Chapter 6

     “So…so, let me try to put this together,” Drew said, stumbling on his words as he was rushing along the uneven ground of the woods, “we’re out on a journey for a safe place so that some people don’t come and jack the ‘translator’ thingie?”
     “Yeah, yeah,” Strufis muttered, distracted and perturbed. “Let’s just keep a move on, we don’t have time to talk right now.”
     Drew sighed. “Geez, this is so…” He threw his hands in the air. “…perfect!”
     “Perfect?” Strufis stopped and turned indignantly to Drew. “You call this perfect? When we’re running from who-knows-what in the middle of nowhere?”
     Drew sighed. “Well, all we have to do is set off for the Prancing Pony in Bree, and keep away from the Ringwraiths while we’re at it,” he remarked sardonically. “And we’ll have Middle-Earth back to normal in a jiffy.”
     Strufis turned and began marching again. “I’m not in the mood for Lord of the Rings references right now.”
     “How do you know Lord of the Rings, anyway?” Anastasia asked. “The Professor also…and didn’t you mention The Wizard of Oz earlier, too? Those things come from our dimension, so how could you know about them?”
     “They’re in our dimension too, apparently,” Strufis replied. “Just because these are different dimensions it doesn’t mean they don’t have things in common.”
     He sighed, pondering. “I’m wondering…how could someone have broken into the Professor’s lab? It’s state-of-the-art, and the government itself installed major security measures, so I don’t know who in the world would be able to…”
     Suddenly he stopped. “Everyone, be quiet.”
     There was silence as he scanned the foliage around them.
     “Strufis, what’s going on-”
     “Shh.” He turned around and glanced around. “I swore I heard something. Someone’s tailing us.”
     “It couldn’t be those guys already…?”
     They glanced around for several more moments. The forest was eerily silent.
     “Okay,” Strufis whispered, “they sound like they’re gone. Let’s hurry up and go on, before something-”
     Swish-THUD! An arrow flew right over his head and impaled itself on the tree behind him, still vibrating from the impact.
     “Holy crap!” Heather screamed, pointing at the arrow.
     Strufis gasped. “RUN!”
     “Don’t need you to tell me,” Drew retorted, breaking into a gallop.
     “This way!” Strufis gestured ahead.
     They tore through the woods, almost tripping over the rocks and bumpy terrain.
     “Wha-!” Suddenly Anastasia stumbled and fell.
     “Whoa, Anastasia!” Drew, who was on a hill above her, exclaimed as he skidded to a halt.
     Phillip, who was nearer, ran over and pulled her up. “You all right?”
      “I’m fine, don’t worry about me! C’mon, let’s not be made into shishkabob!”
     Phillip waved at Drew, who nodded and they continued running. Up ahead, they noticed Strufis and Heather, a faster runner, come to a stop just outside of the trees, where there seemed to be a clearing.