The sun warmed her back as she crossed through the shoulder high grass. She admonished herself constantly as she put distance between them. Her body hurt from the constant walking, but she didn’t have time to spare. Her friends were four days away. She had to catch up to them.

“Stupid fucking idiot,” She growled to herself, “Who would mysteriously whisk you off your feet and take care of everything? You're not a fairytale princess..”

She slid her mug off her forearm and looked over it. The cerulean button wasn’t lit up, but she would keep moving until it was.

“You like him? Absurd. Why are you kidding yourself? No more childish fantasies,” She scowled herself, “It doesn’t matter how nice and humane he seemed. He’s not. I’m surprised he didn’t skin you alive."

She continued her external monologue until she found herself back in woods of white and pink trees. She fumbled through the trees until she found a trail.

“This is why you can’t trust people, Charlie. Hell, look at literally everyone ever in your life,” She shook her head, “It’s a miracle you weren’t murdered before you popped up in a cage in this place.”

She pulled the braid in her hair apart as she wished to clean anything he touched off of her. She clawed at her arms and stomach to get rid of the disgusting feeling.

Charlie walked along the path until the sun arched to the mid sky. She leaned against a tree and brought her bottomless mug back up. Her body hurt and she moved slowly, but she needed distance. The gnarly stitches held her wound together but it didn't stop the various juices from leaking out.

“Olivia has been the only person you could trust, and you just abandoned her on this wild fucking adventure. She’s worried sick,” Charlie sighed as she thought of her friend, “You should’ve just moved in with her the first time she asked.”

The button didn’t glow, but she needed water. After she gulped down mouthfuls, she poured some down her back. She looked at the other possible buttons and pressed the red one. A thick red liquid filled the mug. She sniffed it.

“Huh,” She took a gulp, “Tomato soup. When did that get there?”

She sipped on her soup cup as she walked along the path. The only thing that felt worse than realizing the handsome grey man was secretly a kidnapping psychopath, was the creepy feeling that Charlie hasn’t seen let alone heard any animals in hours. With that thought in mind, she gripped the hilt of the dull sword and walked a bit quicker. When she heard chirping birds, she relaxed.

“Impulsive, destructive decisions. We talked about this in therapy,” She practiced her breathing exercises, “You attached yourself too quickly. You like him? You don’t even know him.”

Charlie wondered if Lake would follow her. She almost wanted him to, but realized she likely left an incredibly precarious situation that would’ve cost her life.

“You were hurt and he took care of you. Charlie, you can’t just trust anyone that’s nice to you,” She told herself off, “Of course, you stupid fucking idiot. He just wanted to sleep with you. That’s why he was nice. Get your shit together and find your friends. Puddles is going to kick your ass for being such a problem.”

When she realized that those clockwork things and her recent kidnapper could potentially be after her, she became increasingly paranoid. She tried to remember anything about covering her tracks.

As her anxiety spiked, she slapped her hands to her cheeks and gave herself a pep talk

“Stay calm. You’ve got this. You’re going to survive. You’ve been good at that so far,” She reassured herself, “You’re going to make it back to Via and tell her you’re moving in with her. You’re going to get your shit together and keep it together. There’s nowhere but up from here!”

Charlie tried to remember what to do when one is stranded but she wasn’t in any form of scouts that would’ve helped. There was only one thing she could rely on.

“Adiona, could you tell me when something pops into an identifiable range?”

> There are currently no identifiable creatures in range.

“Perfect. Can you update me if something dangerous comes into range?”

> There are currently no identifiable creatures in range.

“So, you can’t answer that. Got it.”

Charlie continued her southeastern trot. She mumbled to herself to keep entertained. The further into the day, the thicker the tree trunks. Leaves of beautiful pinks and oranges formed a shady canopy. The air wasn’t as hot as it was in the desert, but the wind picked up the further she walked. She eventually sang to herself any song that entered her memory until she smelled smoke.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Adi, what’s that?”

The map reappeared in her view. Her location and destination were marked as always. Near her was a blue circle.

“Zoom in, please.”

The map expanded and Charlie stopped walking. The map kept zooming in until she held up a hand. North of her was a collection of buildings. She turned to walk there.

“It’s getting dark,” She whispered to herself, “I’ll need to sleep, soon.”

As she approached the closest house, she realized it wasn’t a house but a bar instead. Men and women sat around a large bonfire. Barmaids carried steins to patrons. People danced to the jaunty music from a man’s fiddle.

Charlie held up her arm to see how poor she smelled. When it didn’t make her outwardly gag, she walked towards the flames. The crispy air quickly cooled to raise the hairs on her exposed arms. Nobody acknowledged her as she sat down. She reached for the handle of her mug but realized that playing with magical items in front of a large group of strangers wasn’t the best idea. She turned the hand to face away from her to use as a blunt instrument in case she needed to use it as a weapon. Besides that, the bottomless mug looked just like a fashionable bracer.

Her stomach rumbled and complained about her day of hiking. The man sitting closest to her chuckled. He reminded her of the recent blacksmith, only much older and much more white hair. He had a glassy eye and a scar along his cheek made a patch in his scraggly beard.

“Long day?” He raised an eyebrow at her heavy scrutiny.

“A bit lost,” She titled her head back, “Where are we?”

“Hedgethorn’s. It’s the only place around these parts besides farms and campsites,” He paused, “How’d you get lost?”

“I got kidnapped in the desert,” She crossed her legs and shrugged.

“How exactly did a little girl like you get away?”

“I can handle myself,” She lied.

“With that shitty sword?”

Charlie laughed to sound as confident as possible, “Listen, you buy me a drink and dinner, I’ll answer your questions. If not, then I’ll walk over to another bench by the fire.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” He raised his hand towards a barmaid and whistled, “But I’m in.”

“What can I get you, Thrash?” The perky blond hustled over to him.

“Thrash?” She snorted.

“A nickname,” He shrugged and turned back to the barmaid, “Bring my new friend a beer and a hot meal.”

Charlie watched her scurry away. She looked at Thrash and raised her eyebrow.

“Thrash?”

“You’ll have to buy me a drink to get that story,” He winked, “But, I’m better known as Henry Hedgethorn. It’s my little compound here.”

“Should've known I couldn’t blend in that well,” She sighed, “I’m Charlie. To make a long story short, I got kidnapped by metal men. Got away. Got kidnapped again. Ran away. Now, I’m here.”

“Twice?” He laughed, “What kind of bounty is on your head?”

“It’s less about money and more about my dazzling personality and outrageous beauty,” She flipped her oily hair over her shoulder as he laughed, “But I’m making my way towards Vlaminer. I have friends waiting for me there. They may have come through here.”

“Last people time anyone new came through was a couple of months ago,” He frowned, “Sorry to disappoint. What got you out in the desert in the first place?”

“I was hired to look into some people going missing,” She lied, “Leonie, mostly.”

The blond woman came back with a large stein of beer and a large plate with a slab of meat and mashed potatoes. Charlie didn’t wait for utensils before she grabbed the warm chuck of meat and shoved it into her mouth.

“Been a long time since you ate?” The woman asked.

She nodded and slurped down some beer before grabbing the extended spoon. She ungracefully shoveled it into her mouth without even tasting it.

“Get her seconds, if she needs it,” Thrash nodded, “You can keep her in the main house too.”

She shook her head and spoke with her mouth full, “You don’t need to do that.”

“You look pitiful. I insist.”

“No offense,” She chugged down the alcohol before she spoke again, “The last person I trusted also kidnapped me. So, I’d rather not go for another kidnapping. Third time’s the charm, as they say.”

“Alright, you can stay with Susie then,” He looked up at the barmaid, “Isn’t that right?”

“Yessir.”

“I’ll pass,” She burped.

“Okay,” Thrash shrugged, “I won’t push for it. Most women around here sleep with their husbands so there aren’t too many places you might consider safe.”

She clinked an empty glass against his, “Maybe after about six more of these, I’ll relax enough to consider something else.”

“You heard her, Susie,” The older man grinned, “Keep our new friend filled up.”

“Cheers,” She said sarcastically.

Thrash sat next to her and continued the small talk as she stuffed herself with food and drink. She tried not to speak as much to have as little presence as possible. He kept chatting away about the compound and the others until the man the fiddle approached them. He played a similar tune to one Charlie knew and she hummed along as she gnawed on her next steak.

Thrash grinned, “You remind me of my daughter.”

“Well,” She slapped her knees as Susie took the next plate of food away, “I should get going. I stopped by to warm up for the night.”

“Are you sure you can’t stay? You might need a good night’s sleep before you head further south. It’ll be at least four days before that path,” He pointed to a dirt road, “leads you anywhere.”

“Fine,” She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands down her face, “I better get breakfast.”

“Done deal,” The man laughed and slapped a hand in her back, “Go throw your bag in my house and make yourself comfortable. Susie can show you.”

Charlie followed the blond woman through the sea of similarly drunk adults to a nearby house. She already felt the buzz of all the beer in her veins but still kept herself diligent. She has to be able to protect herself if needed.

Susie opened the door to the largest building in the village. They walked up a modest staircase and turned right towards the closest door. Once she opened the bedroom door, Charlie relaxed.

“This isn’t some kind of cult, is it?”

“No ma’am. Thrash made this post when he went looking for his daughter. He’s been here since,” She curtsied, “He’s usually good about helping folk that pass by. Most come back with something to donate to us.”

“I’ll try to do that,” She nodded, “I think I'll just going to head to bed now, if that’s alright.”

“I can let him know,” Susie bowed, “Have a goodnight, ma’am.”

Charlie waited until the door shut before she opened her bag. She pulled out the baggy shirt and pants she usually slept in and changed into them. She held the mug in her hands and hoped the rune would light. When it didn’t, she sighed and tucked it into her bag. She crawled under the quilted blanket and closed her eyes.