Almost everyone in the log wore some kind of rope. People scratched at the horrible clothing, obviously more than uncomfortable.
Jenna must have noticed me staring because she nodded at the ropes she carried. "Leaves will shrivel and die. Since we can't get more of them from in this stupid log, we use the ropes that are thrown in with us to make clothes," she explained.
Finally, we reached the end of the log, and Jenna showed me where I would sleep. Turned out they didn't have any blankets either, so you just slept on a cold, hard log floor. I bit my lip. How comfy.
Jenna's name was called from somewhere else in the log. She excused herself and hurried off, leaving me standing there. But my stubbornness kept me from doing nothing. For hours, I ran my hands over the walls of the log, trying desperately to find a weak spot that I could break and climb through.
I kept searching until I accidentally bumped into someone in the thick darkness. It was a boy. One of Jenna's age, sitting Indian-style in one of the far corners, his back turned to the rest of the world.
I squinted through the darkness, attempting to get a better look at him, but he only scooted away. I glanced back at the wall. It could wait. Besides, my arms were exhausted. I sat next to the boy, imitating his posture.
"Leave me be," he muttered and turned away. Just hearing his voice gave me that feeling.
"EarthWorms!" I gasped just above a whisper. "You're not a Minniemon, are you?!"
He jerked his head up, eyes wide, and held a finger over his lips. "How do you know? Did Jenna tell you?" he whispered, a ray of anger in his voice.
I shook my head, then explained everything. Just as I'd done with Chrissy, I walked him through every detail of me and Nathen's situation and story. He listened intently, never taking his eyes off me. When I'd finished, he just stared at the wall, seemingly deep in thought.
"You're close," he mumbled after a minute. "You won't need to go any farther than the next village upriver. That is, if we can ever get out of here." He punched the side of the log for emphasis.
"How long has the man had you trapped for?" I asked, noticing the ropes that covered his skin uglily.
He sighed. "Four years."
I gasped in shock. How could anyone live in a place like this for four years?!
"Jenna and I were running around causing trouble when we both got caught up in a trap. Before we could change form, he’d grabbed us." He choked up a little. "We've been here ever since."
Jenna must have noticed us sitting together because she ran right over to the back corner. She blew her curly hair out of her face between gasps for breath. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked, sitting down next to her Link. He glanced up at her, shook his head, then went back to staring at the wall. "Well." She looked over at me. "I see you've met Alex."
"Oh, we've more than met." I told her everything, stopping now and then for breath. Just as I'd finished, somebody from within the log shouted, ordering everyone to head to the back.
Suddenly, all the hundreds pushed toward the end of the log. I jumped up, trying not to get trampled under the crowds of Minniemons. There was yelling and some punching as they struggled to get as far away from the door as possible.
Chapter 11
Escaping the Unescapable
THE HATCH OPENED, AND the Upperlander man stuck his hand through. He snaked it through the tight log, grabbed three Minniemons, and pulled them out. Everyone screamed in horror as this took place, but they relaxed as he pulled out his hand.
Alex and Jenna just stood and stared, not a hint of surprise or grief on their faces. "Does the same thing every day," Jenna stated. "He grabs a handful to take out into the fields, then he leaves us . . . food." Just as she said this, he opened the door again and threw in glop, a yellowish-gray goop with some clumps of who-knows-what here and there. Just seeing it made me gag.
As soon as the hatch closed, everybody hurried to the front, leaving me alone in the dark. I let out a small sigh as I curled up in the corner. Nathen would be here any minute now, and then we'd all be out.
A day passed. Then two. Somehow the log was getting darker, and the rolls of thunder were lasting longer. The storm must have been right over us. Eventually, I got so hungry that I had to eat that glop. It tasted just as bad as it looked, and I don't know how these people lived off the stuff.
More time passed, and my hope went with it. My tribe would die. I would die. Everybody in the log would die. And I had no doubt that Nathen had given up on me. He was probably heading back to his village. So who would save us? No one.
Another tremble brought me out of my thoughts, and for a split-second, I heard my name called. I listened harder, straining my ears to their max, but nothing came. The only noises were the storm's thunder and all the chatter in the log. I scoffed and scolded myself for getting my hopes up.
Three more days dragged by. I became close friends with Jenna and Alex. We would talk for hours, but aside from that, I had nothing to do. So I'd sit in the back and listen to others’ conversations. Most of the time, people told stories from before they were thrown in here. Sometimes there would be someone who talked about what they would do if they got out, but it was a very large "if." One that few people believed would happen.
It was the morning of day eleven. I was listening in on one of elderly ladies' conversations when I was positive I heard something.
Footsteps sounded through the halls of the cabin, getting louder and louder. On hearing this, everybody rushed to the back of the log, including me.
"Lindsay!" Nathen's voice called just above a whisper. I stood in disbelief, ignoring all the people crowding around me. But when he called again, I didn't hesitate. As quickly as I could, I ran to the door, pushing through the hundreds. I started banging with all my might on the hatch and screaming as loudly as I could. I could feel the stares of a couple other Minniemons, but I didn't care. How could I?
"Nate!" I screamed, still banging at the door. But my attempts were futile. No Upperlander could hear a Minniemon in her normal form. After a minute, his footsteps grew quieter, causing the hope I had to vanish and be replaced with tears. I fell to the floor in defeat.
I'm in the log . . . I would have said if the knot in my throat wasn’t so big. Instantly, the steps grew louder again. I was too busy sobbing to notice, though.
The door opened up, blinding me from the sudden burst of light. Warm hands covered me and brought me out of the log. A grin spread across my face. I didn't need to look to know it was Nathen. I could tell just from the way he held me.
As soon as my eyes adjusted, I grabbed his nearest finger, squeezing it in a hug. He half-smiled in response but quickly dropped it when more footsteps sounded in the halls.
He put me down by the corner and I laid my hand on his. That all-too-familiar white light flashed. Nathen groaned and clutched his stomach but didn't hesitate to take action. Just as we had done in his tent, we pushed ourselves against the wall. That chubby giant skipped into the room again, ready to follow his daily routine of taking a handful of Minniemons and feeding the rest.
The door to the log was still open, causing a frown on the man's face. He slammed it shut and scanned the room, then scoffed as he laid eyes on us. "Tried to get away, did you? Well, now you'll be the ones going to the fields!" He reached down to us with his grubby hands.