Forlot - Books 7-9

Chapter Nineteen

I pressed my palms against the sides of the crate, praying my heart out. Tabceo, who was still hanging onto my shirt, kept her little body close to my chest.

"What do we do?!" I asked Tabceo in a shrill voice. "Do you have a plan?"

"Of course, I have a plan!" she shouted back. "Just pray that we will not die!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but did not get the chance to respond. I let out a cry as my body slammed against the bottom of the inside of the crate. I moaned, for my own bottom was now aching, and gently rubbed it.

"Are you okay, Maria?" the red bird asked, looking concerned.

"I am not sure," I managed to choke out. "I would not be surprised if my bottom was broken. That was such an impact."

"Really? Hmm..."

Tabceo seemed deep in thought. She let go of my shirt, hopped out of it, and landed on her tiny feet.

"Maria? You feel that?"

"Feel what? I do not feel anything except the pain coming from my bottom."

"Exactly. The crate is no longer moving. Which means that...it is not falling. Which means that we are not falling!"

My eyes widened, and my eyebrows raised. She was correct. It did not feel like that we were falling to our doom anymore. That is what that impact was. We must have hit solid ground.

"We are alive, Maria!" My bird friend jumped up and down with excitement. "We did not die!"

Seeing her jumping up and down made me want to jump up and down, so I did. But not for long. I forgot that there was not enough room for me to jump, so I accidentally hit my head on top of the inside of the crate.

"Ow!" I rubbed the area where I had hit.

Tabceo stopped jumping and crossed her wings. She tsk-tsked. "Jeez, girl. We have not even gotten out of the crate, and you have already hurt yourself two times."

"Yeah, yeah. Do not remind me," I told her. "Now can we get out of this crate and make our way home? I am sure that the wolves, especially Triste, are worried about me."

"Sorry. We cannot do that."

"What? Why not?"

"As much as I would like for us to return home and see the Wolflets, we cannot because we are trapped in this crate. There is no way for us to get out."

"Oh, come on. There has to be a way to escape."

"Unless you have a crowbar on you, we will not be leaving anytime soon."

"But we cannot just wait here. We will starve to death!"

"Look, I am sorry. If there was a way that I get us free, then I would do it. And it is not like that some magical being will break open the crate."

Crack!

A long, huge crack formed on the crate and the opposite side of where I was sitting. Amounts of purple light poured in through the crack, making me and the talking bird stand out.

Crack!

The crate broke in half, and Tabceo and I managed to climb out. We rolled onto our backs and were now lying on solid ground.

"Wow," Tabceo said. "I cannot believe that me saying that would not happen actually happened. Hmm. I wonder if I said that it is impossible for me to get any form of money. Would money fall from the sky?"

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Silly bird," I said. "Any form of money is illegal in Forlot. Besides, you are an animal. What would you do with money?"

She giggled. "Silly Maria. I like how money feels. I would not use it to buy things. I would use it to enhance my nesting grounds."

"Oh. Well, I guess that is okay."

The bird spread out her wings and feet. "Ah. This is nice. Chilling here. Talking with each other. I do not ever want to move." She sighed. "But I suppose that we should. We will never make it back to the kingdom by just lying here. We actually have to get up and move."

"You got that right."

I sat up and gently scooped her up. I set her on my shoulder, and she perched herself.

"Alrighty then," Tabceo said. "Move on out."

"I...I wish that I could, Tabceo. But I cannot."

"Why not? Are your legs suddenly not working?"

"It is not that. My legs are working just fine."

"So what is the problem?"

"These woods...they are not familiar to me."

"What do you mean? These are the same woods that you grew up in with the wolves."

"No. They are not. Look at the trees."

She leaned her body to the side, and her mouth opened. "My gosh..."

"We are near woods that I have never been to, Tabceo. So now, the question is not which way is home, but...where are we?"