"Bailey are you alright?" Seth shouted from fifty feet above.
"No," I screamed through my coughs.
"You're going to be okay, just slowly pull your foot out from the board and start climbing you can do it!"
I slowly pulled my foot out from the broken board trying not to cry as the broken wood shards scratched my skin. Once my foot was out, I stepped onto the lower board, and it broke out from underneath me. I gasped as both my feet fell and I was left hanging by my arms, straining under my weight. I accidentally looked down at my feet dangling below, little shards of broken bridge were raining down to the ground. I quickly put my foot on the next board up and felt like passing out. My arms hurt so much it felt like someone was trying to pull them off.
"Just climb up like's it's a regular ladder on the playground," Seth cheered me on.
Seth didn't know this, but I was terrible at climbing ladders on the playground and had been deathly afraid to climb any ladder for the first five years of my life. I looked up at Seth and slowly began climbing the old boards cracking underneath my feet and the rough rope burning my already sore hands. Tears stung at my eyes, but I ignored them pushing on.
I made it to the top of the ladder and would've cheered had I not been so exhausted. Seth grabbed the collar of my shirt helping to pull me over the top. I used the ropes to pull myself out and they broke under my weight. The bridge fell to the ground just as Seth pulled me over the edge. I looked down at the falling bridge and grew dizzy. Before I knew it, I had passed out.
. . .
I woke up to Seth's wet tongue licking my face. I pushed his head away wiping the sticky saliva off on my sleeve. The sun was considerably lower in the sky after I woke up. I must have slept at least a few hours. I didn't want to waste any more time, so we carried on. The trail ahead was surrounded by dozens more of those god-awful purple trees and their deceivingly sour fruit.
"What do you think people will do without the bridge?" I pondered, I felt sort of guilty over being the one who broke it even though it was destined to break soon anyways.
"They'll probably just walk around the gorge, it can't be that far," I got the feeling Seth was just trying to get a rise out of me by suggesting my own idea, so I didn't say anything even though I really wanted too.
The leaves on the trees soon turned from a deep purple to a light pink soft and pretty like cherry blossom trees. Their leaves rained down like pink snow gathering on the ground in tiny delicate piles. A slight breeze flowed through the trees, and it smelled just wonderful. It would have been the most absolutely perfect place had it not been for that awful sound. A very annoying noise filled the air, a loud tick, tick, tick, sound that pounded against one's skull like a raging headache.
"Will you please knock it off!" Seth shouted angrily his mouth turned down in a scowl and his ears planted against the sides of his head.
"I'm not doing it," I thought Seth was the one making the noise.
"Where's it coming from then because it's really annoying!"
I looked around and spotted a giant bird the size of a hawk pecking on one of the trees like a woodpecker. He had big pink feathers on his head which blended in with the cherry blossoms, his sharp silver beak creepily resembled a blade as it stabbed its way into the tree. He broke through the thick bark like a sheet of ice and pulled out a tiny little person. She had tiny wings and a dress made out of pink petals, her hair was long and bright white, and her skin was dark gray like the tree bark. She squeaked in a high pitch way like nails on a chalk board before the bird threw his head back and swallowed her whole.
"We have to help her!" I shouted running towards him.
"Don't bother they're just a bunch of stupid pixies!" Seth complained rolling his eyes and laying down.
The woodpecker had already eaten one pixie and now he had moved on to another tree, I could hear tiny little screams from inside. It must be absolutely terrifying to have a giant bird trying to peck its way into your house and eat you alive.
I crept up behind the woodpecker staying as quiet as a mouse using the trees for my cover, I pulled my blanket out of my backpack and held it firmly in my hands. I approached him from behind just as he broke through the next tree. He was about to eat the pixie when I threw the blanket over him.
He started squawking and flapping his wings trying to peck me I wrestled him onto the ground, trying to avoid the pointy beak and sharp talons. He stopped struggling and laid limp as a rag doll. I unfolded the blanket and flinched when I realized I had accidentally broken his neck. I didn't mean to kill him. I just didn't want him to eat all the pixies.
I heard a strange buzzing from above my head and looked up to see a fairy, she flew onto my face and hugged my nose. Suddenly hundreds of fairies came flying out of their trees. Their voices were so high pitched I couldn't tell what they were saying. They showered me with what I assume was meant to be affection and I stood still as a statue so I wouldn't accidentally hurt any of them.
The largest of the fairies flew up to me she was almost six inches tall with a dress made of grass and large golden wings the let her hover in the air. She started speaking and the noise that came out sounded like cricket chirping.
"Sorry I can't understand you?" I said shrugging wishing I could.
She gestured towards two fairies struggling to carry a golden coin the size of a quarter. The managed to lift the coin up to my hand and I gently took it from them.
"Wow is this for me?" I asked looking it over it had the number seven engraved on it in fancy cursive writing a dash drawn through the middle of it "Thank you so much."
The fairy nodded her head to me, and the rest started chirping it was so loud it was like a choir made up of a million crickets. Seth covered his sensitive ears with his paws and whined. One of the fairies flew over to pet him and he snapped at her pulling off a piece of her petal dress. She put her hands on her hips then shook her finger chirping angrily before flying away. A tiny fairy flew up to me no taller than two inches carrying a leaf struggling to fly since the leaf was so heavy.
"Thank you," I said letting her land on my hand, Brandy would've loved this so much.
There was a very strange symbol written on the leave, there was a tall triangle like a mountain with some snow drawn on the top then a half circle drawn at the bottom kind of like a door, then there was a line leading around the triangle. Maybe it's a map?
"Thank you very much" I said putting the leaf and the coin away in my pocket.
The fairies bowed to me and chirped a bit more before they all flew back to their trees. The chilly wind must've been making them cold. Seth came over to me smelling at my pocket.
"What did they give you?" I pulled the leaf and coin out to show it to him and he snorted.
"You could've gotten your face torn off by that bird and all they give you is a crummy painting and seven awphs, what cheapskates!"
I was slightly disappointed when I found out that the gold coin wasn't worth very much but not really.
"I didn't save them because I wanted their money, I did it because it was the right thing to do."
"Oh, look it's the high and mighty Bailey, so noble, so brave," Seth teased sarcastically.
"Whatever," I muttered.
. . .
The trees changed from fluffy pink trees to tall dark green pines towering above us like skyscrapers. This place must look like a rainbow from above all the different colored trees that grew along the trail. The ground was covered in luscious green grass filled with colorful mushrooms and mossy fallen logs. There were thousands of blue butterflies dancing around making the whole scene feel peaceful.
"Can you smell that delicious smell?" Seth asked sticking his nose in the air.
All I could smell was the sweet scent of pine trees and fresh dirt. It reminded me of my grandpa's house. I wonder how he's doing. My parents would be coming back to pick me and Brandy up today at least, I think. What was he going to tell them?
"Oh boy it smells like steak!" Seth said excitedly then he went bolting off into the woods.
"Wait!"I went chasing after him trying not to run too fast in case I triggered my asthma, I began smelling that smell Seth was talking about although it wasn't the smell of steak, it was the sweet smell of pancakes with lots and lots of maple syrup.
I was getting really hungry now, whatever that smell was I had to have some. I found Seth frantically sniffing around the ground searching for the smell. I followed barley able to keep in my excitement. I couldn't remember the last time food smelled that good, I could already taste it in the air.
I followed Seth through the woods, around trees, over bushes, and under fallen logs. The scent trail led him right to a glass house with dozens of exotic plants growing inside. Seth was about to run inside but I grabbed him.
"What's the matter with you?" Seth asked his long pink tongue sticking out and drool pouring from his mouth.
"I don't think we should go in there what if it's dangerous?"
" Puh-lease!" Seth said with an eye roll "It's a greenhouse what could possibly be dangerous about a green house?" Seth broke free of my grip and went running like a stampeding bull.
He burst through the open door of the green house happily wagging his tail back and forth, as soon as he was inside the door behind him slammed shut. I watched nervously as the house started to shake. I could see Seth on the inside jumping around in a panic trying to force his way back out.
A loud rumbling sound spread through the forest, as the glass walls on the house turned a sickly green color and got so dense you could no longer see through them. The house shrunk down in size and began transforming. The house morphed into a nine-foot-tall Venus fly trap with a long skinny neck and head bigger then my parent's minivan. Its mouth was closed, and I could see a Seth sized lump jumping around inside. Pushing on the thick green walls of its mouth.
"You spit him out!" I shouted, (why was I yelling at a plant?)
I dug around in my backpack looking for anything I could use to help Seth. I couldn't find anything because everything was buried by those disgusting plums I shoved in earlier. "Useless fruit!" I cursed in vain, then I got an idea.
I held my open backpack up to the plant and it opened its large pink mouth. His mouth had no teeth only strange red nubs covered in sticky dark yellow saliva. I tossed the backpack into the plant's mouth, and it snapped shut like a mouse trap. I watched as the plant swallowed my backpack and started to gag on the putrid sour plums. He opened his mouth and out poured thick yellow-green vomit. I watched as my now soaked backpack came pouring out followed by a furry black lump.
"Seth!" I shouted running up to him stomping through the vomit, the smell was absolutely awful if my stomach hadn't been empty, I would have thrown up myself.
Seth stood up coughing and shaking, he shook himself off real hard and little drops of vomit went flying everywhere, I quickly blocked my face with my hands. Seth stood there soaking wet with a look of pure disgust in his wide eyes. I think he was in shock like he couldn't believe he had just been swallowed. The plant was violently hacking and coughing trying to get the last of the plum out of itself. When it was finished it transformed back into a house and the sweet smell began pouring out again, but it wasn't strong enough to overpower the stench of its vomit.
. . .
Me and Seth quickly left the greenhouse in search of somewhere to wash the vomit off, if you think wet dog smells bad then just imagine what a wet dog covered in plant vomit must smell like.
"I don't think I can take this smell any longer," Seth gagged I couldn't even begin to imagine how horrifying that must have been for him.
I was holding my nose, but I could still smell it.
"Don't worry I think I hear something!" I could hear the sound of flowing water in the distance and prayed that it wasn't too cold to bathe in.
We practically ran through the trees and found a beautiful flowing stream. The water was so cold it burned to touch. We took really quick baths staying in just long enough to wash the vomit off. We still smelled bad, but we didn't have a way to fix that.
The sun was starting to set so we decided to camp out by the river and continue down the trail tomorrow. Seth showed me how to build a fire and we sat around it warming our hands/paws.
"How much longer until we get to the castle?" I muttered through my shivers.
I didn't know how much more of this world I could take. Today was going down in the record of my life as the absolute worst day ever. And I've had a lot of terrible days. Like when the exterminator accidentally ruined all my stuff with poison, when I had to get my tooth pulled, when my cat died, my first day of school, my last day of school, and every other day I've ever gone to school.
"I have no idea. It shouldn't be too much longer though," Seth sighed.
I had already been in Luminari for two days. My parents must have found out me and Brandy were missing. I wonder what they did, did they call the police? My grandpa must have told them some sort of lie or worse what if he told them the truth. They would never believe him. I didn't believe him and I'm only eleven. What if they locked my grandpa up in a mental asylum? What if my parents were so concerned about their divorce, they didn't even care we were missing? What if they're happy we're gone cause now they can start over with new families?
"What's the matter you look kind of pale?" Seth asked warming his tail by the fire.
"Nothing I was just thinking about my sister."
"Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine what's the worst that could happen?"
"What if the ghost queen has her locked up in the dungeons starving to death?" I asked I felt my asthma coming back and quickly pulled out my inhaler.
"Why would the ghost queen go through all the trouble of kidnapping a kid just to lock them away and let them starve?"
"She's doesn't seem like the nicest person you saw what she did to those things down in the caverns."
"Those were criminals, Bailey calm down," Seth said with a small eye roll.
"One of them was a baby!"
Seth looked at me with confusion "maybe it was born down there?"
I couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up in those caves everyone around you a starving monster. It must be awful.
I grew tired of worrying and pulled out my blanket making sure to shake all the feathers off. I spread it on the ground as flat as I could. Seth curled up next to me tucking his nose under my arm. I didn't think I could ever fall asleep what with the terrible thoughts flowing through my head but soon my exhaustion got the best of me, and I fell asleep listening to the sound of the rushing stream.