Undaunted

Overcast

As soon as I opened the door, my mom set down her magazine and stood up. "There you are, Drew! I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! What have you been up to?" She didn't sound panicked, just annoyed with me.

I rubbed my neck nervously. "Sorry about that, Mom. You know how it is, running around in the forest all day. My phone was turned off." To prove it, I pulled out my phone and showed her.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Sometimes I worry about you in there. Especially now," she admitted.

"Why is now any different?"

"Mayor Locke discovered evidence of a lot of people tracking in and out of the forest. She went around and asked if anyone had seen anything suspicious or were the source of them, but no one had any clue what she was talking about. Drew, if there are unknown people rampaging around in the forest, I just want you to be careful." She sat back down and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Your father and I just don't want anything to happen to you."

I knelt in front of her. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for anything unusual," I promised with a tight smile, trying to hide the sense of dread that was weighing down in my heart.

***

Leona's hooves clattered anxiously on the ground. "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh," she squeaked. "I thought they had left! The mayor told them to go, and it seemed like they did! Why is this happening?"

"I did say that there was a chance that Liepold dude would stick around nonetheless," I muttered, digging my fingers into my scalp. "We have no idea where they could be right now, or what they're capable of doing."

She whimpered. "So what now?"

"We'll have to be careful when we're out here. No more runs unless it's in the gorge, which is sheltered from view, and we should try to limit time outside of the overhang. We can't take any risks." I glanced at Leona, my face set. "We should head back."

She followed me willingly, though the look of horror had returned. She was ringing her hands and was looking down as she walked. I had to stop her from running into a tree a few times. She seemed so miserable, I didn't even try talking to her. We'd already talked enough, and it wasn't about what she wanted to hear.

Back in the shelter, she flopped down on the ground, her head resting awkwardly on a chair and her arms limp. I sat nearby in silence, lost in thought about what might happen if we ran into any of the circus folk again. I knew it wouldn't end well for either of us. Leona would end up a prisoner again, and I probably wouldn't fare much better. Liepold had been outraged at Leona's escape. If he got a hold of me, her rescuer, I didn't even want to guess.

The minutes ticked by. Neither of us moved. Nothing had changed by the time I had to leave. Leona's golden eyes tracked me as I gathered my things. She was acting like a dying cat, but it's not like I could do much about that.

"Be careful," she croaked, still motionless.

I looked over my shoulder, my eyes full of concern. "Right back at you." I ran back home as fast as my legs would carry me, the shadows and skeletal branches seeming to reach out at me.

***

My dad came home early tonight. I feigned happiness, hoping to ease my mother's worries and not give my dad any reason to freak. I felt awful about fooling my parents, but I didn't have any other options.

I ended up playing games with my parents for the rest of the night. It took a little bit of my mind off what was happening, but I knew I should have been there for Leona instead of playing poker with my parents. Unfortunately, that was impossible.

I retreated into my room early. I must have looked like something was up, because I saw a shape approach my door but they changed their mind at the last moment and left. I didn't want to talk, anyway.

Sleep didn't come for a long time, and once it did, it was broken and filled with nightmares. I imagined that we were captured once again by the circus and the entire room was filled with laughter. Up until now, I'd thought clowns were just normal creepy, but after that dream, I found them disturbing. I vowed to never get within twenty feet of one if I could help it.

When morning came around, I stumbled wearily out of my room. The house was empty, and my parents had left a note in their absence. They would be gone until tomorrow and had left me a set of keys and some cash to use while they were away. "Talk about a stroke of luck," I remarked. That was one less thing I had to worry about now.

When I returned to the overhang, Leona was pretty much where she had last been, except now she was sleeping while standing up, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. She still looked a bit frazzled, with red rims and black bags around her eyes and her hair sticking up all over the place, but at least she had calmed down a bit.

I looked up at her while I was playing solitaire and noticed her watching me tiredly. "Oh, um, hey, sorry," I managed, setting down my cards. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

She shook her head, her face grim. "I wasn't really sleeping. I was worrying and wired all night and closed my eyes not too long ago," she explained. She tipped her head like a dog. "How come you're here so early?"

"Well, my parents are out of town until tomorrow. Work stuff."

"Ah." She sounded like she was just trying to be polite, but I didn't really expect her to be all that interested in the fact.

"Is there anything you'd like to do right now?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not anything that isn't risky," she muttered.

My lips twitched, a little annoyed with the pessimism, but I wasn't going to tell her in fear of making things worse. "Is there anything else that you'd be willing to do that isn't risky?" I pressed.

"Why don't you pick something instead?" she countered.

I rolled my eyes and snagged the volleyball. "Alright, let's get going to the gorge."

Leona seemed to snap out of the funk she was in once we started playing, and fortunately her mood remained improved even when we paused for a break. For someone who had no clue what she was supposed to be doing, she picked it up fast and was actually pretty good at hitting back and forth. She was faster than me, so she missed fewer times than I did. One of the times, the ball hit me in the head and she tried to hide her laugh. I wasn't even embarrassed after that.

"Feeling better?" I called as I lofted a serve.

She darted to her left and smacked the ball back. "Yeah, I guess," she replied neutrally. "I still don't like having to be holed up like some wintering animal, but I understand why I have to."

I dove to hit back. "I just don't think it's wise for you to be somewhere I can't keep an eye on you."

"Why, because you think I can't handle myself?"

"No, because you're my friend and friends look out for each other. Always."

She stopped suddenly, the ball landing and rolling in front of her. "You mean that?" she asked curiously, her eyes locked with mine.

I laughed. "Of course I do. I thought you would have been able to see that."

She approached the ball and one of her front legs shot out and kicked the ball over to me (she'd learned that she had great difficulty in trying to pick it up herself). "I guess I do now!" she exclaimed happily.