Emma

Chapter Nine

A/N: This is really the start of where everything comes together. There's a lot of action in this chapter and a twist near the end. Despite this, the chapter does need major editing. If you enjoy it though, don't hesitate to leave a comment and vote; I always appreciate it. :)

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“This can’t be true. No… it can’t be.” Emma stared at the map for a few more moments.

“Am… am I dreaming again?” She blinked, and looked at the piece of paper again. The words remained unaltered; she definitely was awake. The look of confusion remained on her face as she quickly folded it up and placed it back in her pocket. After shaking her head slightly she continued in the direction she had been going in for the past hour or so.

“She’s getting closer and closer. Get ready, guys, get ready,” James whispered into his microphone, back at the enormous building. He swivelled in his chair, making a full 360 degree turn before clapping his hands in excitement. “This is going to be amazing!” he shouted cheerfully, before focusing on his computer screen. There was no sign of Emma.

He sighed and flicked around all of the cameras listed on the screen, before settling on one embedded into a tree overlooking the desert. Emma was in the middle of the camera’s view. She was only a miniscule dot compared to the size of the desert surrounding her.

“Are you still there, James?” the voice coming out from the speakers asked with a worried tone.

“Yeah, hold on a second,” he answered as he moved his mouse to click, opening up a window. He minimised it so that it was in line with Emma’s camera, and so that he could see both windows at once. What he had just opened was a program allowing the other people to see him; he had a camera too, placed inside his computer. “Yeah, I’m still here. Just keep waiting for her, and it’ll work. Trust me. You just need patience.”

“All right, we’ll wait,” the voice replied, sounding rather annoyed by this time. James smiled, before minimising the window completely, leaving the program viewing Emma on its own. She was now almost out of sight, and he would have to switch cameras yet again.

About another hour later, Emma crawled along the desert floor, panting as she took her last sip of water from the flask. She tipped the bottle one last time in hopes of a few more drops to drizzle down the cap and pass her lips, but she had no such luck. The day had warmed up properly – the time being around early afternoon – and unfortunately today was particularly hotter than usual.

“I guess this is it,” Emma thought as she nestled herself behind a boulder. As she slid her back down the surface of the rock until it met the floor, she thought about all that had happened since she had awakened for – she didn’t even know how long. From meeting and leaving Scarlett to encountering various traps, from hunting for food to surviving extreme weather circumstances - these were just some of the things that crossed her mind. Resting her head against the mass, her eyelids gently fluttering, she lay there for a few moments, in silence. All she could hear was the soft sounds of the breeze. Her eyes then scanned the landscape and immediately she sat up.

She collected her map from her bag and hastily opened it up. The tired look on her face drastically changed to a smile as she stood up, placing a hand on the boulder to steady herself. She beamed as she once again folded up the piece of paper and placed it back in her satchel, before using the last of her energy to run towards the yellowish patch on the edge of the horizon.

“She’s heading towards it!” James exclaimed with a smile also on his face as he clicked countless times with his mouse. The camera suddenly switched yet again, but instead of this one showing her running away from the lenses, it showed her in the distance, going towards it.