X-Marks: Stealing Shadows

Unravel

"Yeah right," Mat said from his corner of the tent.

Mat yawned and tucked back into his blanket when Evee threw a pillow at his head. It's whirling edge nearly hit my nose.

"Listen to her, you creep," Evee said and sniffled back more tears.

She hadn't stopped crying all day.

The memories unraveled from me like a ball of nan's yarn. It seems so together, so rehearsed before I let it spin out of my mouth and tangle into an awkward knot for the others to see. This was what I feared. What I knew would happen. They needed Buggy, not me.

Ocean placed her hand on my back.

"At least give her a chance," she said and turned towards Mat.

Mat piled himself back up from his blanket.

"So what your telling me is, there's a map that will get us all out of here, and Buggy left it with you?"

A lump grew in my throat. Mat was repeating everything I had already told myself.

"And how did Buggy know any of this was real?" Mat said.

"He didn't," I said as the knot moved into my ears.

Mat pushed air through his lips. What he heard was all he needed to recline back in his corner and know that he was right.

"Then why would he tell you this?" Ocean said.

Evee and Ocean waited for me, something to convince Mat wrong. I knew it was true. It had to be the way Buggy told me, but how could I prove it to them.

Ocean pulled her blanket to tuck herself in when the charms of my bag chimed on her way down.

Of course, I thought to myself, the flame.

I reached under my blank and rummaged through the suede bag. Evee halfway tucked into her cot, pulled herself back up.

"What's that?" she said and crawled towards me.

I reached behind for the device.

"It's like I told you, the flames lead to the lamp," I said.

Ocean leaned closer and touched the device with care.

"It looks so old," she said.

"It is old," I answered, "At least, that's what Buggy told me."

Mat mumbled from under his blanket, "So what."

I lifted the device and pointed it at the postcard.

"What'd you do that for?" Evee asked.

"Just watch," I said and pressed a large button on the device.

In a few slippery clicks, the tent illuminated and revealed the blue flame of the back of the postcard.

"Whoa," Evee gasped, and Ocean followed.

Even Mat rose from his corner to see what caused such wonder.

"Is that it?" Ocean said and swirled her finger around the blue outline.

"Yup," I said, "It's like Buggy said, the flames lead to the last lamp. We just have to follow them."

Ocean grabbed the handle of the device.

"It's the strangest tracker I've ever seen," she said.

"It's not just a tracker," I said and dragged the light across the tent, "It can keeps us away."

"From what?" Mat asked.

"The Allies," I whispered with a smirk.

Gasps followed again. It washed away the lump in my throat. Buggy knew I could do this, and I did.