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Finally, we reach a clearing, and to our luck, it seems as if someone before us already had a similar idea. There are several makeshift beds, tables, chairs.
“I see a generator there,” Kano points out.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I shake my head. “It might turn on lights upstairs, which might bring on unwelcome visitors. We’ll stay with our flashlights for the time being. Hopefully, we won’t need to stay here very long.”
I stand, looking around. I can tell the guys aren’t too thrilled to be here. I know. Neither am I, but this is the best thing we’ve got. The guys start unpacking our stuff without even being told to, so I turn to Bianca.
Her face is illuminated by the flashlights around, and her features have somehow softened. She looks exactly like she looked that first night when I saw her, when I defended her. She resembles a frightened child. Her eyes are big and wide, as if they don’t trust the world, but she is still here, still willing to keep going, even though she doesn’t know where she will end up.
“Can you show me where that other exit is?” I ask.
She nods, then starts going in the direction where we were already heading. Our footsteps are echoing in the darkness around us. She slows down a little, so we can walk alongside each other.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about that well,” she says unexpectedly.
“What about it?” My voice echoes all around us.
“I’ve heard many stories about it,” she continues, and our footsteps fill the gaps between her words. “I never thought it was even real.”
I sigh. “I know.”
“But then… I remembered something,” she suddenly says, stopping immediately. I do the same. She turns to me. “It came to me in a dream.”
“What did?” I ask again, wondering what it is she could be referring to.
“I only went to the Elder’s home a handful of times, and always accompanied by someone,” she explains. “Still, I noticed that he had a special little cupboard with glass doors, and inside it, there were many papers. I never thought much about them. I always figured they were some old scrolls, rules, whatever. But last night, I dreamt about being there, and something told me to walk over to them and take a closer look.”
I’m listening to her story, still wondering if this will be just a dream or a memory. But I don’t ask anything yet. I allow her to finish.
“When I approach the cupboard, I notice that one of the papers is a map,” she says, sounding victorious.
“A map?” I repeat her last words.
“Now, I know this is just a dream,” she tells me, all hopeful, “but if the map really does exist, that is the place where it might be.”
“In the Elder’s home?” I echo, my mind working a million miles an hour.
“Yes,” she confirms.
“That does makes sense,” I nod, raking my fingers through my hair. “Only… how the heck am I supposed to find a way into the shifter Elder’s home?”
I try to come up with a single plan where this is possible. Maybe if I allow them to catch me, but they might not even take me there, to his home, but rather somewhere else. Even if they do take me there, I might not be able to check the cupboard and see if there is a map in there. I mean, the odds of me making it are too farfetched.
No, there is no way I can find my way into his home unnoticed and then manage to leave in the same way.
“I could go there,” Bianca suddenly says, interrupting my frantic train of thought.
“Go where?” I ask, not connecting the dots for some reason.
She frowns. “To the Elder’s home.”
I feel like someone just punched me in the stomach.
“No way,” I shake my head. “That is out of the question.”
“But why?” she asks. “You said you needed my help. If you think about it, that is the only way I can help you, by actually checking out a lead and not just sitting here, trying to remember if I know where the well could be or not.”
“Absolutely not,” I keep shaking my head at her words.
