I’d already proven that to myself, seeking the island, and finding the impossible.
I understand now more than ever why Weston wants to help everyone get home, even if it is empty-handed.
“Hopefully, we all can live the lives we dreamed of.” I swallow the lump in my throat and fight back my own tears.
Sig is right. The Castaways are making the best out of a situation they cannot control, trying to live happily every day, but how long can you live without actually living? Is eternal life worth living without purpose?
What about all my dreams of seeing the kingdoms, forging relationships, and becoming a fair queen? Like Sig, love may never be in my grasp, but a family can be, and not just one that I’ve chosen here.
A scream breaks through the air, piercing the sound of the waterfall and falling straight into my ears, distracting me from my thoughts.
I know that voice, and my blood runs cold.
Roley.
The shrill scream sounds again, and I run around the lookout, peering through the trees, trying to find where it is coming from.
“Where is he?” I cry as I scan the space around us, to no avail.
“I don’t see anyone!” Sig says as she circles around the lookout, leaning over the rail to get a better look.
On the third scream, I can’t stop myself. I need to get out of here and find him.
“How do we get down?” I yell to Sig.
She shakes her head. “We don’t, Lennox. We can’t leave the lookout.”
“I’m going down there, Sig. I’m not going to abandon him.”
I step up onto the rail, hanging on to a pillar for balance as I reach out and grab the nearest tree branch.
“Shit! Lennox, wait!”
I barely think as I descend the wooden beams that hold the lookout in the air. I don’t wonder about the magic that keeps it hidden, or prevents anyone from stumbling into it. I don’t think about the danger I’m putting myself in.
All I can think is that Roley needs help.
Jumping off the last rung, my feet slam into the ground and I take off in the direction of the screams, trying to stay just inside the line of the trees, off the main path.
“Help!” Roley cries again, from deeper in the forest. Turning toward the sound, I push the foliage out of my face as I crash through the dense trees. By the sound of his voice, he can’t be far.
“Roley!” I scream, hoping he will hear me and respond so I can follow his voice again. The trees thin out just ahead as I charge forward, heading for the open space, when I hear another cry for help.
Movement catches my eye and I stop, pulling my bow off my chest and nocking an arrow. I creep forward and my eyes fall on Roley, suspended in the air by thick green vines, covered in long, sharp thorns. They don’t just hold him, though. They slither quickly through the space, wrapping around trees, writhing across the ground, twirling around themselves to get to him. He’s in a cage, no weapon in sight, and no way out.
He sees me then, and a sob escapes him. “Lennox! Help me!”
“Don’t move!” I yell. Footsteps pound behind me and I gasp, spinning and raising my bow, only to lower it a moment later as Sig bursts through the leaves, sword drawn and scanning our surroundings.
“Shit,” Sig hisses as her eyes fall on Roley, suspended in the air.
“We have to help him,” I say. I don’t care that we aren’t supposed to interact with the Voyagers, he’s my friend. He’s a child. I won’t leave him here to become a victim of the island.
“Of course we’re going to help him.” She jogs around the perimeter, staying just out of reach of the vines.
“Lennox, look! Right in the middle, there’s a stalk where they’re growing from.”
I dart over to her side to follow her point. From this side of the cage, I can see it clearly, a thick trunk growing from the ground, with branching ropes extending out the top in all directions.
