Page 52 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

“Ah!” He held up a finger, his eyes lighting up. “There is a treasure. In one of the hollows. You will know it when you see it. If you find it—ah, if you succeed in attaining it, I will give you this treasure.” He raised his arm to point a wrinkly finger toward one of the thick trees past a handful of tombstones. “You may begin there.”

“What’s the catch?” I raised a knowing eyebrow.

“Ah, see. The game is only fit for one.”

“Fine.” I stepped forward.

Allie tugged on my arm again. “Wait. It makes more sense for me to go.”

“How exactly does that make more sense?”

“If you go, and you get in trouble, I don’t think my knowledge of advanced nuclear physics will help you out. I should go.”

I groaned. “Oh god. I’m going to have to rescue you again, aren’t I? Why is it that every time you have an idea, I always end up getting hurt?”

“Bad luck?” She gave me a sheepish grin.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, great, are you a statistician now too?” I leaned closer to make my point. “I told you before, your life is precious to me. I cannot have you risking your life for any reason.”

“I’m not going to die,” she insisted.

Her arrogant, self-assuredness in risking her own life grated on my nerves. “You don’t know that.”

Allie threw up her hands. “It’s just a game, Rabb. I’m sure it’s going to be—”

Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair. “You don’t understand—” I burst out, “I just want to live!”

My outburst gave Allie pause. The gears in her head were spinning again. “Wait.” She blinked slowly. “All this time, you kept saying you needed me alive. But…are you saying that you actually mean…if I die, you die too?” Her gaze slid to my shoulder and then to the many cuts on my arm. Her forehead creased as if the weight of the truth dawned on her just then. “I didn’t expect that.”

I averted my gaze. I supposed she could be thinking back to all the instances when it had looked like I was looking out for her well-being. She would be reframing the situation in her mind, why it seemed like I was taking care of her—the only proof she’d held that I cared enough not to harm her, to protect her. In fact, I was only looking out for my own well-being. There was a dull ache in the heart in my chest as the truth sank.

“Yoo-hoo!” The Hatter waved his hand, a wide grin on his face. “Come now and let’s start the game. The tea will get cold.”

Allie glanced back at him. “What happens if I fail to find this treasure of yours?”

The Hatter clicked his tongue as if aghast. “Fail, my dear? Think not of it. Why, if you do not succeed, then instead we shall celebrate your unbirthday! And you may stay here as my assistant.” He shrugged. “Who knows? You might find a place here.” He clapped his hands again. “Now the ghosts will want their party. Are you two quite decided?”

“Yes. I’ll go.” Allie’s voice was clear, steady.

I shook my head. There was little point in arguing.

She walked on without further ado, without even a backward glance.

To her credit, I didn’t sense fear in her aura. Her heart remained steady in my chest. As usual, all I could feel from Allie was a burgeoning curiosity about what was going to happen next. Such a level of curiosity, of reckless courage, would no doubt do her ill eventually.

Allie tiptoed across the grass, the fog swirling around her ankles as she made her way toward the large tree hollow amidst the garden graveyard.

As soon as she stepped past the dark spiral within the trunk of the tree, the hollow grew in size to accommodate her.

I peered through the burrow, past Allie’s figure as the growing doorway allowed a peek into a long, well-lit space. A hallway lined with different sizes and colors of doors.

“It’s a hallway of doors…” Allie trailed off, her voice like an echo. Walking past the first two doors and a little chair by the side, she craned her neck. “Oh my god, Rabb.” She pointed to the next teak door as she bent to peer through the small window. “This door looks like it leads to your desert. This place must be like a portal corridor!”

Relief settled in my chest.

Finally. Good news.

Glancing down, Allie began to fiddle with her collar.