Trenton

I tried keeping my face emotionless.

“What kind of situation is she in?” I asked, wondering how much she knew.

“I don’t know, but I think it’s life-threatening. I’m trying to help her,” she responded, looking at me curiously.

“Okay, well I’ll keep an eye for her. What does she look like?”

“Dirty blond, wavy hair. Green eyes. Soft face.”

“Okay. See you later? I don’t know.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” She trailed off for the last part, but I still caught it. I continued walking, then stopped and turned around.

"Hey! What’s your name?” I yelled.

“Aly! What about you?” I pretended I didn’t hear her and turned and walked away. I eventually reached St. James City and walked to an abandoned broadcasting station. It was rundown and boarded-up, surrounded by a chain-link fence. I climbed the fence and walked over to a service ladder to the roof. I climbed up that and walked to one of the big satellites. In theory, this should work flawlessly. In reality, it worked. Thank goodness. I grabbed the base of the satellite and concentrated. I found Kylie’s mind and locked on to that location. I sent out my brainwaves to that location. I opened my eyes and found that I was in a hotel room. I saw everyone crowded around a table: Dawson, Eric, Nathaniel, Serena, and Kathryn. And then there was Kylie. I saw her searching the map on the table with the greatest intent. She had a hope in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in a long time. I stood in place, my eyes filling with tears. I cleared my throat and they all turned. Recognition flashed on their features, and Kylie bounded over to me. She stopped right in front of me. Her hand came up to my face and tried touching my cheek.

“I’m not actually here,” I said.

“That’s fine. As long as I know you’re alive,” she replied, tears filling her eyes. Everyone came crowding around me. Serena stepped forward. I expected her to burst out crying, but she didn’t. She slapped me. And somehow, she made contact with my face. I stepped back in shock.

“That was a stupid thing to do Trenton!” she yelled. Then she burst into sobs and stepped back.

“I know. I’m sorry, but it was for the better of the team. I was running from my fear, but now it’s time to stop running. I’ll meet you guys where the final note lays.”

“Where?” everyone asked. Everyone looked excited knowing that our little quest was almost over. Everyone except Serena. She looked downcast.

“The Black Forest. It’s in Germany. Seeing how the Slenderman originates in Germany, and it’s almost world-famous, I figured that it’s a safe bet.” Everyone nodded as if that was obvious. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold this connection, so if you guys need to say anything right now, say it.” Everyone stared at me for about a minute. “Sooo… nothing.” I looked to Serena, who had calmed down thanks to a hug from Eric. “Do you know someone named Aly?” She perked up at the mention of her name.

“Yeah, of course I do. Why?”

“I met her after I escaped the arena.” I expected questions about what had happened, but everyone nodded as if they knew. “She said she was looking for you,” I continue.

“I told her not to come looking for me,” she muttered.

“Yeah, I think that’s the best bet for right now.” She told me where the hotel they were staying at was.

“Awesome,” I said. “Do you think she has a power too?”

“She might. Just be wary. She could think something about this the wrong way and attack.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Try finding money and plane tickets to Germany. And maybe a new shirt for me” I flashed a smile at them, then released my connection. I found myself once again back on the roof of the broadcasting station. I climbed down and to the street. I had a person to find.

I walked all over town until the sun began to set. I decided to check the area where I had first met her again. I walked all over the place, but to now avail. I began to search with my mind for any consciousnesses. I finally found a big one and began walking towards it. I saw a faint glow and, as I got closer, heard a fire crackling. I stood just on the edge of the firelight and saw who it was that had made the fire. A hunched figure sat next to the fire, tending to it. It was definitely Aly. She looked up as though she had heard something and I stepped into the light. She stood up and held a finger to her mouth: a gesture for me to stay quiet. She looked nervous, and she approached me slowly. She stood by my side, and I looked around. Bushes were spaced just outside of our circle of light, with a few sparsely spaced trees. I saw a flicker of movement in the shadows, and then something moved into the light. It was a tree, but shaped like a person. It held a big wooden club and hefted it easily. It was big, over eight feet tall, and had long horns coming out of its head like a longhorn cow. It lumbered towards us slowly, and if with each step it started taking root in the ground. My mind raced, then it searched for Nathaniel and Serena.

“Serena, I need you to try something. Concentrate on the image of the place I’m in.” I sent her a mental image. “Nathaniel, be ready.” They both complied, and I concentrated on Nathaniel’s being. I heard a soft whoosh and when I looked to my side, Nathaniel was right next to me.

“Woah,” he said as he took in his surroundings. “Double woah.” That was when he saw the tree giant. I explained to Serena quickly that we were able to transport Nathaniel here, then severed the connection.

“You know what to do Nathaniel?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said.

“Wait, who’s this? Where did he come from?” Aly asked incredulously. We didn’t answer, but I connected with Nathaniel and drew his power. Fire erupted from our hands towards the tree being. It was engulfed in flames and completely disintegrated. The forest around us came to life with movement. Trees came to like and became like the other wooden warrior. We were surrounded by a whole legion of trees. Nathaniel and I shared a look, then nodded.

“Aly, stay behind us,” I commanded. She nodded, but didn’t look too frightened. Nathaniel and I stood back to back and released an inferno against multiple trees. Some were gone immediately, others caught fire and ran around. But they seemed to be adapting. Some became thicker, undoubtedly fire-resistant, and others became thinner and more agile. Some grew shields, others long staffs. We were surrounded by at least twenty-five warriors. Nathaniel held them off, blasting any that got too close. I decided to go for the closer approach. I stepped near one, and it caught sight of me. This one was bigger and bulkier than all the others, and it swung its massive club. I narrowly dodged it and ran towards the campfire. It lumbered towards me and I jumped over the fire. I stood about seven feet away from it and concentrated on it. It approached me and stood over the fireplace. I unleashed an eruption from the fire so big that it shook the ground. Although it was protected, it was gone within seconds. I looked back to Nathaniel and saw that he was doing well. Aly was holding her head like she had a headache.

“ALY!” I yelled. “WHAT’S WRONG?” I burned another warrior to a crisp as I ran to her.

“It’s the trees,” she said softly. “They’re screaming.” I thought that this was a weird comment, but I didn’t think about it. I turned and saw three soldiers circling me. I pushed Aly out of the way and prepared to defend myself. They all had giant shields. They got close enough to where I couldn’t attack one without receiving attack from the other two. Their shields formed a circle around me and I was trapped. Another one put a shield on top and everything went black. I knew I hadn’t passed out. I felt rage building up again, and a shockwave of pure heat shot out from my body as I yelled a battle cry. The shields were gone along with the warriors and flames surrounded me. I ran through the fire, hoping I was fireproof, and came out on the other side to Nathaniel being surrounded by the remaining ten soldiers. Aly lay off to the side, kneeling and still holding her head. Fire erupted from my hands and surrounded my fists. I ran towards Nathaniel and started punching through the warriors. The fire must’ve protected my fists because I felt nothing. I made it to the circle where Nathaniel was surrounded and saw that there were only seven warriors left.

“How you doing?” I asked.

“Well, I’m surrounded by trees that want to kill me, but I can’t complain.” I guided him out of the circle and we ran over to Aly. Several had caught fire, but four remained.

“Ready Nathaniel?” I asked. He nodded and we became one body, one person, one mind. My strength combined with his and a tornado of fire erupted from our hands, consuming the remaining tree warriors. Aly had recovered and look on with awe. A few flames remained, which Nathaniel ran over to put out. I helped Aly up and separated from Nathaniel’s mind.

“Wow,” Aly said, looking at me. “That’s hot.”

“Well, it was a lot of fire,” I said back.

“Oh, that too,” she said with a smirk. I realized what she said and just let it slide. Nathaniel walked over to me and nodded.

“Good job,” he said, confidently.

“Hey man, that was all you,” I replied. “Now let’s go meet up with the others.”