The others look around at Barry, confused.

"I'm sorry," Lydia exhales, batting her eyelashes, "do I know you?"

Here she is, in front of him, and all he hears is the music of her voice, not the words she is saying, "you... you had a stroke. You had a stroke and you died. I don't understand."

Lydia doesn't like this stranger. He knows her name, but so many people would recognize her voice. She feels like one of the more successful Canadians on the international scene. She acknowledges that opera is not an extremely popular art form, but that does not mean she truly understands she is not Celine Dion.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Lydia points out.

Knowing Este's husband, Este realizes what has happened to her. She pinches herself and feels the pain. Her husband disposed of her, correctly, yet somehow, she is alive.

"I'm dead too," Este offers. She looks at the trees, skeletal. It is not winter, for there is no snow on the ground, but the trees that have leaves are brown in colour, curled and dead.

Her parents were always Catholic. She wonders if because of the way her body was disposed of, she is living in purgatory.

"What?" Nico laughs, the nervous edge kicking them in the throat and they cough. "What do you mean, you're dead? Last thing I remember I was eating Christmas dinner, and-"

"It's June," Audrey points out. At least, it was June the last time she remembers. "I was at a tournament."

"The year is 2014," Ambrose says.

Este doesn't have any argument, but the others cannot agree.

"It's 2010," Lydia's voice is quiet. She looks at Barry, whose name she doesn't know, and wonders what else has happened that she cannot remember.

"It's 2021," Fallon says, wondering if anyone else remembers a time more recently than her. None of this makes sense in her head. It is at that moment, wearing the dress she was to be engaged in, that she realizes she doesn't have the ring on her. She never got to give it to Corrin.

"Let's not panic," Leo says.

Unfortunately, Clare can already feel her throat closing in. There is a pian in her chest, heavy and dull, like the ache of being slammed. She closes her eyes and tries to pretend that she isn't here, and this isn't happening.

"This is impossible," Ajay points out. He stands with his hands in his pockets, feeling nothing inside of them. He remembers it to be 2019. These strangers have no reason to tell falsehoods though. They are all stuck in the forest together. "I am not dead."

"Does anyone actually remember dying?" Leo continues, looking around. He does not remember much, but his condition has that effect on his brain.

No one answers, because no one remembers.

"We couldn't have died," Audrey points out, rolling their eyes. There must be some other explanation. "Maybe we have all time travelled."

"Lydia is dead," Barry insists. He does not remember dying himself, but it wouldn't surprise him if he had ripped his own beating heart out of his chest after her death. It seems to be the only logical thing to happen. She was his ever waking moment. He dreamed about her, had nightmares about her death. Without her, he was nothing.

"I am too," Este insists. "I don't remember it, but I'm sure of it."

Kaia thinks back to the last moments she remembers. What had happened to her? She remembers kissing Rory. She was so angry at the time, despite the attempt at romance. Kaia cannot reconcile the duality of her last thoughts with where she is now.

"Maybe something happened to me," Eva laughs dryly. "I mean, I was drunk at the time. Could've died from an overdose or something."

"Not funny," Fallon snaps. Strangers unsettle her, but the blonde girl's giggle unsettles her more. "We've been kidnapped."

"We've been killed," Este corrects.

Leo has had enough of everyone arguing. He pats across his uniform for his flashlight, only to realize all of his gear is gone. Maybe he was stripped of it. Now, there is nowhere to search for answers. He isn't sure what he would find, but surely there would be something.

"Are you sure?" Nico asks. They cannot fathom being hurt by Kye, or anyone in his family. If there isn't another explanation, however, then he must follow along with the others. "I mean, I don't think I was killed."

"Lydia died of a stroke," Barry insists. She wasn't murdered unless you count an album as a killer. He looks over at her, wishing he could see her better. He wants to touch her skin again and feel her warm breath on his cheek. Everything about her is perfect and soft and kind.

And worst of all, it seems that she doesn't remember them.

"Let's just get out of here and figure all of this out later," Ajay says. He turns and begins to step on leaves. He wonders if he is going to step on another body. He is worried that these ones will be dead.

"It's faster this way," Ambrose says, heading north.

Ajay turns and stares at him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew the way out?" Audrey demands. She rushes in front of Ambrose, standing directly in front of him. "What else do you know?"

Ambrose stares at Audrey, and they flinch. They aren't used to being the one in a confrontation to back down, not even in front of that old man, who was dealing a killing blow in chess. Ambrose, however, has eyes as dark as a murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens. His jaw could cut glass, his brows are stern.

He is a darkness which she had not foreseen.

"Let us go home," Ambrose insists, and he begins to walk away.

"How can we trust you?" Ajay asks, scowling.

Ambrose shrugs and continues to walk.

The others trail behind him, Audrey staying as far back as she can. There are a plethora of trees that grow in the boreal forest. One might be able to tell them apart in the light, but in the dark, they blend together. No one but Ambrose can be certain that the group is not wandering in a circle. The leaves crunch beneath their feet. Few plants are growing on the ground due to the absolute coverage of the trees. Soon their legs grow sore. Parts of their bodies hurt that ought not to be hurting.

Fallon misses Corrin. She hopes the ring she bought is not lost. She hopes that it is 2021, and not some strange year. The last thing on her mind is the sound of the knock on her door. It begins to get foggier and foggier with each step. The last moment she can remember is already slipping from her. It is impossible to catch.

It is a rare thing to catch Ajay without a smile. Yet, here he is scowling. He knows better than to judge people by the worst seconds of their lives. They are stressed, cold, potentially famished, and absolutely confused. No matter how much he repeats this in his head, he cannot help but feel that none of them are trustworthy.

Nico doesn't like to feel red with anger, but it is an impossibility. Someone is to blame for ripping him from Kye's soft embrace. He wants to shout into the air and blame the universe, but more than that, he wants to smile and laugh and stick out his tongue at friends. He doesn't crave his family, nor his studio apartment. No, he wants Kye. Kye is his home.

Este is plotting revenge. With every step, they imagine how they are going to drive their husband insane. Planting red scarves at his door. Standing outside his house like a ghost. They won't tell anyone they are back from the dead. Instead, they will hide and wait, and then they will strike. They are like a shrew, surprisingly venomous.

Though it is unlike, Eva wonders if this is all a bad trip. It would certainly be, if not for the presence of other people. People sometimes wander until they are buried. Maybe they are unlike the others. It is possible that this is all unrelated. It is possible that they are having some sort of ridiculous hallucination. Anything but reality must be real.

Kaia's mind wanders to Rory. Wonderful Rory, who makes her shake with anger and soften like putty. Rory is everything. She is certain they are soulmates, despite Rory's imperfections. After all, only the person you love could fill you with enough rage to push a mountain. Kaia doesn't know where Rory is, and she fears the worst.

Those poor children. Leo cannot help but think of all the poor children that are probably dead because of his condition. Maybe he is dead and this is limbo. Perhaps it is purgatory. Regardless, it must be a space between life and death. He doesn't think that the others are ready to hear that news. Leo does not want to bring bad news, especially amongst new colleagues.

Lydia looks over at Barry. She does not recognize him. She keeps staring, letting every part of her brain focus on the contours of his face, and the way his body takes every step forward. She does not recognize him. It is easier to face that fact than to focus on any other. If he is right, she is dead. More likely than not, he is just some crazed fan obsessed with her.

Clare's body is stiff. They want to take off their vest, what with the heavy weight of it, and put it somewhere else. Everything feels colossal and wrong, and they don't like it even slightly. Even now, as they move forward, their chest is constricting. It's painful, and Clare thinks it would be easier to give up, but they persevere.

None of this makes sense to Audrey. It is all impossible, and Audrey doesn't like impossibilities. There is some sort of explanation for this all, and none of it involves her death. After all, how could they have even died at a chess tournament? It feels extremely unlikely. More unlikely than time travel.

Barry tries not to look at her anymore. Maybe she is a ghost. More likely they are wandering towards the afterlife together. He surely will end up in some bad place, while she belongs where everything is holy and her voice can join a chorus of angels. Or whatever. They don't really believe in that stuff. Nothing else makes sense.

Ambrose finally steps through the last of the bush and ends up in his backyard.

~~~~~

I'm just here pretending this didn't take this long. Oops. thanks for coming back, if y'all even still exist. Oops.

Anyway, remind me if I completely fucked everything up. It's been a long time since I've seen these characters. Oops.