Charlotte.
‘You’re alive!’ cried out Ling-Fei.
‘We need to… get… out… of… here,’ panted Charlotte, coughing and gasping for air.
Billy and Dylan helped her back to shore, where Ling-Fei stood with her arms open. Charlotte stumbled towards her, before collapsing onto the sand, clutching a bulbous black orb that looked like a bowling ball.
‘Charlotte?’ said Ling-Fei tentatively, pushing Charlotte’s hair out of her face.
After a moment, Charlotte held up the black ball. ‘Always go for the eyes if you’re in a pickle,’ Charlotte said with a wan smile. ‘Not allowed in ju-jitsu competitions, of course, but I know how to fight dirty when I need to.’ Then she turned on her side and threw up.
‘Oh, no,’ said Dylan, going green. ‘Whenever I see someone being sick, I…’ He gagged and turned back to the lake.
After Charlotte and Dylan had finished throwing up, Charlotte flopped over on her back.
‘Are you okay?’ said Billy. He was overwhelmed with relief that Charlotte had survived, but he felt a stab of guilt that he hadn’t been able to help keep her above water. He should have been able to. How were they going to defeat the Dragon of Death if they’d almost lost Charlotte to a giant crab?
‘I’m definitely not okay,’ said Dylan, wiping his mouth. ‘What was that?’
‘I think I’m fine,’ Charlotte said. She looked down. ‘That sucker really had a hold of my legs though. Even with my strength, I couldn’t get it off me. Thank goodness for these suits. I thought my legs would be broken for sure, but the suit didn’t even tear.’
‘I’m sorry we let you go,’ Billy blurted. ‘We should have held on.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I knew you held on as long as you could,’ said Charlotte.
‘So you don’t feel like we… abandoned you?’ said Billy.
Charlotte shook her head emphatically. ‘Of course not! Now stop making this about you. I’m the one who almost got drowned by a crab.’
Billy smiled. ‘I’m glad you’re okay. Do you think you can walk?’
Charlotte sat up and slowly got to her feet. She shifted her weight between her legs, testing her strength. ‘I’m good, I think. But I could lie down for a bit. Can we find somewhere to rest?’
‘That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a while,’ said Dylan.
Billy looked around to get a better idea of where they were. While they’d been in immediate danger, he hadn’t noticed their surroundings at all. Now he did.
Where the sandy banks of the enormous lake ended, a forest began.
A dead forest.
There were thousands of trees, but not a single leaf or living thing on any of them. Not even any peaches. Up above them, the three full moons still sat in the purple sky.
‘We should get away from the lake,’ said Billy. ‘Who knows what else might be in there? And I don’t think we should stay out in the open tonight. You heard Dimitrius – he’s sending nox-wings to hunt us down.’
‘He was fairly confident we wouldn’t survive the night. I’m guessing he knew about those crab things,’ said Dylan. ‘Horrible, evil dragon.’
‘If we’re going to find shelter, we should at least start going in the direction of the red dome,’ said Billy. ‘Ling-Fei, can you sense where it is from here?’
Ling-Fei paused, sort of sniffing the air. ‘It’s south,’ she said. ‘Through these trees.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘It smells like death. I’m not sure if it is the forest or the red dome itself.’ She tilted her head to the side. ‘And, if we’re going to find shelter, we should hurry.’
‘Why? Are those horrible nox-wings back?’ asked Dylan, looking up at the sky.
‘No, I don’t think so,’ said Ling-Fei. ‘But it is going to rain.’ As she spoke, a huge raindrop, large enough to drench a whole person, fell from the sky. They all leaped back as the drop hit the earth, splashing everywhere.
‘Into the forest we go then,’ said Billy. ‘There has to be somewhere we can rest.’
‘And get out of this rain,’ added Charlotte. ‘With our luck, it’s probably acid rain or something awful.’
‘Everything in that forest is dead!’ sputtered Dylan. ‘There aren’t even any immortal peach trees! And you heard Ling-Fei – it smells like death. How do we know we won’t die as soon as we enter?’
‘I’d rather take my chances with some dead trees than giant crabs,’ said Charlotte. ‘I never want to see a crab again unless it’s on my plate and smothered in butter,’ she added with a shudder.
‘The forest feels… empty,’ said Ling-Fei. ‘Dead, but empty. I think Billy is right. This is the way to go.’
‘Let’s stay together and stay alert,’ said Billy. ‘Hopefully the trees will also give us a little bit of cover from any nox-wings flying overhead.’
Despite Ling-Fei’s reassurances, Billy couldn’t help looking over his shoulder with almost every step he took. It was creepy being amongst the spindly dead trees. Branches clawed at his hair and dead twigs snapped underfoot. The moonlight cast strange purple-tinted shadows. Billy hoped he’d made the right decision by leading them into the forest.
They walked in silence, saving their energy, and staying focused in case of any surprises. The giant raindrops began to fall with more regularity, one almost soaking Dylan. Finally, after what felt like hours, they emerged from the forest.
And stood at the edge of a mountain range.
‘There is no way we’re going into those mountains tonight,’ said Dylan.
‘But look!’ said Ling-Fei, pointing. Just ahead of them, at the base of the nearest mountain, was a small cave.
‘How do we know that isn’t something else’s shelter?’ said Dylan.
‘I can’t sense anything,’ said Ling-Fei. ‘Come on, follow me.’
‘You’d better be right,’ said Charlotte.
The cave was empty.
‘I told you,’ said Ling-Fei with a smile. ‘I think it’s cosy!’
‘Cosy is one word for it,’ said Charlotte, glancing around the barren cave.
The four collapsed on the cave floor. Now that they had a safe place to hide, Billy realized how tired he was, how much his whole body
