine a dragon, larger than any dragon discovered before, approaching from the distant horizon. At first it's a spec, no larger than a regular dragon. Then, as it grows closer, it also grows bigger, until we suddenly realize it's the perfect size for consuming young Fels and tiny cats with its huge jaws and empty, unforgiving eyes -  

       "Fel! Fel? Hey. You okay?" 

       I blink and turn my head to face Gwen. 

       "What?" I shake my head. "Yeah, I'm great." I turn my head so that I'm looking back into the forest. I consider searching for a large stick as a weapon, but it's already getting dark, and we haven't stayed awake long enough the past few days to see what actually comes out at night. I shudder and turn back around. 

       "Let's set up camp," I say. "We can actually start looking for Adam - "

       "Alan, Fel - "

       " - tomorrow." 

       As the trees have gotten sparser, they've also gotten thinner, so we have to sleep on the ground. I lay back in the dirt once we find a good place to rest, hoping that wherever Alan's living has a shower, and place my hands behind my head, closing my eyes.