Date on Earth: Tuesday, October 10
The dock was a few feet ahead, awaiting us. Water from the lake splashed its sides as the wind continued to pick up.
I took a quick look behind me, careful not to fall over. The freaky, deformed, possessed corpse had come back to life, and was chasing us slowly with a horrible limp. Which somehow made it more creepy.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I caught sight of the boat from earlier. That feeling was quickly squandered when another figure stepped in front of it.
"Now where do y'all think you're going?" A woman I'd never seen before crowed. Her eyes were rolled into the back of her head and her smile was way too big to be human.
I groaned. "Seriously? There's more of you now?"
The corpse let out a laugh. "You humans can't defeat us."
"Funny," Asher said. "Didn't we just get rid of three of your other buddies? And this guy isn't looking too hot either." He pointed to the limping monster.
The grin the woman wore faded into a scowl. "Just turn yourself in, Kasiel, and we will be on our way."
"You keep saying that name like it means something," Tristen retorted. "We don't know a 'Kasiel'."
The dead woman tilted her head, clicking her tongue. "Don't know him? I was under the impression that you were friends."
The statement hadn't even gotten a chance to settle before there was a loud grunting noise. The highly suspicious new girl was struggling to lift a piece of plywood off of the side of a broken-down shed. With a huff, she ripped it off and held it out in front of her.
"What are you planning?" Tesha asked her.
"This." The girl swung the wooden slab and knocked it into the woman. The monster was briefly knocked off balance, giving us the perfect opening.
I didn't hesitate. Within seconds I was in the boat, untying the rope around the dock. Tristen and Asher jumped in behind me, looking worriedly at where the sketchy new girl was fighting both corpses.
Tesha stood next to her with her alien gun pointed at the monsters, but the new girl shook her head.
"Go to the boat and get them away from here," she told Tesha. "I'll hold them off."
Tesha ducked as the creepy woman came charging at her, shooting it in the chest and sending it tumbling away from the boat.
"You can't fight them alone," Tesha argued. "There could be others in town."
The girl glanced back at us. "Your job is to get all of them to safety. Fulfill your mission, Tandra, so I can fulfill mine."
"And do it fast!" I interjected. "We aren't getting any younger over here!"
Tesha still looked conflicted, but eventually came to a decision. With one last blast to the corpse's head, she ran to the boat and hopped in.
Before paddling away, Tesha made eye contact with the new girl, whispering a quiet, "Thank you."
The only acknowledgement that the girl with the oversized black coat heard her was a slight nod of her head.
The limping monster lunged at the boat in a final desperate attempt, only for the new girl to grab it by the neck and fling it the opposite direction. She kicked the boat, pushing it into deeper water.
"Go!"
Determined to get as far away from the dead corpses as possible, I grabbed a hold of an oar and hastily started paddling backwards. Tristen sat down next to me and grabbed the other oar. Together, we paddled like our lives depended on it. Which it did.
The rain didn't cease. In fact, whoever controlled the weather seemed to have it out for us; the waves forming from the lake made it ten times harder to get away from the village. There was a sudden flash, and thunder that shook my very soul echoed across the sky.
I groaned in frustration as I paddled with all my might, arms weakening with fatigue. Against my will, the paddling motion started to get slower until my arms could barely move.
"Diana!" Asher's voice was like a whisper over the roaring of the rain. He held his hand out and gestured to the oar. I didn't think twice before handing the paddle over.
I slumped against the side of the boat and closed my eyes, only for my relaxation to be rudely interrupted by a splash of water to my face.
The weather showed no mercy, making the ability to see nearly impossible. I couldn't tell if we were heading away or towards the cursed town.
There was another rock of the boat, causing me to lurch forward. I gripped onto the sides with all my strength to prevent myself from tumbling over.
Slam!
A body knocked into me. Suddenly I was moving, the water rushing closer and closer. With a loud splash, I was under water.
Everything was too quiet.
Too slow.
Frozen.
Whether my eyes were open or closed, it didn't matter. The lake's water was as murky as night.
Then something grabbed me.
For a second I tried to scream, only for bubbles to erupt from my mouth.
It was the monster. It had come back to finish its job. To rid me from my existence. To punish me for my betrayal.
I deserved it. I deserved everything horrible that would happen to me.
Wait...these hands...
They weren't scaly. Or slimy.
No claws digging into my arm.
They were soft.
Safe.
Human.
Through the dark waters, I reached out, holding on to the one thing that could save me. My one hope as it lifted me up.
As if I'd just entered another world, sounds rushed back. The howling of the wind and rain. The clamps of thunder. Intelligible yellings of the people I had regretfully grown close with.
I felt myself being set on the wooden floor of the boat. I coughed my lungs out, dirt and water dripping from my mouth. A few seconds later, my vision started to clear. Familiar faces hovered over me with worried expressions.
"Diana, can you hear me?" Tristen's voice yelled over the chaos. Not having the energy to respond, I mustered a small nod.
Without another hesitation, he pulled me to his chest, rocking back and forth. I was too tired to fight against him. My head rested against him, soaking up the warmth.
"It's okay. It's okay," Tristen chanted quietly. I didn't know why the words calmed me. I knew it was okay.
But being sheltered by his arms made it feel really okay.
I wasn't aware of time passing. It could've been minutes or hours before the rain ceased. Eventually, I managed to stop shaking. Thunder just became an echo in the distance. I could feel Tristen's warm breath on my neck. With his arms around me. Against his chest.
Suddenly aware of the position, I moved back, pulling out of his grip. My face felt hot as I took it all in.
Tristen had taken off his sweater and wrapped it around my shoulders. Now he only sported a thin tank top that showed off a little too much of his...
I shrieked and chucked the red sweater at him, bringing my knees up to my chest. I pulled my own soaked turtleneck over my head and hid my face.
"You...good?" Unicorn boy asked in a voice that was way too calm for my current situation.
"Put your sweater on!" I exclaimed, digging my face deeper between my legs.
I felt my rage flare up as he chuckled quietly. "Guess so."
I lifted my head to send him a glare, trying to burn a hole straight through his forehead. He had that stupid grin on his face, mocking me.
As quickly as my anger came, however, it soon drained out as exhaustion hit me once again. I rubbed my eyes roughly before saying, "What even happened?"
"You fell out of the boat," Asher's voice said from behind me. I turned around.
He was looking down, tears collecting in his eyes. Burying his face in his hands, his voice cracked. "I'm so so sorry Diana. It's my fault. I bumped into you and then you fell and-"
"Hey." Struggling to get up, I scooted over to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Smiles. It was an accident. I don't blame you, got it?"
"You should blame me," he mumbled.
"Why? Because you're clumsy?"
"You could've drowned."
"I didn't."
"But you could've."
"But I didn't. And seriously, it's not your fault. Unless you shoved me on purpose?"
Asher let out a weak laugh. "Never."
"We're glad that you are alright, Diana," Tesha spoke up. Standing at the bow of the boat, she smiled at me softly. "We were worried when you weren't responding to us."
We were worried.
Swallowing, I tried to push down the suffocating emotions that built inside of me. They shouldn't have been worried. I didn't deserve their worry.
"You sure you're alright?" Asher's voice snapped me out of my hurricane of thoughts. He looked at me closely. "You kind of zoned out for a bit."
"I'm..." A coward. "...fine. Whatever. How far are we from the other side of the lake anyways? I just wanna get off of this stupid boat."
"The storm led us off-course," Tesha said. "But we were able to find our way back. It shouldn't be too long now." With that, she picked up an oar and placed it in the water.
"Well," Asher started. "I guess I better help her. You should rest a bit more. Your face is still blue."
When he left, it was just me and Tristen. We sat there in awkward silence. A light breeze went by, and I shivered.
"You want my sweater again?" he offered, and I shot him a glare.
"Don't."
He responded with an infuriatingly smug smile before turning to face the water.
I sighed loudly. "I can't believe you saved me twice."
Tristen turned his direction towards me. "Huh?"
"Twice. In one day! First you save me from getting eaten by a freaking alien. And I know you were the one to pull me out of the water, so you saved me from drowning too!"
"Thank...you?"
"It's just, ugh! Why do you all have to make this so difficult? Why can't you guys just be the biggest jerks in existence so I don't have to struggle to do this?"
I cupped my hands over my mouth, knowing I overshared. Tristen's facial expression morphed into confusion.
"Do...what?" He asked quietly.
I swallowed and caved into myself. A war raged inside my mind. The overwhelming urge to blurt out everything was stifling, and I was so tired of lying.
Tristen grabbed my shoulders and moved me to face him. "Diana, what's wrong?"
I choked on my words. "I-I can't..."
He looked at me warmly and more guilt surged through my veins. He wouldn't be looking at me like that if he knew the truth.
Crouching down, he looked at me eye-level. Numerous expressions crossed his face before settling. "Look...I know we had a rough start. Never gonna forgive myself for what I put you through." Tristen looked away briefly, moisture collecting up in his eyes. "But...I want you to know that I'm trying my best to change. And I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you again. It might take a while to prove it, but you can trust me with whatever's on your mind. Promise."
The sun made an appearance from behind the clouds, and I saw the boy in a whole new light. He looked at me like I was the only other person on the planet. Like whatever words that come out of my mouth next hold the secrets of the universe. For the first time since I met Tristen, I felt no anger. No resentment. Just warm.
Safe.
And it gave me hope that maybe after all of this, I'd still have a friend that forgives me.
But with that thought came numerous others, each new one bringing more heartache and guilt and fear.
"I made a mistake."
It was four simple words, but they brought the weight of everything down on my shoulders. It was the truth I'd been trying so hard to push away.
I didn't want to do this.
God, I didn't want to do this.
But it was too late to turn back now.
Tristen opened his mouth as if to say something when a loud cheer interrupted him.
We turned around to see Asher standing up, leaning on his walking stick to keep balance. "We made it!" he cried out. "Look!"
He pointed ahead, and sure enough, in the distance was the other side of the lake in all its glory. The fog lessened and rays of sunshine gave the land a heavenly glow.
Next to me, Tristen's face lit up. He faced me with the widest smile.
"Don't know what mistake you think you made, but you don't gotta worry about it. We're safe now! You saved us Ana!"
No. No I didn't.
But the fact that he truly believed that was equivalent to being shot with an arrow to the heart. Maybe three arrows. One for each person I was betraying, or one for each person I was saving. No matter what viewpoint, I couldn't stop the tears from falling. The only thing I could do was look away from his face that was filled to the brim with hope.
Tristen's eyes widened. "Diana, sorry! I meant Diana. Didn't mean to call you Ana, I swear." He practically begged for forgiveness, as if that was the reason I was suffocating. As if it mattered if he called me Diana or Ana or whatever other name he could come up with.
As the land approached closer, I once again felt the urge to blurt out everything, to prevent the events that were about to occur.
It isn't too late, a quiet voice whispered in a desperate final attempt. You can still stop this.
But the voice was wrong. It was too late. Tesha and Asher and Tristen were all ecstatic. We had risked our lives and traveled for days on end just to get to the supposedly "safe" haven. And despite everything, I hadn't once changed my mind. It had been an impossible choice, one that caused me guilt no matter what I decided.
It was a losing battle either way.
...
The sun had fully come out, warming up the frigid air. Goosebumps arose from my arms at the sudden temperature change. Hugging myself, I watched as the other side of the lake drew closer.
"Oh land how I missed you!" Asher said as soon as the boat hit the shore. He jumped off and landed with his back on the sand.
Tesha chuckled while Tristen shook his head with a smile.
"So dramatic," he told Asher. The said boy lifted his head from the ground and stuck his tongue out.
"Now your wound is all dirty," Tesha lightly scolded. "Go wash it off in the water so we can wrap it."
Asher let out a loud sigh. "Fine." He tried hoisting himself up with a grunt, only to fall back down.
"Need help?" Tristen offered. He shook his head.
"No, I got it. Just give me a sec." Asher strained to get his legs to comply. He tried four more times before finally giving up.
"Can I have my walking stick please?" He grumbled.
Even with the dark cloud hovering over me, I couldn't help but chuckle. Grabbing the stick next to me, I threw it at him, knocking him in the head.
"Hey!" He exclaimed loudly, rubbing his head. "That hurt!"
"Now we're even," I told him.
I looked away from the water as Asher got up. It was much different from the other side of the lake. While there weren't a lot of trees, tall bushes stood in our way, their branches bare because of the colder weather. The scenery appeared just as dead as my hope for the future.
A hand was placed on my shoulder and I jerked around. Tristen gave me his concerned gaze again.
"I'm fine," I interjected before he could ask. "Just on edge from however long we've been running from nasty looking monsters."
I pushed ahead, making my way through one of the bare bushes. It scratched against my leg, causing it to sting. In a sudden rush of rage, I kicked it–over and over again– until it lay flat against the ground. With a humph, I tucked my hair behind my ears and tilted my chin up, completely aware of the confused stares I was certainly getting from the group as I marched off.
It didn't take long before the others followed. Tesha held the map and lifted it up to see. After a moment of studying it, she pointed to the horizon.
"Our destination should be just past the hill," she said. You could hear the relief seeping through her voice.
Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Without wasting another second, Asher ran forward–if you could call that weird hop he did while heaving his body forward with his stick a run. Even with all of the bushes, he was surprisingly fast, and was up at the top of the high ground in a matter of seconds. Once reaching the top, Asher bent over to catch his breath. He gazed upon the horizon with a hand over his eyes.
"Well?" Tristen shouted. "What do you see?"
"I don't know!" he yelled back. "The hill goes back down and there's some trees surrounding one of those big water things!"
"'Water things'?"
"I don't know what it's called, just come up here!"
It turned out Asher's discombobulated description was pretty on-point. The other side of the mound made a steeper drop. Below, large oak trees grew, not quite enough to be called a forest, but enough to offer a cover. Towering over the clump of trees was a metal water tower which stuck out like a sore thumb. Words that were once painted on it had faded away, and considering there didn't seem to be any sign of human civilization for miles, the contraption was most likely abandoned.
I didn't know what the others had pictured when they thought of a safe place, but this certainly wasn't what had come to my mind. I studied the others' faces to see if they were having any doubts, but the only noticeable emotion from them was triumph.
I could only look away.
"You think the metal tower is what's blocking our signal?" Tristen pondered out loud.
"It's possible," Tesha acquiesced, but sounded skeptical. She seemed to be deep in thought before shaking her head and regaining her smile. "But we can worry about the logistics of it all later. For now, let us just focus on getting there safely."
"Hey, I know! Let's roll down the hill like we did at the graveyard!" Asher said excitedly.
"She said 'safe', Smiles," I told him with a roll of my eyes.
"Oh, come on, what's the worst that can happen?"
"I could knock my back into a grave again," Tristen interjected. He rubbed it as if the mere thought of it hurt him.
"We don't want any more injuries," Tesha concluded. "Speaking of which, I still need to wrap your wound. Come here, Asher."
Sitting down next to her, Asher lifted up his leg to show his calf. Tesha gently untied the previous wrapping job, revealing a gross looking gash. It hadn't stopped bleeding. The knife or spear or whatever the aliens used to stab him penetrated deep, and there was no way it wasn't going to leave a nasty scar.
I couldn't help but be impressed at how well Asher was dealing with the obvious pain it was causing him. For a drama king, he was surprisingly good at hiding his emotions.
And he got that injury saving me.
It was like everything in the universe was determined to constantly remind me how bad of a person I was, tempting me to do things I'd never do. Like running up to Asher and giving him a big ol hug with apologies spilling out of my mouth in a big vomiting mess.
Something that would've been terribly out of character.
A loud cry disrupted my thoughts.
So maybe I did give Asher too much credit.
"It burns!" He wailed, jerking his leg away from Tesha. Tristen held Asher's hand and gave him a pitying look.
Tesha also wore a grim expression as she continued to pour the hydrogen peroxide on his leg. It hissed and fizzed and turned blue-I didn't think that reaction was supposed to happen-as it mixed with his blood and possibly remnants of whatever poison General McFrosty's faithful soldiers put on their weapons.
"There, all done." Tesha twisted the bottle closed and slowly covered the gash back up with the gauze. Asher wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead. With the help of Tristen, he stood up, stepping hesitantly on his injured leg.
"Thanks Tesh," he said, still wincing from the sting. Tesha offered him a forced smile.
"Of course. Now let's go down to the metal structure so you three can be officially safe."
Tristen walked up next to me and held his arm out, saying, "you ready?"
No, I wasn't. There were too many things that needed unpacking, and no time to do so.
But he looked at me hopefully, and I felt my reserve crack.
Hesitantly, I linked my arm around his, trying not to notice how small it was in comparison.
This was it.
No turning back.
"Let's go."