Forbidden ~ after unlocked

Chapter 20 - Keefe

The first thing Keefe realized was that 13 miles definitely did not mean thirteen minutes.

It was nearly impossible to gauge how much time or even distance had passed, the highway road and thick trees unchanging.

One thing he did notice was that the sky continued to darken as he went, which meant it was probably around midnight. The woods that shielded him from the road were pitch black, and the only light he had was provided by the highway street lamps a few hundred feet away.

Keefe was absolutely exhausted, since he hadn't exactly done this much walking in ages thanks to Ro and Elwin keeping him in bed since he'd woken up. Or maybe that was his fault. It was his decision that he wanted to be kept away from people.

Keefe paused, stepping out of the woods and onto the field parallel to the road. He stayed cloaked in the shadow of one of the trees, watching cars rocket by on the other end of the grassland. They were passing so quickly he doubted anyone would even see him if he was standing right next to the freeway itself. And he was so worn out, Keefe was pretty sure he wouldn't even be able to make it that short distance to the edge of the road without collapsing.

He sighed, deciding to walk the rest of the way to London tomorrow morning, no matter how long the distance may be. Keefe crouched down to the grass. The plants here weren't withered like the ones back at the airport, but damp from the early morning dew. A few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt, right?

Keefe laid down on his back, then took off his cape to use as a pillow and balled it up underneath his head. He squinted to try to make out the stars, seeking for the warmth of something familiar that he knew shone in both the Lost and Forbidden Cities. Something that might remind him of home, if he even had a home there anymore. There was no way he was going back to live with Lord Snootypants. Maybe Sophie was even looking at the same stars right now.

Keefe groaned. Don't think about Foster.

One of the only rules he had made for himself, but it was getting annoyingly hard to follow.

He strained his eyes but the stars were nowhere to be seen. Just a dark, blank, infinite sky, stretching on endlessly into the night.

If anything, it made him feel more alone.

The night was cold, and Keefe shivered in his thin layers. The wet grass only made the feeling worse. One of the many things he needed to do if he ever made it to London was get some human clothes. Along with going to the British Library and somehow finding the green door where he'd delivered that letter so long ago. He desperately needed his memories back, they were his only lead.

Keefe closed his eyes, allowing a long-awaited sleep to take him over. He dreamed of a beautiful brown-eyed girl he could never seem to get out of his head.

✿✿✿

Keefe could feel he wasn't lying on the field anymore before he even opened his eyes.

He kept bumping up and down on something soft but also scratchy, and the sound of whipping wind whirled above his head.

For a moment he panicked—thinking the Neverseen might have found him, but he could feel that his hands weren't bound. There was nothing over his mouth either. So where was he?

When Keefe finally opened his eyes and took in his surroundings, he realized that he was in the backseat of a car. Terror started to creep in on him.

It was still dark outside, and street lights flashed over his face as the car rushed past them. His mind was racing. Did the police catch up to him? How had anyone even spotted him in the first place? He was hesitant to sit up until a voice called out, "Look who's finally awake!"