Cursed - part 4

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog :) This is part four of a little story I'm writing. For anyone who is new here, I would recommend you start at part one and work your way through. Happy reading!

My eyes are drooping in exhaustion, but we don't dare slow yet. When Harrod wakes up and discovers Josh is missing, he'll send people looking at once. We need to be far away from here when that happens.
"Lara?"
I shake myself, realising that my eyes had closed. "You ok?" I ask, glancing over at Jane.
"We'll need to stop sometime," she points out. It is hard to hear over the galloping of the horses and I lean closer to her.
"I know. There's a place where Josh and I used to go - it's far away, but well hidden. We can rest there."
Jane looks like she wants to ask what place, but she is too out of breath. I glance back to see Josh bouncing along on his horse behind mine. He can't balance properly, tied as he is, but the ropes Jane and I wound around him hold him on the saddle, if not comfortably.
Dawn is just lighting the sky. We had better be under cover by the time the sun is up, or we'll be visible to anyone who cares to look. I peer around, trying to remember the place. Josh and I haven't been there in years - it's too far away to make an easy day trip. The forest is on our left, but we ride alone the flat ridge, sacrificing the increased visibility for increased speed.
As we ride, I see the correct signs. The forest of Grelan looms bigger and bigger in my vision. Nearer to home, the trees are normal sized. Now, they seem to touch the sky - we can't even see the top branches. One tree looks as wide around as a house. Most people won't come near this place - they say it's unnatural. Unnatural it may be, but Josh and I never agreed that unnatural is dangerous. We explored thoroughly in our youth, and it is serving us well now.
I slow as we reach the place and Jane follows suit. "Are you sure about this?" she asks in a hushed voice as I lead us into the trees.
"We need a place to hide," I point out.
She looks around and shivers. I hear a muffled noise behind us and see that Josh is trying to say something through his gag. I let his horse catch up with mine, pulling in the lead as it comes. No one will hear yelling him now. I gently remove the gag and brace myself.
"Let me go, Lara," he says at once. "I'll just hurt you as the curse progresses."
"Not a chance," I say, rolling my eyes. "Did you really think I'd just sit by and watch you die?"
"I could kill you!" he says angrily.
"Not if I break the curse."
His eyes almost bug out of his head. "There is no way to break the curse! You know that - everyone knows that."
I gesture around at the forest of Grelan. "Do you remember the stories we heard about this place? They say that this is where the world began. Your parents told you the legends, too. They say the creators made the world and humans with it. They became angry when the humans betrayed them, though, wanting more power. That's why no one comes here."
"I know that," Josh says. "That doesn't have anything to do with this."
"What if it does, though?" I ask. "What if they cursed us? It makes sense. We don't know where the curse came from. It might have been the creators. If they cast it, they can undo it. We just need to find them."
"All of that is speculation," Josh says. "This isn't a game, you could die here. You've had this theory, what, a couple of hours? I know you would have told me if you'd thought of it sooner. You're so desperate to save me that you've been thinking up wild solutions the whole time we've been riding, haven't you?"
"Sometimes in times of great need, people see with more clarity than ever before."
"I don't care!" Josh yells, angry now. "This is your life we're talking about, Lara!"
"Yes, it is my life!" I shout, suddenly equally angry. "Did you ever consider what would happen to me if you died, Josh? Did you? I'm doing this to save my own life as much as yours! Remember before you found me? It was a miracle I lived that long."
He opens his mouth angrily to reply, but Jane, who has until now remained silent, breaks in. "She's right, Josh. I've been her best friend for our whole lives, but even I couldn't get through to her. We thought she was going crazy, retreating into some distant world of her own, but you pulled her back. I watched my best friend come alive again because of you, and I'm not going to watch her go back there."
Josh takes a deep breath, marshalling his next argument.
"I don't want to hear it," I snap. "We're saving you and that's all there is to it."
Of course, he keeps trying to dissuade me, but I shut his voice out, looking carefully. "There it is," I murmur after a while. The sun has risen now, but we still have some time. People will be reluctant to come here - they'll only do it when there's no other choice. Josh and I never told anyone else about our secret place. We'll be safe - from others, at least.
"It's here," I say to Jane. "We'll have to set the horses loose - take all your stuff."
I approach Josh warily, worried he'll somehow escape when I untie him. Instead, I decide to wait until Jane and I can both get him inside. I tell her to hold his horse while I kneel down, searching for the entrance.
The great tree has gnarled roots sticking up as much as three feet into the air. Finally, I find it - the small cavern beneath two roots, just big enough for someone to climb into.
"We'll just find you if you run," I say warily to Josh. All I want is to sleep, but we need to secure him first.
Jane and I loosen the ropes from the horse, but keep him securely tied up. "Go," I say, gesturing to the hole. Josh looks at me, but seems to decide that cooperating for now will be best. He gets onto his knees and crawls out of sight. Jane and push our supplies before us, following him.
We crawl through the earthy tunnel into darkness. I can tell when we're there. There is suddenly space all around us. Light flares up to the left as Josh lights the lamp we'd left here the last time we visited.
"What is this place?" Jane whispers in awe, straightening up.
"Somewhere where we'll be safe," I say. I glance around. Josh and I never worked out how a whole tree became hollow, but we've used it as a secret hideout for years. Now, it is our only hope to save him.
"Settle down," I say to the two of them. "The others will be looking soon. We're in for a long day."

To be continued