He smiled. "Who's counting?"
"Are you two okay?" asked Juliana.
Andrew gave her an OK sign. "So, what did you find?"
"A lantern with no candle or light bulb," I said.
Andrew untied it from the tree and opened the lid. "Glow sticks lantern."
"Pretty genius," I said.
"Creative," said Andrew.
"Yes, that too," I said.
Andrew helped me down and handed me the lantern. Two glowing figures appeared from behind Juliana and Michael.
"Aah…" I pointed.
"What is it?" Juliana turned and screamed.
"Greetings," said a man and woman in flowing white robes that touched the ground. The wings on their backs glowed as they opened and closed.
"Greetings," said Andrew in a calm voice.
"Are you Angels or Fairies?" I asked.
"We're Angels," said the man.
"You found the lantern," said the woman, her voice as melodious as an Angel. "It's our SOS sign."
"Great," said Juliana. "We need to get out of here."
The male Angel stared at her injured ankle. "Are you hurt?"
"My ankle's better," said Juliana. "But Michael broke his arm."
The Angels looked at each other, and the male Angel nodded.
The female Angel turned to Michael. "Should we call the paramedics?"
Michael shook his head. "That's not necessary," he said. "Please just show us the way."
"Are you sure?" asked Juliana.
Michael nodded. "Unless you need one."
Juliana shook her head. "No, I'll be fine."
The male Angel thought for a while. "Very well. Take the path to the left," he said. "No matter what happens, keep going."
"That doesn't sound encouraging," I said.
"You may face some obstacles, but it's the fastest way," said the female Angel.
"Thank you," said Andrew.
"Wait!" The female Angel slid her hand into the pocket on the side of her robe. She handed Andrew a yellow crystal. "When you can't outrun your enemies, throw this crystal on the ground and it will scare them away. But remember, you mustn't stop to watch. Just keep going and don't look back."
Andrew put the crystal into the pouch he had gotten from the Elf. "What does the crystal do?" he asked.
"It'll keep your enemies away," said the male Angel.
They spread their wings and disappeared into the woods.
Chapter Eleven
We followed the Angels' instruction and took the path to the left.
"Michael, why didn't you accept the Angels' offer to call the Paramedics?" I asked.
"Are you kidding me?" said Michael. "I'll never hear the end of it from my sisters."
"So, you'd rather suffer?" asked Juliana.
Michael grinned. "I can still walk. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
We continued our journey in silence, but kept our eyes open. If I weren't afraid of the Zombies, I would appreciate the woods. The sounds of frogs and crickets gave the woods a sense of calmness and peace. My moment of tranquility was short-lived when cries of help echoed in the woods. We hadn't seen anybody since the one group that ran past us to escape the Zombies.
"We should help," said Michael.
"You're hurt, Michael," I said.
The screams grew louder and closer. Three people ran toward us.
"Run!" cried the Clown.
"Let's go!" Michael grabbed Juliana's arm and ran down the path.
Andrew held my hand firmly and turned to the newcomers. "Follow us!"
The three ran beside us. After a few minutes, we stopped.
"Thanks," said the clown. "This game is dangerous."
"Tell me about it," said Michael. "I broke my arm."
"Ouch," said the Clown. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live," said Michael. "What happened to you guys?"
"A legion of Zombies pounced on everyone from my group," said the Clown. "I joined two other groups. We teamed up together. Only the three of us left."
The mention of legion of Zombies made my skin crawl. "I feel like we're being watched," I said.
"They're everywhere," said the girl in a Princess outfit. "This is the worst day of my life."
"We'll get through this," said Andrew. "Together."
"Thanks for letting us tag along," said the other guy in Pirate getup. The ruffles on his shirt were all torn up.
"Stay on this path," said Andrew, repeating what the Angels said. "And keep our eyes open."
Not long after Andrew said the last words, the loudest thunder boomed. I dropped on my knees and covered my ears. Juliana and Michael did the same. Andrew kept standing with his one hand on his ear and another on his paintball gun. The clown closed his eyes and covered his ears as well. The other two hugged each other, as the Princess cried.
When the sound stopped, the ringing in my ears continued. I stood beside Andrew and put my finger on the trigger. But nothing came. Then, another thunder roared. I kept standing, but covered one of my ears.
"We can't stay here," I yelled.
Andrew nodded. He nudged the others, and we ran. After passing rows of trees, the sound died.
"That was painful," said the Princess.
I rubbed my face. "Excruciating," I said.
The path curved to the right. We followed. It curved to the left, and we followed. We stopped at the fork in the path.
Juliana groaned. "Not again."
I glanced at Andrew. "The Angels didn't say anything about the path splitting in two."
"You guys saw Angels?" asked the Clown.
"Two of them," said Andrew.
"A male Fairy approached us," said the Princess. "And two nice Elves."
"We met an Elf too," said Juliana.
"My group met a friendly Troll," said the Clown.
"We didn't see any," said the Pirate. "Only Zombies and monsters."
"Sorry," I said. "I wonder how many of us are left."
"I hope they have better luck," said the Pirate. "We didn't find any bottles either. We were too busy dodging Zombies."
"My group had three, but they're all gone now," said the Princess.
"Same here," said the Clown. "I used the one I had on the Zombie that tried to attack me."
An unsettling image of a clown smashing a bottle of wine on a Zombie's head played in my mind. I hope the Zombie's all right, I said to myself.
"I'm sorry," I said, without disclosing how many bottles we had.
"So which path do we take?" asked the Pirate.
I turned to Andrew. He ran both his hands through his surfer hair. I looked away before I melted again. A hissing sound behind us made us all turn.
"Run!" cried the Pirate. He took off on the right path.
The Princess ran with him.
"Which way?" yelled Michael.
"Left!" Andrew yelled back. He grabbed my hand and ran.
The Clown sped beside us. A large group of Zombies roared as they chased after us. These were not ordinary Zombies. They sprinted like Carl Lewis. Juliana slipped and fell.
"Juliana, stay down," I cried as I couldn't stop in time. I jerked my hand free from Andrew's grip and leapt over my friend's body.
Juliana covered her head with her hands.
"Are you all right?" I asked. "We have to keep going."
"I can't run anymore," said Juliana.
"Can you walk?" asked Michael.
Juliana nodded. "Yes."
"They're getting closer, guys," said the Clown, his teeth clattered.
Andrew pulled out the crystal. "Are you guys ready?"
I helped Juliana to her feet. "Yes," I said and grabbed my paintball gun.
"What are you doing?" asked the Clown.
"Honestly," said Andrew. "I don't have a clue."
One of the Zombies leapt toward us. I fired at it. The Zombie groaned and dropped to the ground. A legion of Zombies, just like the Clown described a moment earlier, charged at us.
; "Do it, Andrew!" cried Michael.
Andrew raised his hand over his head.
One of the Zombies skidded to a stop. "Fall back!" cried the Zombie. "He has the crystal."
Andrew threw the yellow crystal to the ground. It exploded. Black smoke and ashes blanketed the woods. My eyes watered. The Zombies shrieked and coughed.
"I can't breathe," said Juliana.
"Let's go," said Michael.
I grabbed Andrew's hand and ran. The Clown froze. Andrew yanked him by his collar and took off. The Clown choked and tapped Andrew's hand.
Andrew released him. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave you behind."
"No, thank you," said the Clown. "I don't know what I was thinking."
A few steps later, the path widened. We walked side by side. The air was calm again and breathable. Two owls hooted at each other. Music to my ears.
Chapter Twelve
The path started to narrow after we passed two magnolia trees. To be fair, Andrew and I took the rear. The Clown had gone through a lot. We let him walk in the middle. Black ribbons hung from a skinny tree.
"I'll be back," I said and stepped away from the path.
"Elrenia, come back here," said Juliana.
"I'll only be a minute," I said. "Keep your gun handy."
"Mine's gone," said the Clown.
Juliana handed her gun to him. "Here, take mine."
"Wait up," said Andrew, as he jogged toward me. "You're looking for the bottle, aren't you?" he whispered.
"How did you know?"
He grinned. "I thought about it too."
"Great minds think alike," I said it before I realized how vain I must sound to him.
He nodded. "Agreed." He stopped me from going closer. "Let's check the ground."
Engrossed in the bottle, I forgot about the hole. We crawled on our knees and stretched our arms and patted the ground. Andrew spotted it first.
"There," he said.
The grass shifted. I stopped moving. Andrew yanked the grass, but the lid wouldn't budge. Andrew inched closer. The ground cracked.
"Elrenia… No," cried the Boy Voice.
Without any warning, I yanked Andrew's shirt and pulled him back. The ground right in front of us sprang upward. Andrew and I stared at each other. All the warnings from the Voices made sense now. Although this was a game, I could still get hurt. Very hurt.
"You need to have a talk with your grandpa," I said.
"You bet I will," said Andrew. "Thanks for saving my life, yet again."
"Who's counting?" I asked.
"I'm not." He shook his head and smiled. "Besides, I've lost count."
We crawled toward the hole. Inside, two different liquor bottles stared at us. Andrew grabbed them.
"What are they?" I asked.
He held up the stylish flat decanter bottle. "This is Rum." He held the other squat round clear decanter bottle. "And this is Single Malt Scotch."
"I like the Rum bottle better," I said.
He handed the bottle to me. "It's yours."
"Thanks." I got up and studied the diamond shapes on the outside of the bottle.
"Our quest is over," said Andrew.
"Finally," I said, as we headed back toward the others.
"Do you like Scotch?" Andrew asked the Clown.
"Yeah," said the Clown.
To my great surprise, Andrew handed the Scotch bottle to the Clown.
The Clown hesitated. "But I didn't find it."
"Take it," said Andrew. "I don't like Scotch."
The Clown took the bottle and thanked Andrew. My admiration for the guy grew. Heart-melting, handsome, super nice, thoughtful, and kind. All in one. Then Sonia entered my mind. I sighed. He belonged to a very lucky girl. To keep my mind sane, I focused on the bottles. I smiled. With our collection complete, I breathed easier. But the thoughts of Zombies were never far. At the sound of rustling leaves on my right, I turned. The sound reappeared on my left. We turned our heads.
Andrew tapped my arm and pointed at the roots of a giant tree. "It's a bunny rabbit."
"Phew," I said.
A roaring behind the rabbit made the Clown dropped the bottle. Andrew caught the Scotch before it hit the ground. The rabbit scampered away.
"Run!" cried Michael.
I grabbed the Scotch bottle and shoved it into my bag. "Let's go!"
Andrew clasped my hand and ran. Two Zombies appeared from the woods.
"The opening is right ahead of us," said Michael. "Hurry!"
The Clown stopped running.
"What are you doing?" asked Andrew. "Keep running."
The Clown grabbed the gun. "This is for my friends." He emptied the paintball gun at the two Zombies.
"Okay, enough already!" yelled one of the Zombies. She ripped off her mask. "You win. Go."
The Clown threw the gun and dashed for the opening. "Now, that felt good," he said. "Thank you, guys."
I smiled. "You ended it with a blast." I pulled out the Scotch from my bag. "Here you go."
"I can't believe I almost smashed this. Thanks."
"Thank you for saving us," I said.
The Clown smiled. "You guys didn't need me."
"You're too modest," said Juliana. "Accept the compliment with grace."
"Well said," I said. "Now where's the bathroom? I don't want to be a Gypsy anymore."
"I want to get rid of this outfit too," said the Clown.
I'll show you guys," said Andrew.
As we headed toward the house, rows of people waited for us. Zombies, Angels, Fairies, and Trolls clapped their hands. A group of normal people… well, not so normal people in costumes joined the applause. A female Clown sprinted toward us.
"I think she's coming for you," I said to the Clown.
"Yeah, that's my girl," said the Clown.
"Go!" I said.
"Thank you again." He waved at us and ran toward his girl. They kissed and hugged.
Marilyn and Michelle ran passed them and hugged Michael.
"Are you all right?" asked Michelle.
"No," said Michael, as he raised his injured arm. "And it's your fault."
"I'm so sorry, Michael," said Marilyn. She grabbed her phone from a pouch hanging around her waist and made a call. "Hey, get the paramedics back here. My brother's hurt."
A few seconds later, the paramedics van appeared from around the corner.
"Boy, they're fast," said Juliana.
"They're on standby," said Michelle.
"Anybody else hurt?" I asked.
"A few bruises, but nothing serious," said Marilyn.
The van stopped and the back door opened. Jon Gritt jumped out.
Andrew wrinkled his brows. "You're the paramedic?"
"No, I just want a ride," said Jon. "So you guys made it," he said to Andrew. "I was about to send in the rescue squad."
"Where did you get the ideas for this game, Grandpa?" asked Andrew. "It's deadly. I could have a concussion."
"What are you talking about?" asked Jon.
Andrew didn't answer as he watched Michael climb into the paramedic van.
"What do I do with these?" I took out the Rum and the old wine bottle from my bag.
"They're yours to keep, remember," said Michelle.
"Ah, you found the hidden door," said Jon. "But where's the Scotch?"
"The Clown got it," said Juliana.
"Who?" asked Jon.
I pointed at the Clown whose name I didn't know. We were in dire straits to make proper introduction.
"So what happened?" asked Jon.
"The door sprang upward and almost hit me on my face." Andrew pointed at me. "Thanks to my Angel here, I'm still alive."
My Angel… Blood rushed to my cheeks. Juliana gave me an evil smile.
Jon slapped his forehead. "I'm so sorry. I didn't think about that." He studied us from head to toe. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Nobody collected five bottles," said Michelle.
"We did," said Andrew.
<
br /> "Really?" asked Jon.
Juliana pulled out her whiskey bottle. Andrew handed his bag to his grandfather.
"Wow, a nice collection," said Jon. "Chianti and my own favorite wine."
"Oh!" Andrew took the cobalt blue bottle from his grandfather. "That's mine. I have a promise to keep." He winked at me.
He remembered.
My heart melted as fast at the ice cubes in the summer sun.
Chapter Thirteen
The paramedics cleaned Juliana's ankle before driving Michael to the hospital. They wanted to do an X-ray on his arm. Feeling guilty, I wondered if Andrew and I shouldn't have pulled him out from the hole. We waited until the paramedics left before heading toward our car.
True to his words, Andrew waited for Juliana and me to get our overnight bag. He handed us some towels and showed us the bathrooms. At first, we hadn't wanted to bring extra clothes, but I was glad we did. After putting on our costumes, I realized I wanted to change to my normal attire just in case we needed to stop somewhere on the way home.
I stood in front of the full length mirror and gasped. Grass and dirt stains decorated my white top. My once long skirt was now short. I donated a good strip for Michael's sling. Black ashes replaced my once perfect makeup.
"Wait a minute," I said to the mirror. "How did the ashes get on my face?" I played the incidents in my head. "Oh yes. The crystal bomb."
I jumped into the shower and scrubbed myself. The hot water on my skin felt so good. After about half an hour, I dragged myself out of the shower. I put on my white T-shirt and Denim shorts, and opened the bathroom door. Juliana and Andrew sat at a wooden bench, waiting for me. Juliana had a short sundress. Andrew wore a light yellow button down shirt and khaki shorts.
"There you are," said Juliana. "You didn't answer my call. I almost asked Andrew to bust the door."
I laughed. "I didn't want to get out of the shower."
"Me neither," said Juliana. "But where's your phone?"
"I left it in the trunk before we entered the Unforgotten Forest."
Andrew chuckled. "Unforgotten Forest, I like that."
"Let's head back to the car," said Juliana. "I don't want to lug this bag around."
"I'll see you outside in a bit," said Andrew.
As soon as we stepped out, Juliana elbowed me. "He's unforgotten for sure."
I made a face. "I was making fun of the Elf calling the woods the Forgotten Forest."
"Defensive, aren't you?" teased Juliana. "What did you two do when we split up?"
"Long story," I said.
"Did anything happen?" She nudged me with her elbow. "Huh? Huh?"
I laughed. "We were busy staying alive."
"Oh yeah, you did say something about using the Elf's powder. Was it bad?"
"Frankenstein and Zombies surrounded us… I'll have nightmares for a long time."
"I hate to say it," said Juliana, "But I had fun."