Wings of Paper - Chapter 11

Slimy walls were Sadie’s idea of fun. 

Before leaving the relative safety of the lagoon, I conjured up some swords, daggers, and an assortment of other supplies. Sure, we had our special ribbon swords, but I wanted to save those for last resort. 

I also created some rain jackets, especially when Sadie warned us that our escape might get “messy”. 

“I’m already regretting this,” Alex whispered to me as we arrived into the kitchens. Sadie and Sammy set to work packing bags with food and filling water bottles. “Who knows what she’s planning.” 

I shrugged. “Sadie got into a lot of trouble as a kid, but she’s still a princess. I’m sure that whichever route our escape is, it won’t be too dirty.” 

I was dead wrong in that assumption. Sadie had no intention of being ladylike as she pried open a cabinet in the corner before tossing the door aside. Sammy climbed through first, summoning an orb of light to lead us along. 

I went through next, as I figured it was cowardly to let Alex go first. I also wanted to make sure that if anyone was attacked that Sammy would be close to protect me. A selfish thought, of course, but necessary. I told myself it was because I was one of the only two who could travel through the Darkness. 

After crawling through the cabinet, the passageway widened enough for me to stand. I regretted that decision after a drop of cold slime rolled down my back. I wrinkled my nose at the pungent odor but continued following Sammy. This couldn’t get worse. 

It did. The floor grew more slippery as we went until I was forced to use a cobweb covered railing to keep from falling. Sammy and Sadie had no problem nimbly leaping down the slope. Luckily, Alex, Hiro, and Kenzie shared the same difficulties as me and I wasn’t the only one to nearly slip. 

Alex slid right behind me, nearly pushing me over. “Sorry,” she called out. 

I could hear the tiny pitter-patter of rat feet on the ground and forced myself not to vomit. “Sadie, isn’t there any other way we could’ve escaped?” I asked, loudly and very whiny. 

“Well, I mean, the front doors were probably open. This way just leads to the bottom of the cliff without having to go down stairs,” Sadie called back. If I hadn’t been relying on the railing for support I would’ve strangled her on the spot. 

But then again, this passage - however disgusting - was probably quicker. If only we had a sled or something. 

The ground began to level out until we were trudging through pools of greenish sludge. 

“What is this stuff?” Kenzie asked, shaking her shoe off but to no avail. 

Sadie shrugged. “It’s fungi, I’m pretty sure. It’s not poisonous, so I never felt the calling to research it.” 

“The green stuff is indeed fungi,” Sammy explained. “I read a book about it.” 

“You read?” Sadie asked, incredulous. 

Sammy shrugged. “When I’m not looking after you I read sometimes. It calms me.” He sounded embarrassed, but it wasn’t a crazy life changing thing. 

“When we get back home I’m going to make a library in your favor,” Sadie decided. 

“If,” Kenzie corrected. 

“When,” Hiro said, his voice steely. “We will all return home, safe and sound.” He didn’t seem like he believed it though. 

Before anyone else could respond I slipped, sliding a few feet before Alex’s arms looped under mine and caught me. I could feel a blush rising to my cheeks and was suddenly glad for the cover of darkness. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled, but Alex had already moved back to her spot. 

We continued in silence for a while until finally a blinding white light burned my eyes. We were at the bottom of the cliff now, the sun was tucked behind a thick layer of clouds, casting gray shadows everywhere. 

My eyes stopped scanning the rolling hills when I found the towering peak of the volcano. I pointed directly at it. “That’s where we’re going.” 

“Looks kind of far,” Kenzie commented. 

Sadie shrugged. “It’s not as far as you’d think. It’s about a three or four day walk from here. Sammy and I hiked to the base once.” 

“And your father nearly killed me on the spot,” Sammy grumbled, though he was smiling. 

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Alex asked. “Let’s get going. Onward!” 

And onward we went. 

The sun didn’t rise the next morning. Or at least, not like it normally did. 

We hiked as far as we could through the forests surrounding Sadie’s castle. Luckily Sammy seemed to know exactly where we were going, and I wasn’t afraid of getting lost. When the sun finally fell behind the horizon we decided to stop a rest until morning. 

Alex and I took first watch and she took the opportunity to rebandage my back and shoulder. She made a small remark about how greatly I was healing, which was good. 

The last thing I needed was to be injured. 

I tried to talk to Hiro when we all woke up, but he distracted himself by taking Sammy’s bow to hunt. He came back a little while later with a deer, which Kenzie cooked. Hiro was in no mood to talk even then, so we carried on without discussion. 

It was about eight in the morning and clouds coated the sky like gray paint. There was no visible sun behind the clouds, although we were still receiving light. It was like the sun was slowly dying away, just like the rest of the world. The Darkness was progressing faster than ever, although it was spreading out and in some places it grew thin. 

“I need a break,” Hiro mumbled after about an hour of hiking. We were following trails marked by pink markings on the trees. He leaned against one of the trees, wiping sweat from his brow. 

“Dizzy fit?” Kenzie asked, her voice brimming with concern. Hiro nodded, closing his eyes and catching his breath. 

“Is your mind reading still working?” Alex asked Kenzie. They were standing next to each other, and when they did they looked like twins. Almost like Dee and I, though their resemblance was less eerie. At least Alex didn’t seem mad at me for it anymore. 

Kenzie shrugged. “I can’t read minds instinctively anymore, it takes a lot of energy. And I can’t read yours either, just like I couldn’t with Luke’s.” 

I was glad for that. My thoughts were mine and only mine. 

But Kenzie was growing more affected which meant the Darkness was reaching her kingdom. Which meant it had already consumed Hiro’s. Which meant Sadie and Sammy were next. Our future wasn’t looking good. 

We fell silent again. Sadie unpacked some of our food supplies and handed us each an apple. We ate quickly, though I wished we had more to eat. 

When I got home I was going to eat literally everything in our refrigerator. No, not when, if. Dee was powerful and it would be more harmful to underestimate her. I finished my apple and tossed the core. Littering didn’t matter if the world was ending anyways. 

Just as we were about to leave I heard a soft fluttering sound nearby. 

You seem to hallucinate a lot, the rational part of me said. 

I didn’t hear the sound again and figured maybe my brain was right. I was probably just hearing things, the Darkness did seem to affect me differently after all. 

But then Hiro lifted his head. His eyes were half closed with exhaustion, but they were wide. He had heard something too. We met eyes. “Did you hear that?” he sounded braver than I felt. Could Dee have found out about our escape already? 

I nodded once and noticed the others were looking around. 

Hiro and I met gazes again. He nodded his head. “Run!” Hiro shouted, sparking us all into action. 

Sadie through the rest of our supplies into her bag and tied it shut as we ran. I stumbled in an attempt to pick up speed. The fluttering sound was growing louder just like my heartbeat. Run. Run. Run. Run. My feet hit the ground in a steady rhythm. 

Sammy quickly took the lead, Sadie at his heels. Kenzie and Alex followed after that, both of them withdrawing their knives. Hiro and I were in the rear and I drew my sword. 

When the ground levelled and the roots of the trees became smaller I risked a look behind me. Immediately, I regretted the decision. 

Following us was a large swarm of ash colored moths. Though they were the size of normal moths, they were screeching softly. It was a battle cry - I had no doubt that the moths were thirsting for blood. 

“Are these the moths of the souls or whatever?” I called to Hiro, my voice coming out in quick breaths. 

Hiro nodded, nearly tripping over an exposed root. 

So these were the souls of those taken by the Darkness. My stomach churned at the thought of children and people forced into this crude form. 

My mind flashed to the memory of Nigel in the church with my battle with Dee. He had been taken by the Darkness. As had Griffin and all the others from those cities. So many people, all gone. 

Kip. The name stabbed through my brain. Was Kip gone? Or had he managed to lead the Cliffians to safety. I wouldn’t know. 

Focus, I told myself after almost taking a spill on a rather large rock. 

The moths were gaining on us, they were going to catch us no matter what. A thought struck me, but I had to ask Hiro first. “What do the moths do?” 

“Destroy,” Hiro wheezed. “Everything they touch crumbles to Darkness.” 

“Keep running,” I told him. My mind was spinning with the revelation. “Don’t look back. Alex!” I called her name and she slowed her pace to match mine. 

“What?” she panted. 

“The moths turn things to Darkness, but we can’t be turned. We’re not fictional,” I explained through gasping breaths. Alex seemed to grasp what I was saying. 

“Will blades be effective?” she asked. 

I shrugged to the best of my ability. “Hold them off, I need to use my imagination.” 

Alex nodded and we both stopped running. If the others noticed they didn’t show it, they sped off. 

The moths arrived mere seconds later, but I didn’t have a moment to spare. I set to work immediately while Alex began slashing with her knife. The moths seemed fazed, but not by a lot. 

Tiny, prickly feet grabbed at my clothes, pulling. The moths seemed surprised that I wasn’t crumbling to Darkness, but when they realized that waiting wouldn’t help they began to cover me. 

Fear rose like bile in my throat. I forced down my anxiousness and focused on making a clear image in my mind. I imagined sleek metal curves and a bright white light, the sweet scent of poisonous sap, and the sizzle of the burning heat. I heard a crack and Alex swore loudly, hinting for me to open my eyes. 

The moths didn’t notice my giant lamp at first, they were too busy setting to work on me. Their tiny legs tickled my spine as they crawled all over my body, biting my skin and itching all over. 

I thrashed wildly. The legs were too much, they reminded me of my time actually in the Darkness. I could hear Alex screaming loudly in the background. 

The more I moved the more the moths flocked to me. I finally managed to make sense of Alex’s words. “Don’t move! They’re attracted to motion!” Well that was good to know, except for the fact that it’s hard to remain still when moths are crawling all over your body. 

I forced my flailing limbs to still enough that only my shaking moved them. The legs slowed until some of them flew away. The itching shifted to burning as whatever their salvia contained worked its way into my system. I grit my teeth, holding still as they lost interest and found a more interesting prey. 

The moths fled to my giant moth-lamp. They were attracted to the light and the smell of the sap, and it drew them in like flies to honey. The sap was adhesive though, and held them tight to the sizzling light until they burned to a crisp and fell like ashes to the ground. 

I felt dizzy. Burning. I was wrong - the Darkness did affect me. 

I was a fool to think I could win. Dee was the most powerful villain to ever exist in one of my stories. How was I - a simple boy - supposed to defeat a sorceress like her. 

I wasn’t. I would lose, it was inevitable. 

The ground rushed up to meet me but arms caught me, cradling me. Warmth filled my chest, but it was similar to the burning sensations. I wanted to retreat from the pain, from the spiking flames all around my body. 

But retreat meant defeat. And I would not let Dee’s demented pets claim me as one of hers. As much as she wanted me to be on her side, I would never let her win. Nor would I help her. At this thought, icy coolness rushed through my veins, freezing the flames and forcing them to die. 

My vision cleared and I found Alex’s worried face above mine. I scrambled away from her, desperate to save myself from any humiliation. 

Hiro, Sammy, Sadie, and Kenzie were gathered around too, all seemingly unharmed. 

“Idiot,” Kenzie mumbled, rolling her eyes as she polished the blade of her knife. “The Darkness affects you, how long will it take you to get that through your head.” 

“A long time, apparently,” Sadie said, smiling pleasantly. Then she turned to me, her hands on her hips. Her face was motherly. “The Darkness changes you, Luke. Alex is the only one immune to it.” 

“But I’m not fictional,” I argued, not even attempting to downplay the situation. 

“Yes, but you created all of this,” Hiro reminded me. “Technically, you’re more connected to the world than any of us. 

He made a good point. I was just as attached to this place as the rest of them. Only Alex was not at all related to it, which reminded me that she didn’t have to be here. She could be home, safe, without the risk of death. 

Alex rapped her knuckles on the side of my head. “You’re not invincible, but it was a good idea. Otherwise, the moths could’ve gotten to the others.” 

“We’re not dead yet!” Hiro added cheerfully. “The moths could’ve been the end.” 

That was a strangely optimistic outlook.  

“We need to keep moving,” Sammy said, ending any hopes of checking on Hiro and his wound. “Luke set us back.” No one could argue with that, so we set off again. 

Midday came and went without an event. We walked and talked, though not much. Everyone seemed worried about me, but I was fine. 

The dying sun sank behind the horizon and I wondered if I would ever see it again. 

Sammy encouraged us to keep moving for as long as possible but we were all burdened by exhaustion. The young guard finally agreed to stop for the night when Sadie tripped over a root and fell into his waiting arms. 

Sadie was pale and I realized the Darkness was probably getting to the outskirts of her kingdom. Kenzie helped the girl lay out a blanket and Sadie fell asleep immediately. 

Hiro, Kenzie, and Alex decided to rest first, leaving Sammy and I as the only ones awake. Sammy took the extra time to sharpen his sword and knives, his eyes never leaving Sadie’s side. 

I occupied myself with my thoughts, trying to think of the best way to the peak of the volcano. 

Suddenly, I heard a soft gasp beside me. I wheeled around to see Sammy clutching his head, lips forming unheard words. My stomach took a plunge and I rushed to see if he was injured, avoiding touching him. His instincts would take over, and if I accidently touched him he might freak out and attack me. 

“Sammy?” I whispered. I didn’t want to wake the others. He didn’t respond, he slumped backwards against a tree. Sweat dripped from his brow but I didn’t want to risk touching him. “Sammy,” I said, starting to feel panicked. 

Was he poisoned? Had one of the moths touched him after all? I refused to let myself believe he was dying. 

With the grace of a cheetah he sprang up and grabbed my arm, his hands like steel bands and his eyes wide. He looked terrified, which made me scared. Fear rolled down my spine and I shivered. 

He slumped backwards again and this time I felt my own consciousness fading with his. 

Let go! I tried to yell, but my voice was failing me. Blackness spread across my vision and I crumpled to the ground beside Sammy.