Glowing Embers

R

Willow whirled around and observed the person from which the voice emerged. It was a woman with dusty blonde hair and brown eyes. She was probably in her thirties. Standing beside her was a man with brown hair and brown eyes. His arms were crossed, and he looked about the same age. 

"What do you think Remmy?" the lady asked, turning to her companion with a predatory expression on her face. "I say bird for breakfast, then the fish for lunch, then the blonde," she pointed to Whitney, "for an appetizer, the boy for dinner, and the black-haired one for dessert." She closed her eyes and licked her lips. Whitney and Willow exchanged panicked glances as Archer subtlety backed up and reached for a knife in his back pocket. The man caught this action and sent lasers through the glare he sent Archer.

"Don't try anything," he commanded fiercely. "There's more of us, more weapons, and they're on their way." His voice was gruff and he looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. Whitney gulped and bravely took small, tentative steps towards them.

"Why do you want our food?" she managed, holding her breath after the question escaped. The woman laughed mockingly.

"Don't you know?" she giggled. "There's no more food left here. Water dried up, and all the fishies are gone. Except for those." She eyed the fish in Whitney's hands. "No more people, either. But that's just 'cause we finished 'em all. Right, Remmy?"

"That would be right Matilda," Remmy replied, smirking as he observed the three kids. Whitney stepped back, but Remmy instinctively clutched her wrist tightly. She tried to wrench free, but his grip was too strong.

"You're coming with us," Matilda told them, glancing behind her for a split second. Abruptly, she disarmed Archer of his knife and pinned his arms behind his back. She held them there and looked smugly at Willow. "Do something shady and your friends die," she threatened. Willow looked at her friends innocently and shrugged. Archer sighed and struggled to remove himself from her grasp. "Wrong move," Matilda whispered as she twisted Archer's arm. He cried out, Willow becoming more furious by the second. She clenched her fists, which unfortunately was spotted by Remmy.

"Looks like we have a fighter here," he commented in fake awe.

"Please. It doesn't have to be this way. What do you know? We can share information," Willow offered, blinking at the man.

"Ha! We know about as much as you do!" Matilda exclaimed. 

"So you know about the magic leaf, then?" asked Whitney. Willow shot her a confused look, but Whitney continued to look at Matilda and Remmy.

"What magic leaf?" Remmy inquired, obviously intrigued.

"The magic leaf. It grants you three wishes. All you have to do is hold it, close your eyes, and whisper what you want and it'll come in seconds," Whitney explained.

"I don't believe it," Matilda stated tersely, shaking her head.

"Oh, but I've used it. I made my first wish that I would fall in love," Willow watched as Whitney tilted her head and gazed at Archer wide-eyed, soon returning back to the adults in front of her. "I opened my eyes and I was in this forest. I walked a little bit and I found him. But then there was a windstorm, and the leaf blew this way. I would recognize it from anywhere. It's brown and very pointy."

Willow examined the ground, and smiled briefly when she saw an abundance of brown leaves. Matilda and Remmy glanced at each other and huddled together to confer. Willow noticed that they loosened their grip on Archer and Whitney, and the two were able to wiggle free.

"Bring us to the leaf," Matilda finally demanded to Whitney.

"Sure. But right after you taste some of this!" shouted Whitney. With exquisite timing, Archer grabbed his trident from the ground and shoved it through Remmy's chest. The man collapsed to the ground, dying instantaneously, and Archer smirked at Matilda. The woman, in shock, stared at her partner. Willow turned to her friends.

"I'm thinking bird for breakfast, fish for lunch, then brunet for dinner," she suggested sarcastically. Whitney pretended to contemplate this, but Archer shook his head.

"I'm thinking brunet for dinner and blonde for dessert," he suggested, rapidly chucking a knife into Matilda's heart. She fell to her knees, her mouth in an 'O'. Archer squatted down next to her and smiled as the life drained out of her. He finally stood up and dusted his limbs off, rubbing his hands together.

"Let's get out of here," Whitney declared brightly. Willow retrieved the weapons from the corpses and handed them to Archer.

"Definitely," she responded, starting to run. The others followed. Their paces were equal. The only sound was the noise of their feet crunching the forest ground and their breaths. Once they were ten minutes away, Archer spoke.

"That was brilliant," he complimented Whitney. She blushed.

"Hungry people are idiots, I guess. Oh, and I didn't mean what I said," she added vaguely. "About me loving you." Archer smiled and glanced at Willow, who smiled back.

"I know," he told Whitney, "don't worry. You just saved all of our skins. No pun intended."

"How's that for thinking?" Willow mused to the boy. He stuck out his tongue to her and rolled his eyes playfully. Suddenly, a question zoomed into Willow's head. "Didn't they say there were more?" she questioned her friends, panic attacking her brain like a virus.

"Yes. But they were lying. They ate them all," Whitney answered, calm and composed.

"How do you know?" Willow curiously wondered.

"I just kinda know."

"Hey, as long as she knows," Archer intervened. Willow turned to the boy.

"How long have you been in this forest?" she queried dubiously.

"A couple of weeks before you. Why?" he answered, squinting his eyes at her. Willow ignored his question.

"Did you feel drawn here?"

"No, I was, ya know, trying to run away from exploding houses," he responded. "Why do you ask?" Willow never got to answer this question. All of a sudden, the floor collapsed under their feet, and the three kids were sent tumbling down a hole. After healing from the impact, they all looked up, and what they saw next only confused them more. A young boy, perhaps 5 years old at the most, was peering down at them from above the hole. He quickly walked away, leaving Willow, Archer, and Whitney speechless.