I wasn't sure where I was heading, but I always kept the wall surrounding the city to my right for reference. We trudged on the cobbled pathway, hoping to find the gate before we melted under the blazing, humid golden ring in the sky.
The hill towered over the city, and the palace appeared even more regal and breathtaking in real life. The tip of the golden statue on the palace gleamed such a brilliant force of light that it seemed to blind all the shadows in this world.
At every turn, there were people with rotting legs, missing eyes, and limbs thinner than a ribbon. I found myself thinking about the dead patients under the white diaphanous blankets. My lips trembled and my hands shook. Seeing these people made me wonder how a city so extravagant couldn't take care of its most vulnerable citizens.
"What do we even do when we get to the gate, because I am totally expecting it to be unlocked." Alvinne pointed out, sarcastic as usual. "Not to mention the soldiers would gladly jab a hole through the stomachs of trespassers as a welcoming ritual."
I frowned, recalling the dream, and remembered nothing that resembled details on 10 Ways to Break into a City Without Getting Caught. "I don't know, I guess we'll just have to see when we get there."
Someone poked my shoulder. "You mean here?"
Turning around, I found Maybel pointing at a bronze rusty door so similar in color to the stone wall that it seemed to fade into it.
"That's it! That's the entrance into the city." As I looked at the gate, it seemed as though it was older than the moon itself. The way the mossy-green ivy curled itself around the steel metal, the odor of a corroded tire. My eyes went to the lock dangling in the sultry breeze, occasionally banging against the copper bars of the gate. Something was off. The guards were gone and the hinged gate stood open enough for us all to sneak through.
"Um, are you sure this is it? I was expecting a bit more blood spewing with the soldiers and blasting the gate open." Alvinne folded her arms in front of her chest protectively.
Shrugging, I headed towards the doorway. "I guess we got lucky."
"Or not." She murmured so low I barely caught it.
Stretching my hand out, I touched the rose blossoms covering the gate. The tip of thorn pricked my fingertips, the familiar scent of flowers tingled my nostrils. I was about to push open the gate when Alvinne grabbed at my wrist, stopping me in my tracks.
She stared. " I hope you are thinking clearly right now, this might be a trap."
"Do you think it's a ruse from the killer back at the hospital?" Maybel piped in.
Alvinne nodded slowly, considering it. "It's not impossible."
I could see Maybel shudder, and responded. "You know that you guys don't have to come, right? I know it's going to be dangerous, but I have to find out about the necklace. And about my family."
That word lingered on my tongue, the unfamiliarity of saying it made it all the more forceful for me to pronounce. Images of the woman beaten up on the floor by the man flashed through my head. It was terrifying to even think there was a possibility that the woman in my dreams was possibly my mother. It was a dream, I kept telling myself that. However, what if there was a chance it was real just like the city?
I saw Alvinne look across her shoulder and lock her eyes with Maybel's. They both turned to face me.
"I don't think you understand. The second we escaped the hospital with you, we were involved in whatever you were doing, right?" Alvinne said.
Maybel's short blonde hair swayed as she bobbed her head up and down. "Yeah. And plus, I don't have anywhere to go otherwise." She whispered the last part of her sentence.
I laughed, for some reason I had been holding my breath. They would stay, I needed to hear that.