The Necronomicon

Chapter Five

He led her out of the room, and back into the hallway. Meredith hoped Eleanor would be there — but she and the other Elders were gone. She clutched her knapsack closer to her. As she walked she felt as if she was walking among the clouds, she was so dizzy. To have this pressure on her, to save the Elders, the world... she couldn't think about it. Follow the river. That's all she had to do.

As she exited the building with Elder Watford by her side, he put a hand on her shoulder. "The rebels are here. I must go. From now on, you are on your own. Remember — keep the book safe. It is our only chance of saving this world." She could hear shouting, and her heart raced. The rebels were nearby, and she was doomed. Meredith glanced at Elder Watford quickly, biting her lip. He nodded to her, and she inhaled sharply. She could do this. She could.

"Where's my stepmother?" She asked quickly, and he shook his head, sparking more fear within her.

"She and the other Elders are setting up defences. She has to pay for her penances."

Meredith looked at him, confused. "Penances? What are penances?"

Elder Watford pushed her back slightly. "I'll tell you another time, my child. Now run. And don't let the rebels catch you."

She nodded, determined suddenly. All she had to do was get to the marshlands. Follow the river. But she didn't want to run — she didn't have the right shoes on. She thought of the shoes Eleanor had given her, that were buried deep in her knapsack, but she shook her head. Those shoes were frightful — she'd rather get caught by the rebels than wear them.

Meredith streaked away, as fast as she could. The woods loomed ahead, and Meredith made a beeline for them. As she hurried towards them, she saw a few rebels heading towards the Headquarters. She thought she recognised one of their faces, but her eyes did not linger upon them for long enough to know who they were.

She made it into the densely populated trees, and breathed a sigh of relief. Still slightly worried the rebels would follow her into the forest and set the entire place ablaze, she kept going, spotting the river up ahead. For around ten minutes she scurried forwards, keeping the river ahead of her, and then she breathed heavily, too tired to run anymore. Instead she walked, trudging forward, the knapsack weighing heavily on her back. Why was it so heavy — her dresses were quite light, and the book Elder Watford had given her was small. She still did not know that Eleanor had filled her knapsack with two other books, one of them quite large.

As Meredith looked down at herself, she shrieked — temporarily forgetting the rebels. Her beautiful blue dress! Its skirt was covered in mud, and her shoes were grimy too. She found herself fighting back tears, sure her face looked just as ugly. And if she ever became as revolting as the shoes Eleanor had given her, she wouldn't be able to live. The Elders — she blamed them for this. For Meredith was so invested in her looks that if she ever thought someone found herself repugnant she wouldn't be able to breathe. The idea was simply absurd to her.

If everyone knew what the belle of the country was doing now, hiking through large vats of mud, following a river she had never done more than glance at before, they would laugh. Meredith was not one to get sweaty or dirty, everyone knew that. She was beside the river now, and longed to jump into its watery contents to clean her dress. The only thing stopping herself from doing that was the bitter wind that already chilled her, and she feared the water might freeze her to death.

When had she last eaten? At the party, those profiteroles. That seemed like ages ago. The sky was lightening now, so she could see the ground more easily. Sunrise. Meredith had never cared to know at what time the sun rose, so she had no idea what time it was - maybe six o'clock? She always slept in — she'd never been awake at this hour. ] She guessed it to have been something like ten hours since she'd last eaten — much too long. Her stomach rumbled, but she ignored it as best she could.