Fearless

- Chapter Three -

For a moment it seemed to call to me. A soft beckoning that drew my feet closer and closer to the gate, a pale periwinkle in the moonlight. A soft glow seemed to emanate from the other side. My heartbeat quickened as I neared it, reaching out with my hand to caress the rough, wooden surface. And then I drew back, my fingers curling into my palm. I would not allow myself to be tempted by it as Jenny had done.
I turned away from the gate and raced back to the academy, tree branches slapping against my face and snagging my cardigan as I rushed through the forest. The further I got from the gate, the clearer my mind became. Dear Jenny, how could she have done it? I didn't think she truly would.
I reached the academy and hurried inside, tears now beginning to moisten my eyes.
I headed straight for Miss Gooding's room, banging my fist against the door.
After a few moments the door flung open by a disheveled Miss Gooding, her hair wild and eyes furious. "What is the meaning of this?" She clutched a robe shut at her chest.
"Th---the gate... Jenny, she..." I was so upset I couldn't even form a plausible sentence.
Miss Gooding's eyes widened. "What about the gate? What did Jenny do?"
Curious eyed students appeared from their rooms to see what the commotion was, some peeking their heads out their doors, others tying robes at the waist as they stepped into the hall.
I bit my lip, then tried again, "I awoke to find Jenny gone and the---the gate is open."
Miss Gooding stared at me like I was crazy, then lifted her eyes to somewhere over my shoulder.
"What did I do?"
I spun around and there was Jenny, dressed in a baggy gray t-shirt, her feet bare and her hair a rat's nest.
My brows furrowed in confusion. "Jenny... you're..."
Miss Gooding crossed her arms. "Clearly Jenny is right here."
"But... I woke up and you were gone!"
"I was going to the bathroom!"
"But I thought you'd---"
"Thought I'd what? Gone through the gate?"
I dropped my gaze to the floor, feeling bad for having doubted her. "I'm sorry, I..."
"Miss Brady, did you really find the gate open?"
I turned back toward Miss Gooding with a nod.
"Where's Ruth?" Asked Avery, glancing up and down the hall.
I lifted my gaze with a start, scanning the faces surrounding us. Everyone was accounted for except for Ruth.
Miss Gooding and I exchanged a glance, then rushed down the hall toward Ruth's room.
Because there wasn't an equal amount of boys and girls and because thirteen was an uneven number, there were a few students who had their own rooms. Strange as it seemed, Ruth was one of them.
The door to her room was closed, and when we reached it Miss Gooding gave it a gentle knock. There was no answer, so she pushed the door open. The room was empty, the bed neatly made.
I stared at the empty bed, almost in shock.
Miss Gooding was quiet for a while, then she said, her voice soft, "There's always a chance the wind blew the gate open and Ruth is elsewhere in the academy." She pushed passed me, out into the hall. I quickly followed.
"We'll conduct a search." All eyes were on her. "Girls search inside, boys search the surrounding areas outside." She gave a look of warning, "No matter whether or not we find her, absolutely no one is to go through or even near the gate. Understood?"
Several heads bobbed with understanding, and then we dispersed. Jenny and I headed first for the bathrooms. "You actually thought I had gone through the gate?"
"Please don't hold it against me, Jen. You weren't in your bed, the gate was open, and you had just been talking about how you wondered what was beyond it."
"But you went out in the middle of the night to actually check! It didn't even occur to you that I might have just been using the bathroom?"
"I'm sorry..." There was no sign of Ruth in the bathroom, so we stepped back out into the hall. "Can we not talk about this right now? Ruth is missing and she..." I bit my lip, not wanting to finish the sentence.
Jenny sighed. "You're right. I know..." There was a brief pause. "You don't believe that it was the wind that blew the gate open, do you?"
I stared at her, then lowered my gaze to the floor, a sadness sweeping over me. "No, Jenny... I don't believe that for a second."
Jenny nodded, a look of sadness in her hazel eyes.

The academy was thoroughly scoured, Ruth nowhere to be found.
When the last of the searchers returned, Miss Gooding called a meeting in the living room.
"If Ruth truly has gone through the gate, there is nothing more to be done."
I rose from my seat at one of the sofas, shocked by her words. "What do you mean there's nothing more to be done? We have to go after her!"
Miss Gooding stared toward me, sadness in her eyes. "We can not go after her. I refuse to lose anyone else to that gate."
"But Miss Good---"
She lifted a hand, silencing my pleas. "I would ask that you all retire to your rooms. Try to get some sleep before the sun comes up." Several of the students obeyed her command, the room filling with soft murmurs as they filed from the room.
I remained where I was until the last of the students, aside from Jenny, had left. Then I turned again toward Miss Gooding. "We have to look for her. Please, Miss Gooding."
"It's too dangerous. You have no idea what's beyond that gate."
I was quiet for a moment. "But you do. You can tell us what to expect. What to prepare for."
She sighed, shaking her head. "I can't."
"Please..."
Her eyes slid up to meet mine. "I can't tell you because I don't know. Everyone's experience through the gate is different... Ruth's path through might have been peaceful, and if that's the case we have nothing to worry about. But there's always the chance..." Her gaze drifted toward the window and she stared out it, a distant look in her eyes, like she was revisiting some memory from the past.
Jenny and I exchanged a look. "The chance that what?"
She sighed again, lowering her gaze and pressing her fingers against her temples. "Please try to get some sleep. We'll talk more in the morning. After classes."