Dreamscape: Saving Alex (11 page)

The birds sang as Arrow poured a drink. He wasn’t
close enough to touch, but even with my eyes closed, I sensed his proximity.
The clarity of the details I recalled of his face startled me, from his strong
jaw to the hair that fell across his forehead, just barely covering his eyes.

Those eyes.

The look of admiration he gave me after I knocked
out the giant, and then the confusion when I drew my weapon on him came back to
me. Now that I had eaten, everything seemed so clear. Why had I ever doubted
him?

When I opened my eyes he was prodding the fire
with a stick. He added another log to the fire and a spray of embers
highlighted the clumps of dried mud that fell off the bottom of his boot.

I kicked chunks of goop off my leggings with my
foot, wishing I could kick off the entire costume. Why was being the hero so
difficult? When I first put the costume on, I thought I knew what I was
supposed to do. Obviously I didn’t. All this pretending twisted my insides.

“So, Goldy…” he stopped mid-sentence as I shook
out my hair. I let it fall loose, embracing the one thing about me that
remained unchanged.

“You really should hide your hair. Someone might
notice,” he mumbled, locking his gaze on me.

“Maybe I want someone to notice,” I said with a
direct look. My heart raced. Why had I said that?

He stopped drinking and appraised me. The cup
covered most of his face but not the mischievous gleam in his eyes. Oh crap,
what had I done?

“So how come I’ve never heard of you before?” I
asked quickly, bringing the conversation back to safe ground. My hand shook as
I reached for another piece of bread. “I’m pretty sure I would remember a name
like yours.”

I’d definitely remember his face.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m pretty well-known
around here, especially in these woods. What about you? Where are you from?” He
sliced an apple with his knife and let the blade hang by his lips. I took
another bite to buy time. How could I possibly tell him I was from a different
world? A real one. I couldn’t. I only had one reasonable option—lie.

“Um, pretty far from here. Further north, I
think.”

He stopped prodding the fire and arched an
eyebrow. “From the north, huh? I would have guessed further away.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, scrunching my
face as I took an additional bite of bread.

“Nothing bad,” he said, appeasing me with a quick
gesture of surrender and pointing to the vines crossing my body. “I’m not one
to question how or why you’re here. I just noticed that you weren’t aware of
the Wounded Woods.”

“Wounded Woods,” I said. “I guess that’s a fitting
name. I needed the vines, that’s for sure. You never did tell me what you were
doing there today.”

“Besides rescuing you from giants?”

“Funny, I seem to recall handling mine just fine,”
I said, relieved to joke about something that had pulled us apart before. “No,
seriously though, what were you doing there? Was it just random luck that we
found each other?”

“I don’t believe in random luck.” He shook his
head and reached for my hand. “This was more. I was meant to find you.”

My heart leapt. “I…”

“The rebellion needs you.”

Just as quickly, my heart sank. The rebellion.
Those two words defined my purpose to these people. How could I forget about
that? He was looking for the hero, not for me.

“Do you have any more bread in there?” I asked,
changing the subject again. I scooted forward, within arm’s reach. Why did I do
that? He could see my heart beating for sure.

“Just a few slices, but we should ration those for
later. I’m down to the last two apples as well,” he said, sliding off the log
to sit by my side and opening his bag for me to see. His proximity clouded my
mind, making it hard to remain level-headed or breathe. I grabbed for my bag
out of reflex and opened it.

“Nothing in here either,” I said, leaning forward
to share my bag with him.

“Wait!” he said, placing his hand over mine. The
speed in his movement and alarm in his voice surprised me. “Can I?” he asked,
pulling the bag from my grip.

Startled, I nodded. What could have caught his
attention? There wasn’t much in my bag to begin with.
Except those
, I
thought, watching him pull out the carved wooden boxes.

“Why did you take these?” he asked, shooting an
accusatory glance my way.

“Take them? I just found them in the woods.
Someone must have left them there. They’re just money boxes,” I snapped,
clutching the bag to my chest.

“Just money boxes,” he muttered, cracking his neck
in exaggerated motions.

“Yes. If I didn’t, someone else would have.”

“So you just took the money?”

“Yeah.” I hesitated, put off by the accusation in
his voice.

“You stole the money?”

“No,” I said. “It’s not like that.”

“What do
you
call it when you take money
that’s not yours?”

“But that’s not…that’s not fair,” I stuttered,
flustered by his insinuation. “I needed the money.”

“So you just took it? What about the people who it
was intended for. Don’t you think they needed the money?”

“I didn’t know,” I said weakly. His words rattled
in my head like a trapped beast trying to find a way out. I’d done it again,
ruined things before I knew what had happened.

He looked at me for a long time before speaking.
“What’s done is done, but why did you take the boxes? You could have just left
them there,” he said in a quieter tone. I looked at the way he traced the
designs on the wood. He must’ve recognized something I hadn’t.

“They’re too beautiful to be left to rot in the
forest,” I said, pursing my lips and dropping my gaze to the leather bag in my
lap. My hand shook as I felt around along the bottom and clutched the money
from the second box. I dropped the coins into his hands. “Here, take it. I
don’t need it, and I didn’t mean any harm by taking it.”

I held my breath as he considered my offer. He put
the money back in my hand and closed my fist around it, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry. It’s just, there’s so much you don’t
seem to understand,” he said, stiffening, refusing to meet my eyes.

It was more than just Dreamscape that confused me.
Every piece of me ached for Arrow’s warmth. No matter how much I shouldn’t
have, I reached out for his hand.

“Can you help me understand?” I pleaded. “You’re
right. I’m not aware of all the rules here, and I wish I had a good reason for
that. But I want to learn.”

When he looked back at me, my heart fluttered. So
much emotion raged behind his eyes, and I didn’t understand half of it. He
scooted closer, knocking a chunk of mud off with his heel.

“Sorry,” he said and moved even closer. The side
of his thigh touched mine. I forgot how to breathe. Did he have any idea what
he did to me? I recognized the first box he held out. The stained swirls and
carved craftsmanship still captivated me.

“See? It’s too beautiful to leave for no one to
appreciate.”

He sighed so loudly I knew he was almost out of
patience, so I bit my cheek and waited.

“They are beautiful,” he conceded, “but they’re so
much more than that. Look closer. This mark here,” he said, pointing to the
tree carved into the outside, “that’s a mark from the royal army. This box was
intended to pay for a month of supplies for the queen’s army.”

“The queen has an army? Auntie Quinn said a king
ruled.”

His jaw tightened. “Yes, Berkos is in charge, but
the rebels still fight to free the queen. This money was for them, to aid in
the rebellion.”

“And the other box?” My voice trembled.

“This one,” he said, juggling the boxes in his arm
to focus on the second. He exhaled. “Where did you find this one?”

“Just outside the marketplace.” I closed my eyes
as if that would shield me from his answer.

“Open your eyes,” he said, nudging me hard with
his elbow. “This isn’t a game.”

I opened my eyes, but he had nailed the underlying
problem. To me, this was a game.

“This money was meant for medical supplies,” he
said before swearing under his breath. His dark hair covered his eyes as he
shook his head. “Now they won’t get any of this.” He cursed again and dropped
the box in my lap. “Did you get your money’s worth?” he asked. “No, don’t
answer that. I’m sorry. It’s just that now, more than ever, we need every bit
of help we can get. You’re nothing like I expected. I only wish…” his voice
trailed off as he looked at the fire.

“Wish what?” I asked timidly.

He gave me a sideways glance and sad smile. “I
only wish I knew what to do with you.”

My heart doubled its pace. I bit the inside of my
lower lip as my thoughts raced. How could I regain his trust? I sighed. There
was only one way. If he wanted a hero, I would have to step up my game. It was
my only way home, after all. I reached forward, tapping him on his shoulder,
and gave him my biggest smile.

“You said you were looking for me, right?” I
asked. “That I’m the one here to help the rebellion.”

“Yes, but all of that seems ridiculous if you
don’t understand even the most basic of principles.”

“I’m your hero, Arrow. Don’t doubt me because I’ve
forgotten a few things. You have to remember that heroes go on many quests.
They’re all kind of jumbled in my mind right now. Help me sort them out, and
you’ll have no more doubts.”

His forehead scrunched in concentration as he
thought about what I said.

“Help me understand?” I asked.

“There’s so much—”

“Then we better start now,” I said. He poked at
the fire again.

“Ah, Goldy, you don’t give up, do you?”

“Never,” I said, winking and reaching behind him
to grab my leather bag. “We can start with these,” I said, pulling out the
packet of worn parchment from Auntie Quinn.

“Where’d you get this?”

“From Auntie Quinn. Why?”

“Lockhorn News,” he spat, reading the title. “This
is trash.” He handed the papers back to me. “You won’t find anything useful in
there.”

“Maybe not,” I said, opening the pages of the book
and stopping at a picture of a man dressed all in black. “But there’s still
some stuff I need to know about what’s in here.”

“What?”

I flipped back to the front. Where to even begin?
None of it made sense. “Okay, like this for instance. Lockhorn News. Where is
Lockhorn, exactly?”

He gave me a sad glance and looked away. “Goldy,
if you don’t even know that, then I don’t know what help this is going to be.”

“Help me,” I said, shaking the papers in front of
him. “I need to understand what we’re facing if you want my help.”

He shook his head, but remained silent.

“So, Lockhorn. Where is it?”

“It’s all of this,” he said, staring at the fire.

“All of this,” I said. “I thought this was…” but I
didn’t finish my thought. Dreamscape was just the name of the game, not the
places within. It made sense. “Okay, so this is the news for the whole area. It
says here that—”

“It says here that Auntie Quinn won tailor of the
year, that Lindle has been awarded the national trade award for its fifth year
in a row. There are advertisements for the local vendors and news that the
rebels have been driven south of the capital into the woods. What more do you
want to know?” He turned the page.

“I…uh…I don’t know,” I said, taken aback at his
anger. “What about this one?” I asked, pointing to the one headline he had
skipped.

He shook his head and stood up. “Like I said, my
lady, this is trash. News twisted to their agenda. I haven’t read it before,
and I refuse to now, even to humor you. It’s time to go,” he said, dumping a
handful of sand over the glowing embers.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to upset you
again.”

“You haven’t, my lady. But the longer we sit here,
the more upset I’ll get, I fear. Let’s go.”

“Okay, but where are we going?” I asked, leaning
over to grab my boots. Dry chunks of mud flaked off at the slightest touch.

“We’re headed back to the camp at the Grove to
finalize plans, but we have to make a quick stop along the way. Do you think
you’re up for it?”

“Of course. I can handle anything you throw at me.
Where are we going?” I asked, maybe too eagerly.

“Baron Marix’s estate,” he said, ushering me
ahead.

My heart practically leapt out of my chest. I had
to restrain myself from looking too excited. I didn’t know who Baron Marix was,
but I knew my way around all the barons’ estates. For once, I could help!

As Arrow finished extinguishing the fire, I
glanced at the one headline he refused to read:
King Berkos Wins the
Election by a Head
. I exhaled and stuffed the papers back in my bag before
Arrow saw.

“Are you ready Goldy?”

I nodded, not trusting my voice to hide my
excitement.

“Let’s go,” he said, leading me into the woods.

Walking beside Arrow rather than playing catch-up
behind his manic pace was nice. Smaller details of the forest, which I’d missed
on my own, took my breath away when he pointed them out. The woods teemed with
beauty I had overlooked.

The delicate nature of this world grew on me.
Increasingly, I found myself enjoying the beauty rather than comparing it to
its two-dimensional equivalent. Some things just didn’t transfer. I had seen
only a fraction of this world, but I felt like I had lost out on so much over
the years. Dreamscape was a pale imitation of Lockhorn.

“How do you know all of this stuff?” I asked as he
pointed out the erratic patterns of pollen on the underside of dragon weeds.

“I grew up not too far from these woods. Once you
get burned once or twice by dragon weed, you tend to take notice.”

“Tell me about it.” The burns were still fresh in
my mind. He chuckled and reached up to pull some vines out of our way.

“Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from these
woods. This, here,” he said, folding up the cuff of his sleeve and pointing to
a scar across his forearm. “That’s from my first pet horned-bit.”

“Pet horned-bit?” I asked. I’d never heard of such
a thing.

“You laugh, but I was serious as a child. I begged
and begged for a pet, but my parents refused.”

“So what’d you do?” I asked.

“What any reasonable boy would do. I tried to tame
one of these wild beasts on my own.”

“No, you didn’t!” I covered my mouth.

“Oh, I did. And as you can see, he didn’t like it
one bit. He rammed his horn right through my arm the first time I tried to pick
him up. Sad to say, my days of pet ownership were very short-lived. Any time I
asked again, all my parents had to do was point to my arm.”

“Oh Arrow, I’m so sorry,” I said, tracing the
small scar that ran across his forearm.

“These woods, this world…it leaves its mark on
you,” he said solemnly. I didn’t know what to say. There was a depth of emotion
behind his words that I wasn’t prepared to handle.

“Did you have any pets?” he asked, rolling down
his sleeve.

“Flipper,” I said with a smile.

“What?”

“Flipper. I had a rainbow fish when I was ten.”

“A rainbow fish? That sounds like an odd creature.
What happened?”

I looked up, searching for the memory, and
frowned. I had almost forgotten. “My mom gave him away.”

“Why?”

“Just another time she decided things for me,” I
muttered. “We were going on vacation, and she arranged for someone to take care
of him. But when we got back, she didn’t want to pick him up. She said life was
easier without a pet. Less to worry about, less to clean. Like she had ever
taken care of him.” I rolled my eyes.

“Seems like our parents liked to think they know
best.” He rubbed his forearm. “That’s sometimes the case, but not always.”

“Not always,” I said, exhaling deeply before
meeting his gaze. “So what else would surprise me about these woods, besides
the obvious danger and strange animals?”

“I never called them strange.”

“A horned-bit; come on. Those are pretty strange
looking, if you ask me.”

“I never noticed,” he said.

I shrugged. Maybe they weren’t that strange to
someone from this world. “What else?”

“Never turn your back on a fly trap,” he said,
swooping me forward into his arms.

“What?” I asked just as something slammed shut
behind me. Wind from the forceful snap blew my hair off my neck. I stared at a
pair of light green petals and overlapping thorns that had closed where I’d
stood. Where poison dripped from its open petals, steam shot up in bursts.
“Thanks,” I whispered. My hands slid against the cool leather of his vest,
tangling in the feathered fringe along the pockets. His heart beat as rapidly
as mine.

“My pleasure,” he said. “I can’t have you hurt
before we really need you.”

A lump caught in my chest. I couldn’t help but
feel bad for leading him on. What would happen when I found my way home and the
rebellion had to fend for themselves? That wouldn’t happen. This world wasn’t
real—when I got myself out of it, it would vanish. Wouldn’t it? I shook the
guilt out of my head.

“Speaking of when you need me. What exactly are we
looking for at the baron’s?” Each level of the game ended with a special token.
If I knew what he wanted, I might be able to pinpoint the exact level.

“How do you know we’re looking for something?”

“Believe it or not, I know about these manors.” I
felt smug.

“Really?” he asked, even more skeptical than
before.

“Yes, really,” I said, putting my hands on my
hips. “Now, what are we looking for exactly? I want to make sure I know which
one we’ll be in.”

He exhaled. “You know more than one?”

“I know a lot you haven’t given me credit for.”

“That will change, my lady. I’m truly sorry for
any misgivings. You are our hero, and I’m proud to accompany you on this
journey.”

I hid my blush by looking away.

“Anyways, we’re on a reconnaissance mission of
sorts.”

Now it was my turn to be skeptical.
“Reconnaissance? What are we looking for?”

“The rebellion needs information from Baron
Marix.”

“So we’re going to talk to him?” I asked. There
had to be more to the story. No tokens that I knew of related to just talking.

“Not quite,” he said, softening his gaze as he
looked at me.

“What then?”

“The information we need is hidden in his
paperwork.”

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. My mind raced
until it landed on an image of ancient scrolls. Of course we had to go to the
hardest manor of them all.

“And you know where we can find it?” I asked.

His smile wavered in a crooked grin. “In his
safe,” he said.

“Wait a second,” I said, stopping mid-step and
grabbing his arm. “Are you really telling me after you just got mad at me for
stealing that you’ve been planning to do the same thing?”

“I wouldn’t call it stealing.”

“What do you call it when you take something
that’s not yours?” I asked, feeling amused and annoyed at the same time.

“You got me there, Alex.” He feigned defeat and
held his arms out in surrender. “I have to hope stealing from the baron is less
offensive than taking money from ailing children.”

I twisted my lips. He had me there. “Fine,” I
said. “So we’re looking for papers and maps? That’s all?”

“You make it sound like a small matter.”

“I just want to make sure I know what we’re
getting ourselves into. The fewer surprises the better. Can I ask what type of
information you’re looking for?”

“Let’s just say it’s worth the risk.”

I let it be. He could keep his secrets; they
didn’t change what I needed to focus on. I had more secrets than I ever wanted
to share. “Okay, I trust you,” I said, falling into step beside him.

“Really?” he asked, furrowing his brows as he
looked at me.

“Yes, really,” I said with a sideways glance.
“Don’t you trust me?”

He matched my smile and nodded. “With my life.”

We hiked east for hours, traversing the Wounded
Woods until we reached the foothills. I tried to recall the map I had hastily
drawn at the shoreline to envision where we were now. Lingering pieces of this
world floated around my mind, and pinning them down would free me to
concentrate on other things.

Like how to get us out of the baron’s manor alive.

I hadn’t lied about knowing Baron Marix’s manor. I
did. Natalie and I struggled with that level and had to repeat it often,
sometimes several times in a game. We often ran out of time in the passageways;
other times, the fire dancers killed me. When we made it to the end, we still
lost to the baron more times than I wanted to admit. Knowing my way around the
manor didn’t ensure our success. My mind churned, flashing awful images of our
imminent death. Add that to the new ominous song the birds chirped, and the
oppressiveness of dread became unbearable.

“Why do they do that?” I asked, shuddering at the
reverberating timbre in the song.

“What?”

“The birds,” I said, pointing to the trees. “Why
do they sing that way? It was different before.”

He followed my gaze and shrugged. “Different
birds, different songs.”

I looked up and saw he was right. The bright,
colorful birds that had been with me since the beginning weren’t here. It took
me a moment to spot the new creatures, and once I did, I wished I hadn’t. Black
birds covered the trees like leaves, shrouded by darkness. Wings and beaks
stacked atop each other, blocking out the night sky. Large red eyes bulged
beneath crowns of feathers. Their bleeding eyes stalked our every step, mocking
us with their insidious song.

I jumped into step with Arrow and watched the
darkness brighten as we withdrew from the forest and summited the peak. The
moon illuminated the night, and bright speckles dotted the vista. The birds
stayed behind the tree line, but their song haunted us, bass tones giving way
to reverberating chirps and clashing squawks. I knew the melody too well.
Reserved in the game for castles and the end of the hardest levels, it only
added to my reluctance. Nothing good awaited us down the hill.

“Do you think we can stop to eat before we enter
the manor?” I asked, looking up at the stars. Arrow stopped and opened his
mouth like he was going to argue but then changed his mind.

“Of course,” he said. “Will here work?”

I nodded and dropped my bag to the ground. My neck
ached and muscles I didn’t know I had screamed.

“I’m not used to all this walking,” I said,
rubbing the indentions on my shoulders where the bag’s straps dug into my skin.

“Even with all your journeys?” Arrow asked,
pulling out a quarter end of a loaf of bread and an apple.

Whoops. How many times was I going to forget I was
the hero here? I rolled my neck and looked him square in the eyes. “There’s
usually more fighting than walking.” It was only a half-lie. I certainly fought
with my mom.

“There’s not much further to go, I promise. We
should be there within the hour. It’s just over this ridge,” he said as he
handed me a small slice of bread.

I swallowed hard and accepted the bread. Had we
already traveled that far? The first bite of bread melted in my mouth again. It
tasted just as wonderful.

I crossed my legs and wrapped my arms around my
folded knees, looking back at the sky. Even here, the twinkling lights put me
at ease. The keepers of wishes and unfulfilled promises. Would my wishes be
answered in a fantasy world? It didn’t hurt to try. I found the brightest and
made a wish.

“Have another,” Arrow said, throwing me a slice of
bread.

“Are you reading my mind?” I asked.

“Ha, I wish that I could, my lady, but your mind
is a mystery to me.” He sliced the apple in half and then paused. “I’m sorry—”
he began as he sliced the apple again and nicked his finger.

“Arrow, are you okay?” I jumped to his side and
wrapped his thumb with one of the old vines trailing across my arms.

“Yes, I’ll be fine now,” he said, covering my hand
with his.

I tentatively smiled and sat back down. A flurry
of butterflies flickered through me, and my hand tingled where his skin touched
mine. What was happening to me? I couldn’t do this. Not here, not with him. I
didn’t have imaginary friends as a kid; I couldn’t have a fictional boyfriend
now.

I took another bite of bread and twisted my hands
around each other. “What are you sorry for?”

“For my behavior earlier today. It was uncalled
for,” he said, dividing the apple into pieces and handing me half.

“Oh geez, please don’t do that. I won’t let you
justify my actions. I’m just glad we’ve moved past it. Right?” I raised an
eyebrow at him.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Look, if you want to apologize for anything, let
it be for calling me that all day,” I joked. He looked at me with a strange
expression. “It’s not that I don’t like it,” I said quickly, “but I’d rather be
called Alex.”

“Of course, my…er…Alex.”

“Thanks. I like that,” I said, biting into the
apple.

“I like it too.” He smiled. “So what’s our first
move?”

I glanced behind him to the dark forest. “You said
it yourself. We go through there and down the hill.”

“When we get there?”

“Ah, that’s where the fun begins. This manor’s set
up pretty straightforwardly. If you stick by my side, you’ll get through with
no problem.” I embraced the arrogance. Right now, it felt better than fear.
Maybe if he believed it, I would too.

“Then I won’t leave your side.”

We finished our apple, and when I went to find my
bag, I stumbled over a fallen log. “Crap,” I said, rubbing my shin. His face
lit up, and he reached around my leg for my bag.

“Do you mind?”

I shook my head and watched him pull out the two
wooden boxes. “I noticed this when you first showed them to me,” he said,
pulling out two thin envelopes that were pasted to the top interior of the box.
“They might come in handy for us now.”

“What are they?” I asked, leaning in towards him.

“Just wait, you’ll see.” He winked at me and
tipped the first package towards my hand. “Put your hands together.”

I gasped as a stream of yellow dust filled my
palms. The soft powder illuminated the area. “What is this?” I asked in a
whisper.

“Another thing you don’t know about?”

I ignored his joke, watching the light grow as I
squeezed my hands together and fade as I released them. “Really, what is this?
It’s fantastic.”

He pulled out the second package and slipped it
into one of the pockets on his vest. “It’s luminance powder. It might help us
maneuver down the hill and inside.”

“How does it work?” I asked, fascinated by the
rolling light. It was as if the stars had fallen into my palms.