My feet thump heavily against the forest floor as I run in the direction of the scream.

Plaid Shirt, who I have named him, follows me, keeping up with me despite his age.

"Olivia, this is irrational. I just explained to you how you are in danger, and at the first sound of something dangerous, you run towards it instead of away from it. I need to get you away from here" he says, stopping as I come to a halt.

"Irrational. Yeah," I say distractedly as I bend down to pick something off the floor.

It was Gran's necklace. It looks as if the clasp broke off.

That's nothing that happens easily, I thought, she must have been in a struggle for it to have come off her.

"Gran was here", I say hurriedly, "She must have left in a rush because this thing" I  indicated to the necklace, "Does not just fall off ".

I turn back to scan the area. "Something happened", I say quietly.

Plaid Shirt puts his hand on my shoulder and attempts to pull me back, but I shrug off his touch and run forward.

"Gran!" I yell, walking around. "Gran!"

I close my eyes and drew a long breath.

When I opened them, I was in a different clearing,

The men from my house were right in front of me.

I froze.

Someone yelled to my side, and I looked over to see a guy lugging Gran over his shoulder.

I ran towards her limp body, but my legs buckled beneath me and I fell to the ground.

The guy started walking away with Gran.

I yelled at him. At all of them. But it was like they didn't— or couldn't— hear me.

A guy walked right next to me but didn't show that he saw me. They can't see me, I thought. If they did, they wouldn't just let me stand here.

Tears streamed down my face as I watched them converse and lead Gran away from me.

One man lifted his hand and flicked his fingers, and I stepped back as a whoosh of air and light split apart to make a doorway of some sort. He stepped through and disappeared, and one by one, the other men followed.

The man with Gran adjusted her on his shoulder and grunted as he stepped through the portal thing-y.

The last man turned around and scanned the area, and his eyes landed on me.

His eyes turned up into a smile, but his mask hid his real one. He held up my photo and pulled out another one. This one was unmistakably Gran. He takes her picture and slowly ripped it, and threw the pieces to the gourd.

He then turned around, and without another glance back, walked away as I yelled and cried.

I gasp as I'm pushed back to where I was originally. Next to me, Plaid Shirt was staring at me with a tilt in his gaze, focusing intently on my rapid breathing and sweaty palms and I wipe my hands furiously.

"What happened to you? I've been trying to get your attention for the last couple of minutes, but you've just been ignoring me. Quite rude actually", he huffs. "We are actually in a very exposed position here, anything could come out and attack us. I say we should leave", he says as he surveys the area.

"I thought you said that Gran could take of herself!" I scream, looking up at him defeated.

"Pardon?"

"This is all your fault", I scream as I move towards him. "If you hadn't taken up so much time, hadn't stopped me, I could have reached her". Looking at my hands, I stare at them in tiredness, "I could have saved her".

"I'm sorry Olivia dear, but I have no idea what you're talking about", he says, standing at a reasonable distance away from me.

"I saw her", I say to him. "l saw them"

"Excuse me?". He tilts his head more, making himself appear almost sideways.

"They took her, and I watched it happen". I looked at him with tears in my eyes "I didn't stop them. I didn't save her". I sob into my hands. "And- and now they took her through this whooshy air thing, and I have no idea where she is and I don't know what to do".

Plaid Shirt crouches down to my level and makes me meet his eyes.

"I think you have some things to tell me."

I sniffle but nod.

I also think you have some things to tell me.

He's quiet for a long time after I tell him about this vision of mine, and I'm still having trouble controlling my sobs and sniffles.

"You are certain he saw you?" he finally asks.

I think back to the way his eyes felt as he looked me over. I give him a nod.

He sighs, "They took your grandmother, but once they realize she doesn't have the book, they may let her go-".

"May?" I squeak.

"-but that does not exclude the fact that you are still not safe," he says with a look telling me to shush up.

"I had a place already in mind for you, but due to your grandmother being away-" he says after seeing the look on my face, "-and those men still after you, you will need a permanent temporary situation. After seeing what you are capable of, your presence there won't be questioned".

"I don't want to go," I say, hearing myself sound like a petty child, but I couldn't help it.

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, Olivia," he says with a hint of gentleness. "The odds are against you this time, or, as young people say, the stars are not in your favor".

I processed the information in my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a smarter choice.

While I was new to these air-splitting-apart-and-forming-a-portal, cryptic visions with no foresight, and the importance in a book deal— he wasn't. He didn't seem surprised nor shocked when I told him about these weird events that have become my life. If I was ever going to find answers, it was with him. 

I look over at him looking at me and weigh my options.

I finally break the silence." I'll go with you, but I have some questions first".

"Great, we will walk and talk. Let's go now, child". He packs up and hurries forward.

I jog to catch up with him and start off my questions with, "What's your name?"

He looks at me sideways and gives it a long thought before saying "Hummingherd. Dodobi Hummingherd"

I don't even dull over his name. Out of everything, that's the most normal thing so far.

We reach a pile of rocks and he starts picking through them until he finds one and starts cleaning it.

"Where are you taking me?" I ask as I watch him do a fast hand motion with the rock and throw it to the floor, causing it to shatter and in its place, create a portal similar to the one I saw the guy create. "Also, what is this and how did you do it?"

"To answer question number two, this is a Gyer, how we travel. How you saw it being created in your vision was someone with immense internal power conjure one. Most people can't do it that way, so we use nature's help to speed things up".

He steps in front of the Gyer, "As for question number one", he says with a backward glance. "We are going to school".

With that, he turns around and steps through, leaving me gaping at his words.