What Lies Beyond

Chapter 19

Author's Note:

I'm sorry for being slow on the updates. For the summer, this is switching to one of my main books, and I will try and update this book every Sunday. I have been working on this for a year and a half and I would love to finish this book!

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As Trobella keeps on getting distracted by the amount of silver she has in her gold knives, Matthew and I both make a move, pivoting to opposite sides, so we face each other.

"Two young lovers," Cinderella mutters.

"Gross, more like one young loser," I retort, gesturing towards Cinderella.

She adjusts the Bobby pins in her bun, and also secured her bright blue headband.

Matthew grabs her from her neck and twists it. I kick Cinderella in the crotch and she winces. But her dagger goes inside my left leg. I yank it out in an instant and stab her in her arm, soiling her blue dress and slowly changing the dress's color to Crimson. She holds the tip of her dagger against my Adam's apple. I grit my teeth, and I'm sweating like a dog. Matthew spins Cinderella around, lifting his dagger to her neck.

Trobella says, "Nobody can play with my babies if I can't play."

Matthew and I glare at each other, then at Trobella, then at Cinderella, and this pattern continues for a matter of minutes.

"Stop with the staring contest!" Cinderella shrieks, and then the knife gets closer to her neck.

"You really don't want to kill me now, do you?" Cinderella taunts.

"Yes, yes we do," Matthew mutters softly to himself, mocking Cinderella.

"Stop your mockery!" she yells.

"NEVER!" Matthew roars at the top of his lungs, imitating both Trobella and Cinderella.

Trobella gives Matthew a dirty look before pressing the dagger to his head. I steal the gold with 5.4% silver knife and press it towards Trobella's head.

"NOOOO!" she roars," MY GOLD WITH 5.4% SILVER BABY!"

Cinderella sighs and then tries to crawl under Matthew's legs; however, he stops her and kicks her in the face. Cinderella shoves her heel in Matthew's hand, making it bleed all the way through. Matthew's hand jerks away in an instant, watching Cinderella fall from the misplacement of her glass slipper. Her blue dress turns brown and her hair turns Crimson. I wish he killed her, but he didn't.

Cinderella sticks a knife up Matthew's butt; however, Matthew jumps and blocks it with his shoe. He's a bulletproof version of the devil, but this time a little more lovable. Matthew holds a dagger up towards Cinderella's Adam's apple, but the Trobella jumps in front of her, causing her to get a horrible cut. I drag Matthew back into the trees of the path. I'm sprinting at full speed, Matthew just barely keeping up with me. He's taking big leaps with me doing my big leaps, but my typical midget steps.

"You're a midget, Summer," Matthew chokes out.

"I'm not short, you're just tall," I reply.

"Yes, 5'9". That's not very tall, Summer Virginia Grime."

"How on Earth do you know my middle name?!" I exclaim with bewilderment.

"What do you say? I'm a stalker."

I feel like punching Matthew in the face, but we have to keep running. I have a problem. What am I supposed to do? Keep running? Punch Matthew? Keeping my pace is better, but punching Matthew is better! I punch Matthew square in the face.

"Hey!" he exclaims.

I laugh and run way ahead of him. I see a ladder. I climb it gracefully and briskly, and Matthew clambers like a baby when it first learns to walk. I burst out into laughter. I run faster, harder, until I can barely feel my feet. I feel like I'm flying. An ability to fly would be one of my biggest wishes, other than finding Autumn. I miss Autumn and her constant cravings for cupcakes with tons of icing on it. She used to cover them, dumping a whole tube of icing on a single cupcake. It makes me smile, seeing visions of her in my mind. Laughing, running, hiding my tubes of makeup on the most random places.

I keep running at full speed before Matthew scoops me up and picks me up in his arms. He kisses me, full on. I barely move my lips while Matthew takes all the action and then I pull away.

HIS BREATH.

"Like my salmon paste?" Matthew asks.

"I swear, it is shrimp paste."

"Whatever."

I roll me eyes and slap him.

"Hey!"

I shrug. "If you drop me, you're dead."

He stares at me, like he was tempted. "I'm not going to."

"I swear-"

"I was tempted."

"I knew you were."

Matthew places me down, carefully on the ground. Then he rolls his eyes, exaggerating it so much that I see his eyes turn all white, while his pupils were hiding.

I sarcastically laugh. Matthew rolls his eyes.

"I don't see any place to sleep," I mutter, yawning.

The sun is setting and we have been up for three days.

"Stay up for one more night?"

"That's the only option we have."