The Chest of the Lost

Chapter 7: Kira

After a while, Griffin cleared his throat. "Okay, we need to find that Crystal. Does any of this-" he gestured to the trees surrounding us- "look familiar?"

I glanced around, but I didn't know the forest as well as he did and I didn't have a clue where we were. "I don't know," I said. "Wait, where's that one cave?"

"Probably over there. Why?" He pointed to his left.

"I could probably find my way from there. That's what I did the first time, except..." I trailed off.

"Except what?" he asked.

I looked at him. Worry was evident on his face, though I could tell he was trying to hide it. "Except I had Birch. He led me to it."

For half a second his face showed pain at the mention of his lost friend, but he quickly composed himself then said, "Well, just try to remember. I doubt Birch would still be near the rock. Who knows how long it's been." He looked upset, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I looked around to see if I recognized anything- I still didn't.

We began walking again, and after a while, Griffin looked up. "There it is," he said, pointing to the massive rock wall.

"Okay," I said, looking around. "I think we went this way." I started back off into the forest, hoping I was going the right way. It didn't take long before I saw the familiar rock where I had unburied Griffin's Crystal Fate.

"There it is," I said, walking over to the rock. We scanned the area and I noticed the small dart that had been used to knock me out before. "Here's where they knocked me out, so it has to be around here somewhere." We got on our hands and knees and started scavenging the forest floor for the Crystal, searching for about ten minutes with no luck.

Finally, Griffin sat up on his knees. "It's not here," he said. "Are you sure this where you found it?"

"Yes," I replied. "I'm certain." We looked for a few more minutes but found nothing.

"It's pointless. They had to have taken it, otherwise it would be here."

I remembered something Lindsay had once told me about the Crystals. "Wait, it wasn't in the bag when you buried it, right?"

He looked confused. "No, why?"

"I remember my friend saying something about it. She said Mrs. Carson told her not to leave it in the hands of someone else for too long. It's not good for you. She didn't say what would happen, but I assume it's not worth the experiment."

Griffin's expression was concerned but thoughtful. "Okay, but only if they're touching the actual Crystal, right?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath and raked his hand back through his wet hair. "Well, if they have it, something bad would've already happened, right?"

"Well, I'm not sure," I said, eyeing his expression carefully.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Griffin asked, anxiety and fear beginning to show through his voice.

I cleared my throat nervously before continuing. "Well, I don't know how long they have to have it before something happens. Besides, isn't what's happening now already bad?"

"Not as bad as it could be," he said. I nodded in agreement, though I didn't want to think about what the worst could possibly be. If this wasn't it, I didn't want to know.

Just then I heard a sound, it was quiet, but distinct from the rest of the noisy forest.

"Wait," I said and Griffins head jerked up. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" he asked loudly and partially annoyed.

"Shh. Just listen." We listened carefully, and I heard the sound once more. "There. It came from over there." I extended my finger in the opposite direction from which we had come.

I started off toward where the noise was coming from when Griffin grabbed my hand, pulling me back.

"What are you doing?" I asked, almost tripping over my own feet.

"What if it's a trap?" he whispered and looked around suspiciously.

I stared at him and rolled my eyes. "A trap?"

"Yes," he said. "A trap. Let's get out of here." He started walking away, but I yanked back on his arm.

"It's not a trap, okay? Let me just see what it is." I crept softly in the direction I had heard the sound, leaving Griffin behind. I walked around a big round tree trunk and stopped in my tracks. There, sitting up against a tree, was a girl. She looked young, maybe five, and her small arms were wrapped tightly around her knees, bringing them up to her chest. She had her face buried in her knees and she was crying softly.

"What is it?" Griffin asked, catching up to me. He stopped when he saw the girl. "Oh."

The girls head flew up at the sound of Griffin's voice and she stared at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. At first, I just stood there, not sure what to do. Then I walked up to her and sat beside her, leaning back against the dark tree trunk.

"Hi sweetie, what's your name?" I asked, resting my hand on her shoulder.

At first, she didn't answer. Then she sniffed and said, "Kira."

Griffin looked up, eyes wide, and walked over, sitting beside her.

"Wait, what are your parents names?" he asked.

I was confused why he would ask that question, but Kira responded, "Ron and Jentry Skai."

I looked at Griffin, who was frozen in place, disbelief plastered clearly on his face. He looked down at the girl, tears forming in his eyes. "Kira?" he asked. She looked up at him and a look of recognition spread across her face.

"Griffin?" She jumped into his arms and he hugged her tightly, tears streaming down her face. I sat there, not sure what to think, till they finally let go of each other, Griffin setting Kira in his lap.

"What are you doing here, honey?" he asked, his arms still holding her close to him.

Kira held onto his arm and began picking at some weeds in the dirt. "I got lost. I was playing at the park, but then I saw something in the forest." Her voice was high-pitched and she spoke with a lisp. "I ran in the forest, but it was gone. Then I got lost." She sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Oh, Kira. I'm so sorry." He rested his cheek on the top of her head, running his hand through her long blonde hair.

"Where'd you go?" She turned around and looked up at him. "You were gone. We looked for you."

Griffin looked upset as he stared down at the girl.

"I know, I looked for you too, but I got lost. You don't know how much I've missed you, baby girl. I didn't know where you moved, and for all I knew, it could've been a different state." His expression fell even more. "That was almost a year and a half ago; you're so big now. I can't believe I've missed that much." He paused then looked up at me. "Cyndi, this is Kira, my little sister." I sat there, speechless, unsure of what to think. Then he turned back to her. "Kira, honey, how long have you been away from home?"

"I don't know, I went to the park in the morning."

"This morning?" he asked. She nodded and he sighed with relief. "Oh thank goodness."

"I want to go home," she said, burying her face in his chest.

He looked up and replied, "Me too."

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Okay, so you've met a new key character! Tell me what you think about Kira, or just the chapter or book in general! See ya around!