----


    “Don’t 9 an eke onthe Xavier replied,


    keeping an on their parents. "I’ve


    got thermsovered. We won’t get ￠


    separated But there are a few paths


    up ahead. Which one do we take?"


    He I8oked at the fork in the toad,


    upgerainty on his face.


    ----


    “Danielle wasn’t sure where the paths led or what they


    would run into next, but it felt like these forks in the road


    were there to mess with them.


    “Stay here. I’ll check it out," she said, taking a step forward,


    then quickly pulling back.


    “What’s up, Danielle?" Howard asked,


    noticing the Serious look on her


    face. He knew when she was Ps


    focused,and that usually meant ws


    trouble, They had already run iato


    danger at every turn since they got


    indike they were moving through


    checkpoints.


    ----


    “Checkpoints? Maybe that’s exactly what this is. Trying to


    keep us out?’ Howard thought but didn’t say anything.


    “Something’s off ahead," Danielle said, eyeing the fork. “It


    looks like a split in the road, but when I look closer, it’s like


    a mirror." She pulled out her gun, aiming to fire a couple of


    shots to test it out.


    “No way. If it’s a mirror, howe we don’t see ourselves


    in it?" Xavier asked, his face full of doubt. But no matter


    what, he trusted his sister. If Danielle said something, that


    was good enough for him.


    “The gunshot rang out, and a secondter, the fork in the


    road shattered with the sound of breaking ss.


    “Danielle rushed to where the ss had shattered, and her


    eyes widened.


    ----


    "The fork was gone, reced by a huge pit, at least ten


    feet wide and several feet deep. There was no way to


    cross it. They would be stuck unless they could fly.


    “The rest of them quickly ran up to her. Vivian went pale.


    “How is this even possible?"


    “Good thing the ss was there,"


    Xavier said, shuddering. "Or we


    would’ve fatten straight into that ~


    thing. It’s@so deep, and there are ws


    rocks the bottom. We wouldwe


    beemdead He grimaced at thre


    YU


    thauight of their bodies being never


    f6und.


    ----


    “Howard’s voice was cold and firm. "Do you think that ss


    with the illusion was there just to stop us from falling? If


    Danielle hadn’t been sharp, we would’ve never noticed and


    walked right into it."


    “We would’ve noticed when we hit the ss. Who would


    just walk into it?" Xavier said, his voice full of disbelief.


    ----


    “Yeah, Dad is right. This ss is different from what we’re


    used to. Super thin and breaks easily. If we hadn’t seen it


    and identally touched it, it would’ve shattered, and we


    would’ve lost our bnce and fallen," Danielle exined.


    "She couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy too. If she hadn’t


    trusted her instincts and stopped when she did, there was


    no doubt she would be dead right now.


    “They all stayed alert. This ce was full of traps, and one


    wrong move could lead to disaster.


    “Danielle, how did you even know the ss was there?”


    Howard asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.


    “Vivian and Xavier exchanged nces, both impressed by


    how sharp she was. They were both proud of Danielle as a


    daughter and sister.


    ----


    “The cave’s been dark this whole time, but this spot had


    some light. I didn’t need a shlight, but something felt off,


    so I fired a shot to check. Ended up wasting three bullets,”


    she said, shrugging.


    "She had gone ahead and used three bullets, no hesitation.


    Danielle made a mental note to bring more next time.


    “But instead of focusing on that, they all wondered where


    Danielle had gotten the gun and how she was so good with


    it.


    “They couldn’t help but think, maybe she had a past they


    didn’t know about.


    “They all came up with different possibilities in their heads,


    with the final one being that she was some kind of killer.


    That was the only exnation why she could handle a gun


    ‘so well.


    ----


    “It was illegal to buy guns in Aleria, so they figured it might


    be time to have a little chat with Danielle about thew


    once they made it out of there.


    “Their sweet girl had some serious secrets, and it was


    clear she hadn’t learned about thew. She must have


    picked up these skills from somewhere. The guilt hit them


    both hard.


    “It was their fault for not protecting Danielle, and now she


    had ended up in a dangerous situation. They promised to


    send her money as soon as they got a signal. They


    couldn’t let her live a life of danger anymore.