After a quick breakfast we set out to leave.

Considering that me and Cam don't have any supplies we're packed up quickly. Om on the other hand. Well... They've been up in the tree house for what feels like an hour.

I sigh and slump against a tree. I rest my head back on it and look up at the green leaves with yellow shining through them.

I've been trying to avoid any more talk about panic attacks, and so far it's been successful. But I know Cam wants to ask about it. Everytime I glanced at him when we were eating he'd already been looking at me, watching me. He would open his mouth and start to say something but I'd turn away before he could ask. It's nice he cares, but it hurts that he only really started to care when I had one.

One thing keeps nagging at me though. He used the same technique that Mia had used to help me. Did she tell him about my panic attacks? Or did she just tell him about the technique? I want to ask him but I know if I do he'll ask questions. And I'm not ready for that.

"Hrgh."

I glance over at the tree house to see Om climbing down with a brown flapped bag on her back.

I push myself off the ground and make my way over to them. Cam notices from where he sits by the tents and gets up as well.

"Do you need help?" I ask when Om nears the bottom of the stick stairs.

They shake their head. "I'm good. This isn't my first time doing this."

I nod. "Right. Why do you move around so much?"

Om shrugs. "Keeps people guessing. For survival. That kind of stuff."

I nod and don't ask more. But the way they don't look at me and shrug it off like it was no big deal makes me think they're either lying or there's more to the story then they're telling.

"Now what?" Cam asks. He puts his hands in his pockets.

"I just need to ask Tace to get rid of our tents and house and then we can start making our way over to the next island. Right now our best shot is to get to the capital and see if anyone there knows anything."

"You guys have a capital?" Cam asks.

Om nods. "It's the busiest place on Tace and it's where our royal family lives."

Cams jaw drops. "You have royals?"

Om raises a brow. "Do you not?"

Cam rubs the back of his neck. "Well... yes but also no."

Om scrunches her face. "How so?"

"It's complicated," I answer, rubbing the back of my neck.

Om rolls her eyes and shrugs. "If you say so. But you say that about a lot of things."

I smile sheepishly. "That's just how our world seems to work nowadays."

Cam scoofs and rolls his eyes. "You can say that again."

Om nods. "I'm going to get Tace to get rid of the tents and house." Then they walk over to the tents and crouches between them. They place their hands on the grass and close their eyes. As they do this all of Tace seems to go silent. The leaves stop moving and rustling. The grass seems to freeze in place and the few critter noises that could be heard stop.

I look around and notice how still everything seems to be. I want to say something but something stops me. Almost like if I did speak it would break whatever spell has overcome this place.

I bring my gaze back to Om. The tents around them unweave from themselves. The blades of grass stand straight as if at attention before slithering and shrinking back to regular size. The walls that make up the tree house shrink and become branches and sticks again. They untwist themselves and go back to hanging instead of standing tall. The stick steps that stuck out of the tree melt back into the bark.

My mouth drops open.

Om stands up. "I'm good to go!"

"I don't think I'll ever get over how cool this place is," Cam remarks.

Om smiles, their eyes softening just a tad. "It is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Is it magic?" I ask. I can't help but think back to all the fantasy books I'd read as a child. In all of them there had been some sort of magic. Whether it was werewolves, or vampires, or witches, or even fairy godmothers, there was always magic. But nothing like this. There had never been any books that had a living floating island.

Om shrugs. "I'm not sure what you consider magic. This... this is just normal."

I hum.

"If you're ready we can start heading to the capital."

I look over at Cam. His eyes are wide. He shifts back and forth between his feet, an excited bounce in the shifts. I turn back to Om and nod. "Yeah. We are."

Om smirks. "Then you can follow me this way," they say as they duck between two low hanging branches and disappear into the shadows of the trees.

It doesn't take long for Cam to duck after them. He shoots me an excited grin and then falls into the shadows.

I take a deep breath. This could be the end. Following Om could lead us right to Peggy. I glance up at the sky. I hope she's okay. I hope she isn't any worse than what the video had shown of her. "I'm on my way, Peggy," I whisper to the sky, making a promise I don't plan to break. Then I duck into the trees and catch up with Om and Cam.

After making our way between trees and sticking underneath the cover of their leaves Om stops right before a break from the trees. They put up a hand and clench it into a fist.

"Why are we stopping?" Cam asks stopping before he can ram into them.

Om turns their head back towards us as I come to stand beside Cam. They put a hand to their face and hold up a singular finger in front of their lips. Keeping the finger there they whisper, "Bandits hideout there waiting to rob anyone who decides to cross that bridge." The arm that had been at their side rises to point at the bridge.

I look over at it and glup. It connects this island with the next. Over a very long distance. The bridge itself is made from rope and wood planks with spaces between them.

"That does not look safe," I whisper, my voice coming out harder than I meant for it too.

Om waves my concern away. "It's safe. I've crossed it many times."

"And how many times have you been robbed?" Cam asks. His gaze darts around the spot we stand at.

Om shrugs. "Not that often. I'm able to fight them."

I grit my teeth together and stare at Cam. He keeps glancing around and bouncing from one foot to the other. I know that he can't fight. He doesn't know how. And even if Om says they can fight, I'm not sure how much I'm wanting to put our lives in their hands. "What if we," I gesture between me and Om, "went over together to make sure it's safe?"

"And leave me here alone?" Cam asks, his eyes widen to the size of saucers.

I sigh. "You'll be fine. It's not like they're over here waiting to attack."

Om shakes their head. "No. He has a point. You two shouldn't separate."

"And you should?" I ask. My eyebrows raise as my hands settle on my hips.

"I know this place a lot better than you two. Plus, Tace is with me, so I won't be alone." As they say this a piece of grass slithers up from the ground and bops.

I sigh. As much as I don't want to be left behind I don't need another friend to be kidnapped or hurt. "Fine. But wave us over the minute it looks safe."

Om smiles. "Of course. I'll be quick." Then they turn and run off towards the bridge.

As they reach the bridge and start to cross it they get smaller and smaller.

I wrap my hands around each other and start to pace back and forth between the little space there is between two trees. Cam's eyes follow my path like he's watching a ping-pong game.

I can't sit still. If I do then my thoughts will drown me. My stomach is tied in knots and there's something sitting in the bottom of it that tells me to keep my guard up. I know it must be because of the bandits that await us but... something tells me it's not that simple. That something not good awaits us.

I turn my head and glance over at the other island. There's still no sign of Om. Or anyone. It must be fine to cross now, right? I wish they had taken me with them. What if the bandits overpowered them? Or they got hurt? We won't be able to know at all. We would just sit here and wait not knowing anything.

At some point my lip made its way between my teeth that now naw on it. I shake my head and take a deep breath. Everything is fine. They've only been gone a few minutes. There's no reason to worry yet.

Cam sits on a rock. His elbows sit on his knees and his head rests in his hands. His eyes stare straight ahead at the bridge. As I watch him I almost think he's having a staring contest with it. "Are you going to blink?" I joke.

His eyes slowly close before opening and revealing that they've settled on me. "Hm?"

I wave towards the bridge. "It looked like you and the bridge were having a staring contest."

He chuckles as he focuses back on it. "No. Just... thinking."

"About?" I go and sit on the grass beside him. I look up and watch as he seems to war with himself. His eyes flick back and forth.

After a long moment he speaks in a quiet voice. "My family."

"Oh." I snap my gaze away from him. The green grass fills my vision in his place.

I hadn't even thought about my mom, and here Cam is thinking about his family.

"Do you think they're worried?" he whispers.

I glance back at him. He's staring at me and his irises dart back and forth like he's looking for an answer from my face.

I sigh and glance away. My hands find the grass and I start to twine the soft blade between my fingers. "I... I don't know. They must be. Your parents would never not worry about you."

Cam chuckles. "That's true."

"Remember that time they took us to the park and wouldn't let you go down the slide because they feared the slide would break off and crush you?"

Another chuckle. "It was such a far-fetched fear."

"But it showed that they care about you."

"True."

Silence fills the space between us.

"What about your mom?" Cam asks.

The question surprises me so much that I suck in too much air too fast and almost choke. A coughing fit rocks my body. Cam pats my back as the last few coughs leave me. Through heavy breath I turn even further away from him. "I doubt she would even notice."

There's the sound of shuffling behind me, then a hand on my shoulder. I look over it to see Cam with soft eyes looking down on me. "I'm sure she'll notice."

I scoff. "You don't know her anymore."

Cam frowns. "How could she have changed so much in such a little time?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I just know that she did."

Cam opens his mouth but I turn and stand up before he can. My movement knocks him down and he falls backwards with a soft humph. I walk back over to the edge of the cover and look across to see a tiny figure jumping and waving. I shrug off the conversation we just had and start to make my way towards the bridge. "Looks like it's safe to cross," I say.