The Broken Ones

Chapter 29

Felix:

In the best circumstances, Kat could be fine. She could still be at that wedding, eating cake with a tree-nymph and singing merrily to an old jingle, blissfully unaware of what happened. In the best circumstances, maybe. I didn't really know what to expect anymore.

Taylor and I eventually got up. We were completely sore, tired, hungry, pained, and worried about Kat. Not a very good combination, if we were being honest.

But even after we had made it out alive, there was still a lingering thought in the back of my mind. That one memory I hated more than anything managed to creep back into my mind when I needed it out most. And now it wouldn't leave me alone. Taylor noticed-she noticed everything. She didn't say anything, which I was grateful for; talking about it would only make it seem more present and real. Maybe I was simply being a coward. Most likely. But it hurt too much. We had other problems to deal with at the moment.

"Really wish I had my phone right about now," Taylor pointed out. Her face was slightly droopy as we walked, almost devoid of emotion. Exhaustion weighed over the both of us. Still, we continued forward along an unfamiliar path. It winded through trees full of threatening fruits, dangerously close to steeping cliffs, through short but all too petrifying caves. I half-expected that thing to come bouncing back our way. The thought made me cringe, and I quickly pushed it away before replying, "Think we can find one?"

She gave me a look. I wasn't unknown to the eyes, as if to say how dumb can you get? I just shrugged. "I need to get out of this dress," she muttered, pulling at the fabric.

To my dismay, the words forced a tint of red to cover my face. Not now, you idiot. The worst possible time to be blushing. I quickly cleared my throat and said, "Y-yeah, me too."

"Yeah, that dress looks awful on you."

I looked down at her. She was grinning slyly. Then I realized what I said and my blush deepened. "I mean, um, this shirt. I need to get out of this . . . tunic?"

"Don't worry," she grinned with a pat to my shoulder. "You'd look nice in a dress."

Now I know that statement should not have made my stomach churn. It was an insult, not a compliment. So, of course, I threw her an insult back, "Well, you would look good in a dress too."

What really got me was the stalling. Normally, she would have punched me and rolled her eyes, telling me how big of a doofus I was. Now, however, she turned her head away from me slightly after biting her lip. "Shut up," she mumbled.

Odd. But cute.

We had no clue where we were going. The day dragged on, long and exhausting. Taylor and I talked about everything and nothing, which was amazing in every possible way. But the nerves through each of us were seeping into the conversation. Kat was nowhere to be seen. The path itself was nowhere to be seen. We were beyond hungry, but the satchel was left back at the wedding, with Kat. Not to mention the book.

Taylor began spewing off hopeful possibilities at one point, to which I replied to with a simple nod and sometimes some useless input. But my brain felt distant. It was no surprise she noticed this. Typical Taylor Abby.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she threw me a look of half-helplessness. A moment of silence before she said, "Maybe she's become invisible."

I nodded.

"Maybe she found a way out and left us here to rot."

I nodded.

"Maybe there was no Kat in the first place and she is simply a figment of our imagination, more so, everything else that is going on. Maybe I'm not even real either, and maybe you're simply in a coma."