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                                                                   CHAPTER 6

     "You don't have to know where you're going to get exactly where you need to go."

                                                     ― Marilyn A. Hepburn

"YOU SEEM LOST. Do you need any help?" A woman in a brown attire and blond hair asked her as she ran into her.

Helene stared at her. She must have looked like a lunatic in her rags, covered in filth. Trying to straighten her shirt, Helene looked at the lady, squinting to make out any weapons on her. She raked her body slowly and deliberately, making the blond woman squirm uncomfortably where she stood.

"Yeah. Can you give me a ride back to the castle? I'm with the top 10 from Belwick."

The woman eyed her wearily and opened her mouth to reply when a deep male voice called, "Yo, Lauren did you-" He froze when he saw Helene. "Who are you?"

She managed a weak smile. "Just a girl on a walk. I might have fallen into a hole and then got attacked by Creatures - who should I add - were very pissed at me for ruining their sleep so they locked me up. Wait - do Creatures sleep at night or in the morning? I've heard both but honestly, that's not very relevant-"

"Nothing you're saying is relevant, actually." The guy snapped, then added a bit softly, "I'm David."

Helene cocked her head to the side. She didn't know whether the fact that being locked up by Creatures or running for miles and miles messed up her brain. Maybe both. At this point, she didn't care and instead was finding everything very amusing.

"Oh my god. Are you actually a David? That's so cool!" The end of her sentence was a loud squeal.

Lauren hushed her angrily. "Whatever's in the forest is going to come after you, be quiet."

"Everything is after me, actually." Helene flipped her hair back boastfully. "I am a very important person-"

One thing she still had were her reflexes. As David swung the metal rod in the direction of her head, she ducked low and rolled, instantly standing up faster than she could think. Grabbing the end of the rod, close to where David held it, she twisted it out of his grip. Stepping back, she put space between herself and the other two. She waved the rod and tsked. "Fail. Did your mother not teach you better?"

David scowled. "I was hoping I would hit your head."

"Clearly, you failed." Helene snapped, getting pissed about the fact that a random man was trying to hit her with a metal rod. "And stop trying to hit on me. It's pathetic."

The strangers both rolled their eyes. Finally, Lauren beckoned Helene towards her. "Come with us. We know someone who can teleport you back."

Glad that Lauren agreed and relieved that nobody was hitting her anymore, Helene began to follow the two out the forest and into a small meadow. The trees grew smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared, along with the muck and the wet dirt. Soon the sky was very clear and shining, a light blue color smudged against the white clouds.

The world began to swirl in Helene's mind, and she tried to grip something as she walked. Her hand found something hard. It shifted, almost making Helene lose her balance.

It was David's arm.

Yelping pathetically, Helene snatched her hand back, murmuring apologies under her breath. He ignored them and instead continued to glare at her. "Don't touch me."

"It was an accident! Sheesh. Do you think I want to touch you?" With a horrified expression, Helene backed away.

The rest of the way was quiet. No one talked and Helene made sure she walked a good few feet away from David. Her eyesight began to blur and get frizzy as exhaustion fell over her. Helene's body slowed down, and so did her brain.

The village they arrived at was deathly quiet as if it were deserted. As they got closer, she realized everyone was inside with their doors shut and locked. Dust flew in the air, getting into her eyes. Rubbing them furiously, Helene gave Lauren a confused look.

"It's because of the attack. No one wants to stay out here in plain danger so they were ordered to go inside and lock themselves up until it's over." She explained. David grunted.

David turned left towards a house with a half broken roof. Its shingles were falling out, with wood sprawled around near the door. Brushing some of it away with his foot, he opened the door almost reluctantly. As they stepped inside, Helene noticed that the house was extra messy as if they didn't care what happened to it. The place smelled burnt. The living room was almost empty and was full of dust. Coughing, they stepped into the kitchen where an old lady sat, holding a sewing kit. She fumbled through it as if she was looking for something. Picking out a needle, she smiled victoriously and muttered, "Aha!"

David cleared his throat.

She looked up, squinting her eyes as if she couldn't see properly. "David? David! Ah, how nice of you to stop by and meet me. And who else-Lauren? Hello. And oh! A new visitor? Who are you?"

Helene waved. "Hi. I'm Helene."

The old lady dropped her sewing work on the broken table and waved back, grinning in her direction. "I'm Wrin, Lauren's grandmama. Tell her Lauren! Tell her!"

Lauren turned red, "Yes, um of course." 

Helene stared.

"Well? What do you need?" Wrin jumped up, the white lump on her head which looked like hair, moved sideways, dangling. "Some brownies? Cupcakes? Oooh! How about cookies?"

She realized where the burnt smell was coming from. "Er-how about a ride back home?" Even though she had no idea what she was doing here, Helene turned to Lauren and tried to catch her eye. The other girl kept her gaze locked on her grandmama.

Wrin's expression crumbled and she began to mumble quick incoherent words. Helene caught a few words and phrases. "Always..nothing else...ungrateful...my poor food..."

Helene gave Wrin a big smile, "And a cookie please."

Wrin looked up and her face shone. "Of course dear! Right, this way. You can also have some cupcakes and some brownies and oh! What about some lemon juice?"

The next few minutes, Wrin brought food onto the table, a secret smile on her content face. She hummed and danced as if she would live forever. Helene watched closely. It wasn't as if you met a psycho grandma every day.

Finally, Wrin handed them each a plate full of food. "Eat up! Gobble up! Don't leave a cruuumb!" She changed her voice to opera. Helene cringed.

Taking the plate from her hand, Helene picked up a burnt cookie. Swallowing, she put it into her mouth, trying her best not to throw up. Lauren, on the other hand, looked pissed, her ears red with anger.

"Grandma. This is enough." Grabbing Helene, she dragged her to the broken living room, "Helene is a guest. She comes from the top 10 and she needs to go back. So send her back."

Wrin watched through tears. "B-but of course!" David shook his head silently and took the plate from Helene's hands. Wrin held out her bony fingers, tears streaking down her face. "My poor, poor food."

Ignoring her, Helene took her hand as softly as she could. Lauren and David watched from a few steps away. Wrin gazed at Helene, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Uh...the camp outside would be fine." She muttered.

Wrin ignored her and smirked instead. "Try to keep up, cupcake." Then she began to cackle.

The world began to bend in different directions and there were suddenly 5 Wrin's and 5 Lauren's and 5 David's. Her eyes went crossed and she shut them, hoping to stop the nauseous feeling in her throat. Then everything went black.

With a loud thud, Helene landed on some wet grass, slick with mud. Wrin's cackling continued to ring in her ears as if she could hear her from miles away.

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