The Other Ones

4 - Leah Befriends a Talking Unicorn Named Chad

At first, Leah didn't completely process what Nick was saying. "What do you mean?" She said impatiently.

"When we traveled through the mirror . . . it must have been too much for it to handle," He fixed his eyes on the ground. "I noticed it when those guys were chasing me. It was on the ground in shards. I'm sorry."

"Are you serious? How did I not see it when I woke up?"

"I don't know. It was right behind us when we were laying on the floor. I think we were just distracted by everything else in the room."

She was silent for a few seconds. "Oh my gosh . . . Nick, what are we going to do now?" Leah was almost in tears. That mirror had been their only hope of getting home, and now it was gone. She had felt as if all the hope inside of her had been holding the weight of her fear, and now all she felt was despair, heavy on her chest as she suppressed a whimper.

Nick must have sensed her worry because he stepped closer and wrapped an arm around Leah's shoulders. "Hey, we're gonna be okay," he assured her. "We'll find a way home, I know it."

"How can you be sure?" Leah sniffled. "Unless we know of another time machine that can get us home, I think that mirror was our only bet."

Nick's eyes lit up. "Hey, that's it!" He withdrew his arm from around Leah. "Why don't we just go back to your dad's lab and ask him about his time machine? If he built it back in our time, he probably still has it this time."

"Not anymore. We broke it, so it's still going to be broken in the future. If this even is the future," She added under her breath. "Besides, you saw how my dad acted. He'd just call those robot guys again."

"Oh, you're right," Nick muttered. "Okay then . . . so I guess that means asking him to build us another one is out . . ."

Before Leah could agree, there came a rustle from the bushes. She seized Nick's arm. "What was that?"

"Relax, it's probably just a woodland animal."

"We live in a city! This is not even possible, there shouldn't be a forest here!"

The rustling grew louder. Leah held her breath. Then, out of the shrubs bounded a . . . unicorn. Leah blinked and rubbed her eyes to ensure she was not seeing things. But it was still there. A majestic white unicorn with a flowing mane and tail, long eyelashes, and a beautiful horn that seemed to sparkle a thousand different colors all at once. She stared at the creature, gawking at its flawless beauty. The animal seemed to be amitting some type of glow, drawing its admirers in for a closer look.

"Is that a . . . ? I'm not imagining things, am I?" Nick breathed.

"No, I see it too."

The creature tilted its head at the pair, looking curious. Then it opened its mouth. "Greetings, humans! What brings you to this part of Tackleberry Woods?"

Leah screamed, and she and Nick both jumped backward.

"Did you just . . . talk?" Nick's voice shook, his eyes wide.

The unicorn looked confused. "Of course I talked. You two aren't from around here, are you?"

"Um . . . I guess you could say that."

"Well in that case, welcome."

Leah found her voice. "Uh, I'm sorry . . . I'm still having a hard time processing this. I mean, where we're from . . . unicorns don't talk." Or exist, for that matter.

"Isn't that strange. Well, we can here." said the unicorn.

"Can all animals talk?" Nick asked.

"Goodness, no. Just the typical. You know, unicorns, mermaids, fairies --"