The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 5

5

“You slow,” Dagwood said, for about the tenth time today.

“I’m trying!” I countered, panting my lungs out. He was relentless in his pursuit for the pond of Illusions but he didn’t seem to suffer from an agonising burn in his muscles or the feeling of wanting to throw up organs.

“You move feet faster,” he cheered, somehow a lot brighter than yesterday.

Maybe it was the Lauweed or the fire? Whichever it was, he was bouncing through the forest like a gazelle in spring.

“It’s just… so… hot!” I panted.

“But I hear water.”

He could? How? I could hear nothing.

Oh, right. He didn’t have his heartbeat pounding in his ears. That probably helped with hearing things.

“We go this way.”

Without waiting for a response, he set back in motion and charged through the trees.

“Oh, for f**k’s sake!” I growled. If I had a choice, I’d rather fall dead, but that wouldn’t get me out of the woods or save Hyde. And I couldn’t let him down. I was going to save him, regardless of what it cost me.

I chased after Dagwood, wishing the burn would just consume me already. But with every step, the sound of falling water became louder, clearer. We were nearing a body of water, and if it wasn’t the pond of Illusions, I’d just drown myself in it.

After countless trees, the wall of green opened up and changed to a crystal blue. Loud and playful, a waterfall broke the surface of a pond and sent ripples across the mirror. The water was so clear, I could see all the way to the bottom and count the pebbles.

“Beautiful…”

“No time.” Dagwood reached for the flask and held it out to me. “Fill.”

I shook my head in bemusement as I crouched down in the grass. He was odd, different than anyone I knew, but he was straight-forward and clear. It was actually a nice change from all the gossiping in the Academy.

The cold water tickled my skin as I drowned the bottle. Quickly, the crystal water poured into the belly and filled the flask, completing the first part of our test.

“There. Now we just need to bring it back to the Keeper, right?”

Dagwood gestured to the sky. “Not a lot of time. Sunset is here.”

I followed his look upwards and nodded. The sky was speckled with red clouds, coloured with an orange hue by the setting sun and highlighted with silver by the upcoming moon.

Everything about it reminded me of Ryoko and the way the sun revealed the shimmer of scales along her skin. She would’ve loved the view as much as I did.

“No time.” Dagwood tore me out of my thoughts. He took the filled bottle from me and closed it with a cork. “We return to Keeper.”

With a last, longing look at the sky, I brought my attention back to the task at hand. The test.

“Do you want me to carry the bottle now?” I asked, reaching for the flask. I’d feel a lot more confident if I was the one holding it.

“No.” Without giving me the chance to protest, he rose to his feet and raced back into the woods. “We run now.”

Every part of my body cried out in pain as I charged after him. He was enthusiasm embodied, bursting with energy and excitement. Weightless, he darted through the forest, leaving me in a hurry behind him.

More than ever, I was insistent on keeping up with him. If he delivered the flask to the Keeper on his own, it would reflect badly on me. Although I was sure that my new companion would insist it was a group effort, even though I barely contributed.

He seemed like that kind of guy.

I took a deep breath and willed my legs to push through the burn. If this Wood Elf could run the distance, so could I. I wasn’t going to let him fail.

A sudden crack and scream tore me out of my thoughts. The earth tremoured in a violent quake that shook the trees and ground.

The force threw me to the ground where the wet mud welcomed me. A rain of green cascaded down, covering me in a layer of leaves. Twigs and snapped branches thudded down, splatting up the dirt and attacking anything that moved.

Panic exploded within me, rivalling the chaos going on around me. The world was ending. I was going to die.

Trees crashed down around me, slamming into the earth with their full weight. Another scream carved through the thunderous noise and mixed with my own.

Dagwood.

Where was he? Was he alright?

No, then he wouldn’t have screamed. He was hurt.

The earthquake stopped and with one last aftershock, the ground was still once more. My heart was not. Louder than ever, my heartbeat thrummed through my chest, my veins, my ears.

Debris covered my body, the snapped branches and twigs drawing new wounds in my skin. My world was dirt and dust, pain and fear.

“Dagwood?” I called, spitting out leaves. My teeth crunched from the muddy ground, the earthy taste assaulting my tongue. “Hello?”

“Over… Over here.”

I rushed towards the sound, crawling through the mud without caring what it did to my crisp white shirt.

“Dagwood!?”

“Here,” he replied weakly.

I traced his cry for help to a fallen tree with a thick trunk. The bark was splattered open, the white wood exposed. And underneath… Underneath, I found the torso of my companion and only his torso.

His legs were crushed, trapped. He was stuck.

“s**t!” With trembling hands, I tugged and pulled on some of the branches, trying to free him from his confinement. But to no avail.

“It’s alright.” He reached out, blood running down his arm and pooling into droplets down his fingers. “I’m just… I need—”

“What are you reaching for?” I followed his gaze until a glint caught my eye.

Underneath the rubble of the earthquake, the bottle we got from the Keeper was snuggly tucked against a rock.

“Wow. Not even a drop spilled.”

The glass was smooth in my battered hands, the water calm compared to the chaos around.

“You bring to Keeper,” Dagwood mumbled, his voice hoarse and rough.

“And leave you here like that?” I pushed the bottle in his hands and sought out a sturdy stick. “I’m going to dig you out of there.”

“You are crazy.”

“So are you if you think I’m walking away.”

Dagwood groaned as I started working the stick into the ground. At least it was rather muddy and shaken up from the quake.

It shouldn’t take too long to get him out from underneath the tree.

“Stop. Keeper will not forgive us. We will be late,” the crippled man protested, but I heeded no regards to his warning.

I would not be that kind of person.

“Stop! Go and bring water to him.”

“This is our test. He won’t accept it if it’s just me.” Sweat pearled on my forehead from the intense labour. I had more physical work-out the last couple of days than for a good while. It was making my muscles cry, but that was a small price to pay.

“You do not know about Keeper. He only gives one chance.” The panic was clear in his voice, and as tempting as his suggestion was, I couldn’t listen to him. If I did, I might follow his advice and leave him behind.

I wanted to get out of the forest. I didn’t even know this Wood Elf, yet, I was risking everything for him. Putting everything on the line for his well-being. But I had no other choice. Not if I wanted to stay true to the person I wanted to be.

“You underestimate me.” I loosened my tie and threw it to the side. “I’m not leaving you here, so save your breath.”

His eyes narrowed. “You will dwell the woods for eternity.”

The thought flared up my anxiety and panic, but I couldn’t let those emotions roam free.

I ground my teeth together, stubbornly. “I’ll find another way.”

“There is no other way.”

“I’ll will it.”

He grabbed hold of the stick and tore it from my hands. “No! You do not understand. Forest of Illusions is forever. It is too late for me. Save yourself. Find your wolf.”

My wolf… Hyde…

What good would it do him if I were stuck here? He needed me. All the pups needed me and so did the field of souls.

I promised Var my help and I intended on keeping that promise.

I couldn’t do any of that if I were stuck in the forest for eternity…

My resolve wavered for a moment, for the shortest of seconds. I had responsibilities to other people, to other things. Didn’t they matter? Shouldn’t I grab the opportunity to save myself?

Conflicted, I looked down at the pained face of my new friend. His dark eyes glistened, his heart noble.

No, I couldn’t leave.

Right now, he was my responsibility and I owed him my help.

To demonstrate my point, I shoved my hands into the ground. The mud stained my fair skin and ruined my already ruined shirt.

“I said no!” Dagwood growled, but he didn’t have enough energy to protest.

“And I said I’m not leaving. Now shut up or help digging.”

Stubbornly, I kept at it. Moving the earth one handful at a time, it was a tedious task. It would take a long time to dig a hole big enough, but it was worth trying. Even if it took me until sundown, even if it took longer.

The Keeper could shove his rules up his ass. This was more important.

And if he wouldn’t grant me passage out of the woods, then I’d find another way. I wasn’t sure how, but I would. Somehow. I hoped...