Chapter 235: A Game of Rescue

Chapter 235: A Game of Rescue

They had thought of a way to work off their newfound energy, but not everything was going to plan. There weredisagreements.

Anna narrowed her eyes. Ian stared back, eyes just as narrow. The other kids leaned back, shying away as if a Core were making monsters burst out of the ground between them. She narrowed them again, vision becoming little more than tiny slits.

You always get to be the Little Guardian. What if somebody else wanted to play the Little Guardian this time? Ian said.

Anna grumbled. She always tried to be the Little Guardian because the Little Guardian was the coolest. Everyone tried to be the Little Guardian when they played Rescue, even though it was the easiest - and, if she was being honest, technically least exciting - role in the game. It was just too strong. All the Little Guardian had to do was touch a Monster, and theyd be frozen for a whole fifteen seconds. That was, like, almost a minute. Strong.

Which was why playing the Little Guardian was so cool. Some of the others thought that being a Monster was fun, too, trying to chase down all of the Lost Children before the Little Guardian could save them and bring them Home, where they could be left alone and safe from the Monster.

Anna didnt. Monsters were bad, and she didnt like being bad.

But still, even being one of the Lost Children could be exciting. Both Monsters and Lost Children had to do a lot of running and/or hiding, though, and most of the bigger kids were faster than Anna. When she was the Little Guardian, she could go as slow as she pleased - as long as she went fast enough to touch any of the Monsters that tried to tag any Lost Children she was guiding Home.

Fine. Ill be one of the Lost Children, then, Anna grumbled one last time. She had been the Little Guardian the last few times they played, so she couldnt really argue. Even if she wanted to.

She perked up. Maybe being a Lost Child would be more fun this time; with so much cool forest around to explore, it would be an adventure and a game all wrapped up in one. Anna was sure that she could find a great place to hide, too. Because she would need to hide as one of the Lost Children. Whoever was chosen as the Monster would be able to freely chase the Lost Children while the Little Guardian closed their eyes and counted, and if Anna was caught

Anna gulped.

Shed have to join the Monsters side and chase down the other Lost Children. Anna hated being one of the Monsters. So her eyes raced back and forth, already looking for a path through the underbrush while the others clamored over who would play what role. Not that there were that many to choose from. In Rescue, there were only three - one Monster, one Little Guardian, and eight Lost Children. Sometimes there were more or less Lost Children, but there were never more than one Monster or Little Guardian.

This time, though, the numbers were just right.

Anna nodded, satisfied with her logic, and then continued onwards in her march. She might have pushed herself out of the game of Rescue for the moment by getting lost, but the Great Expedition was still on! Surely someone would find her eventually; even if she was lost, she wasnt that lost.

The city was just right overwell, over somewhere. Anna shrugged, and kept going.

Anna padded along, even when the diminishing moss stopped trying to give her toes little hugs. Instead, stone and pebbles started to munch on her skin, leaving little nicks that faded away almost before Anna noticed them. Still, she did notice them.

They itched something awful. Anna hated when she got the itches. Still, she persevshe kept going. For all she knew, the Little Guardian was just around the corner!

Except he wasnt. Soon enough, the forest had given way entirely; the cavern opened up into an expanse of blackness ahead of her, and Anna felt her shoulders shudder before she straightened them up again.

She was definitely lost.

For a moment, she thought about turning around again and looking for the others - except that Miss Triss always said that, when you get lost, its best to sit your butt down and stay put so that you can be found. Plus, wasnt being lost the best way to find the Little Guardian? Thats what the stories said, and Anna had lived through some of the stories before, when the Little Guardian hissed her monsters away.

So Anna did just that, gathering a small section of the ragged bits of moss that remained nearby and forming a tiny little cushion. And then she sat.

And waited.

And waited.

And then, just when she was getting a little impatient, something appeared.

But it wasnt the Little Guardian.