New World [Complete]

Chapter Twenty: The Name of the Mystery

Mystery POV

The horse had slowed to a walk as night began to descend. The darkness of the jungle surrounded me with a tense silence. There didn’t even seem to be any mobs around, peaceful or hostile. I stopped and took in what little I could see around me. The dark outlines of the treetops blocked the moon and night sky from view. Vines hung down in thick strands that tangled on my limbs and in my hair as I walked. I paused for a moment, squinting. There was something in the distance. The darkness seemed thinner there for some reason.

I dismounted and quietly approached what seemed to be some sort of light. Lizzie’s horse was fairly quiet, but its hooves crunched on the ground. I tied the horse to a nearby tree. I needed to be able to investigate silently. I crept forward, parting vines as unobtrusively as possible. I came upon an old, cracked, stone building with torches blazing from within. Dark green vines covered the outside, as if this building had been uninhabited for years, but the torchlight told me someone had to be at least nearby.

I dared to creep a bit closer and heard muffled voices from within, raised as if in anger. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but didn’t dare get any closer. There were defiantly people here, but were they the people Lizzie had been looking for? I didn’t want to approach them without knowing if they’d be violent or friendly. But how could I tell, short of directly asking them?

A soft neigh came from the distance, silencing both my thoughts and the voices I’d heard. The voices became more hushed, but I had an idea. I picked my way through the jungle back to the place where I’d left Lizzie’s horse. It rubbed its head against my arm in greeting, looking for a treat of some sort. I sighed and pulled a small handful of sugar from my pack, smiling slightly as I did so. The horse happily accepted my gift of both the treat and its freedom as I untied the lead that had connected it to a thick and low hanging tree branch.

I started back to the stone structure with the horse’s lead in hand. There was little I could do to conceal my approach, but each small sound made me wince. If they recognized Lizzie’s horse, it would more likely that they were the ones Lizzie was looking for. Maybe then I would have the confidence to approach them and find out for sure.

As I came up to the entrance, there was a shout from within. We were found out! I released the horse and backed away quickly, seeking the cover of the trees and vines. I peeked out from behind the trunk of a wide tree, watching carefully. A strangely dressed man emerged from the building. He wore a white shirt, a black jacket, and black pants. He had a pair of sunglasses and immediately focused on the horse, who had found a patch of grass and was munching happily.

“Guys!” He called back inside, promoting two more people to emerge. One person had a weird black outfit and a purple amulet.

“What’s going on?” A man in what appeared to be a blue and orange spacesuit spoke first. “Isn’t that Lizzie’s horse?”

“What happened to her? And what about Seto?” The guy with the purple amulet asked. His questions confirmed they knew both Lizzie and Seto, and were concerned. I wasn’t going to be able to glean much more information from listening in, so it was time to make my decision. Could I trust them? These could have been the people Lizzie was looking for, but there was no way to be sure.

“What is that?” The guy with sunglasses turned and pointed towards me. I gasped and pulled back. Of course my white and black checkered hoodie wouldn’t blend into this green jungle! What was I thinking?

“I don’t see anything, Jordan.” The man in the spacesuit said, staring directly at my hiding spot. Oh no, I thought, this can’t be happening. What was I supposed to do now? I’d been spotted, it was only a matter of time before they found me.