Chapter 35 part 1

Ducking behind a box in an alley, Emily's heart was racing as she tried to calm her breathing. She couldn't understand how things had gone so bad so fast. She didn't even dare look to see if anyone had seen her duck into the alley. She was almost out of the city and she'd be able to escape from her pursuers.

She didn't know why they were after her, only that they first tried to throw a bag over her head as she walked in an alley, but was able to fight them off. However, now the entire city seemed to be focusing on capturing her. Or maybe kidnap her. She couldn't be sure which, only she couldn't understand what they were saying, just that she didn't think they were doing this due to a misunderstanding.

The sun on this world was going down and she was sure that it wouldn't be long before she'd be able to use her magic to make herself invisible and would be able to climb over the wall. That would be the safest method to escaping this city, although she would have to give up knowing what happened to the rest of the team, including Shirley.

Something about this whole situation seemed odd to her, but it was a different world, one that she didn't know anything about. All she knew was that when they arrived on this world, Shirley announced that it had the griffin canyon that Charlie Rivers was looking for, or at least she was pretty sure that's what she said. Not that she really understood why her girlfriend's cousin was looking for this world. Though, with all that's happened in this very short period of time, it was hard to remember exactly what was said.

The mapping wasn't going as well as she expected, though Shirley seemed to think it was, and she was the one in charge of the team, so Emily couldn't complain about it. Not that she really cared about the mapping aspect of what they were supposed to be doing, but she did accept that was something they were supposed to be taking care of.

However, since they got to this world, a mere few hours ago, everything seems to have fallen apart. Not only did she lose track of everyone else, but now she was on the run and she hadn't a clue as to why. It might be that she could clearly see that what she was wearing was very different from everyone else she'd seen. So, that might be a factor, but she doubted that would be the only reason.

As she felt her heart rate starting to slow down and her breathing evening out she heard the sounds of people running getting quieter. Which made Emily feel that those chasing after her had lost her. At least she hoped that's what that meant. If she was wrong, then she was in serious trouble.

While she felt she was safe for the moment, she stayed where she was, letting time go by. She didn't expect making herself invisible would ensure her escape, as she'd tried making herself invisible in the past when she was up to mischief, and Heathcliff had always somehow known what she was doing, even when she knew she'd kept herself invisible the entire time.

As such, she knew that there were ways to detect people who were invisible. She just didn't know what those methods were. Although, Heathcliff had told her that he'd explain how to do it if she could figure out the principle behind it. Not that she'd had any luck on it.

Still, she had very few options. She could 'blend in' with the crowd, not with her clothing so different from those around her. She also couldn't talk with anyone, which would have at least allowed her to have a chance to figure out why they were after her. Then there was the part that she was tiring out. She also didn't have much in the way of supplies, so unless she made her way back to the gate that they'd come through, which was deeper in the city, that wouldn't be a good escape option. However, she wasn't confident that she'd be able to find the gate again. Not with how unfamiliar she was with the city.

Emily wanted to close her eyes and doze, but didn't dare. If she did that, then she might be seen by someone who would either be one of those who were after her or would call out to them. Her best bet right now was to stay where she was and alert to anyone who might be coming by.

Emily was surprised at how tedious it was to just wait and remain alert. It felt like the sun had frozen it's location in the sky and wasn't moving, even though she could see the shadows of the buildings around her move very slowly.

After what felt like days, she noticed that the light in the city was starting to darken as the shadows seemed to merge and darken further. She could only hope that meant the sun had set.

As she came to that conclusion, she stood up slowly, using her magic to make her invisible and walked towards the city gate, but rather than trying to go through the gate, she walked along the walls. Then when she was in a location that was rather deserted and that she was fairly sure that she'd be able to climb the wall, especially with her magic. The stone blocks used to build the wall certainly gave her ample hand and foot holds to make the climb, and she hoped the descent on the other side.

She looked around to make sure that there wasn't a window or anything that anyone could look out of that she wouldn't be able to make sure couldn't be a danger to her. When she didn't see anything, she started, wishing she'd been more interested in fitness as her arms immediately started to complain about the sudden demands on them.

When she neared the top of the wall, she paused, despite the pain her arms were screaming to her about. She worried that there might have been someone walking along or just hanging out on the wall. When she didn't see anyone, she breathed a sigh of relief before pulling herself up to the top of the wall.

When she was on the catwalk, she looked down over the other side of the wall and saw she was about thirty feet up from the ground. She nearly groaned in annoyance, since while she could theoretically jump from that height and survive, especially with her magic, she doubted that she'd be able to do that and remain unscathed. She wouldn't be surprised if she hurt an ankle or something.

Which meant her arms were going to really be upset with her as she had to use them to climb down the wall. Her hands weren't as unhappy as her arms, but they weren't really happy either. Yet, she understood that she needed to get through this quickly. Once she was around ten feet from the ground, she was confident that she could drop and not get hurt. Yet, she wasn't sure her arms could last that long.

She looked out across the landscape that she could see and was a little surprised to see a river nearby, which looked like it was a few hundred yards wide. Then beyond that was a grassy field that extended into the distance before it met a forest. A forest that she wasn't like any she'd seen before. What she could see in the forest that she hadn't imagined to see were trees that towered above everything, although she couldn't be sure exactly how far those trees were, so she couldn't be sure that they were really that tall in the first place.

Although, she got the impression that they were closer than she'd like. Which would mean that those trees were giants. Like sequoia trees or something. She felt herself staring at the trees as she felt her heart pounding in her chest like she'd just finished running a marathon.

Suddenly she heard a door slam open nearby and didn't waste time to even look as she quickly lifted herself over the edge of the wall and began to climb down to the outside of the city. As she started to make her way down the wall, she heard someone say something above her, though she had no idea what was being said, so she didn't pay it any mind, even though part of her froze from the possibility that she might be discovered and taken back to whoever had tried to put the bag over her head.

She couldn't be sure if she could have spoken to whoever was in charge in the city to get this resolved. Although, 'speaking' to that person or persons might be a stretch at the moment, since she couldn't understand their language. Not that she could be sure anywhere in the city was safe in general.

Even as her arms threatened to give out through the entire descent, she made herself focus on her goal of reaching the bottom of the wall. She would be able to make it to the river after, and she was pretty sure she'd be able to use magic to get some fish to eat without trouble. Though, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to get anything to go with the fish, as what supplies she did have with her had nothing to do with food in the first place.

While she had planned on jumping down the wall when she was around ten feet from the ground, she was so focused on not losing her grip that she reached the bottom before she even became aware she was even twenty feet from the ground. Not that she was complaining. Even jumping down from ten feet up had her worried, but since she didn't need to deal with that now, she could just put it out of her mind.

She wanted to walk towards the river, but it took her several minutes of rest before her legs didn't feel so much like rubber and she was able to, mostly, walk calmly towards the river. She only wanted a few fish, which meant she couldn't electrify the water, or she'd get more than she'd need and it would also draw unwanted attention.

So, she cast her magic out like a net and drew it in. With disappointing results: All she got was some river debris or sticks and other plant matter. Not that she was deterred. She didn't know where the fish were at the moment, but she was confident that she'd be able to find them eventually. Especially since while she was physically exhausted, she at least had her magical stamina still near its peak.

On the third attempt, she got two fish. Not only that, but they seemed rather large. After she found a rock to bash their heads in to keep them from flopping all over the place, she then took them by their tails and walked farther away from the city. If she was going to start a fire to cook the fish, she wanted to do that out of sight of the city.

However, she'd only taken two steps when shadowy figures emerged from where they'd been clearly watching her. Emily's guard was instantly up, afraid the people who had been trying to capture her had found her.

Though, after a minute, she let her guard drop as she realized the figured before here were people who looked half starved. Emily suspected if she hadn't gotten any fish, they'd likely have stayed hidden. The oldest also looked like she was close to Shirley's age.

They said something to her which she didn't understand. Though, through their eyes, she could tell they weren't hostile, but she suspected that they were begging for her to give them some of her fish.

Emily was about to refuse, when she noticed two figures peeking out from behind the legs of the oldest. The figures looked like they might be around seven or so, but it was too dark to tell. As it is, she couldn't be sure if it was the light from the moon shining behind the one who appeared to be the oldest or something else, but it looked like the light was being absorbed by the figure, leaving a silhouette of darkness where they stood. Emily knew she wasn't going to leave them now, at least not without helping provide for them. She couldn't do that to children when she knew she had the ability to help.

She glanced back at the city, which was still very much nearby, but it no longer seemed to threatening to her. Not that she wanted to start a fire to cook the fish like this. She merely looked back at the people in front of her, and started walking again, waving an invitation for them to join her.

Which they did, although their expressions said that they weren't sure if that's what Emily wanted them to do. Emily knew saying anything wouldn't help any, since she was confident that none of them would be able to speak to her anyway.

She doubted the two fish she'd caught would feet everyone, but she was confident that she'd be able to catch more. Especially once she started gutting and cleaning these two fish. Putting what she didn't need from the fish into the water would be a good way to draw more fish to her. Which in turn would allow her to spare her magical energy in case she needed it later.

_

The forest surrounding her and her friends as she exited the gate was massive. Not so much in size, as she had no idea how far it extended in any direction, but rather the trees themselves were massive. The trees were clearly a kind of sequoia and were much different than the only other sequoia tree she'd seen in person, which would be the one in Petals' forest.

They were at the top of a small ridge that overlooked what was otherwise a kind of meadow in the forest, although there were a few saplings growing in it. Charlie couldn't tell, but she didn't care at the moment. Not only had they arrived at the world with the griffin canyon, but she was in love with the forest. She'd seen a few videos about Sequoia National Park as well as Redwood National Park, but this was the first time she'd seen anything resembling either in person.

The only part she wasn't happy about was the mist or cloud coverage that was a bit of a distance above them. She hoped it would go away soon enough. She really wanted to see how everything looked with the sun shining down through the trees.

"Yo, Charlie!" Tim snapped at Charlie, starling her as well as pulling her attention away from the trees. "We're talking here."

"Sorry," Charlie apologized. Though, she still glanced back at the trees, feeling a little bit of longing to go over to them to learn as much about them as she could.

"So, where's the next gate from here?" Amelia asked.

"It'll be in that direction, I think," Tim said.

"You think?" Beth asked, sounding skeptical.

"I say 'I think' because I also feel another one in that direction, at the same distance," Tim answered, pointing in another direction altogether.

"Well, what we need to do is figure out which one to head for next," Wes said. "That way we can go to it without worrying about the other one."

"Actually, we don't need to do that," Charlie said, feeling it hard to speak all of a sudden. Like her throat and voice were trying to prevent her from saying anything.

"Why not?" Ralph asked. "Getting tired of doing this and want to go home already?"

"Shut it, Ralph," Beth snapped. "Or we can shut it for you."

"Hey, just calling it like I see it," Ralph remarked.

"It's okay, Beth," Charlie assured her best friend. "The reason is because the canyon is on this world."

"Seriously?" Hannah asked. "You mean you know where it is?"

"Uh," Charlie hesitated. "Not exactly." Charlie paused for a minute as she looked at her friends. "I can't say where it is or in which direction, it's just too far away. What I can do is tell that It's here on this world."

"Good enough for me," Wes said.

"Sure you're not just getting tired of hopping from world to world and are just wanting to find a place to relax for a bit?" Ralph asked, his eyes dancing with mischief.

"Of course not," Charlie said flatly, feeling her patience start to run out.

"Okay, then," Ralph said casually. "What do you want to do then? Strip mine the place?"

Charlie couldn't help but roll her eyes. She merely ignored Ralph's statement and turned to the rest of her friends. "So, any suggestions on how we should find out where the canyon is?"