Not Long At All

Chapter Three

Sarah's POV:

I stood outside behind the bar with my eyes closed. The night had a cool dampness from the rain and I could hear the sharp swish of cars driving past the rest stop. Fiddling with the edge of my pajama shirt I parted my lips, "Hoggle. Ludo. Sir Didymus. I need you."

"How good it is to see you my lady."

I smiled before I looked down at the little fox who returned my grin. Hoggle was seated on a trash can, fingering his tangle of jewels, "Well it's good to fin'lly see you. We was worried about what happened to you."

Ludo stood opposite of me and plopped onto the wet ground before mumbling, "Ludo scared."

I cocked my head, "I'm sorry you were scared. I'm fine now though guys. But that's not why I called, it's..."

I trailed off as a biker walked past, knowing he was unable to see my friends. I still didn't want to be caught seemingly talking to myself. The four of us waited for him to turn the corner before I turned back to them, "It's Jareth. He's..." I fought to find a way to explain the complete loss of him. It's like moving from one place to another and trying to explain the beauty of the place you had been before. No words can ever take the place of a memory. I spoke anyway, "He's not Jareth. He thinks he lives here, in the above ground. His name is David here."

Hoggle twisted his head to look around, "And what are you two doing all the way out here then?"

I followed his gaze, "Someone tried to kill him."

Sir Didymus hopped from Ambrosius's furry white back, "I say my fair maiden! Why wouldst any person try to murder King Jareth?""

I heard Hoggle grumble from my elbow, "I can think of a few reasons."

I rolled my eyes at him, "That's what I want to find out. Either this David person is caught up in some bad stuff or this is a result of the Labyrinth. What happened when I left? All I know is that I woke up in my bedroom. Did you see anything?"

A silence swung from the drizzling air. I looked from Hoggle to Ludo, my eyes landing on Didymus. I knelt down next to him and waited as the fox's eyes darted around, his nose twitching fiercely. I knew he wouldn't be able to stay silent for long and I was right.

"My lady, thou disappeared in what seemed to be black water. You screamed miss. And King Jareth, he was but still a moment before the creatures befell him."

I frowned, "What creatures?"

Hoggle shrugged and I looked towards him as he spoke, "I dunno what they were. Almost like people I guess. But red, kind of rubbery looking. They had teeth too. I don' know what they were, in all my time in the labyrinth I never seen anything like 'em."

Didymus nodded, "They moved as if they possessed no bones, my lady. They came forth from the ground and behind the trees. They took the King. He screamed and fought... even I had no way to prevent their foul ways."

The fox hung his head. I knelt next to him, feeling the watery ground seeping through my pants as I tried to imagine it. Crimson demon-like beings dragging Jareth away while I was safely at home taking a shower. A familiar pang of guilt hit me. It was something I felt every time I realized the magnitude of his sacrifices.

I shifted to a more comfortable position, trying to move my thoughts elsewhere. Hoggle broke the silence, "So what are you going to do now? You can't let the rat go but you can't just drag him behind ya'."

I rubbed at my temples, "I know. But I can't just explain everything to him. He'll think I'm insane. Heck he probably already does!"

I was cut off as the back door swung open, David stepping outside. I looked up from where I sat, ready to give an explanation, when I saw his eyes. They weren't focused on me but rather straight ahead. And then down to my right. And then to the garbage cans. I frowned, people couldn't see them.