Twisted Worlds

Chapter 9

Jennifire spun around quickly, then began spinning in slow 360's, trying to find where the voice had come from. But it sounded like it was everywhere at once, surrounding them. Jennifire didn't know if it was possible to feel claustrophobic about a noise surrounding a person, but that is sure how she felt.
Jennifire was feeling very uncomfortable and the air was getting really stuffy and humid around her. The was squirming, trying to shake the feeling off, but the laughter intensified, causing her to get even more uncomfortable. Finally, when Jennifire felt like she might faint, the laughing subsided and she was free.
She fell to the ground, breathing heavily. When Jennifire found the strength to lift her head, she saw the three other girls laying on the ground and panting hard as well.
The four just lay there, waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. So Jennifire stood after gathering her strength and hobbled over to help the others up. Then everybody was just standing, and once more, waiting for something to happen.
Jennifire sighed, quite bored. "So... What do you think that was?" Nobody answered. "Do you think that, uh, it could be a witch or something? I mean, it might be..."
Jennifire stood uncomfortably while the older three girls exchanged panicked looks.
"It might be," Holly whispered.
"So then what do we do? I thought they were supposed to help us!" Jesse said, raising her voice with each word.
"Jesse, calm down," Alyssa went over to Jesse, putting her hands on Jesse's shoulders and looking her in the eyes. Alyssa continued to try to calm Jesse down, who didn't appear to be calming.
Holly began rummaging through her backpack, which became much more easier since she didn't have as much in it. She was lifting books out, skimming through the pages, and tossing them back into the bag when she found nothing useful. So that left Jennifire alone to do anything she pleased. But all Jennifire wanted to do was sleep in her bed, or maybe continue on with the adventure-journey-quest thing they were doing.
Jennifire sat on a nearby log, watching the conversation between Alyssa and Jesse intensify, when something she saw caught her eye. Behind where Alyssa and Jesse were standing, and a few trees behind that, was something shiny. Jennifire was like a crow when it came to shiny things, she just had to have them. So quietly Jennifire walked over to where the shiny thing was. She was trying to be unnoticed, which worked, but she also felt sad. Everybody was so busy with other things they didn't notice Jennifire slipping away.
She pushed the thoughts away and continued on toward the treasure in front of her. But with every step, Jennifire felt as if the shiny thing just moved a step ahead as well. Finally, Jennifire had had enough. She didn't care if the thing was a bug, or even a light, she wanted to know what it was and possibly keep it. So she pounced on it, hoping that it didn't jump ahead. Jennifire hit the ground with a thud, and felt something sharp against her stomach.
She stood up carefully, looking at what she had landed on. She saw a pink metal flower on a golden chain. Jennifire reached out a hand to touch it, but it began to hover in the air for a moment before latching itself on Jennifire like a necklace.
Jennifire let out an ear piercing scream while tugging at the necklace, trying to get it off of her neck. Holly and Alyssa were soon by her side, Jesse not to far behind. After a while Jennifire stopped tugging at the necklace and started breathing heavily.
"It's like mine," Jesse whispered sitting in front of Jennifire. She pulled the ice heart from beneath her shirt and held if up so it caught the light.
"You still haven't gotten that off?" Jennifire asked. Jesse shook her head. Jennifire began to panic. If Jesse wasn't able to get her necklace off, how would Jennifire get her necklace off? What were these necklaces exactly, anyways? Jennifires mind was buzzing with so many questions without any answers. Soon, she began to cry.
She felt very childish crying, but she couldn't help it. It had been slowly been building up in her and she was finally able to let it out. She didn't want to be in a forest, she didn't want to wear this necklace, she didn't even want to save the world. All she wanted to do was sleep in her bed, or cuddle with her family while watching a movie.
Jennifire felt some arms wrap around her in a comforting hug and was quietly hushing her. Jennifire didn't know, or even care, who it was. She continued to cry until there were no tears left to cry. Then she wiped her face from any tears with the back of her hand. She slowly stood up on trembling legs and gave everyone a weak smile.
"Sorry about that guys. I don't know what came over me," she said. She noticed Alyssa staring at something behind Jennifire. Following her gaze, Jennifire turned around and saw a cozy little cottage.
It was made out of bricks with bright Poppy's of every color sitting in flower beds on the windows or just randomly around the yard. There was a wrap around porch with a rocking chair and an orange cat with black spots snoozing peacefully in front of a purple door.
Holly gasped and pulled out a random book and began to flip pages, skimming through book. Jesse began to read as much as she could over Holly's shoulder with a concerned look on her face. And Alyssa was looking at the sky, which was clear and blue, with a worried expression.
But Jennifire didn't care about any of that. She was to busy looking at the cottage. From a distance, it looked peaceful and happy. But Jennifire was looking in the window, staring at an evil pair of Jade green eyes.