Not So Sweet Candyland

XI: To the Past Long Lost Friends

"Besides me, who else was there that you traveled with?" Chase asked as Berry and him were walking.

"There have been 4 others besides you." she said sadly.

"What happened? You sound sad."

Berry stopped and sighed.

"They all died before making it back home."

"What? How?"

Berry started to walk.

"3 girls and 1 boy. All within 3 years."

She started to bite her lip.

"The first one, her name was Dana. Dana was a quiet girl from Southern California. At the time, she was 16 years old and was freaking out. The poor girl was suffering from severe anxiety and a bad case of panic disorder. Blonde hair, tanned skin, short but thin. She was eager to learn, but was quite clumsy. She gave me advice along the way and helped me when I got my first thingy thing. About halfway through the journey, at night, she was hungry one day and we were near Berry Forest. She went in and never came out. I found her body the next day and it brought me to tears. A spy found her and killed her. Killed her!

Then, there was another girl, Kaelynn Scout. Born in Australia, moved to Georgia when she was 6. She was only 14. She was too impressed by everything and in the end, became extremely greedy. Eventually, she became infatuated with Candyland Culture and was an idiot to fall for my dad and became obsessed with him because she thought that's the way that you get a sugar daddy. I started to hate her but I hate that I let her do whatever she wanted."

"How'd she die?"

"She tried to get into the castle, but got killed. It sounds bad but I didn't feel horrible when she died. I mean yeah, I felt sad. But, I wasn't crying over her."

She took a deep breath. And started to sound dreamy.

"And then, there was a boy. His name was Ian, Ian Schwarzenegger from Idaho. His name makes him sound like an ugly person. But, he really was something else. Perfection in words, and he understood me. Black hair, black mascara, black everything, but green eyes. Oh, those green eyes. He was smart, deep, understanding, and was prepared for everything. He even protected me when I couldn't fend for myself. When we were together, when the journey was near the end, I thought he was the one. I really thought he was. I had my first kiss with him when I was 15. And I fell in love with him. He went everywhere with me, and I knew he felt the same way too. But, when it was time to leave, he didn't want me to go with him. I fought and yelled at him for the first time and he wouldn't let me go. And that's when I realized that he was an idiot! Just like you! He had no clue what he was doing, what dangers he would face, or what he would do. And all I could do was admit defeat and go back to Licorice City. I couldn't save him, or else he would push me away. At the headquarters, we watched as he beat a monster, survived the ever shaking cavern, but just as he was about to reach the end, at the Ridge of Life or Death which is an unstable area in terms of ground and air with a bridge connecting you to the portal. Something hurled at Ian and he couldn't prevent himself from falling into the lava and all I could do was have my heart break after his communicator burned up and it displayed "Tracker Lost". Normally, it would say "No Signal Found", but it said Tracker Lost."

"Damn." Chase mumbled under his breath.

"And before you, there was a young girl. Only 6 years old. Madeline Goldberg, she was sweet, and of course I went easy on her. She was a child, not a toy. We always played everyday and she always had a little bouncy ball and a teddy bear that she couldn't sleep without. She was just like the little sister that I never had. It was actually when we were almost at the halfway point that something happened. At night, we were playing with her bouncy ball by the estates because we were planning on going there one day when her bouncy ball went in the yard of the Cherry Estates and it broke a vase that was a gift from the king. She went and was kidnapped for a day. When there was word of a party, I went into the estate and what I saw next horrified me. They accused her of trespassing and called her a homeless child when she wasn't. She was wrapped around a wooden pole over a firepit. And that's when she burned to death, she was illegally executed. I hated myself, I really did."

She took a deep breath.

"And I don't want any of that to happen to you! Even though I might be a bitch to you, I care about you. Yeah, I might not always be happy or lovey dovey, but I have your back. I want you to get home, I want you to live your boring and unaffected life, I just want you to be happy, and be somewhere where you actually belong. I don't belong here either."

"Why not come with me?" Chase asked. "If you really hate this place so much?"

"That's the thing, I want to leave, but what would happen to everybody in Licorice City?"

"They'll remember you. I know you're close with them. They'll be happy that you made it, I know that you're scared of letting them down."

"I let 4 people die while they were with me, of course I'm not ok! I'm a murderer! A murderer!"

Her sadness turned into anger as she punched Chase in the arm so hard.

She ran away from him and finally the tears slowly started to come out from her eyes.