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Gathering in front of the very small opening Poppy had managed to wiggle her body into, we crouched down.
“I can’t fit through there,” Annabel said. “It’s only big enough for hobbits.”
“Oh crap,” Poppy cried. “I hit something.” It sounded like she was patting her hand against hard surface. “It’s a stone wall. No way I’m getting over that. But I can keep crawling forward. There’s kind of a tunnel.”
“Maybe you should come out,” I told her. “There’s no way we can come in after you. You’re the smallest among us, so if you—”
“I see a way through,” she exclaimed excitedly.
More snapping and crackling sounded.
Then one of the hedges began to shake.
“Are you climbing the branches?” Annabel asked. “Be careful. They’re not meant to hold human weight. Even though you’re hobbit-sized, you could—”
A crash followed, then a loud ooof.
“Poppy!” I cried, much louder than a whisper-yell. “Are you okay? Where did you land?” I tried to peer through the wall of darkness. “We can’t see you from here.”
The three of us shone our phone lights into the thicket, but there were too many deep shadows.
“Are you hurt?” Yasmine called. “Please tell us!”
“What’s going on?” Annabel asked. “You better say something soon, or we’re calling 911.”
“I’m…okay,” Poppy replied, her voice farther away than before. “I just got the breath knocked out of me. Give me a second.” More rustling. “I think…I think I’m on the other side. I did it! Oh my God. I’m here. I’m really—”
“Trespassing,” Annabel finished, moving to the left slightly to try to hear her sister better. “I’m not sure that was the plan.”
“What do you mean?” Poppy called in a slightly panicked voice. “We were trying to get through the hedges. I did it. I got through!”
I bit my lip. “I think what Annabel means is that we were going to, like, go up to the line and maybe try to flag someone down, but not exactly cross over onto their property.” I glanced at Yasmine and Annabel standing next to me, then I shrugged. “To be fair, we hadn’t sussed it all out yet. I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
“Well, I can’t get back the way I came. I basically fell through a tree, and there’s no way to climb back.”
“Are you in more hedges?” Annabel called. “Or are you standing in their yard? Tell us, what can you see?”
“I’m in between two trees,” Poppy said. “They’re not exactly hedges. They’re more spaced apart, but still sort of hedge-like.”
“Can you duck behind them and keep out of sight?” Annabel asked.
“I think so,” Poppy replied. “I’m a little scared to use my phone light. I really don’t want to be arrested. Am I going to get arrested?”
Her panic was intensifying at a quick rate.
“You’re not getting arrested,” I soothed. “We’re all going to walk toward the parking area. You follow on that side. There’s bound to be a place where you can climb back over.”
“There’s an opening near the corner of the property,” Yasmine told Poppy. “I saw it the second time I went to look at the service door.”
“Okay,” Poppy replied. “There’s enough ambient light for me to see in between these trees. It’s not as dark as the hedgerow.”
We all began walking.
Less than a minute into our journey, Poppy gave a soft shriek.
“What?”Both Annabel and I whisper-shouted at the same time, stopping and shining our lights into the hedges to no avail.
“I can see the play yard,” Poppy said excitedly. “Where little Archie and Lili probably play. I don’t think I’m near the house, though.” We heard relief coupled with disappointment in her voice.
