Shadows

Chapter 6 (Firn)

   That night, I laid in the bed Amy would have slept in that night. I couldn't sleep, mostly from a guilty conscious of what I might have encouraged Amy to face. I kept thinking about why I did. But if I hadn't given her the dagger, Ashton would probably be trying to kill us. I had also learned earlier that evening that the seventeen year old boy's name wasn't Samson, like I had previously thought, but Sammy. I shouldn't have given her the dagger. But where would we be if I hadn't? I kept having that mental argument in my head until at last, I hear something. 

   "Firn, you awake?" Alex asked.

   "Yeah, can't sleep. You?"

   "Same. I wonder what Amy's doing right now. I wonder if she's even alive right now."

   "She is. She's also very confused."

   "How do you know that?"

   "Family is always connected in some way." Was all I said, and finally I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

*~~~*   Amy   *~~~*

   I had little doubt that Ashton was still in that cell with me, making sure I wasn't trying to escape. I couldn't help but replay the conversation we'd had earlier in my head. It was hard not to think about how drastic of a change he went through in a few seconds. From psychotic kidnapper, to caring guardian, or whatever he was trying or pretending to be.  I had no doubt that he had everything down to where I would sleep planned before he even started trying to get me there. 

   There was no hope for sleep, so I sat up, got up off the floor, where I wanted to sleep anyway, and I started walking around the room. I could see very little, but probably more than a human could, so I let the shadow spirits around me guide me to wherever they wanted me to go. First, they led me to the closet that was empty earlier. I opened the door, and as I had suspected, it was still empty. The spirits then led me to the door to the living room. I went through the doorway, and Ashton was sitting in the armchair.

   "Can't sleep?" He asked.

   "No. Why aren't you? Not like I'm going anywhere."

   "Because I was curious."

   "About...?"

   "If you could find your way around in pitch dark, and it seems you have."

   "Technically, I didn't."

   "Then how did you manage to get to the door?"

   "I have my ways..." I said. 

   "And those are...?"

   "Shadow spirits follow me, and they help me out sometimes."

   "How so?"

   "In that case," I gestured towards the bedroom door, "they led me to the door."

  "How?"

  "I don't know. I guess it's like a sort of pull?" I really didn't know.

  "Can you elaborate?"

  "I can't. I don't know how to explain it. It just happens, I guess."

  "Oh, ok. I guess I'll see for myself at some point."

  "I don't think so."

  "And why is that?"

  "A natural gift I have is that I can see and communicate with dead people, and I'm not seeing any near you."

  "A natural gift, you say?"

  "Yes." I said suspiciously.

  "Nothing to do with your witch abilities?"

  "Something probably with this cell has them blocked... So probably not."

  "So the cell works..." He muttered to himself.

*~~~*   *~~~*   *~~~*

   For a while we just sat in silence. Ashton broke the silence after what felt like a few minutes by saying, "If you need anything, just say my name." He then left my cell.

   I let out a little bit air in one long breath, and I left the living room area and went to the bedroom. I started getting very fidgety after a few minutes, so I started walking around the room. I left the bedroom area and started walking around the living room area, when I felt something drawing me towards the cell door. I walked to the door, and I found someone there that I didn't recognize.

   "Hello. I am Layma. I am here to take you to the Shadow Kingdom, Amy."

*~~~*   Firn   *~~~*

   "What do you mean 'family is always connected'?" Alex asked me that morning.

   "I mean, she's my sister."

   "Does she know that?"

   "I'm pretty sure she does."

   We sat in silence for a while, neither of us even looking at the other. Later, the group started waking up and packing their surprisingly few belongings, and we left the hotel for my house. We got outside, and we found the car I had been using since three prior. Megan sat in shotgun, while Sammy sat in the back right, Sally to the left of him, Alex to the left of her. We drove in silence, other than the radio, and Sally's horrible singing. I fought the urge to cringe at both, and did so successfully for most of the ride to my house. 

   "You seem pretty tense, Firn. Everything ok?" Megan asked me.

   "No, I'm not not ok. My sister just left with Ashton! How do you think I feel?!" I replied angrily. Even Sally shut up immediately.

   "Your sister?"

   "Amy." Alex clarified.

   "Really?"

   "Apparently so."

   We pulled up to my house, all filed out of the car, and walked up to the door of the house, which was more like a small estate, rather than a house. I unlocked the door and let everyone in, then showed them all to guest bedrooms for each of them. They all settled in somewhat happily.