Into the universe of EROS

Chapter 11

*Ajax*

After a while of walking we came to a river. It was a fast flowing river. Way too strong to cross. We decided to walk along the banks until we found an area that would be safer to cross.

" So, what do you think everyone back home is up to?" Eros asked breaking the silence between us.

" To be quite frank, I hope they're having as shitty a time as we are" I said as I let out a slight laugh.

" Seriously Jaxy" he responded." Jaxy?" I asked with a wide smile, warranting a wink from Eros.

"I actually like it" I carried on. He just chuckled as he sped up in front of me walking backwards so he could face me.

" Don't change the topic." he said with a stern look.

" Fine" I said with a sigh." I think they're probably starting to move on with there lives. It's been a while and knowing my family and how grief is something they associate with weakness, it's to be expected." I said simply. We'd stopped walking and Eros put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "What about your family? what do you think they're doing?" I asked to shift the focus onto him.

" Well, right about now my Aunt Sylvie would be forcing us to sit around the table and talk about our day. And even though I would never admit it, listening to how everyone else's day made me feel closer to them in some ways. They're probably devastated. After everything they've lost I can't imagine how they're handling me not being there." he said with a pain that was evident in his voice as he turned to face forward.

Then a realization hit me like a ton of bricks. We had been lying to ourselves when we said we accepted being here forever. Or at the very least , he was. It was way too clear that Eros had more to lose then I ,and he definitely wasn't ready to give that up.

I reached out to grab his hand and pulled him to face me again.

" What the hell are we doing E?" I asked in a soft tone.

" What do you mean? We're going exploring" he replied with a forced smile.

" I mean, why aren't we trying to get home? Why haven't we been more curious about how and why we came here?" I asked. The need for answers suddenly became more apparent than ever before.

" I guess, it was just easier to focus on a fantasy. I mean who wouldn't want to experience a new world with the boy of there dreams?" Eros replied. The way he worded made me feel like he'd realized it sooner than I. That meant that he had been experiencing the pain of not knowing longer than I had and even the thought of it made me squirm.

" I think we need to face reality and we need to get home. For all we know we could still be on Earth. Why did we think we ever left it, I mean what proof have we had to assume that?" I asked as things started to become clear.

" That's a good question. Does that mean we might be able to go home?" Eros said as he visibly perked up at the idea.

The thought of giving him false hope made me warry.

" I don't know E. But I don't think we should get our hopes up just yet. We might be very far from home." I said trying to be as gentle as possible.

"So where do we start? How do we find answers?" Eros asked.

"Well, lets go to the scene of the crime. Where we first came in." I said .

" That means we have to go all the way back to camp and then back to where we woke up"

"Yup" I replied as I popped the p. "Once we get to camp, our destination shouldn't be that far." I said trying to sound optimistic.

" So what should we call this point of entry?" Eros asked.

"I don't really know. Does it have to have a name?" I asked with a side smile.

He just gave me an expectant look to which I responded by saying, " umm...how about Loss point?"

His expression softened and he let out a smile. " Perfect"

Satisfied we turned away from the river and started toward the jungle, making our way back to where it all began.

Just as we entered the cover of the jungle, loud splashes from the river caught our attention. We both instantly darted our heads back towards the water and stared in utter shock.

An animal had risen out above the surface of the water. It had purple scales and turquoise fins and it could only be described as a seahorse with wings. A pega-seahorse.

Eros leaned in toward my ear and whispered," We aren't on earth are we"

" Nope that, we are not" I replied as I took a deep breath and let out a loud sigh.