When Forever Ends (Part 1: A Game of Chess)

IX

~{§}~

N i n e

I whirled around. A figure stood in the shadows of one of the tunnels leading from the room.

"Who are you?" Sofie asked.

"I am your greatest ally or your worst enemy," the figure said neutrally. The voice was slightly rusty from disuse.

"Which one are you?" I wondered.

"That depends."

"Depends on what?" I demanded.

"On the intentions of your visit."

"We're here because of an unfortunate series of events that we're completely not responsible for!" I answered.

"Yeah!" Will interjected. "We only found your hideout because Ryan here," he elbowed me, "has anger issues!"

"I do not!" I protested. "I was just frustrated!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

"Did you say his name was Ryan?" the figure asked.

"Yeah." Will replied. Then his face clouded with suspicion. "Who wants to know?"

"Oh. Pardon my forgetfulness." The person stepped into the light. "Call me Erin." The girl, who looked to be about seventeen, stuck out her hand. She was tall, almost a head taller than me, with long, straight, silver hair, a cheery expression, and a kind smile. Her long, white cloak was belted at the waist and she wore no shoes. In all, the person who stood before us didn't match the voice we had heard at all.

"What?!" Maya voiced the thought that we were all thinking.

There was an awkward silence as everyone tried to come up with a suitable response.

Finally, Sofie reached out and shook Erin's hand. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you." She grinned. "I'm Sofie, but you can call me Sofie if you want! Whichever you like!"

Will followed her lead. "Hi," he said, shyly. "I'm Will."

"My name's Maya!" Maya also greeted Erin.

I was last. "I'm Ryan," I gave her a warm smile, "and it seems as if I have become the leader of our little group here by some unspoken agreement."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," Erin said. "I hope you don't mind if I speak to Ryan for a moment."

"Sure!" Sofie replied.

"Fine with me," I agreed.

Maya seemed a little less certain. "Uh, I guess so."

We stepped off into the shadows and walked down the tunnel a few meters while my friends began chatting and eating a large, yellow fruit with a hard, spiky shell.

Once we were out of earshot, Erin fixed her ice blue eyes on my face.

"Hmm," she muttered to herself. "Could it be?"

I didn't think she meant for me to hear that, so I said nothing.

We stood that way for a few moments, studying each other. I noticed a thin chain around her neck and assumed it had some sort of jewelry attached to its end. I wondered what it could be.

Finally, she broke the silence. "So. You're Ryan."

"Yes," I answered, unsure of where this was going.

"I hope we can become good friends."

That's it?! I thought.

Erin led me back to the group in the greenhouse.

Apparently so.

Just as we walked in, Will called, "Guys! Watch this!" He took a bite of watermelon, chewed for a bit, then spat a large black seed out of his mouth. Naturally, it had to hit me in the face.

"Will!" I protested. "What was that for?!"

"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't see you there."

"Obviously," I muttered.

"Hey, no hard feelings, man." He patted my shoulder.

Erin cleared her throat to get our little group's attention. "Welcome to my home."

"You live here?!" It was hard for Will to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

"Well, this isn't technically my house, but I stumbled upon this place abandoned and I didn't see myself leaving this desert very soon, so why not?"

"I see what you mean." Sofie was referring to our own predicament.

"Come, I will show you around."

I reached for the sack of fruit, but was stopped by Erin's voice. "You can leave that here. It'll be fine," she assured me.

I let the sack be and returned my hand to my side.

Erin grinned at me, then turned and strode swiftly down the hall leaving us no choice but to follow.