Handy Hiding Place (NaNoWriMo 2014)

Chapter 24

For the next few days, the kids would visit the realm and not explore beyond the town. Sometimes they would forget about it, too distracted with the things the town had to offer. Other times, one of them would say they had to leave. A day finally came where it was early afternoon and they had time to go exploring. Excitedly, the kids made their way to the end of the town and started walking from there. On their walk away from the town, they at first did not see many things. The only things they could see were trees and grass. Several minutes passed before the scenery became more detailed. They came upon a river which offered only one way to get across, by stepping on big stones. This had made Zak a little nervous, but his friends helped him get across without slipping.

After crossing the river, they saw a variety of plants. There were different trees, bushes of odd shapes and colors, and beautiful flowers. As Quinn walked next to Amelia, they looked down at her hand and gingerly grabbed it. Amelia looked up at them, smiled, and held their hand.

“Do you think we’ll find anything as interesting as that town?” Lexis asked.

“I think these plants and stuff are interesting,” Amelia commented. Quinn and Zak agreed.

“I think Biscuit would have tried to eat some of these flowers if I had brought her,” Zak laughed.

“Does she like to eat flowers?” Amelia asked.

“Sometimes she chews on them,” Zak replied.

“Do you think there are other towns here?” Amelia wondered.

“Only one way to find out,” Quinn answered. Eagerly, the four of them continued to journey forward. They weren’t sure what they were expecting. Just when they were about to give up on trying to find anything else, Zak spotted something in the distance. It looked like the town they had left, but as they got closer, they realized that it was so much bigger. It was huge with tall buildings. It was a city. The four friends gave each other questioning glances, making sure that everyone was on board with going forward. They were a little nervous about what might lie ahead, but they were equally excited about it.

After a few minutes of walking, they entered the city. What a busy place. It looked a little like a city from home with heavy traffic and lots of people. Amelia thought it was pretty, but Zak thought it was a little too overwhelming. Lights were all around them. There were traffic lights, lights from the buildings, and lights on the screens that were showing advertisements. When Amelia, Zak, Quinn, and Lexis headed onto the sidewalk, they soon discovered that they would have to walk faster. Really, they were tired of walking and wanted to find some place to rest. Where could they go though? Back at the other town, no people had been in the way. It had been quiet and empty. It had been easy to concentrate and find things. Here, they had to move so quickly that there wasn’t enough time to look for things or even ask for directions. Wasn’t there some way to get help? Then Lexis noticed that there were taxis. “Let’s get a taxi,” Lexis suggested.

“We don’t have any money,” Amelia told them.

“They don’t have to know that,” Lexis shrugged. Amelia raised her eyebrows.

“I’ve got money,” Quinn sighed. They walked around until they found a spot where they could get a taxi, but that didn’t end up working out for them. They then kept walking until they found a bus stop with benches to wait on. According to the times on the bus stop’s sign, a bus would be there in about five minutes. This was a great time for them to sit down for a moment. While they were taking a few minutes to rest, somebody joined them.