Fabled (14 page)

“When was this? I thought all the chasms were sealed in the Middle Ages.”

“That’s right; they were. But occasionally over the generations the once sealed chasms decide randomly to allow certain people in. My father and I were exceptions and so were you. The selection process is strange and unpredictable, or so we believe. It was 1826 when I last lived in Time.”

My mind tried to understand. I had all these questions.
Why were we chosen?
I could see that Chester realized how confused I was.

“I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I, really. It just is,” Chester said and held me tighter.

“I wish you would have told me.”

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t know how to.”

“How did your dad find this place?”
 

“He and his brother were researchers. Fables and fate led them here,” he answered.

“How come the royals aren’t after you?”

“They were for a time. I ran for a while, and then I heard of the Riddler. I sought his help. He taught me how to find my power here. Now every time I’m confronted with a royal, I turn invisible. Sometimes it’s even involuntary, if I’m nervous enough. They grew tired of trying to find me, and now they’re barely looking. That’s why I couldn’t risk it with Hans and Greta.”

“The Riddler was willing to help you even though you were from Terra? Why didn’t he want to turn you in like you thought he’d do me?” I asked.

“He didn’t know why they were looking for me. I didn’t tell him where I was from. I just answered the required riddle and asked innocently for some help developing talents. That’s what he’s known for, and he didn’t suspect a thing. Luckily the answer to my riddle didn’t involve other worldly things.”

“How does he know now?”

“He only found out after our business was done. You see, he’s the family freak. He’s the eccentric uncle of the Queen. He rarely ever hears from them except on rare occasions when something is big enough that may require his assistance — like the possibility of a portal jumper in their midst.”
 

“Why didn’t he send for them when he saw you just now?”

“They must not be needing me too much anymore… The chasms are heavily watched. They know that if I were able to open one, I would have already. They’ve probably realized I’m useless to their mission,” his voice trailed.

“How could you ever take that chance?”

“I knew I could turn invisible if I needed to, and I felt he was our only option to safely help Madeline.”

“I’m the new target now, huh?”
 

“I’m afraid so,” he answered.

I contemplated the danger of getting Madeline out. I could be snatched. The Riddler said I needed to be “investigated.” I shuttered at the thought of what that might entail.
 

I cuddled closer into the safety of Chester’s arms until I finally found sleep.

Chapter 13

I awoke to my face being flushed by the fire. Chester’s arms were wrapped tightly around my torso. I couldn’t help but feel happy in that moment, despite the threat of being in the cold wilderness. My warm thoughts were interrupted by a sudden and severe sense of thirstiness. I saw Chester’s bag propped close by on a tree. I gently untied myself from him and searched for the canteen he kept in his bag. I took several large gulps and reclaimed my warm spot next to him. As I lay back down, I heard the familiar rustling. I sat up quickly looking in the direction I thought it came from but saw nothing beyond the orange glow of the fire against the black woods.
 

That’s when it happened. A quick hand and cloth covered my nose and mouth, and I was out.
 

I don’t know how long it took for me to awake from the poisoned sleep, but when I did, the fogginess was inescapable. The darkness handicapped me and rendered my sight useless. The slow drip of water hitting some type of pool became louder and louder and relentlessly pierced my mind until I thought I’d go mad.
 

“Help me,” I tried to scream, but it only sounded like a loud whisper at best.

A growl responded. The warmth of the animal’s breath crept down every vertebrae of my motionless spine. I cringed and found myself mimicking my childhood’s answer to unseen fear. I froze and closed my eyes. I lay so incredibly still it hurt. Every muscle, joint, and appendage felt jammed into the rigidity I was compelled to force. I knew it had to be the wolf — the same one I saw in the forest that night, the same one I heard outside Rose’s house, and the same one I felt stalk me every step I’d made until now.
But how could it have been what robbed me from Chester’s arms? There must be someone helping it.
Eventually the exhaustion and poison overtook me, and I surrendered into the unknown of sleep.
 

The creeping sunlight glowed behind my closed eyes. I opened them slowly. My head pounded in rebellion.
 

“Here.” I heard a voice next to me say coldly. A tall dark featured man sat on a rock only a couple of feet away. He placed a metal cup in front of me. His face was scruffy but mysteriously attractive, even through his cold demeanor. His muscles bulged through his thin long sleeved shirt. His tactical pants were worn at the knees and were tucked into black combat boots. He didn’t look at me. His eyes stayed focused on the fire. I skeptically reviewed the cup’s contents and decided it was water. That same thirst that got me kidnapped had now made me go against my better judgment and take a drink from the man I assumed had drugged me. I finished the water and gently placed the cup at his feet.

 
My head continued to pound, so I lay back on the mat and looked up at the cave’s ceiling. The stalactites and mites explained the water sound that I had heard before but not the growl. I wondered if this guy had a guard dog that he kept to watch his prisoners. I lay motionless, trying to figure out what I should do. The edge of the cave was probably 15 yards away, but the looks of this intimidating man and my throbbing headache kept me from feeling like I should make a mad run for it.
 

“You need to eat,” he said. “Sit up.”

I obeyed. He grabbed some fruit from a basket on the other side of the cave. I was astonished he felt confident enough to turn his back to me, his prisoner. I hesitated for a moment and thought about doing something, but he turned back to face me before I could clearly decide anything.
 

“Here,” he said coldly and handed me an apple, banana, and some grapes.
 

I quietly munched on the first meal I’d had in a while and stared at my capturer. His eyes occasionally met mine, but he would quickly turn away. He appeared to be older than Chester and I. Maybe in his late twenties. I wanted to ask him why he had taken me and what he wanted from me, but I was too afraid.
He probably worked for the royals. Another of their soldiers,
I concluded.
 

After eating, I sat awkwardly by the fire wishing he’d say something. Even if he told me he was taking me to the royals for testing, I wanted to know what was going on. But he didn’t say anything. He just sat there. Occasionally, he’d grab something to eat or drink. He’d lie down on a palate across from me, but he’d never sleep. As the time passed, I found myself more and more confused. I figured he would be taking me to them, but we never left. Then I thought maybe the royals might come here, but that seemed unlikely since we seemed to be miles away from anything. I resolved not to speak until I was spoken to for fear I may be dealing with something much worse than royals.
 

By the time the dark had appeared again, I couldn’t help but feel sick. The silence was killing me. I desperately wanted to be back with Chester and be on our way to helping Madeline.
 

“When are they coming?” I finally asked. The echo of my voice bounced back to me and hung heavy in the stillness.

“Who?”

“The royals?”
 

“I don’t work for the royals, if that’s what you’re getting at.” He laid his head back on his folded arms.

“What do you plan on doing with me?” I asked nervously. I sat up and stared at him over the fire. A howl roared near the entrance of the cave. I jumped in fear and felt my body resume rigidness.
 

He smiled. “I haven’t decided yet.”

After another several moments of quiet. I laid back down and escaped into the depths of my dreams.

The next morning, I awoke to the piercing black eyes of the wolf. His shiny gray coat reflected off of the early morning rays. He strutted around the cave, always keeping a large distance between him and I. The man was nowhere to be found. I figured he was gone for whatever reason and left this beast here to keep me from escaping. I found the water and food in the same place where he retrieved them yesterday — a large woven pack. I fed myself, sat down, and studied the walls of the cave.
 

There were primitive, though impressive, paintings of men killing wolves under double moons, and of wolves slashing men. One was different, set off by itself, away from the brutality of the others. A man held a woman tenderly. That one was my favorite.
 

The wolf never seemed to tire. His eyes were on me the entire day. He watched as I walked in circles around the fire while I tried to figure out how I was going to escape. He even stared as I braided my hair. His constant glare made me feel nervous and insecure. I didn’t know what was running through his mind. I couldn’t read him like I could dogs at home. His eyes were wild.
 

When night approached, he stood at the edge of the cave and howled for what seemed like hours. I could hear other howls in the distance. I went to sleep that night with him sitting and starring until I finally just turned over.
 

Every night went on like this for weeks. Some days and nights the man would be there and others the wolf. I never noticed any rhyme, reason or schedule. The silence was maddening. Every day that passed without human interaction and conversation made me feel more and more desperate to escape, but I was never left alone.
 

The man hadn’t said anything really. It amazed me how another human being could be so quiet. I wanted to go back to Chester, the only person who understood what it was like to be a northern dweller in Mezzanine.

That night the wolf was on duty. I wanted something different than the same old vegetables and fruit I had been eating, so I figured I’d pop some corn. I took an iron pot, put the corn inside, and placed a plate on top of it. I positioned a rock in the middle of the fire and shifted the embers until a flame was peeking through the wood and over the rock. I waited a few minutes and sat the pot of corn on the rock. After a few seconds, I heard the first pop. The wolf jumped to his feet, and walked closer to the fire to investigate. Another pop. Then another. Then many pops. The wolf jerked at every one of them and began to growl at the noise. I laughed. He looked at me in confusion. I moved the pot back and forth with a stick until the corn fell silent. I grabbed a blanket and used it to pick up the hot iron pot. I sat it in front of me and ate in silence, fairly pleased that this simple pleasure had broken up the monotony of many days.

The wolf glared at me, but I couldn’t help but laugh. I remember feeding our dog Sugar back home popcorn all the time. She loved it. I thought about it for a moment and threw him one, but instead of lurching out to catch it, he let it fall to the dirt floor. He stared at it for a while and then looked at me. I threw a piece up in the air and caught it with my mouth. I giggled at the thought of a dog’s reluctance to eat a little ol’ popped corn. I walked over and snatched the piece up.
 

“If you don’t want it, I guess I’ll take it back,” I taunted, remembering how that always worked with my dog.

I sat the piece next to me as I continued eating my snack. I had almost finished when the wolf began to nudge around sniffing. I cupped my hand over the treat. He stared at me with puppy eyes, almost begging. I took the piece and held it out in my palm. He came over and slowly licked it out of my hand. Without even thinking, I ran my hand down his head and back.

“Good boy,” I said happily.

Instantly, I knew I shouldn’t have touched him. Both our bodies tensed, and I feared he might attack me. I held my hand out, top up, to his nose and waited for his permission. I didn’t think he was going to give it until he finally rooted his snout under my hand. I ran my fingers down his soft back. He sat still next to me all night. We both finished off the popcorn.