Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 42

Evening was setting and there was no more time for thinking. She was down to the very last minute, and she had to do something to free herself from this prison she had come to be held. This is what brought her to the latest and hardest decision she had ever made. As much as it frightened her, she had finalized her plan. She had decided she was going to go through with it. She was going to leave tonight and try to make it through the portal that she had accidentally come through months ago. She knew there was a chance she could die, but that was a risk she was willing to take. She had been devising this plan for the last few weeks as it was, and she had tried to sort out every detail. She knew timing was imperative. She had told no one, not even her best friends about her decision. Tonight at 6:00 on the dot, she would sneak out from the side door of the great hall entrance. It would be getting dark by then, and she could walk unnoticed under the cover of darkness. She had a black cloak she had gotten from her friend Tallia. Well, actually she had bought the cloak from her with some allowance money Mother Christina had sent to her. Honestly, she and Tallia didn't know each other that well and that was good, because Tallia wouldn't question the reason why Ella was buying a cloak from her. She wasn't the nosey type and that suited Ella quite well.

For the rest of the day Ella purposely stayed to herself. She couldn't face any of her friends knowing this would be the last time she would see them, at least for a while. She was also afraid she would break under pressure and spill the beans of her plan. They would sense something was wrong with her and they would drill her until she caved. If anyone found out about it, her plan would be ruined. She took her breakfast and lunch in her room just to avoid everyone. The others were worried about Ella but weren't surprised with her evasiveness. It was well known that Ella despised the idea of this marriage. No one was the least bit suspicious that she had this plan and that soon, her life would be in extreme danger within the next couple of hours. 

Evening came and Ella knew the time was here. She dressed in dark clothing, making sure to wear long sleeves and long pants to shield herself from the cold and also from the briars and limbs that certainly would be tearing at her. She wouldn't put on the cloak until she was outside of the building, as that would have drawn too much attention to her and would have looked suspicious. She carefully opened the door to her room, looking around to make sure no one was nearby. Walking quickly but still trying to look casual, she made her way to the door of her dorm house. Opening that door, she peered out. Again, the coast looked clear. Her heart was pounding like thunder in her chest. She was really doing this. The fear of her situation was gripping her, and she felt a knot in her stomach. The realization that she could lose her life in this endeavor was weighing heaving on her heart, but she must not stop now. She passed a couple of people in the great hall, but no one seemed to pay her much attention. She didn't know who they were, and she was sure they wouldn't have known who she was, much less what she was up to. Finally, she came to a small foyer that was tucked away off of the hall. It was only used by service people or those delivering supplies. It led to an area outside that was mostly isolated from a lot of foot traffic so she hoped that no one would be out there. With butterflies running havoc in her stomach, she opened the door and quickly passed through. To her delight, there was not a soul around. This was her chance! She donned the cloak and then she started walking. She started at a medium pace but as she got closer to the edge of the wooded area that she recognized as the Forbidden Forest, her pace turned into a full run. All she could think of was her freedom. She was running at a pace that was scaring her as she was afraid she would lose her footing. She had been sure to wear tennis shoes for this very reason. Once at the edge of the woods, she entered and when she felt like she was safely shrouded from anyone from the outside, she stopped to catch her breath. She was so out of breath at this point. She hadn't realized how far she had actually ran, and she was exhausted and could barely breath...both from being tired from the run and from the pure adrenaline that had been coursing through her body. It took her several minutes for her heart to calm to a normal pace and for her to catch her breath. Once she felt she could breathe at a normal rate, she took the time to look around at her surroundings. It was so dark in the woods. It had already been becoming dusky outside but now being in the forest under the trees, it was taking her eyesight some time to get adjusted to her surroundings. The trees were thick. There weren't any trails or easy walkways to follow. She was going to have to navigate this terrain carefully. Her cloak was getting caught on branches and limbs, so she decided it was safe to take it off. No one was going to see her here. At least no one from outside of the forest. She was steadily praying for safe passage. She knew this area was where the portal was that she had inadvertently walked through months ago. She wasn't sure which way to go though. She knew somehow that she had the ability to walk through the portal, even though from all of the talk she had heard since being at Langton she didn't know how or why she was able to. People from Trobotdom shouldn't be able to walk through portals, but obviously, she could. She was determined that she would find it and get back home. From that point on she wasn't sure what her plan was. Maybe she would go back to the apartment complex and see Ms. Bekwith. Maybe she could help her, but she wasn't sure if she could trust her not to tell Aunt Mary or Mother Christina of her whereabouts. After second thought, she knew she couldn't go to the lady. There is no way she would keep Ella's whereabouts a secret from her good friends. No, the first thing she would have to do is try to find a job. But how was she going to find a job when she wouldn't have a car or even decent clothes to wear for an interview. Where was she going to live? First things first, she must get to the portal, and then she would figure all of that out. She knew there were homeless shelters in the area of Madison. She had actually been with the sisters when they had dropped off donations to them before. She knew no one would recognize her from the shelters though, because she had never actually spoken to anyone at them or even been inside one of them. She had only ridden in the truck with the sisters to deliver the donations. So that is where she would go first. But she must figure out how to get to the portal first. She slowly began to make her way through the thick brush and trees. She made her way up a hill and felt confident that the next bend was where she had come through the portal. She was so excited because she knew in her heart she was going in the right direction. She was so close to being home and the more excited she got the faster she was walking, even though in this forest, that wasn't even that fast. Suddenly she heard the rustle of leaves and her heart lurched. "What was that" she thought. Her heart was pounding fast in her chest. But after a moment, she heard no other sound, and she calmed down. It must have been a small animal. Don't start getting paranoid Ella she told herself. She continued on methodically stepping to avoid deep areas of brush and limbs. Then another sound. She heard a loud sound like a tree limb break. Her heart stopped. She was starting to get very frightened now. She felt like something was watching her. She picked up her pace, now so fast that her clothes were being snagged by the tree limbs and brush. Her hair was being pulled and snatched and it was causing her pain but she didn't care. She had to get to the area of the portal. She knew it had to be around here somewhere. There was no option for her to fail at this. Her life depended on it. Another loud sound and Ella screamed. It was closer and she felt the hair standing up on the back of her neck. Something was definitely after her. She had to turn around. She needed to get out of the forest. She turned to start running toward the school but as soon as she did she came face to face with her worst nightmare. The visions of the first night she had come to Langton came flooding back to her and now she was again staring Erebus right in his face. From behind her she felt a searing heat shoot down her back. She fell down to her knees and then was knocked down completely to the ground. Before she could move, just like before the vines had started whipping over her slapping at her clothes and pulling at her garments, ripping them off one by one. "This can't be happening again" is all she could think. She knew this time her chances of surviving this were dismal. This is what she feared the most, but not so much as to keep her at the school. She knew it could come down to this but now that it was happening, she regretted her choice. She didn't want to die. She just wanted to go home. Why couldn't she get home. Why couldn't she have a normal life. Now she was going to die. Suddenly she was violently pulled off the ground by the vines and her body was slammed back against a tree. The vines and sharp tree bark were tearing into her naked flesh. Her arms were pulled high above her head and her ankles strapped down leaving her legs spread slightly apart. She tried to loosen herself from the painful grips of all four vines, but she was bound too tightly. Erebus was standing there now watching and she could hear a low growl emitting from him. She had forgotten what a hideous creature he was. She had hoped the visions of him she had from her first encounter were mostly a dream, but she was wrong. He truly was the most monstrous sight, and he had her now, again.