Existence

Chapter 25

Sarah cursed her sense of direction. She was sure this was the way Casey had taken her, but she had run so far already and had yet to reach the stream they had crossed. How was she going to get back to Phoebus's?

With a sharp inhale, she stopped in her tracks. A sudden thought about the camp had hit her, giving her a twisting feeling in her gut. Thomas had told her they needed a green stone to get through the camp's barrier. It wouldn't matter if she could find her way back to the site, without the stone she was stuck.

She patted her pants pockets, hoping she had been provided such a stone without her knowledge. Instead, she pulled out a familiar metal cylinder.

"Yes!" Sarah breathed in relief, eyes lighting up at the sight of Thomas's special whistle. He had told her to call him with it yesterday, but Sammy's appearance had rendered it useless. She had nearly forgotten about it and... funnily enough, she couldn't even remember transferring it from the pants she had worn yesterday.

Wasting no more time, she blew the whistle as hard as she could. No sound came out. Sarah frowned and blew even harder. Still nothing.

She bit her lip. Thomas had assured her that the boys wouldn't hear it, but she hadn't considered that she wouldn't be able to hear it either. Hopefully, Thomas had and was on his way right now.

"Sarah? Sarah!" Her fake cousin's voice called from a distance.

Cursing her luck, Sarah started running again, blowing on the whistle every few paces. She couldn't go as fast as she'd like to. Casey still had her sword sheath, so she was stuck running with it in her right hand. The last thing she needed was to fall and cut herself.

She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Lewis again and turned left into the thicker forest brush. As if brought about by her thoughts, Sarah tripped over something that yowled in protest. Her sword skidded out of her grasp into the brush and she used her palms to roll onto her back. Ignoring the sting in her palms and knees, she sat up to see just what she had tripped over.

"Sammy," she exhaled in relief.

The little black cat glared back at her from where it was crouched, its white-striped tail flicking back and forth. Yet again, Sammy was proving that it was bad luck for black cats to cross your path. Or maybe good luck in the guise of bad luck.

Thomas emerged from the greenery behind Sammy. A huge sense of relief washed over her. She hadn't realized how much of a problem she found her current situation until these familiar faces showed up.

"Cle—clearly," Thomas said, eyes wide as he took in the scene, "I just can't leave you alone. What are you doing so far from the camp, Sarah?"

"Sarah, come back!"

Thomas started at Lewis's voice in the distance and cursed under his breath.

"Casey found me," she explained pointlessly.

Thomas tugged her to her feet and began dragging her away. Sammy trotted at their side, meowing up at them. Sarah glanced down at the feline, hoping Lewis wasn't close enough to hear.

"What are you doing out here with Sammy?" she queried, surprised when Sammy suddenly hissed. She noticed a white spot at the base of his tail. Had he always had that?

"I'm on an errand, Sarah, I told you," Thomas replied, not slowing his pace. "I just, uh, ran into Sammy here. Now quiet down or we'll be caught."

Even Sammy went silent at his words. Thomas zigzagged through the trees, not stopping until he reached a low opening in the ground.

"Is that one of the Forstina tunnel openings?" Sarah asked, skidding to a stop. She pulled back on Thomas's hand when he merely nodded and tried forging ahead. "But what if there are Shifters?"