Sickly Sweet

Journey

Lochlan trudged through mud, careful not to let his feeble shoes sink too far. He couldn't get his thoughts off the boy - and what condition he would be in when he returned.

Maude.

Such an interesting name, especially for a boy.

It sounded kind of like mud, which was coincidental since at that very moment he was walking in mud. Why would someone decide to-

"Tweet! ...... Tweet! ....... Tweet, Tweet, Tweet-tweet-tweet!"

The pompous guards filed into a single line down the carpet, marching toward the large double doors.

"And... Hut, two, three, four, hut, two, three, four, hut-two-three-four-hut-two-three-four-"

Hiding behind a mulberry bush, Lochlan watched as the last man entered the palace. Tapping his chin, he wondered how he could possibly find an entrance.

"Window...?" he muttered, circling the estate. Spotting a glass pane large enough for him while close enough to the ground to reach, he grinned.

"Jackpot."

Quietly rushing toward the window, he climbed the sparkling diamond fence and winced as one of the miniature turrets sliced through his skin.

"Maude. You're doing this for Maude."

Reluctantly wiping blood on his shirt, he regained his balance atop the gate. The drop was about ten feet down. Ten feet from cold hard Sapphire.

Closing his eyes, Lochlan once again thought of the dying boy. With a small shriek, he leapt off the fence and hit the ground, hard.

"Ahhhh," he breathed, grabbing ahold of his twisted ankle. A voice in his head urged him to run, and his feet took off with a mind of their own.

Suddenly, the world went blue. Then red. Then white.

"Whaaaa.....?"

Helicopter blades whirred and a booming voice called out,"You there! Don't move."

The spotlight burned his eyes and Lochlan rubbed them, moaning. Waving his hands in the air, he sunk to his knees.

He'd been so stupid, so idiotic. How could he forget about the helicopters?

Every night, after the guards went inside, the miniature planes were launched into the air and scanned the perimeter for thieves and assassins. And somehow the thought of their being had slipped his mind.

"Hold still or we will shoot. We are sending a man down to collect you."

Sirens screeched as a thick rope ladder dropped from the copter, barely missing his head. A small form darted down the ropes, hopping off next to him.

The man was in a black body suit that covered everything, oxygen filtering through the mask. He roughly grabbed Lochlan by the thigh and flipped him onto the ground, searching for weapons.

"I have nothing on me, promise."

The man nodded and let go of him, speaking into his mask. Garbled words reached his ears, but they were an unintelligible mess.

This was it. He was free.

Just then, the man turned to him and grabbed at his waist.

But by then it was too late. Lochlan had already reached the side of the castle, wincing every time his injured ankle hit the ground.

"STOP! WE WILL SHOOT."

"Go ahead!" Lochlan screamed, profoundly flipping them off. He didn't care anymore. All he wanted was some nectar to heal that poor boy.