When I open my eyes, it's morning. I'm not tired, having slept well today and I had a nap yesterday, but looking around, everyone else is still asleep. I get up quietly and stretch. I still feel a burning need to go deep into the forest, but my hunger is stronger. I find our collection of berries and munch on a handful, wishing there was something more satisfying to eat.
Satisfaction can come from the trees! A voice in my head says encouragingly. This voice, unlike Evir, is a regular part of me. Not evil.
"Hey." a voice says in a whisper, making me jump. I turn to see Person behind me.
"Sorry if I startled you." he whispers.
"Just a little." I reply with a whispered laugh. He smiles in relief, glad that I'm not angry.
"Let's go somewhere where we can talk." he suggests. "Let the others sleep." I nod, and we walk a small distance away. Nothing too far, just far enough that our voices won't wake the others. A log on the ground gives us a perfect spot to sit.
"So... yesterday... do you want to, um, tell...?" Person asks nervously. I laugh at his unease.
"It's not a forbidden subject, Person. Sure, I'll tell you." And I do. I start from the beginning, with me getting lost. Letting the story out feels good, even though I have to explain a few things to Person about Allen. I describe Allen's crazy eyes and helmet, our battle, and anything else worth describing. Person's quiet, timid nature makes him a great listener. He nods and occasionally asks a question, but other than that doesn't interrupt. When I get to the bit about nothing-land and weirdly-calm Ray, I pause. It doesn't feel right, telling Person about my insanity. And speaking of Ray, what's happened with him? I avoid the subject of nothing-land and ask about Ray.
"Oh, that's right." Person exclaims. "You haven't seen him in his... uh, state. Just follow me." We walk ( quietly, as not to wake the others ) back to our current camp. Person leads me a short distance away from it, and what I see there gives me a flurry of thoughts.
One of the first things I notice is that this area would make a great camp. Some open space, but surrounded by trees. Immediately after that, I realize someone already found this place. Ray. He's leaning against a tree, maybe sleeping or just resting. And then, as if alerted to our presence, his eyes pop open.
"Pete!" he cries in delight, probably referring to Person a.k.a. Shoot-y Pete.
"Um, hi, Ray. Wrive is back. Do you, ah, remember him?"
Why wouldn't he? I think before realizing why. He was crushed by a tree and then spasmed fire. That might confuse anyone.
"Remember!" yells Ray in delight. "I remember... stick! And house." He nods vigorously. "House, house, house!" He begins to dance circle. I turn to Person, not sure whether to laugh or panic.
"How did... how?"
"Well, when he woke up, he was very confused. He didn't have a clue about anything. But his memory came back- well, sort of. He remembers that hideout thing that you guys lived in, and he knows my, er, nickname. He calls the others things that sort of make sense. Rolly is "Glasses" and Cassie is "Bouncy". He also frequently talks about "purple eyes"; Maybe he's talking about the black eyed guys?" I nod, but I'm really not focused on Person. Instead, I'm watching Ray sniff the dirt.
"Hm... ha!" Ray scoops up some dirt and puts it in his mouth. Person and I cringe together.
"Yum! Eat Dirty's magic!" he cries, licking his fingers. I guess that "Dirty" is Tarna.
"Will it wear off?" I ask Person, wondering how much dirt Ray will eat until he gets sick.
"Rolly says it will. All the events of the last few days plus Ray's..." Person frowns, trying to remember the word. "...Overkill! Yeah, that's it. His being an Overkill messes with his brain, too. So he'll probably be okay eventually, but until then..." Ray throws a handful of dirt and me and giggles.
"I win! I win!" he says. I roll my eyes but smile.
"Is he always this bad?" I ask. Person shrugs.
"He gets better and worse. Right now, I'd say he's average craziness."
"What's maximum craziness like?" I ask.
"That's when he figures out that he can shoot fire and other people burn easy." Person shivers. I don't know whether he's joking or not.
We decide to head back to camp, to escape Ray's newfound love of dirt-spitting if nothing else. By the time we get back, everyone is awake, so I'm hit by hugs ( Cass ), "Welcome back"s ( everyone else ), and plenty of questions. Person and I calm everyone down, telling them that the sooner they get quiet, the sooner I can tell them what happened. After they quiet down, I tell them about yesterday. About wandering, my anger, Allen ( this part once again takes the longest, especially telling about his eyes ), and... Once again, I hesitate to talk about the stone building and Ray. It's not important or anything, right?
It is everything! The voice in my head once again whispers to me. Into the forest! You can find it! I decide to only tell the others about the voice, not the nothing-world.
"And since I woke up, there's been this... sort of feeling, telling me to go..." I point in the direction I know I must go. "That way." This gets comments, questions, and whispers. It probably sounds crazy to the others, but to me, it makes perfect sense. I have to go. The forest, and maybe that building, are calling me. I gaze in the direction I know is right as my friends trade worried looks.
The day passes quickly, and without any other major events. We visit Ray, who greets us by rubbing against us like a cat. Dinner is another batch of green berries, which satisfies my hunger but not my taste buds. I go to my designated sleeping area and close my eyes. But sleep is the last thing on my mind.
I open my eyes. Crickets ( at least I assume it's crickets ) are chirping, and stars peek out behind the leaves above my head. Calm breathing greets my ears, and I think someone's snoring. I raise myself up, quietly, and look at my comrades. All asleep. I smile. I'll be back before they wake up. At least, that's the plan. There's always the chance that I'm walking into a trap, or I'll get in an accident. But the voice in my head assures me that whatever it is I'm supposed to go to will be worth the risk. And I trust my head.
Silence is the key, and I slowly use it to unlock the door to freedom. I creep away from camp, pausing at any creaks or snaps I hear. Nervousness starts to argue with the calling voice.
Everything you need comes from the forest!
But what if I don't make it back here? Maybe I should leave a note.
Safety is irrelevant, compared to what the forest is hiding!
Okay, that's creepy. Allen might have put this voice in my head, and it might be leading me to my death! And why am I walking in a forest I'm not familiar with, alone, at night?
Details, details, details.
I tune out of my own brain and ignore nervousness. Or maybe that's logic. Either way, my mind is made up. The forest calls me, and I must go. Suddenly, I think something just moved behind me. I turn around, but nothing is there. It's just my nerves, I tell myself. So I continue on.
A while later ( it's hard to keep track of time, with the trees blocking my view of the moon ), I hear a loud thud behind me. I know I didn't imagine this! I whirl around and see the maker of the thud. It's just a rock that came loose. I relax again, and continue walking. And then I hear a faint noise. Running water. My mental-guide points me in the general direction I think the water is, so I head that way. I could be very close! Maybe the water is calling me. How and why, I have no clue. But I'm sure I'll find out.
Some time later, I find the water. It's a stream, or maybe a river, going up a small hill. It's either a big stream or small river; I'm not sure what the difference is. My mental guide points me in the stream/river's direction, so I walk over to it. I put my hand in, and figure out that it's pretty shallow, at least by its shores. It looks like it gets much deeper around the middle. Touching the water doesn't affect my mental guide at all, so I know the river, at least this part of the river, isn't what I'm being pointed to. I continue along the river's edges, but it seems like a long river. I've decided that it seems more like a river. What I want- no, need to get to, is on the other side. I consider my options. Either find the end of the river up ahead, backtrack to get around it ( which makes my journey a lot longer ), or cross the river. It seems shallow, so I decide to cross. I take off my shoes and socks ( although by now, there are so many holes in them it's basically the same as going barefoot ) and start to wade. I'm surprised when a few feet in, the water gets much deeper. I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do when everyone sees my wet clothes. But I still walk through the water, now up to my chest. I frown as I notice the water getting even deeper. And I'm only 1/3 of the way across! I'm going to have to swim. I start swimming, although I'm not exactly a pro. I do an odd version of the doggy-paddle, and my progress is slower than when I was wading. Still, I make it about halfway across before I feel a ripple. I frown again and look around the water's surface. It's dark, but moonlight reflects off of the water, so I can see that there's no one else in the water. Another ripple, this time stronger. And then it hits me: Something is underwater. And then something grabs my ankle, and I'm pulled under the water.
This was a REALLY bad idea. I desperately struggle to swim up, but whatever's trying to drown me is strong. I luckily took a breath before going under, so I've got... well, still only seconds before it's over. I decide to struggle harder.
A quick glance down allows me to see my attacker, but I can't see much. The moon makes the water's surface bright, but down in the depths, I can hardly see. All I can see is a hand with extremely long, sharp fingernails. The hand looks so pale that it seems white, even in the darkness. I try to kick the hand with my free leg, but the water slows me down. I keep kicking, but I know this is the end. In my last moments, I wonder who or what my attacker is. They can obviously hold their breath for a long time! I wonder if I even want to know who or what my killer is. Probably not.
My breath is gone, but I know that the water won't help me get air. But I need air somehow... but that hand and its owner are making that impossible. So I need to escape that hand. But... But... I need to breath!!! Dots swarm my vision, and then everything seems to happen at once. My power starts going crazy like Ray's did. A voice starts whispering in my head:
"In a bit of a pickle, Mr. W? Ya know, I can help you..." I almost yell, "Shut up, Evir!" But of course, that's a very foolish thing to do when you're being drowned. At the same time, another voice says:
Do not die! There is no time! The forest calls. It calls! This voice isn't my evil messed-up spirit thing. But it can shut up, too.
I'm brought back to reality, as messed up as it is, as my darkness whips past me. It looks like I'm a demon-octopus, I suppose. And whatever is killing me doesn't like it. I force myself to keep holding the breath that isn't there, and the hand on my ankle moves. It doesn't let go, just adjusts. I take that as an encouraging sign and renew my struggle.
Even when faced with attacking dark tendrils and me kicking, whatever or whoever is holding me doesn't let go. I must have been under for twenty seconds already, and I'm tempted to take a deep breath, even if I know it's useless. This is it. I'm finished. Well, it's been a good run. I freed a bunch of kids from imprisonment. That's pretty- suddenly, the hand holding my ankle jerks and lets go. My eyes widen in surprise. Why did it let go? And is that a dark shape in the water? But that's not important right now. I kick my legs hard, firing myself toward the surface.
My head breaks through the water, and I finally get that deep breath I've been needing. I take a few more and try to escape the shock that I'm still in. Even in shock, though, I know I can't stay in this water. I swim as fast as I can to shore. I crawl onto the land, oh, beautiful land, and collapse.
"Aw, you survived. Pity." Evir sighs in my head.
"I-" ( gasp ) "Hate-" ( gasp ) "You." I say between breaths. Evir laughs.
"Hey, I didn't just try and drown you." he points out. I end the conversation mentally and focus on breathing. I think I like being alive.
No time for rest. My mind refuses to let me rest. The forest calls. And you've come so far! But the call in my mind already nearly killed me. I continue panting and trying to dry off. I'll go when I'm ready. I look out towards the lake, waiting for my energy to come back. No sign of whatever tried to kill me. I've decided it's not a human, or if it is, doesn't deserve to be.
A while later ( again, it's hard to tell how much later, but I know it's after midnight, since there aren't any trees blocking my view of the moon ), some of my energy is back, and the calling voice in my head never stops. I rise to my feet, not without a wince at the soreness, and gaze into the forest. I'm once again on the trail to... to... the calling thing.
I hike through the trees and bushes. The ground is flat in this area, making me thankful for the easy hike. Every now and then, I hear, or at least think I hear, the snap of a twig or crunch of a leaf. But every time I turn around, no one is there. It's just a mixture of my nerves and animals.
I see, up ahead, the trees stop. It's a break in the forest. I reach the edge of the trees, and what I see stops me in my tracks. A large hill, surrounded by trees. But the thing that really stops me is the building on the hill. The stone building with a wooden roof and doors.
"Are you ready to explain this?" I freeze, turn around, and gaze into the angry eyes of Tarna, Rolly, Cassie, and Person. And in my mind, the door to that building opens once again. I need to get in. No matter what.