Mirror Me

9: WEAK Magic

The frigid mountain wind invaded my nose. With no tissues, I continued wiping the snot on my sleeve, a disgusting method I was not thrilled about using. My poor hair had been blown into knots and tangles forming small nests for any wayward bird to make its home. Had I known that morning I'd be trekking against an icy breeze in an unknown land, I might have dressed for the occasion. For the moment my soggy jeans and ripped school coat did little to keep out the cold. My tennis shoes caked in mud sloshed about making for an uncomfortable mushy hike. If one of my classmates could see my sorry state, they might not recognize me. I appeared to have just made it through a natural disaster, or in this unusual case, fallen into another world. Needless to say, I was starting to believe that all this was real.

Owen walked in front of me. He was no more than ten steps ahead at any given time, watching and listening for creatures that might attack from the shadows. The plains may have held simple wheat and grasses as well as the occasional outcrop of rocks and shrubs, but the plains also held dangers, dangers I imagined lurking, waiting for us to drop our guard. No matter which way we turned or how many times I fell behind, Owen never let me leave his sight even as the evening shifted to dim twilight and the monstrous moon spied upon us.

As time went on, I struggled more and more. My sore hamstrings cried out in exhaustion, a clear example of how out of shape I really was. In middle school my mom had made me take up gymnastics but with the stress of high school, I stopped going. Oh how I regretted it now.

The Snowfell Mountains with their silvery peaks outlined the night sky and stabbed at the clouds that drifted by. Even as we veered northward, they seemed to play with us by turning towards our path threatening to block our way and then sinking back showing it was all a ruse. In the moonlight the mountain glaciers glittered like thousands of misplaced stars cradled in stone hammocks. I reveled in their splendor wishing to dance in their haunting snow. Never had I seen mountains in person. Texas was not known for them. Seeing them now towering over the landscape like giant stone guardians gave me an overwhelming sense of protection and peace.

It had been hours since we escaped the Half-Life, Desire, and scryed out of the water puddle. It must have been close to seven o'clock by now. My eyes widened. I suddenly remembered my date with Marcus.

"Oh no!" I thought while frantically pulling out my cell phone half believing I could text him and tell him where I was and that I was sorry for ghosting him, but like Owen had said, this was Tartarus. The no service indicator reminded me of how far from Texas I had traveled and revealed to me at last the truth I had been denying myself. I was lost in another world. This was no dream. Sadly I shoved my phone back into my pocket trying hard not to cry. Instead I focused on the pain in my legs, the hunger in my belly, and how good it would feel to rest in a warm inn.

"How much further is this town?" I asked, breathing out a puff of condensation. The terrain had begun to change, getting less grassy and more hilly. Owen hiked swiftly up the nearest hill.