“That’s right,” Skyla said victoriously. “It’s good you can agree. But you should also know that unlike you, I am special. And that’s just the way it is.”
She’s special, all right, Alex thought. During their walk, she had come to the conclusion that Skyla wasn’t really the uncaring snob she came across as; she was just shallow, but in a harmless way. While that was better than her being an utter cow, it didn’t help their current situation, nor did it explain how Skyla was accepted into Hunter’s class to begin with.
“Can I ask you something?” Alex asked, ducking under a low-hanging branch. “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but how did you get into SAS?”
Hopefully Skyla wouldn’t read the obvious message in her words—the ‘what the hell was Hunter thinking?’ implication.
“It’s because I’m special, remember?” Skyla said. “I just told you that. Weren’t you listening to me?”
“Of course I was,” Alex answered quickly, wanting to avoid the impending hissy fit she sensed was coming. “What I meant was, what is it exactly that makes you so, uh, special?”
“Oh,” Skyla said. “Well, that’s all right, I guess. I hate it when people don’t listen when I talk.”
Alex didn’t say anything, figuring it was best to keep her thoughts to herself.
“Other than my obvious appeal,” Skyla continued, and Alex had to fight back a snort of derision, “Hunter recruited me because of my gift. It’s very handy in stealthy and subterfuging situations.”
Alex knew that ‘subterfuge-y’ wasn’t a word, but at least it made more sense. Skyla’s ‘subterfuging’ sounded like some kind of nasty chemical reaction.
“What’s your gift?” Alex asked, holding back all the other comments that wanted to burst from her mouth.
“I can shape-shift,” Skyla said.
Alex stopped pushing her way through the leafy woodland and turned to gape at her companion. “Seriously?”
In answer, Skyla’s whole body began shimmering and, seconds later, she transformed into an exact replica of Alex.
“Seriously,” the Skyla-Alex-copy answered, mimicking Alex’s response.
“That’s just freaky,” Alex said, staring wide-eyed at her doppelganger.
Skyla shimmered again and shifted back to her normal self. “I can’t hold other forms for too long without getting tired, but it’s worth it for the shock value sometimes.”
Alex didn’t doubt that. She certainly wouldn’t get the image out of her mind for a while, that was for sure.
“Shape-shifting would definitely be a huge help with subterfuge,” Alex admitted. She didn’t bother to mention how sucky Skyla seemed to be with the stealth aspect. “You could literally trick people into thinking you were anyone. That’s insane.”
“You’re insane,” Skyla snapped.
Alex jerked in shock and carefully said, “I wasn’t insulting you, Skyla. It was a compliment.”
“Oh.” Skyla twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “I knew that. People compliment me all the time, so I guess I’m just used to it.”
Alex mentally shook her head and moved forward again, intent on finding some mushrooms before her partner’s ‘specialness’ began to rub off on her.
Thankfully, they had their first fungi sighting just a few steps later, much to Alex’s relief.
After twenty minutes of following the mushrooms, Skyla broke the peaceful silence.
“Are we almost there?”
Alex grumbled under her breath, “I sure hope so.”
“What was that?” Skyla demanded.
“I said, ‘I think so’,” Alex covered. “There are more mushrooms now than there were before. That’s probably a good sign.”
It was true. At first the fungi had been sporadic at best, dusted around the forest floor so infrequently that Alex had been challenged to find a clear trail. But now that they were further along, the mushrooms practically formed a straight line to follow.
“I’m hungry,” Skyla said. “Do you think these mushrooms are edible?”
Why don’t you try one and see? Alex thought. But then she realised that if anything happened to Skyla, it would be she who had to carry her out of the forest. So, in a very firm voice, she said, “It’s probably not a good idea to eat them. They might be poisonous.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Skyla said, her disappointment clear. “Oh, look! That’s much better than mushrooms!”
Alex turned around to see what the other girl was talking about only to find Skyla walking away from her and heading over to a massive tree. Resting on a branch at eye level was a picnic basket bursting with food.
“Skyla, wait!” Alex said, knowing that the food was clearly a set-up. And an obvious one at that. She had no doubt it would be booby-trapped by Hunter.
“Stop telling me what to do,” Skyla hissed, ignoring Alex’s warning and stomping towards the branch.
“No, really, you need to listen—”
“Look,” Skyla interrupted, “I know you’re all, ‘blah, blah, let’s get this riddle nonsense over with’, but I won’t take long. And I’ll share too, since I’m so nice.”
“Skyla!” Alex yelled, trying to get the girl’s attention, but she just wasn’t willing to listen.
“Seriously, Alex,” Skyla said impatiently. “You need to get over your—AHHHH!”
“SKYLA!”
Alex sprinted over to the massive hole in the ground where Skyla had previously been standing. She dropped onto her stomach and wriggled the last few feet, balancing her weight so she wouldn’t fall in as well.
“Skyla, can you hear me? Are you hurt?”
“I’m all right,” Skyla answered weakly, her voice echoing up the deep hole.
Alex released a breath. “How far down are you? I can’t see anything.”
“Not too far, I think,” Skyla said, her voice shaky. “I didn’t fall for long.”
“Can you see me?” Alex asked, knowing there was at least some light shining on her and hoping it was enough for the other girl to see.
“Yeah,” Skyla answered. “But you’re too far away for me to reach.”
“Okay, hold on.” Alex wriggled away from the hole and stood up. She looked around the area, hoping to find something to help them, and settled on a long, sturdy branch attached to a tree. It took some twisting and pulling—and earned her more than one splinter—but finally Alex was able to yank it free.
She scurried back to the opening of the hole and lowered the branch down into the darkness. “Try to grab hold, Skyla.”
After a few moments of silence, Alex wondered what the other girl was waiting for.
“Ready when you are,” she added.
“I can’t stand,” Skyla whimpered. “I think I’ve sprained my ankle. I can’t reach the branch without standing.”
Alex had to stifle a groan. She had to get Skyla out of the trap, but how could she do that without a rope?
“Skyla, can you use your gift to lengthen your arm?” Alex asked. “Or just shape-shift it into something long enough to reach me?”
“I don’t have supernatural elasticity, Alex,” Skyla returned in a pained voice. “I can only shift into other people. And I don’t know anyone who has ladder arms.”
It had been worth a try, if nothing else.