A Duck's Luck

Gold Dust

The next morning , the rain had stopped . Delilah sat up and stretched her arms up high , only for her hands to hit the shallow covering over her . Yawning , she looked around her to see that Dewey and Webby had already woken up and were beginning to pack . " You guys are up early , " Delilah joked , rubbing her eyes . " Yeah , we know how badly you wanted to keep going yesterday so we got up right away to make sure we could leave early , " Dewey replied , now having a better grasp on how to use his sword . " Aww , you guys are so sweet ! " Delilah squeaked , getting up and hugging her cousins . They hugged back and after a while of affection , they grabbed their stuff and continued onward .
Delilah held the compass out in front of her , the needle still pointing east .The golden glow of the compass was still dim , but it didn't look like it had gotten any dimmer- which was good . Suddenly , the needle of the compass began to shake , and she stopped dead in her tracks . Webby and Dewey stopped too , then looked over her shoulder to see what was happening . Almost as suddenly as it started , the needle stopped shaking and changed its direction ; north . " Why is it pointing north so randomly ? " Delilah asked worriedly . " It's okay , I kinda expected it to do that . I guess she's further away than we thought . " Webby replied , and she and Dewey walked out ahead of her . She stared at the compass a little longer , slightly unnerved , and then caught up with the others . The sky was full of gray clouds , presumably from the rainfall last night , making the shadows of the forest darker than usual .
In the back of her mind she couldn't help but think of her dad . No matter how many times she told herself it would be okay and that she would find him , the idea that maybe he wasn't even kidnapped at all made her worry . Not because she wanted him to be kidnapped , but because she didn't want her , Dewey , and Webby to go this far for nothing . Even if he was kidnapped , she hoped he really was okay , at least until she and the others could come save him . Then she thought of her mom and sisters , how might they be feeling ? May and June probably told Daisy about what she decided to do , and now she felt bad for potentially making her mom upset . She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to have her own child go missing .
A hand grabbing at her arm and pulling her back was what pulled her out of her daze and when she brought herself back to reality , she looked to see that the three had come face-to-face with a large , rocky canyon . The canyon was so deep that when they looked down , there was nothing to see but fog and dark mist . " How are we gonna get past this ? " Dewey asked , letting go of Delilah's arm . Webby looked around for a little bit and spotted a tall mountain hiding behind the trees . Along it was a steep , narrow trail leading around the mountain and to the canyon . " Hmm , " She mumbled and walked through the thicket of bushes and trees to a spot closer to the mountain trail . Dewey and Delilah followed , and as soon as they saw it Delilah's heart jumped a little . " No , there's no way we can make it past that ! " She held her hands up to her mouth , a little frightened . " Well , I can't think of any other way around ! " Dewey called , following Webby - who was now continuing to slowly and gradually make her way down the thin trail , walking along the wall with her back against the wall and her feet sticking out just a little over the ledge . Delilah gulped and wiped the sweat off her forehead , then took a deep breath and hesitantly followed behind them too .
The wall was cold and wet from the rain the night before . As Delilah carefully tread along the side of the wall she had to squeeze her feet close together to prevent from feeling as if she was slipping . Dewey and Webby both seemed to be doing just fine , their heads facing in front of them , straight ahead . Delilah on the other hand had to muster all her strength in order to not look down , because she knew if she did she would become even more terrified than she already was . Everything was quiet aside from the distant sounds of wildlife off in the distance and the heavy yet steady breathing of the kids . " Y'know , compared to all the other things we've done I think this is the safest thing , " Dewey commented . " Mmm , no I think this is the most dangerous , " Webby answered . " One wrong step and we fall to an untimely demise , " She made it a point to dramatically pull the ' untimely demise ' part , and it didn't make Delilah feel any better about her situation . But the laughs and giggles that came from Dewey and Webby as they chatted casually , yeah - CASUALLY , almost as if nothing was wrong , eased Delilah's nerves a little . Somehow , they always managed to make her feel better , even when they didn't know it . Delilah closed her eyes and continued to meticulously follow along the narrow trail , her back being scratched from the rocky wall behind her . It was times like this where she wished she wore something other than a tank top .
Time passed and the kids were still climbing along the side of the mountain , further and further . " Where are we even going ? " Dewey asked . " My arms are starting to ache from being stretched out like this , "
" C'mon guys , just a little more ,, I can feel it ,, " Webby said, determined , now starting to shuffle a little faster . " Webby , be careful ! " Delilah called after her , and she and Dewey shuffled faster too so they could catch up with her . " Maybe we should slow down ! " Dewey asked , he himself now becoming a little worried too . " No ! C'mon , let's keep going - " Webby was shuffling even faster , rocks and dirt falling off the side of the ledge into the dark abyss below them . Now they were scooting swiftly across the narrow trail , Webby almost jogging , and they were all unsure of how to feel . Delilah on the other hand , was a little relieved - yet at the same time terrified for her and her cousin's lives - because now that they were going a little faster then surely they'd reach the end soon . Finally , they saw the edge of the trail that spit them out onto the side of the canyon , able to continue their journey safely . Delilah held the compass in one hand tightly , excited to finally be able to get off this deadly path , but the closer the kids got the more they realized there was a huge gap between them and the other side .
" We're gonna have to jump , " Webby sighed . " Jump !? There's no way we can jump that gap ! " Delilah squeaked in fear and hesitated . A million thoughts were going through her head - what if she didn't make the jump ? What if one of the others didn't make it ? No , she thought , You can do this . You're whole FAMILY is full of adventurers , there's gotta be some of that risk-taking blood inside you somewhere ,,,
" Alright you guys , are you ready ? " Dewey called out , a little more excited than he should be . The girls nodded , and with Webby being in the front she was the first to jump . She pulled out the grappling hook gun from her backpack with one hand and shot it to a branch of one of the nearby trees , tugging on it a little to make sure it had a good grip . " We can use my grappling hook as a sort of swing ! " Webby said , still tugging a little on the base of the gun . " That way it's a little safer . "
Webby pressed her back up against the wall as tight as she could , and with a quick push from her foot she leapt off the ledge . Dewey and Delilah watched in suspense - while also being a little terrified - as Webby swung over to the other side of the canyon , her grappling hook still holding on tight to the branch it had clasped around . She jumped and safely landed on the ground , across from the others . " Alright Dewey , your turn ! " Webby called over to him , and she pushed the handle part of the gun over to him . He caught it with his free hand . " Let's just hope my sword and shield don't break the rope , " Dewey laughed , but Delilah didn't really think it was funny . Her heart felt tight as she was waiting for her turn , she hated heights so much . It was different at the mansion , when climbing Webby's wall at least she could see the ground , but here ,,, she couldn't . There was nothing but mist and fog down there . As she was lost in her thoughts , she felt something hit the side of her head . " Ow ! " She squealed as she rubbed the side of her head . She turned and saw that it was the handle of Webby's grappling gun , ready for her to swing across . " Sorry Delilah , c'mon ! " Webby apologized . Dewey stood next to her , motioning for her to come over .
She grabbed the gun and took a very deep breath , her legs shaking and hands sweaty . Delilah wiped her palms off on her skirt so she could get a better grip on the gun , but it still felt the same . She had the compass tucked into her bag as she closed her eyes and jumped , secretly praying that whatever god above would make sure she would be safe . As she swung , she opened her eyes and looked down on instinct . Almost immediately , all the fear and terror she had been bottling inside her finally caught up with her , and now all Delilah could do was scream . " Delilah , calm down !! It's okay !! " Webby called out after her , running over to the edge of the canyon . " Don't panic !! "
Unfortunately , Delilah couldn't understand anything Webby or Dewey were saying , she was too scared . Now instead of a nice , steady trail swing to the other side she was wiggling around - making it a rather bumpy ride . Her whole body started to sweat from fear and before she knew it her hands lost grip on the handle , causing her to slip . Time seemed to slow down as she watched herself fall , Dewey and Webby rushing over to her in slow motion . Her life seemed to flash before her eyes and her head began to hurt . She closed her eyes again and did everything she could think of to get back to reality , and when she opened them the first thing she did , almost like a reflex , was to grab the edge of the cliff . When she did , her body came into contact with the wall , her legs hurting and her stomach squished a little . Tears streamed down her face as Webby and Dewey came to drag her up , but as they did her bag tilted ever so slightly , and the compass fell right out . " No ! The compass ! " She yelled as she jumped backwards without thinking to grab it , but Webby and Dewey caught her before she could . They brought her up onto the cold , dirt floor and all three of them watched as the compass disappeared into the abyss . They even heard it crash on the floor .
There was a very long silence . Nobody said anything , not a word . They were all too busy processing what had happened . The only sound was Delilah's sobs as she got to her knees and covered her face with her hands , dirt sticking to her palms from the tears . The only thing Dewey and Webby was to reassuringly rub her back as she cried . " I can't believe I lost it ,, " she whispered softly , wiping her face and cheeks to rid them of the tears , yet they kept coming . " How am I going to find my dad now ? " Webby gently stroked her long , flowy hair . " It's okay Delilah , we can just - "
" NO Webby ! It's NOT okay !! Nothing is okay ! " Delilah sat up and wiped her red face some more . Webby and Dewey stepped back a little - Delilah almost never got mad . " Without that compass , there's LITERALLY NO WAY we can find where Eris is now ! " She smacked her forehead angrily and sighed a wobbly sigh . " And it's all my fault , " Delilah covered her face with her hands and cried more , breathing heavily and wiping her eyes . " I'm sorry ,, " She whispered as she walked over to the tree whose branch Webby's grappling hook had been tied to and sat by it's trunk . Dewey and Webby looked at each other nervously . " It's not your fault , " Webby whispered . " Yeah , accidents happen ! " Dewey added , trying to lighten the mood with a happy tone . " Yeah , well , I always make mistakes ,, no matter what I'm doing ,, maybe I'm the accident ,, " Delilah replied , her voice shaky from crying . She pulled her knees up and buried her face in her arms , her long hair messy from everything . Webby and Dewey gently sat beside her , stroking her hair and reassuring her .
" You're not an accident , " Webby spoke softly .
" Yeah , Uncle Donald and Aunt Daisy love you very much , " Dewey commented .
Delilah didn't say anything in response .
" And everyone else loves you too , " Webby gently put her hand on Delilah's shoulder . " You're a great adventurer , just like your dad . "
" But I'm not , " Delilah sobbed . " I'm nothing like him ,, "
" Of course you are ! You're his daughter for crying out loud ! " Dewey exclaimed , standing up . " Listen Delilah , as your cousin it's my job to make sure you're not sad !! We've made it all this way because of you ! You were the one who led us through this trip ! If it wasn't for you , we wouldn't be here right now . "
" Maybe that's a good thing , " Delilah responded softly . " If it wasn't for me , I wouldn't have - "
" No ! " Webby interrupted , standing next to Dewey . " No more talking negatively about yourself !! You're an amazing person and an even more amazing adventurer , just like everyone else in your family ! "
" Yeah ! You just have a different way of showing it . "
Delilah looked up at her two cousins standing in front of her . She wiped her tear stained cheeks and rubbed her eyes a little .
" C'mon Delilah , we'll find your dad , " Webby said assertively .
" Yeah ! But in order to do that , we need you to lead us , " Dewey added , holding his hand out to the sad duck . Webby held out her hand too , and Delilah looked at them for a few moments . She smiled softly , and grabbed both of their hands and when she did , they pulled her up and hugged her tight . " It'll be okay Delilah , " Webby whispered to her softly . " We promise , " Dewey added . Delilah squeezed them both close and closed her eyes , new tears rolling down her face , this time from happiness . " Yay , " She responded softly .