The drive to my hometown made me incredibly anxious. You’d think I’d be happy to get one step closer to the completion of the plan, and consequently the ability to get home. Nope - I practically stained the bus seat with sweat on the hour-and-a-half-long journey. Sentenced to wiping my forehead every three seconds, I stared blankly out the tinted window.
We arrived at the neighborhood next to mine and got off. We waited until the public transportation unit had left, then trooped to the forest as fast as we could without inviting suspicion. The trails were nearly the same as those in the evil Taylor’s dimension, and I easily led them to the place I’d chosen for our temporary shelter. The spot was exactly the same as the place where the Dimension 2 Taylor (the evil one) had set up her hideout. She’d picked a good area: near water, close to several different crossroads for easy escape routes, yet away from the edge of the forest where she’d be easy to see through the now-leafless trees.
The last time I’d seen trees, I realized, had been before we were captured. They’d been at the peak of their season. Green leaves and pine needles punctuated the skyline. Now, all the colored leaves were on the ground, soggy.
We started our hut by first making a fire to warm up. After the blaze started, we piled wet logs and branches next to it to dry out. It wouldn’t do any good to build with damp materials. We might as well sleep under the stars, completely unprotected. Not to mention the disastrous consequences of touching the slimy bark with the top of your head. Gross.
Two Days Later
I dashed down the trail, ecstatic with the good news. A gray bird followed, soaring above me. I nearly slipped quite a few times on the muddy path, but reached the camp promptly. I wanted to shout the news to the rooftops, to tell it to the sky, but we needed to be quiet. The others saw me racing toward them. I skidded to a stop and declared, “Phase One initiated!” I wanted to salute them, to dance, to sing.
The others cheered, clapped, and whooped softly. I had been sent to spy out the house, and see if any soldiers had been posted there. There were: some guarded the back door and side yards. None by the front door, but I saw some in the living room through the tall picture window. Another part of the mission was to set up communications systems with our neighbors - and determine their levels of loyalty. Perhaps, in our absence, the neighbors had defected back to the enemy. The third objective was to find Claude, the translator parrot, and Casper, the animal’s representative.
“The neighbors have remained loyal to our cause, despite the propaganda blaring from the hijacked stereo.” I reported. Claude perched on my shoulder and added, “Casper and his family are safe, still under your house. However, they are slowly starving, as the soldiers will kill them on sight should they venture out during the day. At night, owls pose too great a danger.”
“Thank you, Claude.” Taylor said. I could tell by her woolly-caterpillar eyebrows that she was weighing something out. I couldn’t tell what. “What does everyone think about a Casper and family rescue party?”
“Too dangerous,” Finni replied instantly. “Too many soldiers poking around the grounds.”
“At night, I mean,” Taylor clarified. “Just one person would sneak in through the neighbor’s backyard, grab them, slip out. Víola! It’s not that hard.”
“Then why don’t you do it, Taylor,” Indie challenged. She’d been so quiet recently, and it shocked me a little to hear such a daring statement.
Taylor paled, imagining what they would do to her if she got caught. She gulped loudly, put on a pretense of bravery, and accepted the challenge. “I’ll go tonight, at midnight. Get in, get out. It won’t be so hard.” She appeared to be convincing herself more than us.
Indie saw her fear. “Okay, then. Claude, any suggestions?”
“The soldiers switch shifts at midnight. While they’re doing so, the area in front of Casper’s home is unguarded. But, you’ll only have a few minutes. You’ll have to be quick. Also, you’ll need to find something safe to hold the mice pups in.”
“Thanks, Claude.” Taylor asked a few more questions, then we lapsed into a silence, broken only by the crackle of the fire. We used old, dry wood so that the fire gave off no smoke. Every time a plane flew overhead, we ducked under the nearest tree, hoping to avoid detection.
As it started to rain, we piled more leaves on the roof of the shelter and huddled in it, trying to keep warm. A chilly breeze swept through the thin walls, and I leaned my back against Indie’s and tried to sleep.
Eventually, I fell asleep, but woke up at every little sound. The trees would rustle in the wind and I would freak out: “They found us! We’re all going to be put back in the facility and die!”
My heart would race, I would calm myself down, and fall back asleep only to wake back up again the next time the wind blew. I shivered all night, and four of us were huddled like penguins for most of the time. Thankfully, the clouds mercifully chose not to dump on us all night. The sun rose after much fanfare from the various birds who felt that screaming their heads off at 7 in the morning would be the kindest way to wake all the convicts who had just gotten to sleep. Claude yelled at them in their bird language, and consequently one raven dropped several pinecones on the roof of our hut, one of which hit my head after falling through the poorly constructed lattice of branches.
I scrambled out of the shelter on my hands and knees to find Torrin crouched by himself, staring into the fire. “Hey,” I said softly, hoping to break the silence.
He looked up, startled. “Oh! Hi.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“Still thinking.”
“Are you still worried?”
“Yeah. I’m worried about Taylor getting Casper and his family. What if Claude misjudged the time?”
“I’ve said it once, and I'll say it again: it’s going to be okay. Get your mind off it by doing something else.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
“That sounds good. Any suggestions?”
Indie came out of the shack, brushed off the legs of her jumpsuit, and strode off into the woods. I heard branches break, and she came back to the fire and started whittling some fish hooks. “I’d say go for a walk. The forest is really pretty right now, but you’ll have to be careful that people don’t see you through the bare branches. Maybe stay near here. Watch out on the log bridge over the creek. I’ve fallen off that once, and that was not a pleasant experience.”
He smiled a little and asked me to tend the fire. I added a couple logs as he walked off, then started a pleasant conversation with Indie. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet recently, and I had been left wondering why. “What’s going on? Why’ve you been so quiet?”
She shrugged. She didn’t want to answer, but I pressed on. “What happened in solitary that dampened your spirit? We’re so close - now’s not the time for you to clam up.”
“Nothing, okay! Can’t you just stop asking me questions?! I’m a little busy trying to survive here, and you don’t have to pretend that you care!” Woah! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Er, wrong side of the hut. What did I do? She stomped off and sat on a log farther away, a bit down the trail. I wanted to chase after her and shake her to her senses. I wanted to yell after her how I felt. Instead, I followed her path a little, just so only she and I could hear what we said.
“I do care, Indie. I don’t know why you feel so strongly about something so trivial, but I’ll leave you alone now.” I walked back to the fire, still wondering what I’d said wrong.
“Is there anything for breakfast?” I asked Finni, who had woken up while Indie and I were busy. She shook her head. “We ate everything yesterday. I could run to the store, though. Get some bagels or something. It’s hard to feed so many people for cheap.”
Taylor joined us at the fire. It’d started to sprinkle a little. I pulled up my hood. “Morning, Taylor. What’s the plan for today?”
She grunted and rubbed her eyes with the knuckle of her thumb, just like I do. “It’s a little early to be talking about world domination.”
“World domination? Are you still asleep?”
She sat up a little. She must’ve realized what she said. “World domination? No way! I had this crazy dream last night, and… yeah. It is a little early, though, to be talking about APE. What’s Indie doing so far away, sitting by herself?”
“I dunno, actually. She got really worked up when I asked her a question, so I’m just leaving her alone for now. How did your expedition go last night?”
“It went great. I was terrified, though. I just slipped in and slipped out. Easy peasy. Casper’s family is safe and sound in my extra jumpsuit.”
“Will anyone step on it?” I asked, imagining it on the floor.
“No, I tied it to the roof of the hut so they’re off the ground.”
We continued to chat for a few more minutes, all the while my stomach growling and people streaming out of the hut, until everyone was circled around the fire besides Indie and Torrin.
I started to worry about him. He’d been gone for quite some time now. What if he’d been captured? Almost on cue, he came sprinting down the trail. He reached us and halted, hands on his knees, panting like a dog on a hot day.
“What’s wrong?” Taylor assessed the situation speedily.
“They… they… they placed more guards at the house. Twice as many. I think they knew that Taylor came and got Casper.”
“Why’d you come so fast?”
“I overheard their conversation - they were talking about coming to our camp and capturing us again.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “We need to get out of here. Now.”
“And go where?” Indie said. “Face the facts. They’re closing in on us. We have nowhere to go. We need to hold our ground or go to the house and get Byrd through.”
So this is why Indie has been so serious - she’s been thinking about our situation. I knew all the things she’d just said, but I didn’t dwell on them. So I said out loud that I agreed with her, then I heard marching. “They’re coming! I know a back way - follow me!”
I raced off into the woods, toward the shortcut. Torrin kicked some dirt over the fire, and everyone followed me. I heard animals shrieking as the soldiers fired at them, and I just ran harder. My thoughts raced as well. Would the commander bring all of his forces with him/her to our camp? Or would he/she leave behind some in anticipation of our going there?
If the leader was smart, they would’ve left some behind. But, in their excitement to capture all us rebels, could they have misjudged our will to resist arrest and taken every soldier with them?
I had to take the chance that all of them had gone. I’d been in another dimension for way too long. I needed to get back to my family and right all the wrongs that the evil Taylor had done. I stopped running and initiated a group huddle. I spoke quickly and quietly: “Guys. I think that even if there is still a guard at the house we should try to get me through anyway. I’ve been away too long.”
They agreed, but doubt plagued the conversation. “We have nothing to defend ourselves with,” Cassidy complained. “Sticks and stones, that’s all.”
We discussed this for a little more, but the conclusion was still in my favor: we would go and everyone but Indie would distract the remaining soldiers. Indie and I would slip upstairs and get me through the portal as fast as possible. Claude would act as our scout.
I sent him ahead, and we continued running. I dropped behind to talk to Torrin. “Where’s Casper?” I panted out.
“Oh no! I left him behind! I need to go back!”
“It’s too late for that now, Torrin. I’m sorry. Besides, I think that’s how they knew where we were.”
“What do you mean?” Is what he said, but his eyes read, ‘You heartless girl! Leaving behind a defenseless mouse and his family to the soldiers - they’ll kill him! And not just any mouse; he’s the representative for the entire animal kingdom! I thought you were better than this!’
I apologized again and ran behind him. The leader, Taylor, turned left and started to jog. The marching noises were quieter now, as more trees were in between us.
We reached the road - all of us were slick with sweat. I wiped my forehead and we crossed. After climbing over the neighbor’s fence, we hushed. I peeked through a crack in the dividing fence between our house and the neighbor’s. “No one’s outside,” I reported. “How are we going to get in?”
“Through the office window,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t close right, and we can get it open without too much trouble. Remember the plan.”
“Sounds good.”
We opened the gate, trying to not let it creak. There weren’t many windows on the side of the house. Taylor shoved her shoulder against the office window, and it popped open. “Not very safe for the office of the leader of a rebel organization,” I joked to Torrin. He didn’t think it was funny.
One by one, we slipped in. No soldiers were in the house. Our gamble had paid off, apparently. I said my goodbyes, stifled my tears, and went upstairs with Indie. She had just turned on the portal when I heard screams. The soldiers had come back!
“Indie. I’m sorry. Really sorry. I hope that you can forgive me.”
“For what?”
“For putting you in this sort of situation.” I heard more yells and handcuffs click, so I sped up. “I have to go, and I’m leaving you behind. I feel really bad.” The portal shimmered and shuddered. “I have to go.” I hugged her and left. The portal closed right after I crawled through.