Otherworld

Everashe

Chapter 9 Everashe

Leaving the safety and comfort of the willows behind, Croix, Derrik, and I trudged on towards the mountains. The land became a dense, stinky marsh for as far as the eye could see. Midges and odd-looking purple beetles with red pincers swarmed tracts of mud in thick clouds. Though I actively avoided them, my skin crawled. Why'd it have to be bugs? The insects didn't seem to bother Croix in the least. Maybe he was just that used to them. Derrik, on the other hand, was trying to clap them between his palms at every chance he got.

Every few steps I took, I found holes in the muck that were filled with stagnant water and flooded my shoes. The feeling of wet rubber and cloth was pretty uncomfortable, but I didn't complain about that as much as Derrik did. He actually fell face-first into the swamp. Without skipping a beat, I yanked him up by the back of his pants, only to see him grinning at me like an i***t.

"What?" I had to ask.

 He didn't answer me. Derrik just held out his fist and slowly opened it. A tiny little frog leaped out at me from within. Derrik must have thought I would jump because he looked awfully disappointed with my reaction to it, which wasn't anything at all.

 I just sighed and wiped his face off with my sleeve. "Seriously, Derrik?" I groaned a bit. "Don't tell me you fell on purpose."

              "Then, I won't."

"If you two are done…" Croix interrupted with a soft hiss. He had his fingers hooked over his belt, leaning back slightly. "Get out of the water."

Derrik and I glanced at each other before we peered up at our guide. His body language seemed relaxed, but his voice was like a knife. Sharp and pointed. He was on a rocky little strip of land, well away from the water. Urgency filled my mind. If he was acting like that, there was a reason for it. I latched my arm around my brother and waded as quickly as I could manage it towards Croix.

The mud under our feet protested, sucking at our boots the faster we tried to walk. Thick fog blanketed the marsh around us and grew like an impending wave. It was almost like the weather had a mind of its own. Croix reached down for my hand and pulled us up, only for Derrik to cry out in protest at my side. His legs were stuck, and he was sinking.

From the bank of the sliver of an island, I held fast to my brother and refused to let him go, tugging him upward with all my might. Croix, on the other hand, got in the muck to dig him out. It was not enough, though.

 It wasn't mud keeping Derrik in place, but a large, slimy vine that seemed sentient. He was blubbering like a wayward whale beached under the scorching sun. I was sure that the whole forest around us could hear him. Not that I blamed him. Honestly, I would probably have been twice as loud. "Shhh. We'll get you out. You're gonna be ok." I cooed, trying to comfort him.

Derrik whimpered. "It hurts, Gwenny… My ankle is going to fall off, and I am gonna have to have a peg leg…" He was dramatic, like all kids in danger tended to do. I held him tightly, glancing over to Croix just in time to see him duck under the water.

 All of a sudden, the vine clinging to Derrik ripped him from my arms and tossed him high into the air as it flailed around. Croix resurfaced with a chunk of it between his teeth. My eyes widened in horror as my gaze went from him to my brother as he fell, screaming b****y murder.

I lurched forward. Maybe if I hustled, I could catch him. "I gotcha, Derrik!" I yelled, positioning myself under where he was now tumbling through tree branches and flora. Though he seriously hit every branch on the way, it slowed his plummet. Derrik landed on me, and hard. Both of us groaned as we rolled down the slight slope straight into the swamp water.

Croix was quick to wade through the water, after spitting out the vine in his mouth, and snatch each of us up by our collars and drag us onto solid ground. Looking none too happy, might I add. But it wasn't like he told us from the get-go to keep to the drier parts of the marsh.

"What was that?" Derrik gasped as we settled to rest and regain our bearings.

"Enchanted Ivy." Croix took a deep breath. He relaxed with the exhale. "You ok, kid?" He sighed, pulling my brother's foot into his lap as he crouched in front of him, taking a look at it. "Well, you have a bruise, but it's not broken. It looks like you got quite a few scratches."

"I'm alright. What about you, Gwen?" He glanced at me.

"Other than being crushed by you, I'm fine. Really." I assured, shrinking slightly as Croix studied me. "A warning would have been nice, you know. Things like this don't happen all the time on the surface world."

"I know. Maybe I just assumed you humans were smarter than that." Croix rubbed his face. "Look, I'm not mad at you guys. I'm furious at myself."

Before he could continue what I assumed was a self-pity party, I scooched over to his side. "Sorry, Croix. We will be more careful. Promise."

He slid his gaze over me, cracking a slight side smile. "Uh-huh." Croix didn't sound convinced, but at least he seemed to relax a little bit. "No more messing around, though. You two are the loudest people I have ever met." With that, he chuckled softly and hoisted himself up to his feet. "We have a long way to go. Come on."

Croix held his hand out to me. I blushed faintly as I took it. Of course, it didn't help with Derrik oohing over my shoulder.

*

It was damn near impossible for me to tell how late it was getting. The sky remained relatively the same though we already walked for some hours. No longer were we in that icky, stifling swamp but in a seemingly endless meadow that mimicked a star-studded sky. Tiny blue and yellow blooms spread out as far as the eye could see, glowing softly as they bathed in moonlight. 

I gasped quietly as even the tall grass illuminated when anything brushed against it. Captivating. The urge to pick a few of the flowers was too hard to ignore, but I wished I hadn't. As soon as I snapped the nearest sprig off the bush, it burst into a heatless flame and turned to ash between my fingers. I frowned so hard that my jaw hurt.

"Careful with that Everashe," Croix said as he leaned over my shoulder.

"Why? It wasn't even hot." I said as bitterness rose when I couldn't tuck some in my hair, seeping through my tone. 

"Maybe not to you." He replied, taking my hand to blow the ash away. "Just be careful. We don't need the entire felid up in flames either way. As long as you don't harm the plant, it won't do much."

"Sorry... I just thought it was pretty." I mumbled, a little embarrassed at myself. Croix just smiled at me like he knew something I did not. "What?" I had to question. 

"Its nothing. I just-"

"Let's get a move on." Derrik pipped up, literally marching between Croix and me, successfully pushing us apart. He knew exactly what he was doing, too. The mischievous smirk he flashed me gave him away. 

"Derrik." I hissed. My brother ignored me as he went on ahead of us in a pointed march. His antics often annoyed me. This time more so than others. Maybe I wanted Croix's closeness to last a while longer. Wishful thinking on my part for sure; Croix didn't seem phased by it.

"Wait up, squirt," He called. "Don't get too far ahead of us. Wouldn't want anything else to happen to you." Croix sprinted towards him to catch up.

I don't know what he meant by that, but I certainly didn't want to find out. Thought I was not as quick to follow, I still kept both of them well within my line of sight as I continued on the same path they made through the weeds. 

Crickets sang their sleep-song all around me. I found the meadow so peaceful that I didn't want to leave it. How long had it been since I last slept? I couldn't remember. It didn't feel like time moved at all here, tossing my senses out of wack.

I wasn't exhausted. Even so, my body slowed, and I dragged like I weighed a ton. I couldn't even manage to lift my feet on my own. And I was not the only one to feel that way. I could hear my brother ahead of me complaining about how his feet were asleep.

"It's the water. Just keep moving, and you will be alright." Croix told him, purposely loud enough that I could hear him too. I groaned in response and tried to catch up.

"The water, hu?"

"Yeah. That and the Everashe. The sleepy feeling is from them. It'll wear off soon." Croix waited on me with a light smirk plastered on his face. "You look dead tired."