Set Me Free

22. It's Time

     Sitting on the couch, huddled in a warm mass of happiness, were us musicians of Bastille, with Apollos snoring at our feet. Our idea of a fun day on Christmas was just watching cheesy movies as a band, as friends. The credits began to roll as the four of us shuffled to get off the couch and have a stretch. I stared up at the wall clock and noticed it was already half past one.

     "Eek!" Apollos sprang up randomly.

     "Yikes!" Woody jumped back in shock. "What's the matter?"

     "I think..." he looked down at the necklace around his neck. It had turned black.

     "We need to go," I immediately ran to get my Frenship hoodie from the closet.

     "It's that time already?" Kyle whined. "It's so cold though."

     "Doesn't matter," Apollos pushed past my best friend. "We need to go, before my father leaves the place he's at," he said, combusting into light after he tossed me his necklace.

     "Holy shit...he can get into your phone?" Woody's mouth fell open slightly.

     "Yeah," I said, rushing to get my Converse on.

     Only complaints from Kyle followed as everyone hurried to get their stuff on, trailing Apollos and I out the door. To make things go quicker, we all went in Will's truck, huffing and puffing at our freezing hands as he started up the vehicle, and I waited for the necklace to give me a sign. Dead silence ripped through each of us as we nervously waited for something to happen.

     I stared at the stone until my eyes hurt just looking at it. Woody nearly felling asleep on Kyle waiting for something to happen. Then, the blackness of the stone began to glow with red, through the crevasses of the reindeer carvings. The image of the reindeer was gone as a new picture materialized onto the face of the smooth stone.

     A compass that pointed north. Where the football field was. 

     I opened my Google Maps app and pressed on the search bar, seeing the location of the field pop up as a previous search. I tapped it like a jolt of lightning and let Will take over with his driving skills. The truck launched to the highway and sped through the lane as the snowy grass at the sides of the highway passed us. Apollos hadn't spoken or texted through my phone all this time.

     He's scared to see his father again.

     "Right," Will sighed. "You can turn off the map now."

     "Okay," I nodded and picked up my phone, pressing the home button twice and swiping up.

     A new message popped up.

     Apollos: I can be the bait.

     Me: No way I'm letting you risk yourself.

     Apollos: my father won't buy it if you're the bait.

     Apollos: plus, he probably wants to kill me first.

     Me: Then I'll try my best to stop him.

     Apollos: you can do it.

     I closed the app and shoved my phone into my pocket. I could see the sign to the entrance of the field in the distance. I felt a rush of panic and dryness in my throat as the view of the field came closer, and I fought against my body to keep the anxiety on a low. Not today. It couldn't happen again like three days ago. There wasn't space for error.

     "I'll get out first. You three stay here. Come when I give a signal."

     "Aye," they all nodded with serious expressions.

     I got out of the truck, and set my phone down on the pavement, watching as it lit up with a golden tone. Apollos seeped out of the cracks of the iPhone. I picked up my phone and put it back into my pocket as the necklace swayed around my neck. On the field, a dark figure materialized, from bottom to top, and I gulped when it turned to face Apollos and I from afar.

     There was no backing out now.