The Girls from Downstairs

Twenty-One: the seer

“We’ve been walking for hours! How much longer?” Adrian complained.

“If you’re going to complain the rest of the way, why don’t you just turn around and go back to your mommy?” I snapped.

He shut his mouth. “I was only asking, Harlow. No need to get snippy.”

“I’ll show you snippy...”

Behind us, Felix and Esmerelda were following at a close pace. He consistently held her hand. It was cute, but geez. The whole way? I don’t like the touchy-feely relationship/couple stuff; maybe they are better off together.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“What’s what?”

“That growl!”

“Probably a wolf,” I shrugged.

“A wolf?!?” she exclaimed.

I smirked and walked backwards to talk to her. “Ever hear about Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Sure. I played her in my school play back in elementary school.”

“These woods came when her story played for the first time. Wolves are all over this area,” I said. Another growl came from right behind me and I screamed, jumping into Adrian’s strong arms.

“Scare much?” he smirked.

I smacked his shoulder. “Hush, you! I wasn’t expecting it, is all.”

“Where is that noise coming from? It doesn’t sound like a wolf,” Felix wondered aloud. We searched around until I realized the noise was coming from my sack. We opened it and sighed in relief; Jinx had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly. It was amplified and deepened because she was at the bottom of the bag.

“Were you scared?” Adrian asked.

I met his eyes. “Not in the slightest. I know how to get away without being eaten by a wolf.”

“Fight it off?”

“No, run faster.”

“Than what you normally run? Because that’s an awfully slow pace.”

I smirked. “No, run faster than you. They eat what they can catch, and they can catch the slower prey.”

“Burrrrrnnnnn!” Esmerelda laughed.

We turned to her, confused. “What?”

“Burn. It’s a... never mind.” She fixed her sack on her shoulders, took Felix’s hand again, and began walking. I slung my sack back over my shoulder and followed them, Adrian right by my side.

“How far away is it, exactly?” he asked.

I shrugged. “No one knows where she lives. What you’re supposed to do is keep walking until she hears your plea’s and comes to visit/rescue you.”

“So, basically, what you’re telling me is that we’re walking around blindly in a forest full of deadly wild animals in the hopes that she’ll find us?” Esmerelda asked. I nodded.

Felix wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Ezzie. I’m a skilled hunter; no one would dare harm us. Adrian’s pretty good, too.”

“Pretty good?! Father says I’m better than you half the time!” he objected.

“Please don’t start fighting now!” I begged. It was beginning to get late. The sun was falling to our left, and there was hardly any moonlight out to allow us to walk through the forest safely. We struggled on, stepping over roots and dodging branches. Eventually it was too dark to go any further.