Dimension Travelers

Chapter 24

It was Firefly. She was running towards us. I thought she hated us...or at least Seth. Maybe she would hate me too, since I put her in a headlock. But, that's beside the point. It looks like she's running from something, but we can't see anything running after her. How'd she escape? Before any of my questions can be answered, she's standing in the mouth of the cave and panting really hard.

"What are you doing here?" Seth asks her.

"How'd you escape?" Rick asks.

"I had to find you. Hammer...he went mad. He tried to kill me. I had nowhere to go." Firefly says. She has a small bag with her.

"What's in the bag?" I ask her.

"Herbs. Healing herbs. For you." She looks at me.

I'm shocked. She would do this for me? Why?

"Was Hammer chasing you?" Seth asks.

"No. Well, he was, but I lost him." Firefly answers.

"Come in." Rick says.

She sits across from me. Seth sits next to me and Rick sits in between Seth and Firefly.

Firefly hands me a drink. "I made the herbs into a drink."

I take it cautiously. I don't really trust her.

"How can we trust you?" Seth asks.

I still don't drink.

"I don't know how to prove but...Oh! To show you this isn't poison, I'll drink a little."

Firefly takes the drink she handed me and takes a sip. We wait for a long time. Nothing happens. We all look at each other. So, her drink isn't poison. Big deal. That doesn't prove much. Firefly hands it to me and I drink a little. It tastes fruity. I cautiously drink the rest.

"You can trust me." Firefly says.

I look over at Seth. I know that he still doesn't fully trust Rick. How, then, is he expected to trust Firefly? I mean, I still didn't quite trust Rick. How on earth am I supposed to trust some girl that has severe emotional problems? As for Rick, he hasn't tried to kill us, so that's always a good thing. I guess since he doesn't try to kill us, I kind of trust him.

"We can't. Not yet." Seth says sadly.

"I can understand your reason for this. But I can still help you get in." Firefly says.

By now, I've finished the "healing juice." I feel somewhat better. At least the pain is gone.

"You mean in the castle?" Rick asks.

"Exactly. I know a secret way to get in and out."

"In and out? Hmm, sounds promising."

"That's great, but we have other problems here." Seth says.

We all look at him.

"We're running dangerously low on food. We need to find some now before it's too late." He continues.

"But we don't know where anything is." I say.

"That's where you come in." Seth says and looks at Firefly. "If you can find us food that won't kill us, then we'll trust you. Deal?"

She nods. "Deal."

"So, where's the closest place to get food?" I ask Firefly and stand up pain free. That healing stuff works fast.

"There's a forest a few miles from here. I could lead you there." Firefly says.

"Chloe and I will follow from above. You and Rick will go on the ground." Seth says.