Something was wrong.

Faye couldn’t understand how she knew this, but she could feel it deep within herself.  Something was terribly wrong.  As she looked around the room, at the police women, at her mommy, she could feel worry unfurl in her stomach.  Her mommy was crying.  Why was her mommy crying?  She never cried.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Faye whimpered.  When her mommy didn’t answer, she asked again.  “Mommy, what’s wrong?  Where’s Terra?”

Terra’s absence frightened Faye.  She was always around, especially when something important like this was going on.  She wouldn’t leave Faye and their mommy to be alone with the police officers.  No, she would want to be here to support them, to help them through whatever problems had aroused. 

“Mommy, why aren’t you answering me?” Faye shrieked, grabbing at her mommy’s shirt.  Her mommy finally looked at her, and Faye could see the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Mommy will be right back,” her mommy murmured softly, kneeling in front of her and holding onto her arms.  “I need to go with these nice people, all right?”

“Why do you need to go with the police ladies?” Faye mumbled, glancing discreetly at the two police women standing awkwardly next to the kitchen table.  “Mommy, what’s going on?”

“Everything will be all right,” her mommy whispered.  She kissed Faye softly on the cheek.  “Stay here.  Errika and her mom will be over any minute now, okay?”

Faye nodded, sniffling.  Panicked tears pricked her eyes.  She was scared.  She needed Terra to comfort her, to tell her that everything would be all right.  When her mommy couldn’t succeed, Terra always could.  A tear fell down her cheek.  Where was her sister?  Where was Terra?

Faye watched silently as her mommy stood up and followed the police women outside.  She glanced around, nervous.  She didn’t like being home alone.  Even if it was for only a little while, she couldn’t bear the empty house.

She glanced toward the front door.  Any moment now Errika and her mommy would come through the door, swearing that everything was fine.  But nothing was fine.  Her mommy was crying and Terra was nowhere to be found.

Before Faye could even think about what she was doing, she rushed to the front door, throwing it open.  The police women and her mommy had disappeared down the road in the police cruiser.  Faye bit her lip.  She couldn’t follow them if she had no idea where they were.

But she had to try.

Faye hurried down the front porch, hopping onto her bicycle that leaned against the side of the house.  She pedaled down the road, following it even though she didn’t know if she was going the right way.  She glanced at the houses to her right as she passed, noting that people were standing on their porches, speaking in hushed voices and discreetly glancing at her.  She knew immediately that her mommy had gone through here.

She kept straight.  She didn’t want to turn down any roads and get lost in the process.  Her mommy would never forgive her if she got lost while leaving the house when she wasn’t supposed to.

The sound of sirens almost sent Faye flying into a bush.  She gripped the handlebars tightly, searching fervently for the source of the sirens.

And then she saw it. 

It was a group of people flowing beside and around two police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck.  She spotted her mommy standing beside the two police women that had been at her house.  Faye’s stomach clenched when she saw that they were standing over something.

She didn’t have a good feeling about this.

Faye discarded her bike on the side of the road, running toward the group of people.  She shoved her way through until she made it to her mommy.  She stood, gaping at the scene in front of her.

Her mommy was crying freely, screaming, “No, it can’t be!” over and over again.  The thing she was standing over was a table with a white fabric draped over something.  It looked like a body.  Faye creeped forward, dread flowing within her.  “Mommy!” she cried.  “Mommy, what’s going on?”

Her mommy looked up.  “Faye, what are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice cracking.  “I told you to stay home!”

Faye glanced down at the table.  Who was it under the blanket?  “Mommy?” she whispered.  “Where’s Terra?”

She felt the weight of everyone’s stares around her.  Faye looked up tearfully at all the women.  “Where’s my sister?” she called.  “Does anyone know?”

"Honey,” her mommy said suddenly.  “Terra’s not here anymore.”

Faye whipped back to face her mommy.  “What?” she demanded.  “What do you mean?”

Her mommy sniffed loudly.  “Terra’s gone, baby.  She’s not coming back.”

Faye looked back down at the table and then she knew.

The girl on under the white fabric was Terra.  Her throat contracted.  No.  Not, it couldn’t be.  “No, Mommy!” she cried.  “No, she’s not gone!”

Her mommy nodded.  “Yes, honey, I’m sorry.”

Faye frowned, stepping forward.  “No!” she hollered.  “Terra wouldn’t leave us like that, Mommy!  She loves us!”

With that she ripped the white fabric away from the table.  She’d hoped that it would be someone else, anyone but her older sister.  But, as the white fabric settled on the ground, Faye stared helplessly at Terra.

If she didn’t know better, Faye would have guessed she was sleeping.  But, Terra wasn’t sleeping.  Her body was too pale, and when Faye touched it, she realized it was too cold.  Terra’s eyes were closed, her palms facing upward. 

Faye took a step back.  “T-Terra?”

“Somebody put the cloth back on the body!” a police lady shrieked.

All of a sudden her mommy’s arms were around her.  “Terra’s gone, baby.  Terra’s gone.”

“Faye, are you even listening to me?”

Faye blinked, shocked when she felt moisture there.  She quickly wiped the tears away before Errika could see them.  She didn’t understand where that came from.  One minute she was listening to Errika list off the pros of going back to the Gate, and the next she was ten years old again and staring down at her sister’s body.

“Yeah, I’m listening to you,” she forced out, remembering that Errika said something and was waiting for an answer.  “And you’re right.  I’ll do it, okay?”

She didn’t know what made her agree to Errika’s ridiculous plan.  It was impulsive, slipping off her tongue before she could even register what she was saying.  It reminded her of the night when she first reached the Gate’s borders.  Trying to shake off haunting memories.  Trying to run away from the past.

“You will?”  Errika’s eyes were wide.  “What happened to the ‘Errika, it’s a really bad idea!’ thing you had going on there?”

Faye sighed deeply, rubbing her face with the back of her hand.  “Look, I said I’ll do it, all right?  Don’t make me change my mind.”

Errika looked as though she wanted to say more on the subject, but kept her mouth shut.  Faye was thankful for that.  She didn’t want to talk about her flashback or how it made her feel exactly like she felt the day Terra was found: betrayed, hurt, angered, depressed, and guilty.

She hated feeling that way.  She wished it would stop.

Errika tilted her head to the side, and Faye instantly knew that she’d caught the drying tears on her cheeks.  “Are you crying?”

“No,” Faye muttered, shaking her head.

Errika’s eyes narrowed.  “But you were.”

Faye shrugged, not bothering to hide it.  There was no point.  Errika wasn’t stupid; she’d be able to tell.  “I guess.”

Errika glanced at the doorway before looking back Faye.  “Why were you crying, babe?  What memory was it this time?”

Faye tensed.  She wasn’t surprised that Errika guessed the reason for her tears, but she didn’t feel relieved either.  Now she would have to explain the memory and why it made her cry.  Faye just wanted to get on with her day.  “The day she died.”  Faye shrugged as nonchalantly as she could.  “It’s whatever.  Let’s move on now, okay?  When are we going to the Gate?”

Errika smiled.  “We can go now.”

Faye’s eyebrows rose.  “What if we get caught?  Won’t it look suspicious if we just go into the woods?”

Errika waved her hand dismissively.  “If someone asks, we left something at the Campout site.  I’ve got us covered, all right?”

Faye sighed, standing up and stretching out her arms.  “All right.  Let’s go.”

The | Gate

“Remind me why I listened to you again?”

The second they stepped outside Kole began to regret his decision.  What was the point of this?  It was only going to get him arrested.  What would Alex or his father think about that?  They would call him a hypocrite.  How could he ever call someone else stupid for going to the Gate’s borders, if he was doing that himself? 

“Because, even though you pretend to hate the prospect of taking a risk for once in your life, you’re just as curious as the rest of us.”  Terence grinned.  “You want to meet the girl creature again, and we both know it.”

Kole sighed deeply.  It was true.  He did want to see the creature again, to learn its ways.  But he didn’t want to risk getting arrested and deserting his family for the rest of his life.  He wanted to stay safe.  He wanted his family to stay safe. 

He didn’t want to be in the mess he was dragging himself into.

So why?  Why do this? 

It was simple.  He wanted his friend to believe him.

Kole knew it was stupid, but if Terence didn’t believe him, he didn’t know what he’d do.  He needed someone he could trust.  Someone who believed his story.  And Terence was the number one person that Kole could go to.  If Terence didn’t believe him, who would?

Who would?

“You know where your camera is, right?” Kole muttered finally.

“Yes, of course.”  Terence shook his head, rolling his eyes.  “My dad would kill me if I lost it.”

“He’d kill you if he found out what pictures you put on it,” Kole mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Terence looked as though he wanted to press more on the subject, but he didn’t.  An awkward silence developed as they made their way to Terence’s car, hopping inside.  Terence slid the key into the ignition before pulling out into the driveway.  Kole glanced up at the ceiling.  There was no turning back now.

The | Gate

“I could have sworn it was right here,” Terence exclaimed, shifting papers around aimlessly on his desk. 

Kole sighed deeply.  He should have known that his friend didn’t actually know where his camera was.  It wasn’t unlike Terence to misplace his things, no matter how expensive they were.  “Guess there’s nothing we can do.  I’ll just go home and—”

“Nuh-uh.”  Terence shot Kole a glare.  “Help me find it.”

Kole cast a reluctant glance around the room before giving off a short nod.  He decided to ignore Terence’s curt tone, or that he didn’t even want the camera to be found.  If it was found that would mean that he had to go back to the Gate’s borders.  And, frankly, Kole was terrified of even the prospect of returning.

“Fine,” he muttered, sauntering around the room, rifling through random objects.  Kole could never accuse Terence of being organized.  His room was like a pigsty with clothes scattered across the floor, mixed in with random stuff that was never touched.  Kole couldn’t help but wonder how life was going to be for Terence when he grew older.  His house was going to be a complete disaster.

“Where the hell is it?” Terence seethed, throwing a dirty shirt aside.  Kole watched blankly as it fell to the floor, landing on another, equally as dirty, shirt.

“I don’t know,” Kole mumbled resignedly.  “Did you check on the floor underneath the rest of your crap?”

Terence chucked an irritated scowl in Kole’s direction.  “Why don’t you start actually helping?”

Kole’s eyebrows rose.  “Why don’t you stop acting like an asshole?  Maybe then I’ll start.”

Terence sighed, shaking his head.  “Look. I’m sorry, all right?  It’s just . . .” He shook his head again.  “Never mind.  Can you please just help me fine the damn camera?”

Kole nodded, kneeling down and picking between piles of clothes.  It amazed him that there could be so many clothes on the floor, yet still so many clothes within the confinements of his dresser.  Terence, Kole observed, has a lot of clothes.

“I found it!” Terence called out suddenly.  Kole looked up just as Terence pulled the camera out of a box marked for CD’s.  Kole couldn’t fathom why Terence would put a camera in there, but he did.

“Great,” he muttered, not sounding pleased at all.

Terence grinned.  “Let’s go play spies like we did when we were younger.”

At this Kole had to smile.  When they were younger—no older than ten—he, Terence, Seth, and Zander all used to play spies.  Two would be the good spies; two would be the bad spies.  They would play the game for hours, talking in hushed voices and crawling around the house to attack the other two by surprise.  Kole wished, not for the first time, that he and his friends were ten again.  Life was so much simpler back then.

“Let’s go,” Terence said suddenly, ripping Kole away from his reverie.

Kole blinked, nodding.  “All right.”

Together, they bounded down the stairs and out the door, telling Terence’s father that they were going to go catch a movie at the theaters.  That, Terence told Kole, would buy them at least two hours before they had to return.  Kole sighed internally.  He didn’t want to be in the woods for two hours.  It would look suspicious.

“So what if the girl isn’t there?” Kole demanded as they headed down the street.  He leaned back in his seat, glancing at Terence.  He noted dully that Terence looked awfully relaxed as he drove for someone who was about to pull an awfully risky move.

“Then we go home and go back another time.  Like tomorrow.”  He grinned.  “I bet it’s going to be there.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because there’s obviously no law for the creature on the other side not to go.  I mean, if they could control it, why keep it behind bars?”

Terence had a point.  If the Government was controlling the creatures on the other side of the Gate’s borders, what would be the point of keeping them behind the Gate in the first place?  Why not just unite them all as one?  Kole shook his head.  No, the Government couldn’t have been controlling the other side.  That wouldn’t make sense.

“But what if the cameras are working again?” Kole demanded, panic flourishing inside him.  He didn’t want to be arrested.  He didn’t want to be seen as some insane rebel.  “What if I get caught?”

Terence sighed.  “Kole, chill.  You’re going to be fine.  A whole forest of cameras can’t be fixed overnight, all right?”

Kole pursed his lips, his jaw working.  It was easy for Terence to say.  He wasn’t going to be putting himself in any danger.  He would probably hang out on Kole’s hill while Kole did all the dirty work, risking everything just to take a picture or two.  “Whatever,” he snapped, irritation flashing.  None of this was worth it.  None of it.

The | Gate

“You don’t have to come with me, you know,” Faye said for the third time since they entered the forest thirty minutes before.  Before they’d gotten out of Errika’s car, Errika announced that she was going with Faye to the borders, saying that it wouldn’t be right to send her in there alone.  She could have gotten lost without her.  Errika would feel guilty if she actually did get caught and she wasn’t penalized at all.  All very uplifting excuses.

“Yes, I do,” Errika replied, plucking a leaf from a branch and ripping it apart within her fingers.  She glanced up and smiled mischievously.  “Just admit it.  You need me.”

“I do.”  Faye shrugged.  “But that doesn’t mean you need to risk anything.”

Errika laughed, shaking her head.  “Of course I do.  It wouldn’t be right to preach for you to take a risk if I’m not taking one myself.”

Faye would be lying if she said that thought hadn’t occurred to her.  When Errika prodded Faye’s mind, tempting her back to the Gate’s borders, Faye couldn’t help but feel irritable.  Who was Errika to tell her to go back if she’d never taken an overly huge risk before herself?  Faye was irritated that she was being told to do something so nonchalantly that no one else had ever been able to do.

“It’s probably not going to be there,” Faye mumbled, changing the subject slightly.  For some odd reason, it felt wrong to call the boy an “it”.  It didn’t seem right.  That was what you called an animal or an inanimate object.  Kole was neither of these.  At least, she didn’t think so.  Could the boy be considered an animal?  Or was it considered a person like her?

“Sure it will.”  Errika smiled.  “I mean, it’s probably just as tempted as we are, right?”

Faye doubted it, but nodded.  “Whatever you say.”

It was silent for a while excluding Errika mumbling to herself about the path to the Campout.  They both agreed that it would probably be smart to start from where the journey really began: the campsite.  They were lucky the markings were still on the trees, otherwise they’d be lost.

“You were crying earlier,” Errika said suddenly.  “And you lied about it.  Why?”

Faye sighed deeply.  She should have known that Errika wouldn’t let that slide.  “I was thinking about the day Terra died,” she said softly.  “Me seeing her body.  It just randomly popped into my head, and I don’t understand why.”

It was Errika’s turn to sigh.  “It’s getting worse,” she murmured.  “You’re starting to torment yourself more than usual.  You were getting better.  Why is it getting worse?”

Faye shrugged.  “Honestly, I have no idea.”

And she didn’t.  Just when she thought that maybe she was getting better, that Terra’s death was finally becoming a part of the past, more memories seemed to emerge.  The dreams were becoming more intense, and everyday something would remind her of her.  Faye knew that she would never forget Terra completely—and she didn’t want to.  But she thought that maybe she would at least be able to keep the painful memories at bay.  Maybe be able to think of her sister without feeling a pang in her chest.

But it wasn’t happening any time soon.

“I can’t believe she did this to you,” Errika snapped suddenly.  “I’m pissed that Terra left, and left you broken.”  She glared at the ground.  “It’s a good thing that you’re as strong as you are, though.  Because if you were weak, you’d be lost.”

Errika’s outburst shocked Faye.  Faye’s eyes widened.  She expected to feel anger for her speaking about Terra in such a way, but she didn’t.  What Errika said made sense.  And, for the first time, it wasn’t just to console her.  It was what Errika truly felt.  “I don’t know why she did what she did.  But she did, and my stupid brain just has to learn to accept that Terra’s dead and she’s not coming back.”

The words hurt even as she spoke them, stinging like pricks of needles.  But they were true.  And the faster Faye accepted them, the better off she would be.

Errika shot Faye a smile.  “That’s what I like about you,” she drawled.  “You know the truth whether you like it or not.  And, unlike some idiots out there, you attempt to accept it.  Sure you fail sometimes—like when you refused to believe that the tooth fairy didn’t exist—but you try.”

Faye laughed, shoving Errika playfully.  She was attempting to lighten the mood, and she’d succeeded.  “You jerk!  I can’t believe you actually video-taped my mom putting the tooth under my pillow just to get me to believe you.”

“Well, you know me,” Errika teased, sticking out her tongue playfully.  “I need everyone to know the truth once I know it.”

Faye sighed, her laughter coming to an end.  “That’s very true.”

They came to a flat area.  Errika stopped walking, peering around.  “I think it was here,” she murmured.  She glanced around, meticulously looking over the details of the woods.  Faye closed her eyes for a moment before opening them.  She could picture the Campout with its large tent and campfire.  She glanced to the right of where she imagined the tent to be, a smile pricking her lips when she saw a destroyed fire pit.

“It was here,” she agreed, pointing.  “Fire pit’s right there.”

Errika nodded.  “All right.  Lead the way then.”

Leading the way was more difficult than Faye would have thought.  She couldn’t remember the directions she took at all, so she did the same thing that she did the day she found Terra’s body.  She walked in the same direction, never turning.  Besides, she tried to reason, the Gate was long enough, so she had to reach it sometime, right?

“You must have had a really bad dream,” Errika mumbled, sounding breathless.  “Because you walked a long way.”  

Faye laughed.  “Yeah, I did.”

“Damn, I need to get in shape!” Errika whined, shaking her head.  “Do you think we’re in the territory yet?”

Faye nodded.  “We must be getting close.”

Errika laughed shakily, her exhaustion showing off freely.  “Girl, if we’re lost, I’m going to blame you.”

Faye grinned.  “All right.”

The | Gate

Kole plucked a branch up from the ground with his free hand and tossed it aimlessly.  In his other, he clutched Terence’s digital camera tightly, slightly nervous that he was going to drop it.  He would never hear the end of it if he broke it, but he couldn’t bring himself to care enough to hold it with both hands.

The woods were taunting him as he tried to navigate his way through.  He struggled to recall the path he took while he searched for Terence, but he was trying in vain.  He’d been so frantic, and it had been so dark.  It was next to impossible.

He regretted agreeing to Terence’s stupid plan.  If the Government didn’t catch him on the cameras, they sure would when his father reported him missing.  They would find him cowering behind a bush, probably gone mad from looking for the Gate’s borders.  And then, once they found him, he’d be taken straight to the prison wards.

Kole froze when he heard a branch snap.  He twisted, staring hard at the few pairs of trees.  They looked awfully familiar . . . .

Kole gasped, rushing forward and pushing through the branches and underbrush.  This was the place—he knew it was.  He cursed as the branches scraped his skin, leaving little scratches in their wake.  He wanted to stop, to turn, to go back.  But he couldn’t.  He’d made it so far.

All of a sudden the branches were gone, and his arms whacked metal.  Kole groaned, rubbing his now-sore hands together irritably.  He looked up.  In front of him stood the Gate, staring down at him intimidatingly.  Kole gulped, stepping back and peering around.  He felt his stomach drop when he saw that no one was there.

Kole cursed, stomping his foot.  He knew that Terence was crazy.  He knew that the girl wouldn’t come back.  Why had he let Terence get into his head and jerk?  Why couldn’t he have just stood his ground?

Kole turned to leave. 

And then he stopped.

There was movement within the bushes on the other side.  Kole twisted back, his fingers curling onto the metal as he gazed around the other side.  His eyes sought for the movement in the bushes.  He bit his lip, not knowing whether to be excited or frightened.  Was it Faye?  Or was it some other creature that actually would harm him?  No matter what Terence said, he didn’t believe that Faye would hurt him.  It’d been too scared that night.

Kole’s breathing came to a stop as two figures appeared.  He pulled away from the Gate, clutching the camera tightly within his hands.  There were more of them?

“Hello?” Kole called, trying to keep the timid-ness out of his voice.

The figures moved toward the Gate, and Kole began to see details in the creatures.  One of the girls was Faye, its red hair blazing.  The other girl reminded him of his brother, Alex.  Long, dark brown hair.  Tall, with its head held high.  And, when it grew closer, he saw that the girl and Alex had the same large, wide, blue eyes.

Faye and the other girl came up to the Gate, grabbing hold of the cool metal.  Kole could see that Faye’d gained some courage, that it wasn’t as scared as it used to be.  But, like Kole, the apprehension was still clear in its eyes.

The other girl didn’t seem frightened at all.  It seemed excited, though it contained it very well.  Kole stared at them silently, wondering if he was supposed to make the first move.  But then, finally, the brown-haired girl stuck her hand through the Gate as though it was greeting him.  “Hi, I’m Errika,” it said cheerfully.  “And you are?”