Anise felt the ground underneath collapse as she slammed the branch into the vine and they fell. She landed with a splash and a yell. It took all the effort she could muster to swim to the surface, the buoyancy of the branch helped a bit in this process. She saw the shoreline not far off and looked up to see the hole they had just fallen down. She knew for a fact that she couldn't climb out, as she simply didn't have enough strength. She looked and saw where Hania was and swam over to the girl.

"Come on!" She gasped. "Hold on to this." Her head ducked under the water briefly. "I'll take you to the shore." She shoved the tip of the branch into Hania's hands before beginning to lead her to the shoreline that wasn't far off. If anything, they could at least rest there for a moment. She hoped Randold wasn't far behind.

The impact knocked the air out of Randold's lungs as he collided with the water, he felt himself sinking to the bottom. The pain at the back of his neck still lingered, the words still resonating in his mind.

Evil Forest Thing said
I accept your bargain. She will be spared. And you, as forfeit, are mine.

At least Hania was going to be safe, provided, whatever the monster is, holds its end of the deal. Randold knew that he could very well be living on borrowed time, although for now he should focus on getting the others the safety while he was still breathing. Randold kicked up, the feeling of his leg being free from the vines somewhat foreign, and broke through the surface of the water. Everything was still dark just as above, although after a few moments Randold noticed small lights flickering above the water. It was just enough to find his way as he followed Arise and Hania.

drewccapp said "Come on!" She gasped. "Hold on to this." Her head ducked under the water briefly. "I'll take you to the shore."

Hania hacked again and nodded weakly, she held onto the branch as tightly as she could. She kicked her feet as she was guided by Anise towards the shore. A pressure built in her head, a strange numbing pressure. She fought back the urge to close her eyes and fall to sleep, at least until they were on the shore.

When they reached the rocky beach she sprawled out on it and groaned; she gave in fully to her nausea and closed her eyes, completely exhausted. She breathed deeply, trying to quell the strange sensation building under her jaw. After a few moments of this she sat up shakily and bent over the pool. She hacked up bile, once, twice, three times before her gags produced nothing. Then she threw herself back onto the pebbled beach. The pebbles pressed against her back and were uncomfortable, but her exhaustion won out as Hania fell into a comatose sleep.

Exhausted, Anise pulled herself onto the shore. The pebbles were certainly uncomfortable, but the way her body ached that meant nothing. She watched as Randold swam up towards the shore. She gave him some verbal direction to help since he couldn't see like she could. She laid against a nearby stalagmite and tried her best to relax, but her distress kept her from doing so.

She finally had begun to realize the situation she was in. This was no dream, this was no nightmare, it was reality. Somehow, she had been taken away to some unknown land where the very trees around them were trying to kill them. Then she realized that Arin was still up there and gasped. She had left him behind in her desperation to protect Randold and the girl. The girl that she knew to be from her homeland. She knew she couldn't get back up to him, but she hoped that he would be OK.

She looked towards the hole that they fell through. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I don't think I'll be coming home." She was too worn out to cry, but if she could there would be a stream of tears coming down her face. Several water droplets from her swim rolled down her face simulating tears. She hugged the branch she had grabbed as it had helped quite a bit. She decided to watch over the sleeping girl.

Randold practically collapsed once ashore, so much has happened in such a short frame of time, well considering if time held the same value. None if this made any sense, but Randold was sure of a few things by this point. One being that many creatures here, even plants, may be sentient. While he wasn't too sure about the wolf, the owl clearly had a spark of intelligence, also normally vines don't attack people. Though it all however the group was still standing, minus the boy unfortunately, still Randold had no reason to believe he was dead, not yet anyway. There was also the subject of his own mortality, upfront he wasn't too concerned about it, the survival of the others meant more then his own, but deep in his mind Randold was distressed just that he was not aware of it perhaps. They needed a break, if the evil within this land didn't end them, then fatigue would instead.

Randold looked over to the other two, the fireflies darting around gave off just enough light that he could see their figures. They needed to keep going, if they broke down then all would be lost, so Randold decided to talk. "We're still alive, despite what has happened here we are with air still in our lungs." Randold waited for a few moments, maybe giving Arise or Hania a chance to say something before he continued. "It would do us good to rest here, wherever we are it is certainly safer then the woods above. For the time being I say we pass the time with stories, unless anyone has one themselves I have one myself."

Arin hadn't sprinted off like Anise. Instead he quickly paced through the forest, his eyes observing the area with malice intent. The red lantern illuminating his path. It only took a few moments for him to realize the path back to Randold and Hania had somehow altered. About five minutes of walking resulted in a fork in the road. Shouts, howling and other such noises could be heard towards the right. Surely that's where Anise would have ventured off too, her hopeless attempt at saving the other two probably resulting in her demise. He would be disappointed, having his kill stolen, but joyful a kill took place nonetheless.

However, on the left, the sound of rushing water coupled with a faint light caught Arin's attention. Signs of life maybe? There wouldn't be any harm in investigating. Anise and the others were pretty much doomed in his mind. It wouldn't hurt to at least take a look. And so, Arin took off to the left, holding the reddened lantern up high as he cautiously made his way up the hill.

Simon said " Excuse me ... Miss Yurei, do you know how we can get back to safe civilization. I am not completely fond being in the middle
of a forest not knowing which way to get out of here"

The woman burst out laughing even before the young man could finish speaking. She smacked a knee, bent over, had trouble breathing. Finally, after a good bout of chortling, she straightened and wiped tears from her dull eyes. "Oh -- safe civilization! You're a riot, my boy!" She chuckled and shook her head -- but when she lifted her head again, she didn't sense the joviality she expected. Her eyebrows crinkled. This boy didn't seem to get his own joke. Was he serious?

"What is your name, boy?" She squinted at all those present and turned her ear to each in turn -- and her focus rested on the girl in the back. "And you, Miss --" she waved an impatient hand. "You're not Miss Rine, are you? None of you are with the Rebel Sanctuary, are you? I --"

A sudden realization dawned on her, and her blind eyes widened like saucers. Her hands began to tremble. She steadied herself, and she cleared her throat.

"You're . . . new here, aren't you?" She paused for a long while, shifting back and forth on her heels. Finally she screwed up her face and turned around, gesturing violently with a hand. "Come with me. Especially you, boy. And the girl!" Without turning around she pointed at Simon and Annabel, and she shuffled off toward the edge of the woods. "Come, come, hurry up! You're probably confused little muffins with no idea where you are, aren't you, but you'd best hurry up before the blood-rats get you, too."

Indeed, there was rustling in the weeds -- and the trees themselves creaked in threat.

Randold said "We're still alive, despite what has happened here we are with air still in our lungs."

Anise stiffly nodded. She didn't say anything, because she didn't know what to say. For a princess with normally a lot to say, this was the first time she had no words at her disposal.

Randold said "It would do us good to rest here, wherever we are it is certainly safer then the woods above. For the time being I say we pass the time with stories, unless anyone has one themselves I have one myself."

Resting sounded nice, but in spite of everything, or perhaps because of it she couldn't even close her eyes. She was exhausted and yet she couldn't sleep. "A st-story would be nice." If anything a story would help her relax. She looked around the cavern looking for all exits just in case something decided to attack them here. She didn't want any things sneaking up on them while they rested.

berry that had rolled from a poison ivy plant (as they later soon discovered) and no one could figure out what happened. He was starting to get light-headed from all of this stress and all this processing, Stuck in this weird place, watching Hato's finger getting bitten off right in front of him! So much to take in, it didn't really help that this Yurei character had answers to his questions but wouldn't answer them, and she honestly wanted him to follow her without any explanations. After she had started to walk away he waited 5 seconds and decided to follow her, it seemed better than waiting for any more of those rodents or even potentially worse ... threats.

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse - and that thought had ran through his head at least five times within the past few minutes - everything went to smithereens. That was what he got for trying to be a good Samaritan. Kituo should have just remained in his comfort zone, his cowardly comfort zone where he was useless and safe. He looked at the now feral rat as it clung to his shoulder. That was a big mistake and it nearly caused him to hurl all over again. He was in pain and he didn't know how to deal with it. It frustrated Kituo and he fought with himself to come up with a solution for his predicament. Never before had he encountered a rat and had it jump on him. He had heard other men in the city speak about such things but he frequently tuned them out. Kituo cast aside everything he did not want to hear out. That did not help him as much as it made him naive to the travesties that could potentially occur.

"Argh, get off of me!" Kituo yelled. He did not take the rat's sharp teeth into account before he started swinging his arm around, hoping to shake it off like all of his other problems. "I tried to be your pal and this is how you repay me?"

Kituo never learned that nice guys usually finished last. He was now shrilling, the volume of his voice pushing his vocal chords to their limits. He just wanted someone to intervene and help him. Anybody would do at this point, particularly the tall guy who had comforted him before. To Kituo he seemed like the the trio's de facto leader. However, even Kituo knew that he couldn't always count on others to save him. The pain of the rat's digging claws was rushing him to build up the courage to defend himself.

What can I do? What can I do?

The stress griped Kituo as a ball of sweat rolled down his head. He felt like he couldn't do anything - the same feeling he had whenever he was faced with adversity. He continued to swing his arm hoping to pry the rat free. If it had bitten him by now he probably would not have noticed - okay he would have but in the midst of trying to get the rat off of him, fearing its teeth did not seem to be his utmost priority. He still had his other arm and his legs to put to use. So what does a coward like Kituo do with these resources available? He uses them to run around in a circle and cry.

Arin

Arin said And so, Arin took off to the left, holding the reddened lantern up high as he cautiously made his way up the hill.

The reddish light cast upon rocks and leaves. It glimmered in the owl's eyes; it continued to watch him with an intrigued stare, but did not move to hinder him.

The fireflies stopped at the edge of the trees at the clearing. The lantern light shone upon a hand-width line of inlaid stone at Arin's feet; it was engraved with more runes and geometry, though these seemed fresher and better maintained than those at the lantern-tree. It extended to either side beyond the reach of the light, but it curved gently -- it was a part of a circle of engraved stone that encompassed the source of the candlelight and the clearing around it. The owl and the fireflies would not cross the line of stone.

A little waterfall splashed in the darkness on the other side of a knoll. A path took shape under Arin's feet. The lantern light paled to a gentle purple that gave the dark leaves and moss an unearthly glow -- and by the time the light shone upon the door of a little house, the lantern was once again as blue as it had been while it had hung from the tree.

Behind him, the owl hooted quietly.

A single candle flickered in the only window of a curious wooden hut that looked as if it had been molded out of a living tree. In fact, there was a sprawly looking little sapling growing out of its thatched roof.

More runes lined the door frame. A geometric array had been burned into the door itself. The only window was just beside the only door, and inside there was only a faint outline of a cluttered little room illuminated by candlelight -- but there was no one inside. At least, nothing appeared to be moving.

There were glass jars, wooden boxes, clay jars, cups full of pens and brushes, rolls of bark with runes scrawled on them, figurines and mossy little statues, cages with little furry things sleeping in them, watery tanks with little fishy things swimming in them, herbs and roots hanging from the low ceiling, drawings hanging on the walls, books stored tenderly between painted stones, and -- on a cluttered table that took up half the room -- a pair of familiar-looking scissors.

The waterfall gurgled on, and the owl hooted again. Something splashed in the water, and a toad creaked. The blue light of the lantern fell softly on little flowers and grass that had been freshly cut. The door was unlocked.

The mass number of tree's seemed to now be coming towards a clearing, which Arin couldn't help but feel thankful for, probably because it made the darkness feel a lot less dense than it actually was. As he walked further into the clearing, Arin couldn't help but realize how relatively calm he suddenly was. Sure, he was anxious to confirm the deaths of Randold, Anise and Hania, but it was a different kind of anxious, he was more eager than anything.

It was odd, he couldn't help but feel like the panic attack he experienced whilst waking up had happened to a completely different person. He was scared for his life less than half an hour ago, but as time pressed on he began adjusting to the fact that he was no longer in Mayloom. Free from judgement, he no longer dreaded the thought of his family and friends punishing him for his dark and grim thoughts. Instead of suppressing the powerful desires he could allow them to flourish to their full potential. The more he came to realize this, the less guilty he felt for having such a dark mind. It was a slow process allowing his sinful mind to take over, but a process that had already begun nonetheless.

The sound of water splashing and the owl's hooting had snapped the boy back into reality. He had been daydreaming again. His eyes blinked rapidly as they surveyed the area before him. They laid on the red lantern just in time to watch as it's color altered to a light purple, and Arin couldn't help but admire the sight before him. Staring at the purple light his peripheral vision had picked up the stone in the ground before him, engraved with runes just like the metal surface back at the lantern tree.

His panic attack at the tree kept him from investigating the carvings further, so he couldn't tell if those were the same as the ones before him. He did however, notice that they were in much better shape. He wasn't too familiar with masonry or stone-working so it was difficult to tell whether or not somebody tended to the stone periodically.

A path formed before him, and Arin felt compelled to walk along it, he almost felt drawn to it. As he followed up a small hill, his pace slowed and he began to proceed with caution as the lantern turned blue and a small hut came into view. There was no denying the lanterns color change made Arin feel slightly blue, for reasons unbeknownst to him he had grown fond of the red light.

He recalled earlier, when the color first changed from blue to red and the fireflies appeared. As the memory played in his head the boy turned around to see if his company had vanished. Both the fireflies and owl were out of his sight. Part of him could feel the fireflies presence, another part felt the owl's unnatural gaze. For some reason he didn't bother to question why they stopped following him, and merely assumed it was due to the lanterns color.

It was odd, and almost ironic. The presence of the owl and the fireflies comforted Arin, who despised and considered life a pointless illusion. Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that these creatures served some type of purpose, which essentially, gave their lives purpose. He gripped the lantern tightly, admiring the idea before asking himself

"Does my life have any purpose?"

He didn't ponder the thought for long. Not now. There was still a house to explore. Every part of him prayed there was somebody waiting inside.

Arin approached the front door, holding the lantern high as he observed even more runes. He thought back to when Hania brushed her hands on the runes, causing the metal surface to slide everyone directly towards the great beast that was before them. It was too early too decide whether all the runes brought about evil creatures or unfortunate events, even so he avoided touching the runes. Just for now. His eyes observed the rest of the little hut, eventually landing on the window.

It seemed to be the only way to look inside without opening the door. Carefully he crept over, making sure not to crush the flowers below him. If the resident happened to not be home, he didn't want to make it obvious somebody had been at the front door. Doing so would ruin the element of surprise. The lantern swung slightly as Arin examined the inside of the house. He had to squint at times just to make out all of the trinkets and oddities in the room. If not for the candlelight, he probably wouldn't be able to see anything.

And then, Arin saw it. He felt his stomach turn inside out as he caught sight of his very own pair of tailoring scissors, laying before him on a cluttered table. Confusion and excitement jolted through his body. Arin pressed his face against the glass as he gently placed his hand on the window, the sound of metal on glass could be heard as the thimble on his index finger tapped the window.

Slowly he realized that whoever lived in the little house before him could potentially be the very person that kidnapped him from Mayloom. What truly made Arin feel sick to his stomach was the fact that they had also taken it upon themselves to steal his scissors as well. Out of all the tailoring supplies, they grabbed that particular pair of scissors. The idea that his family and friends had somehow discovered his thoughts resurfaced. Yet again he felt like being plopped in the middle of this forest was a punishment. His eagerness from before once more turned to anxiety.

However, some things still didn't make sense. If Arin was being punished, why place him in the forest? Not to mention there were three other people he had never seen in his life, as well as all the runes and carvings. The enormous beast that almost devoured them, even the lantern itself, it all didn't add up. The people of Mayloom would never go this far to seek justice, the town itself was so dull that they didn't even need to seek justice because no heinous crimes were ever committed.

Whatever the case may be, Arin had many questions, and whoever lived in the little house before him had to have the answers. He pulled himself away from the window and positioned himself squarely in front of the door. With his right hand he held the lantern up just below his neck, enough to illuminate both his face and whoever may come to the door. Arin made a fist with his left hand and took a deep breath before knocking. The thimble on his finger made contact with the door exactly three times.

Knock...knock...knock

"Hello?" His tone was gentle and soft. He waited briefly, then knocked three times once more.

Knock...knock...knock

"Is anyone here? Please come to the door. I've just been attacked by a beast and seek shelter.....Hello?"

Arin's eyes were planted firmly on the door. The waiting continued, he wanted to confirm the house was empty before breaking in.

Hania laid motionless against the pebble beach. The stones we smooth and cool, however their irregularity made it an uncomfortable resting place overall. She groaned and turned in her sleep. Her hands were red and developing blisters - her back was bruised and red from the lantern's heat. All-in-all she was in a rough state.

Though, sleeping, it seemed almost as if she weren't in pain at all. He face was relaxed and her mouth laid open. She rolled over onto her stomach and let drool roll out onto the rocks. Her cheeks were rosy, and her breaths were deep and drawn out.

Then, her eyebrows twitched and her eyelids tensed, she groaned in her sleep - a bad dream maybe. Even still, waking up to the cavern was not a good end to a bad dream. Her breaths shortened and shortened and- her eyes darted open and she sat up. She breathed heavily, as if trying to catch her breath, when she did she looked around with wide eyes.

"Huh? Where are we?"

Randold, Anise, Hania

The water mirrored the drifting lights of the fireflies.

Silence pressed all around them, and so did the darkness. All Randold, Anise and Hania could see of one another were tiny flashes of yellow light against their skin.

For a long while, there was nothing but calm, quiet stillness.

They sat on a rocky ledge beside the edge of the water. In the darkness, they could not possibly see that there was a hallway beside them that led deep into the cavern wall -- until a faint yellow glow appeared within it.

It might have been a firefly, at first. The glowing light was constant, though, and continued to grow bigger and brighter, as if it were moving slowly toward them.

After a few moments, the glow was close enough that they might see that the hallway within its light glistened with streaks of precious stone.

After a few more moments, it became clear that the light was not moving on its own, but was being carried. The yellow light illuminated a strange animal-like mask with pointed rabbit-ears, draped by waves of long brown hair.

The person wearing the mask appeared to be a scrawny boy of about Hania's age. His gray clothing was thin and simple, and his bare feet made a quiet slapping sound on the cool stone floor as he approached the water. He held the glowing ball of light in his long fingers.

When he was a few yards away, the yellow light fell upon Randold, Ania and Anise. The boy noticed them, and he stopped, his head raised. He shifted from one foot to the other, uncertain whether he should approach or run.

Anise glanced over toward Hania who asked where they were. "Safe... I hope. Nothing's chased us down here anyway."

She was drinking from the water when she noticed a yellow light within the cavern. She saw the young boy and tried to stand up, but her legs and feet were sore from all the exercise she had done recently and wouldn't even move. She stared at the boy, hoping that he wasn't going to hurt them, but she noticed that he had shifted nervously and seemed that he was likely to run. "Um... Hello? Can you help us?" She then looked at Randold and whispered at him. "I-I can't stand." It hurt her pride to admit it. "Help me up please." She thought if she could just get standing, she'd be able to keep herself standing with her staff.

Randold nodded and shouldered Arise's arm to help her stand while ignoring his own injuries from the vines that held him, plus the pain on his neck still remained. They must have been in worse shape then what Randold initially assumed. "I got you, let me know if you're going to fall." Randold whispered back. They were now standing and facing the rabbit boy from which the light came from. Randold realized for the first time where they were now that there he could see better, the cave was large but he couldn't see a way out this was going to be a problem, yet if the boy entered the cave then there must be an exit of some kind perhaps he could show them the way. Unlike what they have faced before the rabbit boy seemed human unless his mask hid something, still he could likely be another person who had become trapped.

After a minute of uncomfortable silence Randold decided to speak, "Do you have a name? We are not going to harm you, we only want to return home."

Hania yawned and watched Anise go to the water's edge and drink, like a wounded deer. She watched her drink from the pool before she noticed the soft yellow glow reflecting off of the surface of the water.

She turned around to look at the shy-looking boy and cocked her head. She blinked when he noticed her. She opened her mouth to talk to him, but couldn't form the words to say.

She settled for silence then and smiled warmly at him. She shifted her body to face him and pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Simon said After she had started to walk away he waited 5 seconds and decided to follow her, it seemed better than waiting for any more of those rodents or even potentially worse ... threats.

The old woman had turned her back on the lantern and the ticking tree, and she shuffled resolutely into the woods without a backward glance. There was no path -- only damp roots and mossy stones and cobwebs on the trees -- but she knew exactly where she was going.

After a few moments of walking in the woods, the red light of the lantern behind them was blocked by leaves and branches. Everything was suddenly very dark, until Simon would barely be able to see his hand in front of his face, let alone the stones and roots that threatened to trip him.

"If you don't want to be eaten," Yurei snapped from the darkness in front of him, "you had best hold onto my shawl. Keep a good grip. It'll only get darker and I won't carry you."

The darkness enveloped them both. The sounds of the forest teemed all around them: rustling leaves, chittering squirrels, screeching, croaking, buzzing, scratching. Yurei led Simon on over rocky ground, around trees, down small inclines, through mud and bramble. She was blind: she never needed to see where she was going. To Simon, however, all of it was darkness.

Something moved near his right arm. It was only a faint brushing sound, but in the darkness Simon might sense that something big and alive was walking just behind him.

A warm breath tickled the back of Simon's neck. It smelled like rotting flesh.

Kituo said He was now shrilling, the volume of his voice pushing his vocal chords to their limits. . . . He continued to swing his arm hoping to pry the rat free. If it had bitten him by now he probably would not have noticed - okay he would have but in the midst of trying to get the rat off of him, fearing its teeth did not seem to be his utmost priority. He still had his other arm and his legs to put to use. So what does a coward like Kituo do with these resources available? He uses them to run around in a circle and cry.

The swinging of Kituo's arm only made the rodent cling harder, drive its claws deeper, and screech louder in distress.

EEEEEKEEEKEEKEEE!!!

Kituo's ear rang from the powerful screeching noise that squealed out of that little animal. The combination of the rodent's cry and Kituo's wailing reverberated in the clearing and pierced the darkness of the woods around them.

The forest began to creak. The leaves all around the clearing began to rustle, as if a great many small things were leaping and scurrying through the branches.

TICK-TACK TACK TACK TICK TOCK TICK

The half-ruined tree behind Kituo shuddered, and leaves fell from its branches, as if in distress at Kituo's fear. Runes began to appear on the bark of the tree where they certainly had not been before: they burned into the wood of their own volition, as if being written by an invisible fire, and they matched the lightning-gash in the side of the tree. The green lantern swayed and cast warped shadows throughout the clearing, giving the trees and the falling leaves a ghastly moving silhouette.

In swinging light, the lantern illuminated the stark white and tattered silk of the skeleton's arm protruding out of the munching cocoon; a silver ring sparkled on one finger. Part of the embroidered robe was draped in the weeds. The stoppered bottle was stuck between the roots, and it glimmered with each swing of the lantern -- a good yank might pry it free. The white skull had dropped halfway out of its prison, its jaw gaping wide as if it were screaming. But the true screaming had stopped, and blood seeped into the ground.

The metal platform began to groan and tremble, but there was a grinding noise as if gears were stuck.

The rodent tensed and screeched every time the lantern light swung toward it. Finally, it sank its teeth into the cartilage of Kituo's ear, as if it took comfort in the gush of blood that resulted. It ripped off a coin-sized chunk of his ear and leaped away with it, launching off of Kituo's shoulder like a rocket. The rodent scurried into the weeds, dripping blood as it went.

Thomas sat on his knees, losing his mind.

His hand. Why couldn't he feel his goddamned hand. He could see it right there, where it had always been -- hell, at the very moment he could see three of the same hand, thanks to his swirling vision -- so why wasn't it moving when he tried to make it close.

It wasn't just the lack of feeling that was freaking him out. Everything around him felt alive and menacing. The trees and the weeds and the wind and the ground itself seemed to be trying to swallow him whole. Everything made more noise than it should have, loud noise that melted into taunts and mocking laughter. It all came together to give him a burning headache, keeping him from being able to think straight.

He was terrified. He felt like he was dying, being killed by something he couldn't see.

A loud, high-pitched screech stabbed his ears. Thomas yelled out in pain, doubling over and clutching his head with his good hand. "Shut up..." he muttered through clenched teeth.

He didn't want to die. He didn't want to he didn't want to he didnt want to.

He stared at his injured hand with wide, blood-shot eyes. He forced himself to think, through the all the noise and the screaming. The snake must have poisoned him. What was he supposed to do when poisoned?

He pressed his lips against the punctures and tried to suck out blood. The disgusting metallic taste filled his mouth, making his stomach churn. He spit it out quickly.

Thomas' mind continued to race. Was this even something that one was supposed to do when bitten? Or was he mixing things up? Was it already too late to stop the poison? Considering how terribly he felt, it seem unlikely.

Another screech. "Shut up!"

Loud movements that came from all around him. Falling leaves, and Thomas swore he could hear them hitting the ground. Metal grinding on metal.

More screeching.

"Shut the fuck up!" Thomas screamed, his voice breaking.

He looked around in desperation. The small vial of purple liquid that had been on the skeleton caught his eye. Maybe it could help him. It was a long shot, but in his state, Thomas would try anything.

He half-stumbled, half-dragged himself towards it, getting closer to the lantern as he did so. His symptoms, mercifully, lessened with every step. He gained enough presence of mind to remember that he wasn't the only person in this forest. He looked over towards the other boy, and was shocked to see him missing a part of his ear, the wound bleeding profusely.

While it looked painful, it didn't seem life-threatening, unlike whatever it was that was running through Thomas' veins at the moment. While, for whatever reason, the light of the lantern seemed to make the effects more bearable, he couldn't be sure that it did anymore than that. For all he knew, he was still dying.

Turning back towards the vial and reaching for it, he began to question whether drinking a strange liquid was a good idea or not. Whatever, he'd get it unstuck, inspect it closer, and decide then. After wrapping his fingers around it, he pulled.