Chapter 5 OUT OF THE DEAD ZONE
CHAPTER 5: OUT OF THE DEAD ZONE
IRIS’S POV
Lyra looks almost unbelievably relieved the moment I agree to leave.
Her entire face brightens with visible relief, like a heavy weight has suddenly lifted off her shoulders. Without hesitation, she grabs my hand tightly, her fingers wrapping around mine as if she is afraid I might disappear again if she lets go.
“Come on,” she says breathlessly. “Let’s get out of here before something else weird happens.”
Before I can respond, she pulls me forward.
We both begin sprinting through the forest.
Branches whip past us as we move quickly between the thick trunks of trees. The ground beneath our feet is uneven and damp, covered with layers of fallen leaves and broken twigs that crack loudly with every step we take.
Lyra jumps over a large fallen log, dragging me with her. I nearly stumble but manage to keep up as we push through thick bushes that claw at our clothes.
My lungs burn from the sudden exertion, but adrenaline keeps my legs moving.
We weave through the dense undergrowth, ducking beneath low branches and stepping over tangled roots.
After several frantic minutes of running, Lyra suddenly slows.
Then she stops completely.
Her grip on my hand tightens.
I notice the way her shoulders stiffen as she slowly turns her head, looking left.
Then right.
Her breathing grows uneven.
“Oh my God,” she whispers.
My stomach drops.
“What?” I ask immediately, frowning.
Lyra’s eyes widen as she scans the forest around us again, panic flickering across her face.
“I think I lost the trail.”
My frown deepens.
“What the hell do you mean you lost the trail?” I ask, my voice rising slightly.
But before she answers, I notice something strange.
Lyra wraps her arms around herself, rubbing her shoulders as if she’s suddenly cold.
The temperature in the forest hasn’t changed, but she looks like she’s shivering.
“No,” she says suddenly, her voice louder now, almost desperate.
“I stumbled in after you went through and tried to follow your path,” she continues quickly. “But then it was like you suddenly vanished.”
Her eyes meet mine.
“I freaking searched for you everywhere.”
She gestures wildly toward the forest around us.
“Through every possible space I thought you would be. I looked behind every tree, every clearing, every path. Goodness, Iris, it was like you disappeared.”
Her voice trembles.
“You were nowhere to be found. Nowhere.”
The guilt settles in my chest like a heavy stone.
“I couldn’t just leave,” she says, shaking her head. “I was terrified, okay? I didn’t know where you were.”
Her voice cracks slightly.
“And I couldn’t just go back and tell your parents that you disappeared into God knows where.”
Her hands drop from her arms as she gestures helplessly.
“I had to find you.”
She swallows hard.
“I couldn’t find you. I’ve been searching for so long.”
Her eyes soften slightly as she looks at me.
“And then you suddenly appeared again. Out of nowhere.”
Her fingers tighten around mine again.
“I had to grab you,” she says quietly.
“I wasn’t letting you vanish again.”
I stare at her for a moment, guilt twisting deeper inside me.
If what she’s saying is true…
Then we might actually be lost.
I take a slow breath, forcing myself to think clearly.
The last thing Lyra needs right now is for me to panic too.
“I’m so sorry,” I say softly.
“This is all my fault.”
I gently squeeze her hand and pull her closer, wrapping my arms around her shoulders in a quick, reassuring hug.
“We’ll figure this out,” I murmur. “Okay? Just relax.”
I pull back slightly and study her face.
“Are you feeling cold?”
She shrugs uncertainly.
“I don’t know,” she admits. “Maybe a little.”
My gaze drifts away from her as I slowly turn my head.
Something tugs at my instincts.
A strange, quiet feeling deep in my chest.
My eyes settle on a narrow path between two clusters of dark trees.
I don’t know why.
But something about that direction feels… right.
I point toward it.
“Let’s head over there.”
Lyra looks at me like I’ve suddenly grown horns.
“Are you sure that’s the right path?” she asks cautiously.
Her gaze travels toward the area I’m pointing at.
“It doesn’t look very promising.”
She gestures toward the thick thorns covering the ground in that direction.
“There are a lot of thorns over there.”
I blink quickly.
“Yeah,” I say.
“I’m definitely sure.”
The words leave my mouth before I can fully explain them.
“That was the place where my necklace… my pendant…”
I stop abruptly.
Lyra raises an eyebrow.
“For what?” she asks suspiciously.
I freeze.
How exactly do I explain that I crawled into the branches to grab my necklace and somehow ended up in what looked like an entirely different world?
A world with wolves.
And witches.
And war.
Without sounding completely insane again?
I grind my teeth slightly and take a breath.
“My locket got stuck there earlier,” I say carefully.
“When I tried to grab it before, I kind of stumbled in and got lost.”
I shrug awkwardly.
“So I think that should be the right path.”
Lyra studies me for a moment.
Her eyes narrow slightly, like she’s trying to decide if she believes me.
Finally, she sighs.
“Okay,” she says slowly.
“Let’s take it.”
We walk toward the direction I pointed at.
The bushes grow thicker as we move deeper into that part of the forest.
The ground becomes harder to navigate, tangled with roots and thick plants that scrape against our legs.
Eventually we reach the thorns.
They stretch across the path like a living wall—twisted branches covered in sharp points that glint faintly in the fading sunlight.
Lyra and I both stop.
“Well,” she mutters.
“That’s convenient.”
We stare at the obstacle for a moment, silently trying to figure out how to get past it without turning ourselves into human pincushions.
I glance around the forest.
My eyes land on a large fallen log nearby.
“Wait here,” I say.
Lyra nods quickly.
I walk over to the log and bend down, gripping it with both hands.
It’s heavier than it looks.
But with a small grunt, I manage to lift it.
Slowly, carefully, I drag it over to the thorn wall and place it across the top like a makeshift bridge.
“There,” I say.
“That should work.”
I glance at Lyra.
“It’ll be easier if we just walk across it.”
I tilt my head.
“Can you climb?”
Lyra nods immediately.
“Yes,” she says quickly.
She clearly wants to get out of this forest as soon as possible.
Without hesitation, she grabs the edge of the log and climbs up.
She balances carefully before stepping across the length of the wood, moving briskly toward the other side.
Overhead leaves brush against her shoulders as she passes through them.
A moment later, her voice calls from the other side.
“You’re right, Iris!” she shouts.
“We’re back out!”
Relief floods through her tone.
“Climb quickly and come out!”
I nod.
“I’m coming after you,” I reply.
“I’ll be out in a while.”
I place my hands on the log and pull myself up.
But the moment I stand on top of it—
I stop.
Slowly, I turn my head.
The forest behind me stretches deep and silent.
The Dead Zone.
My eyelids flutter as I bite down gently on my bottom lip.
What the hell did I just witness?
The memory flickers through my mind again.
The war.
The cloaked figures.
The wolf.
And him.
I inhale slowly.
Then exhale.
Calm down.
I shake my head slightly.
Forget about it, Iris.
Maybe the Dead Zone was just playing tricks on your mind.
Maybe it brought your dreams to life.
Or maybe you collapsed somewhere and just had the strangest dream imaginable.
I close my eyes briefly.
Goodness.
I really need to stop watching so many fantasy movies.
I let out a quiet sigh and continue walking along the log until I reach the other side.
Lyra stands there waiting, hugging herself again as she glances nervously around the open space.
The moment she sees me step down onto the grass, she exhales.
“What took you so long?” she asks impatiently.
I smile reassuringly.
“Relax,” I say.
“I was just checking something.”
I jump down from the log and land lightly on the grass just outside the entrance of the Dead Zone.
Then I turn and look back a
t the forest.
The dark trees stand silently behind us.
Still.
Unmoving.
Like nothing strange ever happened inside them.
“See?” I say with a small smile.
“We’re finally free.”
I turn toward Lyra.
She’s staring at me again.
Her eyes narrow slightly.
Like she suspects something.
“What?” I ask.
She scoffs and shakes her head.
