Chapter 4: The Escape

It was nearly midnight before Carrie found an opportunity to speak to Samantha again. The day was chaotic and dreadful. Barbies, wagons, and Kens had streamed through the city gates in droves before the eyes of the frightened townspeople. So far, there had been little pillaging, but only because Tiffany and her terrifying posse seemed intent upon taking inventory of the city's goods before they began their systematic ransacking. They moved from house to house with clipboards, taking notes about which homes had the finest clothes and the fanciest furniture. Anyone who dared to oppose them was dealt a swift kick with a spiked heel or a harsh punch from the fist of a Ken.

Inside the Royal House, Barbie heels echoed throughout every corridor. Tiffany had taken over the guest room for the moment, but she seemed intent upon moving herself into one of the princess rooms as soon as she determined which was most to her liking. The tension was palpable, and every time Carrie turned around, she found a Barbie sifting through her belongings. Toward nightfall, the Barbies ordered the Kens to rearrange the furniture. Fine mahogany dressers and beds were dragged out into the courtyard and replaced with vanity mirrors and beds with pink flowered headboards. At last, each Barbie arranged several dozen pairs of shoes carefully beneath her bed and laid down for the night, leaving several Kens in each room to stand guard.

At first, Carrie doubted whether it was safe to wander the Royal House, but the Kens barely glanced at her as she slipped out of her bedroom to search for her sister. She moved from room to room, whispering Samantha's name. Finally, Carrie found her in a corner of the kitchen. Samantha was filling a bag with food.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Carrie asked.

“I'm glad you found me, Carrie.” Samantha whispered back. “I was just about to go look for you. We need to get out of here. I can't reason with Rodney, and we cannot fight this battle alone. We must get reinforcements from the Doll Kingdom.”

“I'll pack some clothes,” said Carrie, turning away.

“No, leave the clothes,” Samantha said hurriedly. “They won't come after us if we don't have anything that they want. That's what Anna says.”

“Is Anna coming too?” asked Carrie.

“Of course. She is already waiting at the gate. Here ….” Samantha handed Carrie a backpack filled with food and water. “I will take this other bag. Let's hurry. If we wait around too long, they might think of a use for us. We need to get out of here before they start watching us.”

Quickly, the girls slipped out into the darkness of the courtyard. The moon was nearly full, and the pale light cast eerie shadows on the piles of furniture stacked at odd angles here and there. Cautiously to avoid tripping over a carelessly discarded drawer or bedpost, Carrie and Samantha made their way to the gate on the opposite side of the yard. As they drew near, they could see Anna huddled in the gateway, wrapped in a cloak and carrying her own small bag of provisions. When she saw them approaching, she reached up and and carefully slid the bolt back. The gate creaked just a little as it opened, and all three of them slipped through. Beyond the gate, the night was still. Barbie wagons sat unattanded with various items strewn carelessly along the road, but no one was guarding them.

Carrie drew a deep breath of relief. “Well, that was easy enough,” she said. And they set off down the road toward the mountains, walking quickly and keeping to the side of the path where the shadows of the trees kept them mostly hidden.

But they had traveled no more than a half mile when they heard a noise behind them—not the ominous click of the Barbie heels that they had all feared, but a dull thudding noise. None of them recognized the sound, but there was no doubt that, whatever it was, it was quickly gaining on them. The three girls glanced at each other in consternation and, without a word, they darted in among the trees and dropped the the ground. Holding so still that they scarcely dared to breathe and peering between the long stems of grass, they listened and watched as the thudding came closer and closer. The tall trees that lined the road cast wavery shadows that stirred with every breath of wind, but in the flickers of moonlight that streamed between the branches, they could see something moving toward them right down the center of the road. But it wasn't walking or even running. It seemed to be hopping, like a giant grasshopper or an enormous rabbit on its hind legs.

“What on earth is THAT?” hissed Samantha.

And just then, out of the shadows, sillouetted against the moonlight … “KEN!” Anna said. “What are you doing? And where is your other leg?”

Ken paused, balancing precariously on his one leg and looked around. “Anna, my sweet angel, is that you?”

The girls tumbled out of their hiding place back into the road. Anna was fuming. “We are trying to escape, Ken. Why didn't you stay back at the Royal House?”

Ken's shoulders slumped. “I … saw you leaving … I thought you might want some help carrying something,” he said. He sounded like he was about to cry.

“Oh, Anna, let him come along,” Carrie said. She was feeling sorry for Ken. “He won't hurt anything.”

“He is on one leg!” Anna exclaimed. “How can you come with us, Ken? You'll never get through the mountains on one leg.”

“I can run back and fetch it,” Ken offered. “It's only back at the last bend in the road. I tripped over a root, but I was in a hurry and didn't want to lose you in the dark.”

“Oh, alright,” Anna sighed. “Go back and get your leg. We'll wait here. Be quick about it. We're in a bit of a hurry.”

Ken perked up instantly. “Of course, dear Anna. I'll just be a moment.” He hopped cheerfully away.

“Do you really think we can trust him?” Samantha asked doubtfully. “I'm not sure of his loyalties.”

“Well, he already knows about our escape now,” Anna replied. “We may as well bring him along.”

“I think he seems very sweet,” Carrie put in. “I don't think he will betray us. And we never know … he might be helpful crossing the mountains.”

Samantha shook her head. “I still don't like it,” she said. “He came here with the Barbies. How do we know that he is on our side?”

Still, there seemed nothing for it now but to go on. And so it was that the four of them—the three princesses and the Ken with his leg reattached—set off toward the mountains, carrying nothing but a little food and the hope that they would find someone in the Doll Kingdom who would help them save Aldervia.

Next chapter: Shep, the Near-Sighted Sheep