The Destined

Chapter 13: Anna

    Anna    

I wake up, feeling my own light. Melissa and Avani lay close to me, seeking my warmth. My head hurts from sleeping outside on the hard ground. I turn off my light because I get hot. Melissa wakes up and she shakes Avani.

"What now?" I ask as soon as everyone is awake.

Avani shrugs. "I don't know."

I get up. My legs are sore and my neck aches. I wish Millie were here. I miss her more than ever. I haven't seen her since we arrived at Brookfield. I don't miss Dad, though. Sometimes, I think that he makes horrible choices, especially ever since my mother died. Millie thinks about her all the time.

Melissa interrupts my thought. "Lets head north and follow the compass."

We all agree and start walking, Avani holding the compass. Today is a lot warmer. The clouds – or what you could see past the ceiling of branches – are still gray, but things are changing and growing. Everything happens so fast, right in front of me. Little pink petals begin growing on the bare branches. All the snow suddenly melts away. Shrubs and plants grow taller and greener, sprouting blossoms. The soil turns soft instead of rock hard. I'm amazed. It is spring.

"Whoa," Melissa says.

We keep walking, witnessing the forest changing all around us.

"How are we going to get food?" I ask. I wasn't sure. Nobody responds. I am really hungry. Lotso thought to give us a water bottle and a compass, but he totally forgot about food.

"No guys! Look," Avani says, walking towards a blooming branch. The flower moved and grew very quickly, slowly morphing into a fruit. It turned yellow, then green, then ruby. Avani picked it.

"It's an apple!" Avani says.

"Wait! It could be poisonous!" I yell, but Avani takes a bit anyway. Her eyes widen at the taste.

"This is amazing!" She keeps devouring it. I take one as well, and so does Melissa. Avani is right. As soon as I bite in, tons of rich, juicy flavor fill my mouth. It's bitter, yet sweet, sour, and yet spicy. All the flavors were mixed in one! This has to be the best thing I have ever tasted.

Surprisingly, after the second bite, my stomach was full. Avani collects more apples from the tree, and Melissa helps her. Then we continue walking. We have ten apples in the pack Lotso gave us. Now we only need to fill the water bottle, and we will be good to go.

☾☾☾  

All we do in the maze is walk.

Walk, walk, and walk.

I expected monsters, twisted trees and shadows, constant thunderstorms, nearly everything deadly, but no. All we ever do is – you guessed it – walk. It is actually really boring. Melissa suggests we sit down and rest for a while. Avani takes a nap, and Melissa and I talk. Then, suddenly, we felt the ground shake.

"What's that?" Melissa asks, looking around. Nothing. It stopped.

"I don't know." I say. As soon as I say it, though, there's another tremor. Then another, and another. It sounds like something huge walking. Avani wakes up. Her face is perplexed.

"What's going on?" Avani asks. There's a roar. My stomach twists. I could see it. About a couple hundred feet away, a giant pushes past the trees. We all see it, and we scream in terror. It notices us, and begins charging.

We run, careful not to trip. I don't have to turn around to see if the monster is chasing us because it is so loud. It's footsteps slam against the ground, the earth roaring.