Chapter Three
A Friend
She found herself going down a stair case to the woods. The ceiling was now gone and she could see overgrown rubble on the ground around the outside. The moon was very bright and big. The stars around it were also bright and many. Her injury prevented her from going any faster then a well placed step at a time. She wanted to go faster, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. “Kassie never had any trouble getting what she wanted, especially when she was hurt. I don’t blame her. This hurts like it’s infected. I swear that if it is I’m going to kill every last one of those ugly creatures! Then I’m going to give that idiot who calls himself Jareth a good lash out. ” Tara reached the bottom and saw that what she had walked was nothing but that hallway. It looked to be what was left of a keep or something. She walked out to the forest where the trees were tall and came in all sizes.
Thankfully there weren’t any pine trees as far as she could tell. Tara had bad memories with pine trees. She took a deep breath and took the hair tie from her wrist and bound her hair in a lose pony tail. There was a path that led into the forest, so she started there. The door hadn’t led her to the castle, just farther along in the maze. She noticed that the castle was closer but still farther then she would have liked. The forest was well lit by the moon, so there really wasn’t any trouble walking.
Her foot slowed her progress, but all in all she felt like she was going in the right direction. When Tara stopped to look at her foot and rest she heard a snap of a twig behind her. She froze and her heart skipped a beat, she didn’t need this now. Not after things were going so well. Tara looked over her shoulder, there were two yellow eyes looking back at her. She screamed and tried to run, unfortunately her foot gave out and Tara fell. “Please don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.” Said the owner of the pair of eyes. He seemed to mean it, but Tara was too tiered and afraid to really hear.
“Yeah right, then your going to eat me and then were will I be? That was a stupid thing to say.” Tara said after she heard herself.
“I won’t eat you if you won’t try to kill me, deal?” He asked her.
“Deal, who are you?” Tara asked as he stepped into the moon light. He looked like a normal boy of 19 years. He had black hair and gold eyes. He wore dark clothes and a gold chain hugged his neck.
“I’m Mark. I live here. You must be Tara.”
“How do you know that?” Tara was becoming suspicious of this boy. He smiled a little and shifted. “Let’s just say I have heard a great deal of you. News of new comers travels fast. You’re hurt, that doesn’t look too good. Let me see it.” He reached for her foot without letting Tara object. He inspected it and gently unwrapped the torn cloth she had put on her wound. “You ran into the Trets didn’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, I think. If you mean the jaws with a body, then yes.” I growled.
Mark nodded and got up. “Stay there, I’ll be right back.” He walked into the darkness and disappeared. A little later he came back with a handful of plants. Then he tore them up and rubbed the cloth with them till they were gone. He put the makeshift bandage back on and it stung a little. But then the pain and heat went way. “Wow that feels much better. Thank you. “
“No problem. So, what are you doing in a place like this?” he held out his hands and helped her up.
“Well it really wasn’t my fault. And how was I supposed to know he was real? Now my younger sister is in that stupid castle with that stupid Jareth. Now I’m here and I have six hours left to get to that blasted thing!”
Tara was nearly in tears now and was tempted to take the watch off and throw it as far from her a she could. Mark didn’t seem the least bit surprised.
“He needs to get his head looked at. What has he gotten me into this time?” Mark said to himself. Tara didn’t hear him and shook her head as if trying to clear it. That’s when her hair fell lose and Mark truly saw it. Tara noticed that he was staring at her. “What is it?” she asked him.
“Can I? Can I touch it?” he seemed to be mesmerized.
“What?” she was confused.
“Your hair. Please?” Mark pleaded. Tara was thinking about it and saw that there really wasn’t any harm in it.
“Ok.” She said slowly. He rushed over with such speed that it startled her. Tara could feel him run his hands over her waist length white blond hair. “You have very beautiful hair. It’s so fine and soft.” Mark commented.
“What?” Tara was confused.
“I have this thing that I obsess over hair. I’ve always been this way. I can’t help it. Sorry about that.” He let go and came around to face her. “Well let’s get going. We’re wasting time as it is.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward.
For a long time it seemed that he wouldn’t stop talking about just any thing that popped into his head. Tara didn’t mind it at all. She was glad to finally have someone with her. Finally she thought of a question for him. “How did you end up here?” she asked Mark.
“Well that’s a long story.”
“We have time.”
“Good point. A long time ago I lived with my parents in a small house on a farm. We did well enough, until one night when my father got bit by a werewolf.” Mark paused to help her over a fast running stream. Tara didn’t comment on the fact that werewolves didn’t exist because anything could be true here. “Any way my father turned on his first full moon and killed my mother. When he realized what he had done he cried out and ran away. Nothing could have stopped him. So I was all alone that night and I called out to the dark for help. That’s when he came and took me away.
“But I hadn’t escaped with just a dead mother and a father that was a werewolf. On his flight he had run over me and clawed me up pretty badly.”
“So you’re a werewolf as well. Do you only turn on a full moon?”
“No, I can turn any time I want. But the farther from the full moon the harder it is to change. But on the full moon I can’t stop from changing and I stay that way for three nights and two days. It’s a pain in the butt some times though.” They were too busy talking that Tara didn’t notice that owl watching them. But Mark knew he was there.
“Good news, we’re nearly out of the woods. Well good for you. I really don’t like leaving unless I have to.”
“Then don’t leave. I will be all right on my own.” Mark gave her a smile but shook his head.
“Nope, I’m with you for good. Besides, the next part of the maze can be deadly.” He was looking out for her.
“Thank you Mark for everything you have done for me.” They walked out of the forest and into a field. There were these flowers that seemed to glow with their own light. “How beautiful! What are they?” Tara asked excitedly.
“They are Luna flowers. They only bloom here because it’s always night here. The moon replaces the sun here; anything would die if you tried to replant it in the sun. Don’t ask me how or why. It just is. “Mark told her as she knelt and asked with her eyes if she can pick one. “Yes, go ahead and have as many as you want. “Tara picked three. One for her, one for her sister when she found her, and one for Mark. When she held it out to him he didn’t know how to react.
“Take it silly.” He did and put it through one of the gold loops in his chain. Tara smiled at him and that made him smile in turn. Tara put hers behind her ears. “Ok let’s get going. I now have four and a half hours left.” They walked through the field and entered the next part of the maze. It was all stone and way more turns then there had before.
Mark kept looking up in the sky, as if looking for something. “What are you looking for?” she asked him.
“For a bird of a different feather.” He simply answered her. Half an hour later he spotted it and it them. “There it is. Get down and stay down. This bird sees by movement. You move and you’re dead. I’ll handle this overstuffed chicken.” He ran down a passage way and left her in the dark. Tara could see the bird go after him and come back up. It was huge! The thing was like a small airplane. But the feathers changed in type and color as far as she could tell. She watched as they chased each other and struck and hit and made such loud noises.
Suddenly this huge four footed, black, yellow eyed, fur ball run toward her. She would have run if she didn’t see the gold chain and flower. It was Mark in his wolf form. When he stopped beside her she saw the blood dripping from his coat. “You’re bleeding!”
“I’ll be fine. You run up to the first left and turn, then a right and two lefts. There will be a dead end and a pot there. Climb inside and wait for me there.” He told her in her head, he also showed it to her. Tara nodded and took off.
“Be careful Mark!” she yelled as she ran. She followed his instruction and came to the pot. Without hesitation she climbed inside. But when she didn’t feel the bottom she panicked. When she did hit, she was in a under ground maze. “Great, more maze. Just what I wanted.” There were openings and troches lighting the place. Tara sat there thinking about her sister. She could remember what it was like when Kassie was small. Her and Tara would play hide and seek for hours. It was Kassie’s favorite game. Tara grind as she remembered when Kassie was three and she had found the perfect hiding place. Her and her parents couldn’t find her for hours. They had almost called the cops.
But Tara had found her asleep in the neighbors’ yard in the dog house. Kassie had forgotten the game when Toby, Sara’s dog, came to greet her. It was cute how she was curled up to the big fluffy sheep dog. She almost joined her, but that was a long time ago and unless she reached her in time those moments would never grow. Tara hugged her knees to her chest and closed her eyes. “Read to give up yet?” a familiar voice asked her. She didn’t even look up at him, “Not any time soon. I want my sister back.”
“Are you sure? I can send you back here and now. Just say the word.” Jareth offered her. Tara stood up and faced him, “No thank you, I still have a chance. This isn’t over until its over.” He had a knowing look on his face. She glared at him and turned on her heal. She forgot about staying put and left, but when she turned the corner Tara heard a familiar sound. “s**t.” She whispered. But she didn’t move until she saw for sure it was them. When one took off after her did she jump and run the other way. Unfortunately for her there was only one way. Her fear of the Trets over powered her mind. Her instincts took over and Jareth was still there, so she hid behind him.
She placed her hands on his back and begged him to get rid of them. “Please, get rid of them.” She whispered staying as close to him as possible.
“Why should I do that? They won’t harm me. Are you afraid of them that much?” he asked almost laughing at her. “Yes, I am. But you don’t have any reason to save me. You would probably rather let them kill me, then save me.” There was a second or two when she thought he would let her die right there. But she felt him raise his arm and the sounds of the creatures fell silent little by little.
“You can stop cowering behind me now.” Only when he said that did she realize she was holding her breath and her chest was so tense it was hurting her. Slowly she moved and peeked around him to see the things on the floor seemingly dead. But they weren’t. She could see their chests move up and down slowly. Then she stepped away and relaxed, taking a deep breath. Then Mark fell in, still putting on his shirt. The flower was still there, but Tara saw the scratches and cuts on him before his shirt covered them.
“Mark! Thank god you’re all right! Are you badly hurt?” Tara asked him, walking over to him. When he looked up he froze for a second at the sight of Jareth. “My Lord. What brings you down here?” Mark asked as he tied his shoes. Suddenly Mark snarled, Tara looked at Jareth, he was looking at Mark. By the way the two of them acted it seemed that they were talking. Jareth smiled for a second then it was gone. Mark grinned for a moment then laughed. Jareth too looked amused. By now Tara was beginning to get agitated at this silent conversation.
And some how it felt they were talking about her. But that was expected, it was always that way when you didn’t know what people were talking about. So she leaned against the wall and waited ‘til they were done. She was nearly dosing when she heard her name. “Tara, I have a present for you.” Jareth tossed her something. She caught it and looked at him suspiciously, what was he doing? When she opened her hands she saw a crystal ball, the size of a tennis ball. When she looked in to it Kassie appeared, she was asleep. Kassie was surrounded by pillows and blankets.
“Kassie, is this real? Or a made up image?”
“It’s real; she has been sleeping the night away. You have little time left Tara. You might want to hurry.” Tara looked at her watch. She had two and a half hours left. “s**t, Mark how much farther is it?” Tara began to panic.
“We have to get out of here and cross the Mermarsh, then we have to go through the city, and after that you’re on your own.” Mark counted them off on his fingers. When Tara looked back Jareth was gone, but the crystal was still in her hand. She looked into it again and Kassie had moved to her back. Tara smiled and thanked Jareth in her mind. “Let’s go.”
