Not A Small-Town Girl

----

“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, how come 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 second later, the fork in the

road shattered with the sound of breaking glass.

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

eyes widened.

----

"The fork was gone, replaced 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 glass was there,"

Xavier said, shuddering. "Or we

would’ve fatten straight into that ~noveldrama

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 glass

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 glass. Who would

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

----

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

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

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

would’ve lost our balance and fallen," Danielle explained.

"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 place was full of traps, and one

wrong move could lead to disaster.

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

Howard asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Vivian and Xavier exchanged glances, 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 flashlight, 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 explanation 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 the law

once they made it out of there.

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

clear she hadn’t learned about the law. 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.