Where Are The Children?

11

VAL

Jack and Val walked under the starry night, their eyes silently scanning the place for threats and suspicious-looking fauna.

Val shuddered, feeling the cold creeping into her bones. For some reason, the cold was just seeping into her jacket. She rubbed her palms and blew on them, hoping for just a little bit of warmth. 

 She didn't dare to look at Jack's face after the stuff that she pulled into the bedroom. She didn't even know how she thought of doing that. All she knew was that when she opened her mouth, the awkwardness just punched her in the gut and made all that bullshit flow out like vomit. 

"Are you cold?" Jack asked her

She yelped at his sudden question and shook her head "Nah, just freezing to death"

"You could borrow my sweatshirt, if you want" he offered, his hands already on the hem of his sweater, ready to take it off if she said so. 

She shook her head "You're the guardian of winter. I doubt your shirt's gonna offer me anything but mild hypothermia" 

 He raised an eyebrow "Didn't I just give you gloves?"

"Oh" She glanced at her bare hands then gave him a sheepish grin "I lost it"

"Seriously, how do you keep losing it?" he muttered, shaking his head in amusement.

Val chuckled "You know what they say. Love is always about consistency"

They exchanged looks and laughed. She took a deep breath. That's what she liked the most about Jack. He's comfortable to be around. 

She stared at the lad who was still busy looking for anything suspicious then averted her gaze to the ground. She knew it was time for her to slowly detach from the guy. If she keeps continuing this behavior, she'll only end up having a difficult time when he finally finds someone that he really fancies. 

"Wait, look" he hissed, pulling her behind a bush. 

She shot him a look "What?"

"Over the tree, look"

She nodded and peered through the bushes, only to see the stout man that her dagger missed entering a cliff. She furrowed her brows. No matter what anyone says, It really does look weird. She stood up, about to follow the creature when a hand suddenly grabbed her by the hem of her shirt and pulled her down. 

"what are you doing?" Jack hissed

"Following that man. What does it look like?"

"Oh my god" He shot him a look "Were you dropped on your head when you were a kid?!"

"what am I supposed to do? he's just right there!"

"Why don't you wait? He might have other creatures there!"

"He's going to notice your yelling more than my tailing him!"

Val scanned the surroundings, holding her breath as she crept out of the bushes. She motioned for him to continue walking. She felt her arm twitching, reflexively grabbing a dagger from her belt. She crept through the bushes, ready for any carnivorous surprises while also making sure that her footsteps were not making any sound to alert the enemy.

She tensed, the scent of something burning wafting into her nostrils. She could hear something.

"Hey, do you hear something?" Jack asked her.

"yeah, I can" she responded

"what could you hear?"

She shot him a look "A man who's going to have his tongue ripped out if he doesn't shut up"

He furrowed his brows "Do you always have to be mean and sarcastic?"

She shrugged "It's an integral part of my personality. So, yes"

They stopped in front of a cave. They exchanged looks and Jack gave her a small nod. Her eyes widened and she shook her head "Yeah, I'm not going there"

"come on." he tugged her arm "There's something in there. We need to explore"

"you said there's something in there." She gestured to the other side of the field "So let's go down there portal, find North and everyone then come back"

"What if they disappear by the time we come back?" he argued 

"Then, sucks for them. We have a whole new bunch of kids to save"

He shot her a look "Are you really this cowardly?"

"oh, you must be mistaken. What you're doing is not bravery. It's fucking stupidity"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. He removed his arm from her grip "Okay, suit yourself"

Val stared at the winter sprite's fading back as he hopped into the cave, the darkness swallowing his silhouette. She gulped, scanning the surroundings. It's not like she can't handle a swarm by herself, she can. But she just can't imagine how Jack could even fight off 10 of them with snowballs in his hands. 

She gritted her teeth. If Tooth were here, things would've been safer. She entered the cave, grabbing the hem of the lad's sweatshirt.

The winter sprite raised an eyebrow "I thought you were not coming"

"I was but I was scared that people will attack me"

He smirked, "You have a belt full of daggers what are you afraid of?"

"Obviously I have attachment issues"

He grinned "Sarcasm?"

"You think?"

She tightened her grip on the lad, following him as he took cautious steps towards the corridor with the burning stench. He crinkled his nose "Can you sense someone there?"

She closed her eyes and nodded. Being Cupid, it seems like one of her abilities were to feel the presence or emotions of people. She took a deep breath "I can sense a heavy heart there. Sad and scared"

He grinned and chuckled "Kinda sappy of you"

"Oh, shut up" she snarled.

They continued to walk, feeling the heat sticking to them and clogging their pores. Val looked at the brown bricks that surrounded the whole corridor. She stifled a chuckle. For some reason, it strangely reminded her of a brick oven. Her eyes widened and she stopped in her tracks. She motioned to Jack whose wide eyes indicated that he was hearing the same sounds as her.

There was it.

The sound of cloth hitting something soft. She shuddered at the possibility of it being flesh.

They saw the exit, light shining through the end. They crept to the sides and slowly made their way to the tree that was in front of them. She stared at the hooded men gathered around a young boy who was already half-conscious on the floor. She slapped her hand to her mouth, preventing an audible gasp from slipping through her lips as she recognized the teenager.

It was Jamie

and he was being beaten to death.

The hooded man grabbed his mouth, forcing him to open his mouth as he poured some type of pink liquid into the kid's mouth. Val furrowed her brows, surprised by the contents of the glass. 

The teen gagged, laying on the floor as he tried his best to make himself vomit. 

Jack's gaze hardened. Val instantly grabbed his hand, shaking her head at his plans. They just got into the hidden core of MirrorLand. At this point, they cannot afford to alert Kaplan. If they do, It would be difficult to save Jamie, let alone save the others. She can feel the winter sprite's body tremble with each sound of the whip landing on the teen's body.

There was nothing they could do.

Saving Jamie at this moment will mean endangering her, him, and losing everyone.

She didn't know what to do. So instead, she pulled him closer to her, forcing him to look at her as she covered his ears.