Ellie and I walked through the forest towards Efaque City. By then, the sun was directly above. We had led both Aepep and Uzmi back to their herd, which, by the way, had remained at the pond. They seemed to be lounging in the shade of the trees, protecting them from the air that suddenly heated up with the arrival of noon.
Uzmi formed some sort of whimper in her throat when Ellie departed. She didn’t even bother to look back at her Malko; it was almost as if she had a barricade around her body, blocking her from her surroundings.
I didn’t even bother to bring up a conversation. I, too, was preoccupied with my clashing thoughts. What do I do? I like both Ellies, but as the dream-one said, it wouldn’t be the same. I then asked myself a crucial question. Who do you like more? I told myself rationally, if I like one, then I must like the other. Right? As I said, they’re two of the same people. Even if that weren’t the case, I still like them both equally. That’s when I realized one crucial fact.
I barely even knew the real Ellie. I didn’t even know her last name. But this one – the one I was following back to Efaque City – I knew much more about. Her past, her home.
Her personality.
That’s when it hit me. I didn’t even really know the real Ellie’s personality. Is that why this dream-one is so different? Because my mind couldn’t figure out what Ellie’s personality was, so it just made one up for this dream-version? Version? How could I say that?
Then again, it was only a dream.
But still.
It wasn’t until I was on the ground with a distinct throbbing in my forehead when I realized that I rammed into a tree. Dammit. How does my brain even know what that feels like? And believe me, it sure didn’t feel good.
Ellie rushed over and helped me up, brushing off specks of dirt from my pajamas as she did so. “Be careful,” she said.
I nodded and replied, “Thanks.” I didn’t even have the will to sound sarcastic.
Up ahead, I could see the faint glow of the lanterns on the low branches of the saplings. We were close. Just a little further . . .
We continued walking, and, just when the pain began receding from my forehead, I felt and unusual scraping sensation against the bone in my leg. Almost like someone was biting off the last strips of meat from a turkey leg.
I stopped in my tracks, and, once again, Ellie stopped. “What are you doing?” she questioned me.
I shook my head whilst examining my calf. “The surgery,” I said. “I can feel it in my bone . . . literally.”
Ellie sighed with sympathy and looked down at my leg. “We don’t have much further. You think you can make it?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt, but it feels weird.”
The roman pillars eventually appeared high above the saplings, and out before us was the cliff that dropped off into the swampy flatland. Efaque City stood high in the distance. But where were all the hunters and gatherers? Surely we would’ve had to have run into at least one patroller, right?
Ellie seemed to notice this too. “Let’s hurry back.”
We hastily climbed down the cliff wall, trying my best to ignore the uncomfortable scraping inside my leg. We then ran across the flatland and headed toward the large metallic pyramid.
Mud coated the ankles of my pajama bottoms, sticking to my skin with an uncomfortable itchy feeling. Long after my feet were beginning to ache after running through the sticky mud, we finally made it to the pyramid. Like Recaro had done the day before, Ellie lined up the wall facing the cliff across the flatland with the golden gazebo on top. Then, making sure she was right in front of the entrance to the Tärkein, she felt the metal in front of her. As expected, her hand dissipated and sunk into the metal like it was some sort of Jell-O.
Then, following Ellie, I entered the Tärkein.
