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Running. Running was probably his best option right now. It was better than sitting in Bates' house. Better than hearing his mum flirt with his teacher. Better than going home and being on his own and- was it better than finding his friends? Yes. Right now, yes it was. Right now he just wanted to sprint through the forest until he found her. Somewhere. Somewhere far away from everything else. Far from the demons and dating. Far from Felix trying to get them to do more magic. Far from Sam doing everything to get his old life back. Far from Andy who had his nose buried in a book anyways. Far from everyone who would ever try to stop him from doing something as stupid as what he was about to do.
In the distance he could see the faint outline of the shack. She'd be there. She had to be. If she wasn't in there then-
No good thinking about that. She'd be there, he was sure of it. Where else could she be? He'd searched the house, checked the altar, and even ransacked the taco truck. She had to be there. Jake's face was being assaulted by branches and spider webs as he rapidly approached the small hut. She was so close. So close. But even if he found her, she was so far away. Even then. Even if they couldn't do it. He'd still have her in a way. She'd still be there for him.
He only stopped running when he was right in front of the door. He carefully opened it but slammed it shut behind him. His mum was looking for him, probably, and Andy would know exactly where to look. No time to waste, he started looking everywhere, tearing at floorboards and cupboards and windowsills for her. She was there. She had to be. Jake didn't know what to do with himself if she wasn't. He shoved his fingers under the floorboard he'd been standing on and pulled, making it come up. He was faced with a green piece of fabric, concealing something. He carefully folded it back and-
There she was.
He carefully picked the statue up and wrapped her in the fabric again before bolting out the door again. He didn't care about the mess he'd made. All that mattered was that he got her back. Almost. Almost. He was so close. He ran through the forest again. Running again. It seemed to be the only thing he was doing lately. Running from one threat to a perceived safety, only to have it turn out to be another threat. Running running running. Run and don't stop. Run and don't trip or you might break her. Run. Run to Felix and Sam and Andy. Run and hope that maybe they know what to do. Ignore the rain beating down. Ignore how you can feel the earth. Ignore how good the water feels on your skin. Protect her, save her, free her. Run.
After what felt like a lifetime, he made it to Felix' house. Just like he'd suspected, everyone was inside. Andy was saying something when Jake opened the sliding door and stepped in, drenched. They all stared at him. Ellen and Mia were there too for some reason and Jake decided not to question it. They'd helped them before but he didn't think they'd help with something like this.
"Where were you? Half the town is looking for you!" Andy exclaimed as he jumped up from the bed. Jake didn't have enough breath to respond and just showed them the statue.
"Is that-" Felix started,
"Saskia." Jake nodded as he finished the sentence for him. Ellen handed him a towel that she'd fished out of a drawer somewhere and Jake dried off his face and hair with it, never letting go of the golem. "I had to find her, Felix." Was the only explanation he gave as Felix glared at him from a corner. Andy just gave him a sympathetic look. He probably understood what it was like, considering his history with other Ellen. Sam seemed pretty neutral on the subject, but that could have something to do with the sandwich he was eating. Ellen and Mia just shot each other a look that Jake couldn't decipher.
"Why? What's your plan?" Felix asked as he looked Jake up and down. He must look like hell, having ran through the forest during the rain. Drenched and covered in dirt and leaves and cobweb. Andy seemed to feel bad and pulled most of the water out of his clothes. Jake shot him a thankful look and got rid of the dirt quickly. That was better, now he was just a bit cold, but he didn't want to ask Felix for help, didn't feel like getting burned.
"I don't have a plan I just-" Jake started before Andy cut him off.
"You just what? Jake, this won't help you. It's gonna hurt you more if you keep trying to hold on to her." He glanced at Ellen for a moment.
"This is different. She's right here. Look!" He held up the statue again, hoping that would convince them. Felix sighed and turned to Ellen.
"Could you..." He looked at the door and Ellen rolled his eyes at him as she pulled Mia outside. "Thank you!" He called after them as the door closed.
"You wanna bring her back." He said to Jake. It wasn't a question but Jake nodded nonetheless. "You realize she won't be the same, right?" He asked after that. His tone had become softer than it had been when Jake first burst in.
"What's the closest we can get?" Sam asked when he'd swallowed his last bite of his BLT. Andy considered it for a moment as Felix flipped through Alice's Book of Shadows.
"It has to be a water element, like Alice, who casts it. Does gender matter to magic?" Andy asked Felix, who shook his head.
"Probably not, you'll be fine. If it does go wrong, Ellen is our plan B." He replied before holding out his hand to Jake, who reluctantly gave him the golem. "We need a couple of things, though."
==
"Would a cloak work?" Sam called from the other side of the shack as the four of them rummaged through what was left of it.
"Yes, probably. I think." Felix replied.
"You think?" Sam asked, some worry in his voice.
"I'm pretty sure, it'll do." Felix assured him. Sam didn't seem too convinced but threw it on the pile anyways. "I think we have everything, let's go back to my house. We can use the backyard. My parents are working anyways." He told them and they started in the right direction.
It took them a few minutes to set everything down properly, but eventually Felix was satisfied, and Jake placed the golem in the middle and covered it with the cloak. "Ground we find, in ground we're bound. In ground we sleep, in ground we're found. Walk on earth and in the sea, gain a heart and soul, be free." Andy read out loud from the piece of paper Felix had given him. The ground started shaking and rain started to pour down. Felix nodded at Jake who quickly made a tiny cut on his shoulder and caught the blood in a bowl. Sam but a band-aid on it as Felix put some earth in the bowl, watching it mix with the rain and the blood. The ground kept shaking and the birds fled from the area. Oscar wheeled himself out of the house to see what was going on and the earthquake just kept going and going and going and-
It stopped. The cloak moved.
"Saskia?"