The Vacant Years(Sequel to Along For The Ride)

Chapter 3

I sit alone in the forest. I'm away from the clearing, which is what I wanted. It always, somehow, ends up bringing them here. I hear a laugh echo through the trees. It sounds familiar. "I see that you've decided to stay with Jamie." A voice says. It sounds familiar as well. I sort through my thoughts. Then it hits me. It's Pitch. I jump up, quickly forming a dagger. "A wise choice, Jess," He says. "It's better to stay out of it." I look around then see his glowing eyes staring at me. "What do you want?" I ask. He disappears. "What I've wanted for centuries. To be believed in. I want the world to know that I, Pitch Black, am real."

I look around, but find nothing indicating that he's here. "You or those pathetic Guardians won't be able to stop me this time." He says. I stand there, looking around. A minute or two later, I realize that he's gone. Well, I guess I have no choice. I have to go to the North Pole. I fly up into the sky and back to Burgess, the moonlight guiding me. I get to Jamie's house in a few minutes. I walk through the front door and upstairs to Jamie's room. I open the door and walk in. He lays asleep on his bed. I walk over to him and wake him up. He looks at me.

"Jamie, I don't have alot of time, so listen carefully." I say. He nods sleepily. "The Guardians need me so I'm going back to the Pole. I won't be able to see you alot. I'm really sorry, Jamie." I say. Jamie sits up. "I understand. You should get going. I'll tell my mom in the morning." He says. I smile and hug him. I walk over to his window and open it. I float out. I close the window and wave at Jamie then I head towards the North Pole.

*{{The next night, 11pm}}*

I see the workshop coming into view. I get closer and closer. It's too late to go back now. I land on the bridge and run towards the work shop. I reach the doors and peer inside through a window. It's dark. The others must be asleep. I fly through the large window and land on the floor near the globe. It feels strange being here after three years. I walk towards my room. I stop in front of it and open the door. I see Jack asleep on the bed. I smile to myself and close the door. I walk down the stairs. A few minutes later, I reach the bottom.

I walk over to the door nearest to me and open it. I look inside. It's a library. North has a freaking library?! All the times I was bored and just sitting around I could've been here, in this library. I walk into the library and close the door. I walk through a few of the aisles. At the end of one aisle, I turn right and come across a fire place. A fire burns in the fireplace. There's a chair near the fireplace and next to the chair is a large stack of books. I sit in the chair and look around. A few seconds later, I fall asleep.

I wake up and get out of the chair. I decide to look around. After a few minutes, I come across this book that seems very interesting. I take the book off the shelf and start to read it. It's very amazing. I stop reading and leave the library, keeping the book with me. I walk upstairs. As I get close to the top, I hear the voices of the Guardians. I run excitedly up the rest of the stairs. I reach the top. I look down at the book as I walk towards them. Then I stop, still looking at the book. "I found this book in North's library and..." I look up. They're all staring at me, their mouths wide open.

"What? Is there something in my teeth? Did my hair turn purple? It turned purple, didin't it? Why do bad things always happen to me?" I say. North gives a loud, jolly laugh and runs over to me. He envelopes me in a suffocating hug. Then he lets go of me. "Jess!" Tooth exclaims. She flies over to me and hugs me. Then she goes back to the others. "I knew you'd come back, and it only took a week." Jack says. Then, that moment with Pitch comes back to me. "Okay, um, yeah. I probably wouldn't have come back. You guys obviously know why." "I am sorry about that." North says. I nod.

"Anyway, I came because something happened a few days ago." I say. Jack seems to get an angry or worried look in his eye. "What happened?" He asks. "Um, well..." I say, rubbing the back of my neck. North puts a hand on my shoulder. "Well, um, you see..." "Jess, just tell us!" Bunny shouts. "Pitch is back! There, ya happy?" I say. "Oh, we knew that. That is why we needed you to come back." North says. "You know, you could've said that from the start. I most likely would have come back. It would've saved us all the trouble." I say.

"So," North says. "Who is ready for a ceremony?" "No thanks," I say. "I'm good." I walk past them and to the couch. I sit down and notice the others watching me. "He wasn't talking about you, Jess. He was talking about August." Tooth says. Wow, I feel stupid. "Eh, whatever. I'm still not going to be part of it." I say, getting up. "But you have to." Tooth says. "I am not a Guardian, so I do not have to participate in the ceremony." I say a bit slowly, so they can understand. Then, suddenly, all of the lights in the work shop go out.

Luckily, we can still see, since, of course, it's day time. Then a Nightmare appears out of nowhere and I shoot it with one of my beams. Then, more Nightmares appear. Some charge towards August. I shoot some of them, but more appear. Then I notice a group of them coming towards me. They quickly surround me, blocking me from the others, and it becomes dark. "Jack!" I shout. "Jess!" It's not Jack, definitely not Jack. It's August. "Jack can't save you, Jess. Not this time." I hear Pitch say. Then the darkness is gone and I look around.

I stand in a large, tall room. I see a door across the room and run for it. As I reach the door, I hear August scream my name. He's in here. I turn around and frantically look around. Then I see August running towards me from the other side of the room. "Jess!" He shouts. I take a few steps forward. A few seconds later, August runs into me and we fall to the ground. He didn't stop in time. We both get up. I can see tears in August's eyes. This has never happened to him before.

"Jess, w-what do we do?" He asks me. I put a hand on his shoulder. "August, don't worry. We'll get out of here, I promise." I say. He smiles at me. "You seem very confident, Jess." I hear Pitch say. August takes a few steps back. I look around for Pitch. Then I see him a few feet behind August. I throw a dagger at him. He disappears before the dagger reaches him. "You should've stayed out of the way." He says. I look to my right, where Pitch stands. I lunge at him. He disappears before I can catch him. I get up and turn back to August.

Pitch stands behind him, a knife held up to his throat. I take a step towards them. "Jess, I wouldn't try anything if I were you. If you want the Guardian of Change to survive, I'd back off." Pitch says. I can see the horror on August's face. I don't move a muscle. Then he disappears, leaving me alone. I slump to the floor and lean against the wall. I let him take August. I let Pitch Black take August. Who knows what totures he'll put August through. Then, as if on cue, a scream echos through the room.