Ali stroked Hybrid’s neck.
“Lead the way, boy,” she instructed. Hybrid reared, pummelling the air with his socked forelegs, and whinnied. Our horses whickered in reply and they took off with us clinging to their backs. We rode through an icy tundra where the freezing wind snatched at our hair, trying to unseat us. We charged across the shifting sands of a blisteringly hot desert, crouched low to our horses. We wove at lightning speed between the close-growing trees of a pine forest, eyes half-closed and heads bent to avoid low branches.
Finally we skidded to a stop, facing two towering mountains that obscured the sky. Slowly, we slid off of our horses.
“Is this the place?” wondered Ali. Hybrid whickered and nudged her with his head. She turned, eyes shining, and then froze.
“Oh, no,” she gasped. There was a sudden explosion. Three creepers had appeared behind Natalie. She was hurled into the air and crashed, hard into a rock.
“Nat!” yelped Sami, and scrambled over. I darted across and crouched next to Natalie, carefully lifting her shoulders. Her head lolled limply from side to side, and she felt like a sack of potatoes, heavy, limp, and lifeless.
“Natalie! Natalie, wake up! Nat!” hissed Sami. I gave her a little shake.
“C’mon, Natalie… wake up…” She didn’t move.
“I… I don’t think she’s breathing…” I murmured, feeling my eyes prickling. I shifted slightly, Natalie’s limp shoulders still resting across my lap, and looked up. Four pale and shocked faces stared back.
“She’s not… she can’t be…” whispered Cass, tears welling in her eyes.
“Natalie? Nat, c’mon… wake up,” I murmured, shaking her again.
“I think… she’s… dead,” My voice trembled and broke on the last word, and tears, swift and silent, started to flow down my face. I looked up as the other’s settled around Natalie’s limp form, and a stray tear dripped onto Natalie’s cheek. I wrapped a comforting arm around Sami’s shoulders, and we hunched together, sharing a grief beyond words.