Owen Changes His Mind

13. Depression 1/3

Apo hurried away from Rasbi, not really thinking about where he was going. He had to get away from his angry friend. As Apo walked, his thoughts turned inward. Apo missed the Fruit Trio. He remembered laughing, sharing jokes and food, and best of all, a feeling of- what was the opposite of loneliness? Belonging?

"I wonder if the Cheesecake Factory is still there," Apo murmured aloud as he wandered through the forest. He thought about the backpacks they'd made together. Did Rasbi still have hers? He'd given his green one to Owen. Apo headed in that direction, deciding to dye his new backpack with whatever leftover dye he could find.

Where was it again? He could barely find it because of all the different buildings. Apo wove through the trees, trying to find it. He thought back, then realized the Cheesecake Factory wouldn't be in the tiny slice of forest left. It would be under the tangle of buildings that had sprung up while he was in the maze. He'd have to use a different landmark to find it.

Apo ended up between two new buildings he wasn't familiar with, digging and replacing dirt as he went. He didn't want to dig under anyone's house, but Apo was worried he would have to when he found it- cobblestone.

"Yes!" Apo whispered quietly to himself. "Here it is. I wonder if anyone else found it. None of my other secrets stayed secret." As he unearthed it, a wave of hot air brushed his skin. Apo brushed it off. The clearing was warming up after winter. He started climbing down, pulling dirt and grass back over the entrance.

Apo looked down as he climbed. Was it just him, or did the light look strange? It was too bright, too... orange. As he watched, the orange light faded to red, then flickered yellow. "Huh?" Then Apo coughed. The air was full of sulfur. "What??" He hurried down the ladder, almost falling when some of the ladder was missing. There, in one of the corners, was lava. It was oozing through the walls. All the wooden support beams he'd raised himself were burned, blackened, charred, ashes, or just gone. "Berry!?" Apo yelled, falling down the last meter in his rush. "Berry!" He checked the entire hideout, then checked it again. Berry was gone.

Apo looked at the spot he'd last seen Berry, spinning at the end of the lead he'd put on her. The lead was still on the post, right where he'd left it. Lava reached almost to the post. Apo's breath came faster and faster. Heat rolled off the lava, brushing against his face. "I did this," Apo said, taking a step back. "I let this happen. Voices, Berry is dead. She's-"

Apo turned and fled back up the ladder, building up with anything he had. "There's lava," he said. "Berry is dead. I abandoned her. She- she probably - oh god." Apo stumbled forward, unseeing, shock evident in every movement. "I can't- I can't," he mumbled, the dye long forgotten. Apo was in Red's house. He didn't know how he got there. Apo sank down on a chair. He felt safe here, but no building could keep him safe from his own thoughts.