Shangri-la
Chapter 7
Things were not going according to the plan, though it wasn’t like she had a plan to begin with. Lotus had anticipated trouble with Iris’s father - she had enjoyed the trouble with Iris’s father - but she had not thought that he would block their exit. She couldn’t rely on the other doors out of the house because they were too easy to block and too hard to find. There was only one way out that she could think of, and if that failed then she would break down laughing.
Please, Shangri-la, let this work.
Iris was running deeper into the house, vanishing around a corner. Relieved that she was out of sight, Lotus turned to the immediate threat.
“What are you planning?” demanded the man.
Swiftly swinging her arm, Lotus slapped him, then attempted to take off running. She was stopped, however, when Iris’s father grabbed her arm.
“You bitch!” he yelled, twisting her arm around and causing her to yelp. “I won’t let you take her!”
“You have no choice.” Gritting her teeth, Lotus yanked away, hurting her arm even more and causing herself to stumble back. Pausing, Lotus then threw a kick, aiming high. Iris’s father raised his arm to block, and Lotus’s heel hit the bone.
Crack.
Lotus took off running, hoping that the pain of the broken arm was enough to at least slow the man down. “Iris!” she shrieked, her eyes searching for the bathroom door.
“Here!” Iris answered, appearing.
“In! In!” Running to Iris, Lotus pushed her inside, slamming and locking the door behind them. Above the bathtub was a window, and Lotus felt a wave of relief. “Come on,” she said, sliding open the glass. “Help me push out the screen.”
Bang.
“Iris!” her father yelled. “Get out here!”
Another bang.
“Hurry.” Lotus shoved hard against the screen and it bent, popping out and falling to the ground. “Jump out and start running east.”
“You’re following?” Iris asked as Lotus helped boost her up to the window.
“Of course, go!”
Iris disappeared.
“Iris! Iris!” Her father was growing more desperate.
The wood splintered with the next bang.
“I’m sorry,” Lotus said, pulling herself up to the window frame. “It’s nothing personal. I just need to reach Shangri-la.”
The hot air outside rushed over her so suddenly Lotus almost couldn’t breathe. But as soon as her feet hit the ground, she was running. Running. Running. Her legs stretched in a joy that she hadn’t experienced in a long time, causing an ecstatic feeling to well up in her chest.
Iris was ahead, slipping into the wooded park. As if their minds were connected, Iris already knew what to do. She didn’t even stop moving as her body melted into the shape of a wolf. Lotus felt a wave of pride as she copied, and the two wolves slipped away between the trees.
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