The Unseen Road

Chapter Thirty-Five

The monotonous bleating of cicadas droned flatly from the treetops of the forest canopy; the sound drifted all the way down to the pine-littered forest floor, where Kylie, Celeste, and Mina lied unconscious. From in between the branches of the scattered pines and broad-leaved deciduous trees, clinging to life in the dry, brisk air, a single ray of sunlight filtered softly downward, lightly heating the girls' exposed skin against the moderate Florida winter.

Kylie's lips pursed as she was prompted back into consciousness, her brows drawing together as she tried to block out the intensifying sunlight. She dangled a hand groggily over her face, to no avail, and her eyelids began to flutter until, finally, she was able to open them. She stared directly up at the canopy for a moment, then slowly sat up, planting her hands upon the dehydrated underbrush to support her. Dead branches clung to her hair, suspended in front of her face.

Pushing them out of the way, she turned to find Celeste laying on her side, half of her body flattening part of a dead thicket, and then Mina, who rested on a blanket of dead leaves.

"... Guys?" she whispered, her chapped lips cracking as they pried apart. Shifting onto all fours, she stretched her arm out to shake Mina's shoulder; then, she crawled over to Celeste, grabbed her arms and began dragging her out of the bush.

Her sister's eyebrows twitched. "Hey," she mumbled, limply swinging her arms to swat Kylie away; a second later, she, too, opened her eyes. She stared up at her with her brow furled, disoriented.

"...What are you doing...?" she drawled dazedly. She blinked a few times as she registered her surroundings; finally, she shot up, and her eyes widened. "... Where are we?" she asked suspiciously.

"I think we're in Hartsville," Kylie replied quietly. She put a finger up to her lips and pointed to Mina, expecting her to still be sleeping soundly; but the younger girl was already sitting up and looking at them.

Her sister sat quietly for a few moments, staring blankly into the wall of trees. "Wait," Celeste interjected slowly, "...Are we home?"

Kylie nodded.

Slowly, the familiarity of the area began to settle into her, hanging nostalgically in the air; the hill upon which they sat, and the thicket behind which they had found the Unseen Road- every tree, every shrub. "Oh my god."

She stood up, brushing herself free of the twigs that stuck to her. As the dirt and sprigs fell to the ground, scattering upon the scrubland floor, she turned around in a slow circle. Kylie hoisted herself up to join her.

Only the sparse subtropical wood of Northern Florida surrounded them. "The Unseen Road's gone," Celeste murmured.

"Yeah..." Kylie affirmed, her voice trailing off. She looked over at Mina, who remained unusually quiet— no doubt, she must have been thinking about Chase.

Kylie closed her eyes. She had someone to think about, too.

"Well, what now?" Celeste resumed. "I... don't think I can go home just yet."

"We have to," Kylie replied. Her eyes drifted upwards towards the canopy, where the soft winter sky, almost giving way to spring, was just visible between the leaves of the trees.

"... Right," Mina nodded distantly.

"Come on," Kylie said, taking hold of her sister's arm. She extended a hand towards Mina.

She looked at it, Kylie's arm reaching across the small space between them. Finally, the light seemed to return to the younger girl's eyes as she eased herself back into the moment; then, she carefully stood up onto her feet and made her way over to Kylie.