Beech - Legend of the Dryads, Book 2

Chapter 11

"What was all that about?" asked a stunned Tara, staring dumbfounded at the front door their companion had just been dragged through. They'd emerged from behind the bush that had previously been concealing them and were now standing out in the open, mouths agape and feeling somewhat perturbed.

"Well, clearly, the buffoon mistook Tiff for this one," Todd stated what had already been determined and prodded his thumb in Jayne's direction. But Jayne remained silently indifferent to Todd's jibe. It was her they wanted. It was now confirmed – this was a trap. And now Tiffany would suffer whatever monstrosities that had planned for Jayne. A fist of guilt wrung her gut.

"What are we going to do now?" Tara whimpered, her bottom lip quivering. Todd patted her shoulder, but his attempts at comfort did little to console her. He looked towards Jayne.

"How do you feel about a double rescue mission?" he asked, an impish grin lighting his face. He always did have an eye for troublemaking. Tara jumped away from him with an expression of horror.

"Are you insane?" she accused. She turned and addressed Jayne. "I know what they do to Willows in there. Walking in there will be walking to your doom."

"We may not have a choice," Jayne's tone was grave. "It's precisely because of the things that they do that we need to save them both. I can't just stay out here, Tara. Surely you can understand that."

Tara looked down at her shoeless feet. "Fine," she said quietly. "Then we need to find a way in."

They stepped a little closer to the house, scanning its face for any signs of a possible entrance. Jayne mused aloud, "There must be an open window or something somewhere. Maybe we could climb in without being seen."

"Ooh, I know!" Tara whispered. It hadn't taken much for her excitement to push aside her initial anxiety. "We could, like, start a tunnel here and dig beneath the house and appear inside all mission-impossible style!"

Todd scoffed. "And how long do you suppose that will take us, genius? A week at least! I think someone's been watching too many spy films."

Tara thrust her shoulders back and placed her hands on her hips. "What? It could have totally worked! Besides, I don't hear you coming up with any suggestions. Come on, if you think you're so much smarter, then why don't you come up with a plan?"

"Shush!" demanded Jayne to her friends, whose voices had risen past the level of stealthy. "Arguing isn't going to buy us any more time, so please be quiet unless you have a feasible suggestion."

At that, the two shut up, and they all continued to sneak around the perimeter of the house, but could find no open windows or any other possible entrance. It was Todd who cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I hate to have to say it," he began, "but it seems to me that the best way to get inside would be to use the front door."

The look Tara shot him was one of absolute disgust. "Um, what?" she gaped. "What kind of super hero, spy, or anyone for that matter, enters through the front door?!"

Todd shrugged. "I'm just saying," he said. "If they're expecting us to try and rescue Tiff, which they must do since they left us out here, then the last place they'd assume we'd try to enter through would be the front door. Right?"

Jayne took a moment to consider what he was saying. Yeah, it kinda made sense. She began to nod. "Okay," she agreed, "it's worth a try I suppose. Only..." she stopped herself and looked both of them in the eye. "I think it would be best if I went alone." Tara looked like she was about to butt in, but Jayne held up her hand. "No," she said. "It's my fault they're stuck in there. It only makes sense that I'm the one to go in and save them. Plus I'm pretty sure I can a lot less conspicuous on my own."