ShadowLake

Kaylen​
 I was not cut out for sea travel. Barely one hour away from the shore, I was throwing up over the side, a twin on either side of me and Reeba on the other side. Jen was sitting against the mast, his eyes half closed, steering the boat. Ryan was constantly looking around nervously, as if he thought dead men were gong to rise from the bottom of the sea and attack us. Luminor cowered in the back of the boat. He flew most of the time, but he had to rest now and then. Fyrok was perched on the top of the mast. If it was possible for a red bird to look green, he was. The three horses were behind Luminor. The back of the boat higher than the rest and just big enough for them. Three stalls were crudely fashioned out of four boards with a two ropes in the front nd back to keep the horses from going forward or back. All this I noticed between hanging over the side of the boat and collapsing on the deck only to jump up to lean over again. I collapsed again with both boys leaning on me. My stomach felt so queasy and I was tired. So tired. Ryan came over to us and gently helped all of us to lay down.
“Sorry, guys. We aren’t even going to be on the sea long enough for you all to get used to it.” I closed my eyes and just reminded myself to be thankful we would be on the rocking boat for only a day or two. But right now a day seemed like an eternity. I drifted in and out of sleep for the next couple of hours. The boys on either side of me tossed and turned, sometimes moaning in their sleep. I didn’t want to know what they were dreaming about. As the sun set, Jen slowed the boat down. Ryan helped us invalids to sitting positions. The railing around the boat was low enough so we could see over. We silently watched as Jen and Ryan picked up Darien’s body shrouded in a blanket. They slowly lowered the body over the side of the boat. I flinched at the splash and looked away as Darien sank below the surface. Nobody said anything, but none of us moved until the sun was completely gone and no light was left except from the stars.
“Let’s go,” Ryan whispered. Jen went back to his place by the mast and Ryan went back to searching the water and sky. The boys and I returned to our places stretched out on the deck. Reeba stayed sitting up, but buried her head in her arms. I could see her shoulders shaking, but I couldn’t make myself get up to go comfort her. I drifted off as the stars slowly drifted by.
A day passed. Then another. By the end of the fourth day, I was feeling much better. The twins had gotten up the day before, but Reeba was still attached to the side of the boat. We were feeling physically better, but our spirits were low. A two day trip was know four.
A week later Fyrok was constantly circling the boat in increasingly wider circles to see if we had missed it. Nothing. Our food supply was getting low, though Jen could just catch us fish. And make us a fire with no wood. And steer the boat. And summon wind to push the boat. After two weeks went by, his face was haggard and thin. I looked around and realized we all were. Poor Jen looked worse than any of us, but we were all bored, hungry, thirsty, and scared. The sea seemed endless and all the same. The only good thing was as we sailed away from the coast, the skies cleared. The sea was a blue-green under the sunlight and was very beautiful under the blue sky and bright sun. But even the beauty of the scenery got old. To pass the time, Ryan was teaching all of us to throw knives, Reeba taught us how to shoot arrows (though that ended when Jen shouted he couldn’t spend magic calling back arrows), and the twins taught us their secret language that was no longer secret. Reeba liked to hear stories about where I have been and my many masters. I glossed over some of the details, but the others were still horrified about some of the things I had gone through. Ryan finally had to fees Spryton some plant that put him into a stupor. Mrouta and Brownie were more docile, but even they couldn’t b expected not to move for two weeks. So everyday, Ryan kicked all the humans overboard and he trotted the horses around the small deck. We swam around the boat (after Jen assured us there was nothing in the water that would eat us) for a little while, then, after we got tired, we would hang on the side of the boat. In this way the days passed as our food, water, and hay dwindled.
One night, exactly sixteen days after we last saw land, neither Ryan nor I could sleep. Jen was taking a much needed rest and was snoring next to Luminor. Reeba and the twins were all sprawled over each other. Ryan and I were watching something like fish just below the surface of the water. The moon was almost full and the fish reflected the light so they looked like they were glowing. Some were as small as my little finger and one was as big as Luminor. We both watched in amazement and a little fear as it passed under the boat, bumping it gently. For an instant, we both thought we would have to wake Jen to get us away from it, but it just swam on, now and then coming back to investigate. They were beautiful, but a bit creepy. I jumped as one jumped up out of the water, making a small splash as it hit the water.
“Do you think we will ever get there?” I asked in a low whisper, not wanting to wake anybody up. Ryan sighed.
“I think the bigger question is whether Jen is going to make it. We are out of food and water. So he has to do everything. It’s wearing him down. Even if we do find land soon, he will have to rest for days before he is able to travel.” I nodded.
“Any hay left?”
“Enough for one more day.” One more day. And there was no food out here for the horses.
“Can horse eat fish?” I wondered out loud. Ryan laughed softly.
“I don’t know, but I we are out hear much longer, we are going to find out.”
I found it! Both Ryan and I jerked around, looking for the phoenix.
“There he is!” I cried, not bothering to keep my voice down. I couldn’t see him, but the stars were blinking out in front of us and I assumed that was him. Reeba sat up sleepily.
I found it! he repeated. It isn’t far! But I couldn’t get to close. Jen is right: whirlpools and water twisters everywhere. Tomorrow is sure to be interesting.
“Can you remember where it is?” Ryan asked.
Of course I will!
“Sorry,” he muttered. “Do we need to wake everyone up?” Fyrok landed on the railing and studied the sleeping crew.
Let them sleep, especially Jen. It will be all him tomorrow. It is only about an hour away so you will probably see it in the morning. Fyrok cocked his head. You two get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.
 
sorry if this part is confusing. i cnat tell if i described everythihng well enough to tell what is going on. sorry...
Jen​
 “Wake up!” Something wet and slimy hit my face and I jerked up, fully awake. A fish was flopping bedside me and five faces were hovering very close to mine.
“Fyrok found the island!”
“It’s real close!”
“We can see the water twisters!”
“Ryan said you will have to get us though!”
“Get up and go!”
“I want of this boat!”
My head whipped back and forth between the twins as they fired off rapid sentences above me. Ryan helped me to my feet as the twins continued to chatter. Sure enough, there was land in front of us. It spread as far as I could see in both directions. Directly in front of us was a thousand feet of water, then a small beach. Beyond that rose trees unlike any I had seen except in my dreams. The tree canopy was a beautiful slivery green. They rose up as huge mountains pierced the sky. so high the clouds hid the peaks from sight.
“Stop staring at the land and look at the They rose upsea!” Reeba said. I tore my attention away from the Layo Continent to the turbulent water. Whirlpools were scattered throughout the water, some only a foot across, and a couple over one hundred feet across. Between them, water twisters sporadically appeared and disappeared, also varying in size. One rose up near us and we could feel the wind as it whirled around and around. I reached out with one hand and closed my fist. The twister began to writhe and squirm as I held it. I struggled to lower my hand but the twister fought me with an unnatural fury. Finally I released it and it disappeared into the air.
“That was strange,” I muttered.
“What was strange?” Ryan asked.
“The twister. It didn’t act like something natural. There was magic in it.”
“Great. Can you get us through?” I turned to look at everyone on the boat.
“I suggest sending everyone over on Luminor. That will just leave me and the horses.”
“And me,” Ryan said. “Kaylen and Reeba first.” The two girls looked stubborn, but another twister rose beside us, rocking the boat, and they both scrambled onto Luminor. He rose into the air and flew above the reach of the water twisters. He set down on the beach and the girls jumped off. Luminor flew back and picked up the boys. Ryan kept his eyes on the girls, worry evident on his face. Luminor again lifted off, but before he could get out if reach, a huge twister shot towards him, pulling him into the storm. Around and around they went, Luminor desperately trying to break free of the twister’s grip. Any closer and he was going to be inside the twister and get soaked. And once his wings were wet, he would be unable to fly. I thrust out a hand and clenched my fist as tight as possible. My breathing became labored as I forced my hand down. The twister lowered and lost some of its power. Luminor broke free from the twister, but instead of flying towards the beach, he circled the dying twister.
“There’s only one boy on his back!” Ryan said, jumping up to lean over the side, searching the water for the lost twin. I started to let go of the twister, but as soon as I did, it rose again and leapt towards Luminor. I re-closed my fist and forced it down. I continued to force it down until I was on my knees from the effort and my other hand was also clenched. The twister became lower and lower, but spread wider and wider until it was a swirling disk of water a foot deep and hovering an inch over the water. As the water swirled, a dark head appeared.
“There he is!” I cried, careful to keep my hands low and clenched.
“How are we supposed to get him?” Ryan asked grimly. The girls on the beach were dangerously close to a whirlpool as they waded out, trying to see what was going on. The twin in the water went under, then came up on the other side of the circle. Fyrok took off from the boat and began to circle lower and lower, following the boy. He dove and both disappeared under the water. A second later Fyrok rose up, his talons clutching the boy. He flew towards the beach getting lower and lower until they both crashed into the water a foot from the beach. The girls dragged the boy onto the beach where he struggled to his feet. Luminor finally wheeled towards the beach. As soon as he landed, the twins ran and embraced. I let go of the twister and he it rose up twice as big as it was before evaporating into the air.
“Well, that was interesting.” Ryan said.
“And we haven’t even started. Will you please ride over on Luminor?”
“No. Ready?”
“No. Let’s go.” Ryan walked over to the horses to keep them calm while I got up and went to the front of the boat. I got down on my knees and put both hands on the railing in front of me. I took a deep breath, then urged to boat forward. We slowly made our way past one whirlpool, then another. As soon as we got past the first two whirlpools, all of the twisters disappeared into the air.
“What happened?” Ryan called.
“I don’t know,” I muttered.
“What?”
“I don’t-” A twister materialized right next to the boat, dragging us straight into one of the largest whirlpools. The boat jerked in the opposite direction and I slipped, banging my head on the rail. For an instant we hung still as the twister and the whirlpool fought over control of the boat. The whirlpool proved stronger and we were jerked into its grasp. My head pounded and my hand came back bloody when I touched my temple. A glance over my shoulder showed Ryan being pulled into the air by a terrified Spryton. The boat began to tilt and I jerked my attention back to the water. We were already below the surface of the water and the whirlpool was speeding up. I looked over the side of the boat to see jagged rocks rising from the sea bottom. My mind scrambled for something that I could do, but I came up blank. The boat tilted further and I heard a horse scream. If the boat continued to tilt, the horses were going to fall out. I scrambled to the higher side of the boat and leaned over the railing. With one hand I held onto the railing and I held the other in front of my face. I blew into my hand and a small white ball appeared in my palm. I reached out and shoved it into the water. The boat immediately jerked to a stop. I closed my eyes and put all my energy into my magic. A minute passed, then another. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Jen, open your eyes.” Ryan’s voice was right next to me. I forced my eyes open just before collapsing. Of almost collapsing. My arm was stuck in the water. I forced myself to focus and look at what had happened. Instead of freezing the water around the boat like I had wanted, I had frozen everything. My arm was stuck in the ice. Ryan was holding me up and looking around in awe. The entire whirlpool was frozen. I didn’t realize how noisy the water had been until now.
“Jen, can you get your arm out?” I tried to shake my head, but my body wouldn’t cooperate. “I’ll take that as a no.”
 
Ryan​
 I carefully held up Jen to keep him from hanging from his arm. I glanced around at the frozen water and wondered what to do. I couldn’t do much holding Jen up and even if I could put him down I was stuck down here.
Ryan!
“Down here!” I called back. Fyrok appeared over the side of the whirlpool, flew in a circle, then disappeared again. A few minutes later, four heads appeared over the side.
Is he alright? Fyrock circled just above me. He started to land, but the ice started to crack as he set his weight on the boat. He quickly took off again.
“He’s exhausted and his arm is stuck. Got any ideas?”
No, but I think the twins might. He flew up to them, then flew back to me asking for rope.
“It’s over there, near the horses,” I said, pointing with my head. He carefully dove and picked up the coiled rope without rocking the boat. Spryton reared at the sudden movement.
Stupid animal.
“Hey, don’t insult my horse.” Fyrok flew the rope to the others and they all disappeared from view. Jen was starting to get heavy and I tried to set him down with no luck. “Will all of you hurry up?” I called up.
We’re trying. Be patient.
Seconds later one of the twins was being lowered over the side. He was holding something. As he came closer, I realized it was a torch made out of some twigs or something. Finally he was hanging over us both.
“Josh or Jake?”
“Jake. Is he okay?” Jake held the torch close as he dared to Jen’s arm.
“I think he exhausted himself.”
“He froze everything we can see.”
“Everything?”
“Well, all the water. This is going to take forever.” The ice was barely melting. Jake shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable with the rope tied around his waist.
Is it working?
“Barely,” I said. “It’s going to take a little while. His arm’s frozen halfway to his elbow.”
“I know!” Jake said. “We can have Fyrok perch on his arm, shoot him with an arrow or something, so he burts into flames!”
NO!
“Aww, why not?”
I don’t like dying, that’s why. Besides, here comes Josh with another torch. Fyrock flew off in a bit of a hurry. Josh lowered beside his brother and held his own torch near the ice.
“This is going to take forever,” he said, echoing Jake. The fire continued to lick at the ice as the hours went by. It was past noon when I began to tug on Jen’s arm. Just his hand was stuck and with a little tugging, pushing, and shouts from the boys, his hand came free. I had been pulling so hard we both fell backwards onto the deck of the boat.
“Now what?” asked Jake. He and Josh were swinging back and forth along the ice, narrowly missing each other.
“We need to get the horses and Jen to the surface.” I havent figured out how to get the horses up. Any suggestions?
Kaylen wants to know if Luminor can fly Jen up.
“That would work, but there is no place for him to land. Tell her they are going to have to pull him up.”
“We have an idea,” Jake and Josh said together.
“Give Jen to us.”
“We can carry him up.” I stared at both of them before shrugging and doing as they said. Either way, the trip up was not going to be easy on Jen. I held Jen up while the twins got on either side of him and wrapped their arms around and under his shoulders. This might work out.
“Fyrok, tell them to pull!” I shouted up.
You mean him. They have the ropes tied to Luminor. Good idea. The twins and Jen started to rise slowly but surely. They reached the top and were pulled from view. A few minutes later, Luminor flew down and past me.
You are going to have to jump on his back.
“You have got to be kidding. There is no way I am-
There is no other way for you to get up, so do it. Jump!
Luminor flew just below the stuck boat and without giving myself time to think about what I was doing, I jumped over the side. I landed on his back with my eyes closed. My hands twisted into his mane as he soared up to the top.
You can open your eyes now. Fyrok sounded suspiciously smug, but I opened my eyes. We were on the beach. Kaylen was walking towards us while Reeba was tending to Jen. Josh and Jake were tending to the exhausted horses. I jumped off Luminor and looked to the sea. It was amazing. As far as I could sea, the water was frozen. Huge wholes in the ice were all that were left of the deadly whirlpools. Several water twisters stood unmoving. It was beautiful, but also frightening. I sometimes forgot what Jen could do. Kaylen took my hand and led me over to the others where she forced me to sit down. As soon as I did, I realized how tired I was. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was the strange silver green off the tree that sheltered
 
I am SO SORRY! I didn't mean to do that. I didnt highlight the last word and all it is is 'us'. sorry. nothing special. they were all just around the tree. and i forgot to add the Jen's post that he fainted. and i am changing things around. the horses are staying on the mainland, not coming on the boat to the Layo Continent. and guess what?! i have good news and bad. Good: i know where i am going with the story and how it ends. Bad: i'm anoly about halfway through. I'm going to try VERY hard to finish by Christmas. yeah right...
 
in all seriousness, my computer really is being stupid. i wrote another section earlier today, saved it, and shut it down. now, I go to the document and it just shows me an hourglass. so im trying to stay calm, but its not working. i havent saved it on my flash drive for a while so... yall get the picture. im going to try restarting the computer...
 
Kaylen​
 It was just past noon when we were all settled down. Jen and Ryan slept. Actually, I wasn’t sure if Jen was asleep. His breathing was deep and slow and his skin was almost cold when I touched him. Ryan rolled over and stretched out on his stomach, but Jen remained still. Josh and Jake were exploring while Reeba was slowly collecting wood to make a fire. All our supplies were still on the boat and none of us were eager to try and get them. Despite the inactivity of the last few weeks, we were all a little lethargic. Even Josh and Jake were moving slowly as they wandered the beach. Reeba had already threatened them with their lives if they even thought about going in the woods or out of our sight. The tree we were under was set apart from the others where they formed a wall of greenery. I sat down by Jen and stared at the forest. I expected it to be scary and dark, but is was surprisingly beautiful. The bark of the trees were silver and extremely slender compared to how wide the branches spread. The leaves were huge and circular. The bottoms were a dark green while the tops matched the trunks and branches. Because the branches were spread so wide and the trunks so small, the forest was very open and almost welcoming. Between the trees, low green-silver grass grew in a thick carpet. I thought it very strange that there was nothing else on the ground. No ferns, saplings, vines, dead branches, or fallen leaves. It looked almost cared for.
“Mmm.” Ryan moaned and pushed himself onto his elbows. He yawned and looked around.
“Hey,” I said. His head whipped around to look at me.
“Hi.” He looked down at Jen. “How is he?”
“He hasn’t woken up of moved. And his skin is really cold. But he’s alive.” Ryan reached out and grabbed one of Jen’s wrists. He held it for a couple seconds before dropping it.
“His pulse is slow, but steady. He probably just needs lots of rest.” I nodded. Reeba came over with the boys trailing behind her. They all had armfuls of drift wood which they dropped beside us.
“Glad your awake Ryan. “None of us can make a fire without matches or flint.”
“Do you need it now?” Ryan asked in surprise. Reeba shook her head.
“No,” she said simply before walking off with the boys. Ryan looked at me and raised his eyebrows. I shrugged. I never pretended to understand Reeba.
“Well, since you are awake, I’m going to go look around.” I got to my feet as I spoke and looked to the forest.
“Stay in sight.” I nodded and walked into the forest. The grass was soft and springy. When I turned around, I couldn’t see where I had stepped.. I walked a bit further in, careful to keep the beach in sight, which wasn’t hard. I looked up. Branches and leaves intertwined to make a very dense ceiling. Despite the dark leaves and no sunlight, the forest was very bright. The trees seemed to give off something like moonlight except brighter.
“That’s far enough, Kaylen,” Ryan called. I turned to see him standing at the edge, watching me. I saluted him and sat down against a tree. Ryan frowned at me but walked away when he saw me sit down. A few minutes later Luminor joined me. He stretched out next to me and presented one wing. I rolled my eyes but obediently began to run my fingers through his wings, straightening them and dislodging any dirt. He began to purr. A house cat has a loud purr. Luminor’s purr makes the ground near him vibrate. I smiled and looked around. For hiding a portal into a world full of things that want to kill everyone, this place wasn’t bad.
The days flew by and Jen continued to sleep. We all took turns sitting with him, but he never stirred. Reeba and I dripped water down into his mouth several times a day but he wouldn’t swallow broth or anything remotely resembling food. So we just let him sleep. The first morning we all woke up stunned. Instead of the icy seascape we fell asleep with, the ice was all gone and the whirlpools and twisters were going full force. But the strangest thing was our boat. It had somehow made it from halfway down a whirlpool to halfway up the beach, completely unharmed and with all our supplies intact. None of us even tried to figure out any of this. Those of us not sitting with Jen explored. It took the animals a little while to get used to us and longer for us to get used to them. The most abundant animal were what Ryan named chatters. They were like monkeys except they had large wings and soared from tree to tree instead of jumping. The top of their wings and backs were silver, while underneath they were green and we usually couldn’t spot them until they start making this strange chattering noise. When a pack of them got together the noise could be deafening, but they tended to be solitary. The twins were constantly trying to catch one and the chatters thought it a game to stay just ahead of them. There seemed to be thousands of types of birds in all colors from silver to gold to red to black. I even saw one that I was sure was turquoise one second and orange the next. There were rabbits whose heads came up to our knees that the twins dubbed hopalongs. The hopalongs could jump from the ground to one of the huge branches in the trees where they ate the leaves of the trees. They were silver and seemed to glow with the same strange light as the trees. My favorites were the burrows. They were strange little creatures that were no bigger than my two hands. They looked a little like porcupines without the long spikes and with long, flat snouts and four feet made for digging. Bu they didn’t use their feet to dig. Instead, they rolled up into a little ball, exposing flat spikes all along their backs. They then would start rolling extremely fast and the spikes would dig a tunnel under the ground. Sometimes they would burst out of the ground rolling as fast as they can and fly through the air and hit the ground only to disappear again underground. One hit Reeba on the head and sent her shrieking out of the forest. We saw lots of animals, but no predators and no other plants than the grass and the silver trees. We had to fish for food (we all raised an uproar when Ryan suggested eating a hopalong) and often went to bed hungry.
It was a week after our first day when Jen finally opened his eyes. His stretched and let out a huge yawn.
“It’s about time you woke up,” I said.
“How long?” He forced himself up to a sitting position and looked around curiously.
“A week.”
“Where is everyone else?”
“Exploring.” I studied him as he looked around. His eyes were bright and his movements quick. “If you don’t overdo it, you can get up. But no magic, got it?” He grinned and nodded before jumping to his feet in one swift motion.

Jen​
 I helped Kaylen up and let her lead me into the forest. My muscles felt stiff, but I guess that was to be expected after not moving for a week. Kaylen went ahead of me, describing the animals they had seen. I was working through what hopalongs were when I saw a flash of red.
It’s about time you woke up. I thought you were going to die on us for a little while. Kaylen’s head whipped up to look at the phoenix perched on one of the bigger branches.
“You never siad you thought he wasn’t going to make it,” she accused.
I didn’t see the point in worrying everyone.
“You told Ryan didn’t you?”
Yes. Kaylen frowned and started to say something I knew would lead to an argument so I swiftly cut in.
“I’m terribly sorry I took so long to wake up. By the way, what happened that made me sleep for a week? All I remember is freezing the whirlpool, and that should not have drained me that much.” Kaylen stared at me in surprise.
“Jen, you didn’t freeze just the whirlpool. You froze everything. At least everything we could see.” My eyes widened in shock.
“Oops,” I muttered.
I flew out pretty far and it was still ice. I never found where it stopped and the next day it was gone.
“Gone?”
“It all melted over night,” Kaylen explained. She reached out a took my hand and began to drag me though the forest to where I could hear voices. I was still trying to sort everything out when we came upon the others. At least I thought we did.
“Jen!”
“You’re awake!”
“It’s about time!”
“How are you feeling?”
I looked around trying to see the bodies that went with the voices but saw nothing but green and silver. Kaylen grinned at me. “Look up,” she said. I looked up.
 
Jen Cont​
Josh and Jake were swinging back and forth from their knees while Reeba was carefully walking along a branch, her hands on a branch above her to keep her balance. Ryan was sitting in the crook a huge branch watching with an amused expression on his face. Kaylen sprinted to the tree and began to climb the smooth trunk by no means that I could see.
“Come on Jen, it’s easier than it looks,” she called. I walked over and studied the tree. The glowing silver bark was perfectly smooth. How on earth had she climbed up?
“Put your hand on the tree!” Reeba shouted down. I put my hand on and felt the tree stir. A small knob grew under my hand until I could grasp it. I reached above my head and placed my other hand on the tree. Another knob grew and I pulled myself up. Wherever I put a foot or a hand, a knob grew and as soon as it wasn’t needed, the knob sank back into the tree. Picking my way carefully, I made my way to where the others were practically running along the branches.
Don’t worry Jen. The tree won’t let you fall. Trust me, the twins have tried. This place is strange. Not really reassured by something that had wings, I crept slowly along the branches. The branches grew out, then up and the leaves only grew on the outermost of the branches. What resulted was a couple layers of large strong branches that interlaced and above that layers of thick green leaves. Kaylen straddled a branch above Ryan with one of her feet hanging beside his head. Reeba pulled herself onto the same branch and stretched herself out on her stomach while the twins went a branch higher and hung from their knees. As I carefully walked over, I noted they both needed a haircut. I did too, now that I thought about it. I couldn’t see it, but I had a feeling my hair was starting to look like Luminor’s mane except brown. I found a place to sit close enough to have a conversation with the others. When he saw we were all settled, Ryan shifted a bit so Kaylen’s swinging foot was in less danger of hitting him before calling to Fyrok.
I’m right here, he said irritably as he settled on a branch slightly below mine.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you. So now that everyone is once again conscious, where do we go?” He addressed everyone, but locked eyes with me. I shrugged slightly.
“I have no idea. I know wherever it is, the trees and things look different this the closer we go.”
“So we just wander around until we find something different?” asked Reeba. “That doesn’t sound too fun.”
“Maybe not, but unless we have another plan, that’s the one we have to go with,” Ryan said, his voice glum. “So, which way?”
“To the beach to get Luminor and our things,” Kaylen said.
Um, Josh and Jake are turning an interesting color. I looked up to see the twins still hanging upside down. Their faces were very red.
“Guys get down,” Ryan said. “I’m sure the trees are tired of catching you.” They both obediently turned right side up. I was glad to see them getting into mischief instead of acting like short adults.
“Jen, do you know what’s with this place?” asked Reeba as we climbed down. She had just slipped only to have the branch sprout a small limb under her foot to catch her. As soon as she was balanced, it disappeared again. “Not only the trees, but the very land seems to be alive. The first day we went looking for fresh water and we couldn’t find any anywhere. Then when we went back to the beach, the same way we left it, we came on a small fresh water pool.”
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “There is obviously a lot of magic in the trees and earth, but why or how I don’t know.” Once on the ground, I closed my eyes and just listened with whatever it was that made me a Magi. After a few seconds I felt the magic ingrained in the land. It was subtle, but definitely there. But it felt different than the magic I felt from other Magi. This magic seemed more wild, more free. I opened my eyes to see the others watching me. “Let’s go,” I said. “I want to get this over with.”
 
I'm sorry I haven't been reading for so long. Anyway, now I'm back.
I'm now trying to catch up. I'm working on post 96, and I love the twins.
 
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Ryan​
 We got to the beach and began sorting through our things. We had six backpacks, but they were all small except mine. We left what little money but everything else we divided among ourselves. Three coils of rope, four small knives, two bigger ones, seven canteens, Reeba’s bow and arrows, Kaylen’s two small daggers, my machete, five thin blankets, and some strange powders that the twins refused to explain except for some wicked grins were pretty much all we had. As we packed, I looked over everyone and wondered who we were kidding. Jen was still a bit haggard looking and his hair really needed to be cut. His cape had disappeared ages ago, his shirt and pants were ripped in several places, and his shoes were not going to last much longer. Kaylen didn’t have shoes to start with and her pants ended well above her ankles. Her shirt was too big but was slowly getting shorter as it unraveled. The twins were both a mess. They had three shoes between them and had used the ends of their pants to make a net to catch a chatter in so now their pants stopped just past their knees. Reeba was the best dressed with pants and shoes in decent shape, put one sleeve of her shirt was gone and the hem was burned where she nearly caught on fire fixing dinner one night. I was used to my torn shirt and pants, but I liked my shoes and I was going to be lucky if they made it through whatever we were doing. We were all beyond filthy and I think even the girls had given up on taking regular baths. We looked like a bunch of ragtag beggars instead of comrades trying to save the world.
You all do look rather pathetic.
“Can you read my mind?” I asked sharply.
No, just your face.
“Don’t you have something better to do than stare at me?”
Well, I was going to tell you where I think we should start, but if you are going to be rude…
“I’m terribly sorry,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it. “Where should we start?”
We need to get through the mountains. I have flown miles along the coast in either direction and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Though, I do not know exactly what I’m looking for. All I know is that ShadowLake is here somewhere.
I nodded thoughtfully and looked to the forest. The mountains looked about twenty miles away. The hard part would not be getting to them, but getting through them. “What do you know about the mountains?”
Jen answered me. “Legend says the mountains go up for forever. They are the biggest mountains in the world, but the range is relatively narrow. It extends along the entire coast, but the mountains you see are it; there are none behind them.” I looked to Fyrok.
I was unable to fly to the top of the mountains, he admitted. I do not think it would be wise to try to get to the top.
“Then we will try to find a pass of some sort. Now, what about food? Since you people won’t let me catch a hopalong.”
Again Jen spoke up. “I do not think that would be a good idea, to eat a hopalong. I don’t think the magic here would like it.” He glanced around a bit uneasily. “Don’t take this place for granted. It knows we are here and it seems almost to like us, but I don’t think that hospitality would extend to us if we are eating it’s residents.”
“So what do we eat? We won’t be able to fish once off the coast.” As we spoke, we all gathered under the tree we had claimed as a campsite. Dusk was falling and I lit a fire. The night was warm, but the fire was reassuring.
“I don’t know,” Jen said thoughtfully. “We needed water and it gave it to us.”
“So maybe it will give us food,” I concluded.
“She will give us food,” corrected Reeba. We all turned to look at her.
“I agree,” announced Kaylen. “She is not an it.” Jen, Jake, Josh and I all exchanged glances then burst out laughing. Reeba and Kaylen glared at us.
I agree too. That stopped the laughter.
“What do you mean you agree?” I asked incredulously.
Well, maybe I don’t really agree, but I have to stand up for Kaylen and Reeba, don’t I?
“Thanks, Fyrok,” the girls chimed.
“I think,” Kaylen said with a frown.
“Alright everyone. Let’s get some sleep,” I said. One by one, we all laid down around the small fire. Kaylen and Reeba snuggled against Luminor, one on either side. His wings expanded to cover them both. Fyrok settled on one of the branches above us, his red feathers just visible in the darkness. The twins stretched out on their backs a little away from the rest of us so they could see the stars. I could hear them quietly naming constellations in their strange language. Jen drew his knees up and stared into the fire. I laid down on my side so I could keep everyone in view. I was almost asleep when Jen leaned over the fire and put his hands on either side of it, so close I was surprised he didn’t jump back. His finger spread as wide as they could go and I could see his skin stretch over the bones of the hand closest to me. (does that sentence make sense?) His eyes half closed and he began to murmur something. The only thing that moved was his mouth. The fire sputtered, then died down to just glowing embers. Just as I had decided he was just putting out the fire, two thin flames jumped up to make a circle floating above the embers. Inside the circle, a mist appeared. I could still see Jen through the circle, but his features were blurred. The mist began to change color, slowly at first, then faster. Finally, a hazy picture appeared. I made out five boys huddled around a campfire. I couldn’t make out their features, but they all wore the clothing of Magi. Judging by their size, I guessed the oldest to be full grown but young, maybe around twenty or so, and the youngest to be half grown, around ten or twelve. Either they were all silent or Jen couldn’t get the sound. They looked tired and cold…and a little forlorn. Before I could see anything else, the image disappeared and the flames jumped up again to make the small fire. I could see the frown clearly on his face.
“Friends of yours?” I asked. He nodded silently. “What’s wrong? They looked fine, though a little lost.” He slowly shook his head.
“They are all supposed to be at the Institute still. Nobody leaves the Institute until they are apprenticed. Yet all five of them are out, and alone. Something’s wrong.” He picked up a piece of driftwood we had gathered earlier and poked the fire. “Something is very, very wrong.”
 
Kaylen​
 “Come on everybody, time to get up.” I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, burying my head in my arms. “Luminor, come here. Look I got a fish for you. Go get the fish.” I heard a plop, then my blanket, which I realized was Luminor’s wing, moved away. I shivered in the cool air and jumped to my feet. Reeba was beside me, rubbing her arms in an attempt to get warm. Ryan was making sure our fire was completely out while the twins tackled Jen, who was still curled up on the ground.
“Alright, alright, I’m up. Go torment someone else.” Jen’s voice was rough with sleep and he was looking around sleepily. The sun was half above the horizon. I was surprised Ryan had let us sleep so late. Jen groaned dramatically as he staggered to his feet. He stretched his hands toward the sky, then froze.
“Hey, guys, you need to look at this.” His head was tipped back, staring at the tree limbs. We all clustered around him and looked up. Hanging from the branches were strange silver balls that were not there last night.. Josh and Jake ran to the tree and swung themselves into the branches. They cautiously poked, then Josh plucked one. He dropped it down and Ryan caught it.
“It’s a fruit,” Ryan said in surprise. It was perfectly round and had a long stem. Ryan held to his face and sniffed it. “Smell’s alright What do you think, Jen?” He shrugged.
“Like I said, I don’t think it-”
“She!” interrupted Kaylen and Reeba.
“She wants to hurt us. Try it. If you die, we know not to eat it.”
“Thanks, Jen,” Ryan said sarcastically. He hesitated, then bit into it. We all held our breath as he chewed then swallowed.
“It’s good.” He ate the rest in three bites. Josh and Jake began dropping more down while the four of us ran around catching them. I bit into one. It was sweet, but not overpowering. I ate three before I was full. We put the ones we didn’t eat in our packs, then headed into the forest. Ryan led the way with Jen beside him. They were discussing whether or not to go fast and risk being exhausted when we got to ShadowLake, or going slow and risk getting there too late. Reeba and I walked behind them with Josh and Jake behind us. Luminor walked beside me and Fyrok flew above the treetops, occasionally adding to Ryan and Jen’s conversation. The hours passed and I began to wish for the horses. Not only was I tired, our progress was slow. When we stopped to make camp, we had only just reached the base of the mountains. The trees continued to grow on the mountains, so I couldn’t see how far up they went. Without really thinking about it, as everyone else collapsed around a small fire, I scrambled onto Luminor’s back. Ryan frowned at me, but I ignored him. I wanted to see. Luminor launched himself into the air and wheeled around until he saw a break in the tree cover big enough for him to fly through. Branches whipped at my face, but turned away just before they would have scratched me. An instant later, we were above the trees. I sucked in a breath as I saw up close what we were going to be crossing. The mountain was so tall and so broad, it seemed to be simply a wall of trees. There were no clouds, but I still couldn’t see the top. It seemed to go on forever. Luminor carefully flew back down and I collapsed by the fire with the others.
“Well?” Ryan asked. I described what I saw.
“I don’t see how we are going to get across of around it,” I said.
We’ll find a way. I nodded wearily before laying down and falling asleep.
The next day, the trees around us were laden with the silver fruit. Ryan offered one to Luminor, and to my surprise, he ate it. I could see the relief on Ryan’s face. If Luminor could eat the fruit, we didn’t have to worry about him eating a hopalong. We all grabbed our packs and all turned to look at Ryan. Ahead of us, The forest floor abruptly started up at a steep incline. Ryan looked to the left, then the right, then to Fyrok.
I suggest right. Ryan nodded and we started to the right. Before we had taken three steps, Jen froze.
“Get next to the mountain,” he said frantically. I rushed to the mountain and huddled next to Ryan. We all squeezed together and Jen drew a line in the sand around us. For an instant, nothing happened. I shifted a bit and tried to push Luminor’s wing closer to him to give us more room.
“Jen, what-” Before Ryan could finish, we all heard the sound of distant thunder. It became louder and louder. Then we saw them: hopalong. There were over five hundred of the overgrown rabbits. They were running -or hopping- at top speed in a massive heard. They ran past us, unable to cross Jen’s line. The noise was deafening. Finally the last one ran by and the noise began to fade. We all looked at each other in astonishment. We had never seen more than five hopalong at a time, and never in a hurry.
“Why did they do that?” asked Reeba in a shaky voice. Josh and Jake each took one of her hands. Jen rubbed one foot over the line, breaking it. We stepped out and looked around. The ground had been flattened by the hopalong huge feet. We would have been crushed if Jen had not warned us.
“Why did they do that?” Reeba repeated.
“I don’t know,” Ryan said. He sounded frustrated. “Something could have scared them. Of it could be just something they do. Maybe there is an annual hopalong race. I just don’t know.” Definitely frustrated. Before I could say anything, he turned away and began to walk. “Come on. We need to get going.”
We walked for three days. The wall on our left never changed though Fyrok said the end wasn’t far. Only another three days or so. And that was just until we were around the front of the mountain. After that, we had to get through the mountain passed we hoped existed. It was almost as bad as being back on the boat.
We didn’t see anymore hopalongs. The chatters and burrows were still in the forest, but they seemed to be waiting for something. The chatters would periodically stop what they were doing and become perfectly still and quiet, looking to the mountain. The burrows popped their heads above the surface every few feet and sniffed the air, then dive back underground. We had also discovered a new animal that lived on the mountains. It was by far the strangest thing I had ever seen. Whatever it was, it was completely flat and only about two inches thick. It looked like a carpet of moss. Like everything else, it was silver on top and green on the bottom. The first one we saw was stretched on one of the boulders that littered the mountain side. Josh had gone climb the boulder and as he went to put his hand on what looked like moss, the moss moved away. Josh jumped back, only to have the moss he stepped on move out from under him, sending him sprawling on his back. The mosses were irregularly shaped. Some were squares, some circles, and some in between. We caught one and examined it, but it just looked like moss. There was no mouth, eyes, ears, or nose. They moved by using the short, soft most on the underside as feet. They seemed to just glide over the rocks and grass. I couldn’t tell if the mosses were waiting for something or not. They all just seemed to lay there.
The fourth night we found a cave to sleep in. It was just tall enough for me to stand in, which meant everyone else, including the growing twins, had to bend over. It was also just big enough for us to all lay down in, side be side with Ryan sleeping by the entrance, then Jen, then the twins, Reeba, and I was up against the back wall. Fyrok and Luminor slept outside. I felt a bit uncomfortable being separated from Luminor by five people, but I was so tired I was asleep in seconds.
 
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