SARAH
Was this entire place so cold and bare?
I lifted my head just barely; my eyes fixated one the wall. I couldn’t take another minute in here. I had to get out.
I limped towards the door and leaned on it, using all my strength to attempt to batter it down with my fist. No good, it was stuck tight. I balled up my other hand into a fist, and with all my strength, crashed my fist into the wooden door. I punched and punched and punched, until the tip of my fist were dripping with crimson blood.
I gasped, trying to withstand the pain coming from my bleeding hands. I stared at my filthy hands. When they hit the door, they had created a lot of banging, crashing sounds, but no-one could hear them.
I tucked my legs in, and buried my face in my hands, my long, uncut fringe falling down my sweaty face. Would I be stuck here forever? Would I ever see my family again?
That single name gave me hope, and I rummaged through my backpack for anything useful, and then dumped the contents over the floor with a clatter. Lipstick, a now empty bottle of water, a few rubber bands, a portable calendar, and a Swiss army knife with no handle.
I grabbed the knife, wincing as the metal cut through my flesh, and shoved it into the door. Though I knew such a small, blunt knife couldn’t possibly cut a hole through such a thick wooden door, but anything was possible here, right?
I heard footsteps from outside the door and I froze. No, I thought, please don’t be them. But it was. They shoved open my door, and me, frozen with horror, could barely move my arms. They caught sight of the army knife halfway through the door, and glared at me.
“No,” I said, my heart hammering in my chest. “You don’t understand. I-I wasn’t trying to escape.”
But they wouldn’t listen. They grabbed my arm, my skin burning under their cold touch. I screamed, and screamed, but I couldn’t avoid my fate. I just watched helplessly as they dragged me further down the winding tunnel.
AVERY
This had to be one of the best things that ever happened to me.
After Mercedes teleported away, asking us to prepare for the trip and that she would be waiting tonight, the room flashed back to it’s original colors, and the clock on the far side of the wall continued to move. For a couple of seconds we just stood there, staring at the empty space where Mercedes was standing just a few seconds ago, until Jackie broke the silence:
“WHOOOOOT!!! This is gonna be the adventure of a life time! I’m glad I didn’t pass this up!!” She cried, hands swinging in the air, and that brought me and Danica out of our trance.
I smiled at Jackie, grateful for her happy-go-lucky personality, able to help me out of my anxiety. Danica looked nervously at the floor and shuffled her feet. “I’m still wondering whether I made the right decision….I mean, what if I fail and get locked up in the Afterworld forever?” she brushed the wrinkles from her denim skirt. “I don’t want that…”
Jackie slapped Danica on the back, making her jump. “Do not fear, for I am here!!” Jackie joked, striking a bit of a superhero pose. “Don’t worry, Danica!! You’ll do fine!! You have to be more positive!!!”
Danica smiled at Jackie, then me, and then giggled a bit. “Hey, do you two even know you’ve been pronouncing my name wrong all this time?”
We both looked at her. “What?” we said at the same time and Danica giggled more. “You two pronounce my name Da-ni-ka, but how it’s actually pronounced is Da-ni-cia. Danishia, like that, even though there’s no i in it.”
We both looked at her, and then Jackie rolled her name around her tongue: “Danicia Forsythia,” she said, and smiled. “Wow, that’s even better than Danika Forsythia!!!”
Danica laughed, then said: “We should pack up for our journey tonight,” she said, and I agreed. “Danica-I mean, Danicia is right. We’d better pack up all the necessary stuff for our trip tomorrow, so I gotta go.”
I waved to both of them as I headed out the door. “See you guys tonight!” and stalked out the door. I was immediately blinded by a ray of hot sunlight on my skin, and I headed back home.
******
My mom was a bit surprised to see me stuffing my toothbrushes and clothes (plus other stuff) into my rucksack when she got home from work today. “Avery,” she said, startling me. “What are you doing?”
My face reddened. I really wished it wouldn’t do that! I gulped, and then said: “Um, tomorrow I’m having a sleepover at Jackie’s, so I thought I might pack early today, you know?” The lie tasted sour in my mouth, but what could I do?
My mother looked down at the multiple stacks of clothing and accessories packed into one dainty little rucksack, then reached into it and pulled out the first aid kit I packed in there. My heart hammered as my mom looked at me and said: “What is this for, then?”
My brain racked for another convincing lie to tell her, but I came up with nothing. I swallowed a lump rising in my throat as my mother stared at me with her bright blue eyes. Then she smiled at me and stuffed the first aid kit in the rucksack amongst my clothing. “Is it because you’re scared Jackie will get hurt, with the amount of jumping and running she does?”
Looking at my mother’s kind, caring face made me racked with guilt with the decision I made with Mercedes, but it was too late to back out now. I stretched my lips into a smile and nodded. “She always gets hurt on our sleepovers, but I always forget to bring a kit. Luckily today I remembered.”
My mother nodded, and said: “Well, remember to take care of yourself when you go to Jackie’s house. That girl is hyper-active,” and then left the room. I breathed a sigh of relief, then went back to shoving things into my rucksack. Thinking about the epic adventure that was about to unfold, I smiled, shoving a small pair of scissors in my rucksack before I zipped it up.
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