Cobweb Head

t h i r t y - o n e

My stomach ached with hunger as I walked down the crooked dirt path and onto deadened leaves. The sweet taste in the air suddenly seemed sweeter, even in my dry mouth.

I stumbled slightly, holding out my hand to reach for a tree. Exhaustion weighed down against my bones. The echo paused but didn't look back – it chittered softly, cocking its head up as if to test the breeze.

In the trees ahead, a twig snapped, the jarring noise making me flinch. Right, this place was infested with nightmare walkers. But after what Grimm had done, could they really be so bad?

I wished the line between good and bad hadn't become so blurry.

The echo clipped its heels and continued to trot down the path. I pressed my hand into my side and followed numbly. I just wanted to collapse.

We drew up near a clearing. The air seemed colder this deep in the woods, and the fine hairs rose along my arms and the back of my neck as a frigid breeze swept passed me. I glanced behind me warily.

The little horse trotted lazily, clicking its small heels against stones as it went ahead of me. I followed close behind – my heart throbbed against my chest.

The clearing stretched out ahead of me, shaded by high redwood treetops, where scattered beams of sunlight fell through the gaps and coloured the grass below. The echo continued to move into the centre. I didn't though – I leaned up against an outlining tree and watched.

That was when I noticed the shadows thickening at the other end of the clearing – figures shaping amongst the darkness. Black on black.

I squinted and licked my chapped lips. The horse halted. There was a line in the grass where it'd torn through it.

Soon, a thin figure in a plaid skirt walked out from between two wiry trees. She tucked a strand of pale brown hair behind her ear and knelt down next to the echo. Her white lips were creased in a light smile. Effie.

My shoulders slumped as I breathed out, and I stepped towards her as if the echo was tugging at my chest. It wasn't. Every other figure in the trees became irrelevant – she looked up.

I surprised even myself when she stood and I hugged her. Shit – I really needed a hug. She didn't hug me back, but she didn't pull away either.

Her breath was chillingly warm against my ear. "You came."

I stepped back, tossing the hair out of my eyes. "You would not believe the shit show I've just been through," I almost melted down into the grass – I was too tired. And then the realisation that she truly was there settled into my thoughts. "What are you doing--?"

I looked down at the echo after breaking myself off. She knew about everything. She had to know. But what was she doing out here? And why was an echo attached to her horse?

I cleared my throat. "Wait, what do you mean I came?"

She tilted her head to the side as she sighed, and her eyes suddenly seemed glassy, far away. With the quick gesture of her hand, the echo crawled up her leg and came to a stop atop her shoulder.

"We need you, Will." She said through a toothy smile. I didn't like it. I hadn't ever seen her smile like that. "They've given me everything I could ever want – you could have that, too."

I took a cautious step back. The air around me thickened as I stared at her through a darkening gaze. "Who's 'they', Effie?"

Her laugh was light and bubbly, and she batted her thin lashes a little too quickly. "The nightmare walkers, silly. They need you."