Home Sweet Home

Chapter nine

  Evelyn sprang up instantaneously, darting around. She peered up at the sky, accessing it like she could tell the time by looking at it.

  "It's fifteen minutes past three." Mary slowly rose to her feet. "You still have a bit of time."

  Evelyn was quite interested to know how she could read the time so easily, but well, that wasn't the right time to ask.

  "From here, walk further to the east, you'll come across a creek-"

  "What if I get lost and run out of time? Can't you come along please," Evelyn begged, latching unto Mary's fragile arm. She wasn't brave enough to go anywhere herself, knowing fully well that a fearful creature was on the loose. What if the creature showed up again, trying to attack her?

  "Child, you're running out of time! Snap out of it, you would be fine if you strictly adhere to my instructions," Mary warned. "I would've loved to help but like I said earlier, I can't help you. You have to leave this place on your own Evelyn! Would you like to end up like me?"

  Evelyn buried her face in her palms as the urge to weep tormented her. She couldn't count the amount of times she cried in just one day. From the look of things, she'd desperately need a therapist immediately she got out of the forest. The experience she had was something that would never leave her memory.

  "I believe in you child"-Mary grabbed Evelyn's hands , squeezing them-"you can do it, Evelyn Hayes you are brave enough to get out of here."

  Evelyn energetically nodded and cleaned her tears with her blood stained clothe. She let out an audible breath and looked at the sky. She thought back of the people she had to live for; her mum, dad, sisters, Greta and most importantly, herself. She was curious to get the answers to all her unanswered questions and Mary assured her she would get answers when she left.

  But how? Will I meet someone who will tell me or find a mystery book that has everything written down? What if I even meet the thing or person behind everything? Would it even be a human being?

  I have to get out of here. I want to get out of here, and I will.

  For once in what felt like years, Evelyn smiled, embracing the old woman. "Now let's get me out of here."

  "That's the spirit," Mary croaked.

  They let go off each other. "So how do I leave?" Evelyn inquired.

  Mary coughed and cleared her throat, "You take the east; continue walking till you see a creek, if you don't that means you're lost. So when you get to the creek... I think you'll see a cave around, if not, you have to go further till you see it."

  "So...is that all?" Evelyn arched her brows.

  "Hmm, well, you have to go inside and keep going till you come out."

  It sounded like an easy task to Evelyn. How hard would it be to go through a dark cave?

"There's just one more thing though," Mary added. "Don't turn back."

  Evelyn's face fell flat. How was she supposed to walk through a dark cave without looking back?

  "How will I-"

  "Whatever you feel, smell or hear, don't TURN BACK," Mary emphasized the last few words she said, so Evelyn could get the message that perhaps, there would be grave consequences if she turned back.

  Mary handed her the knife that she wanted to use to kill the rabbit. "This might come in handy..."

  Evelyn dumbfoundedly took the knife, curling her fingers around the handle tightly. She was too frazzled-both emotionally and physically-to question Mary how it was possible to walk through somewhere dangerous without turning back. Even if she asked, what difference would it make?

  Mary looked at Evelyn's feet and shook her head, "I wish I had a foot wear to give you."

  "I better get going Mary, the clock is ticking," Evelyn didn't want to move an inch from where she stood, but she had to anyway, her life was at stake at the moment. So there two challenges; to get out of the cave before five o'clock and to not turn back whilst in the cave.

  "Good luck Evelyn." Mary stretched to plant a kiss on Evelyn's cheek as she patted her shoulder.

  Evelyn strolled towards the east like Mary said, sparing the hut one last glance. Mary was stood still, smiling at her. Her eyes wandered to the rabbit, whose life was spared for a period of time. Evelyn's entire life now depended on time.

***

  Evelyn belligerently slashed the tangled leaves that obstructed her way. Pent-up rage and the strong urge to leave the forest filled Evelyn with so much strength and vigour despite the injuries she sustained earlier. Nothing was going to stop her from leaving, not even the fearful creature.

  Due to the little time she had on her side, Evelyn sprinted for a while and walked for some time. She continued this routine till there was no more air left in her lungs. She clamped her eyes shut, panting heavily. She dropped the knife on the ground and slowly plopped to the ground, still shutting her eyes.

  "No sign yet."

  After a minute of sitting, she finally got up to her feet, grabbing the knife too. She took in a deep breath as she looked around. A familiar smell lingered in the air.

  It wasn't the smell of fear and torture, it was the smell of freedom. She could breathe in the refreshing air of flowing water and the active croaking of frogs made her quicken her pace. She was extremely close to the creek, which was a good sign.

  She dragged her feet submerged in the damp soil of the forest, looking around to locate the creek. At last, her eye met the jewel-blue stream; the water aggressively sloshed against the shiny silver rocks, splashing water around. Water lilies surrounded the creek and a small blueberry bush stole Eve's attention. She leaned down, brushed her hands against the glistening water surface and greedily scooped a hand full of the ice-cold water into her mouth. It was refreshing.

  Evelyn took in several gulps, nearly forgetting that she was on a life-threatening mission. Her eyes wavered off to the blueberry bush, very close to a huge rock. Quickly, she removed a berry and popped it into her mouth. Evelyn felt satisfied as it burst into an incredible juicy liquid. She took another glance at the berry bush, her eyes once again landed on the massive rock.

The cave should be around the corner..

Evelyn tore her glance away from the rock and rose up to her feet. "I better continue," she murmured.

She looked ahead and arched her brow as there was something tremendous blocking her way. She moved closer to the obstruction, only to feel more stupid that she hadn't noticed it earlier.

  The enormous cave was right in front of her, daring Evelyn to enter.

A/N: okay! Let's get to the final chapter :-D