“NaNoWriMo 2020 Pt. 29”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Additional note: In honour of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), all 30 stories written in the month of November will (hopefully) create a single multi-part story that will reach its conclusion by the end of the month. Stay tuned for a new story part every day!

Read the compiled NaNoWriMo TTtW story here!

SKYE’S POV

Okay, I already regret making Ryan get me all that food. I’m completely stuffed because he stuck around to make sure that I ate everything.

I glare at him. “Don’t you have anything else to do besides stare at me?”

He shrugs. “Not really. Winston moved my other client out of my care, so you’ve got my full and undivided attention.”

I let out an exasperated sigh and point at the pile of dishes beside me. “Clean that up, will you?”

“Of course, your royal highness,” he says with a smirk. “While I’m down at the kitchen, can I get you anything else? Another slice of pie, or maybe an entire pizza?”

“No,” I snap. “Just go.”

He grins and bows before leaving my room with all my dishes.

I pull out my map again. My plan to annoy Ryan obviously isn’t going to work, so it’s time for plan B.

I grab everything I need–which really is just my map, a pair of shoes, and a backpack–and sneak out into the elevator. Apocalypse me is kicking myself for leaving behind such a nice room, but pre-apocalypse me is driving me to go back out there and find Mason so that we can get out of this weird place.

When the elevator stops, I peek out to check that Ryan isn’t waiting to go back up to my room. Luckily, he isn’t.

I continue out into the hallway and push my way through the doors and onto the balcony deck. I try losing myself in the crowd, but a hand on my arm stops me.

“Hey, where are you going?” Maddie asks, dropping into step beside me. Her eyes flicker down to my running shoes and backpack.

I hesitate. Can I really trust her when the only time we’ve interacted was when she told me a legend about a magical ice princess?

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she asks, her voice dropping to a whisper.

I make up my mind. Maddie’s been here for a while so she’s probably my best bet at getting out of here.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “But first I need to find a friend.”

“What’s their name?”

“Mason.”

Maddie stops in her tracks and stares at me. “Mason?”

I frown. “You know him?”

She nods slowly. “Yeah, I work with him. But he’s with Winston right now.”

Slowly, the pieces fall in place. Winston saw Mason in my memory. But what could he possibly want with him?

“Where?” I demand, turning on Maddie.

Her eyes narrow slightly and she grabs my hand. “In Winston’s office. I’ll show you.”

As she pulls me through the crowd, I suddenly get the feeling of eyes on me. I turn to see Ryan watching at me from across the deck.

Slowly, he rises into the air, as if propelled by an invisible force. A chill runs down my spine.

Ryan can fly.

Final Comments: To be completely honest, I’m not really sure where I’m going with this story…

Overall Rating: 😬