They scrambled on hands and knees through the doorway, one of the Livs making squeaking noises of distress until they were well through, until the other one took a machete to the last hand grasping for them and all three of them swung the door shut.

This likely saved them some headaches, as when Abby looked up above her head, she realized that they had come in just under a mass of briers and as they settled in, the briers closed behind them.

Abby swallowed nervously  -but there was a path opening in front of them.

And the floor, which might have been uncomfortable to crawl on if it had been an ordinary mall floor, was instead something soft and just a little bit squishy, like cork.

“Onward,” Abby decided.  “Come on, maybe we can find a rabbit.”

There was no “up” to choose, but after a little while, there were a couple left and right turns.  Abby took the left the first time but at the second one, one of the Livs made a noise of complaint.

“Tired,” she pointed out.  Abby had to agree with her. Continue reading →