I study him for a second. He seems.... interesting to say the least. Reminds me of Dwyer. He could never take anything seriously. "Right... well, follow--"
And suddenly, I hear a noise. Like a tunneling sound. A shuffle. A shift. It starts off quiet but grows and grows until something suddenly bursts out of the ground and nearly knocks me off my feet. I jump back, readying my crossbow and aiming for its chest. It has smooth, sleek, black skin and beady eyes with large horns and claws as well as a sort of scorpion-like tail. It lashes out at me and I am forced to jump out of the way before I can shoot. I try again, but suddenly, it burrows into the ground again. "Come on!" I call to the guy--Menno, leaping up to grab a tree-branch and pulling myself up. We need cover and this creature doesn't seem the type to climb. I swing my way up and take aim again when it re-surfaces, but it ducks back under again and I miss. Cursing, I grab another bolt and re-load my crossbow--
--But then I notice something. A girl. What? Where did she come from? Whatever. People just keep popping up, don't they? Annoying. "Hey! Take cover!" I call to her, shooting the beast in the side when it tries to go for her. it hisses, then dives back under ground, seemingly unhurt. At least I got a hit in. I don't have that many bolts left. Three it looks like. I should have brought more... oh well. No time to worry about that now. Bigger things to deal with.
I look to Ashe. An awesome tree-fort? That would have been amazing! But... Zaiden doesn't like staying in the forest too long. He says it's too dangerous. Pff, what does he know? I've been here two years. You'd think I'd know how to deal with the forest by now. "Well... no... but we do have a camp. it's like a dip in the ground with really long grass all around it and rocks so you can't see it unless you're right at the entrance. There's an underground area too--in case it rains. Though the camp is really just for eating and resting our legs... we can't sleep here. We've tried, but for some reason, sleep never comes."
"Hi again. Look, I am a bit new here but I this place seems a little less the safe. Is there anywhere a bit less open where we could all go? I don't really feel like waiting for one of those creatures to come back and I could make this place from a couple of miles out."
Oh, it's this guy. Formal Wear 2.0. "We've got a camp! As I just told Ashe. It's kind ofmore in the open if you consider fields with long grass open... but it is much safer. There's practically nothing in the field anyway. We just come here to hunt. We can go once Zaiden gets back." I smile, then blink when Lacie comes running in. Not sure what's going on. Not sure I want to ask.
Instead I just look around again, scanning the new people, trying to see who we have now. There's still no real logic behind the people coming here... other than the fact we all tended to want escape. Though I don't know these people's stories, I guess. Still, it's interesting. Oh well, I'm sure it'll all work out. There must be a reason we're in here, right? Why else do all this?
I have no idea what to do. I think about walking up to people, asking questions, then I suddenly second-guess myself and remain exactly as I al. Standing awkwardly in the corner. As usual. Ugh.
So I do what I've always done best. Nothing. Just blend into the background... Okay, well I'm not so good at that part. My hair and my height tend to make me kind of obvious. Maybe I can blend in with that group of trees over there. They seem like a cool crowd.
Aaand I'm being sarcastic again. To myself. In my head. Yeah I'm weird.
In the end, I just find Dwyer again, since he's been here two years... he's got to know something, right?
"So, um... you mentioned we can't sleep here? What else happens... or doesn't happen? Anything important that we should know now before it happens and completely freaks us all out?"
Dwyer turns to me and considers this for a second. "Oh! Well, sometimes we wake up in a strange lab-like place with scientists or something all around us taking notes. We can sleep then, and we always do because it gets... overwhelming. Sometimes people go missing too, but they usually come back. Zaiden went missing once... he hasn't really been the same since."
....
"Well that sounds lovely," I comment, trying not to panic. Just what the hell do these people want with us, then? Why are we here? How can someone who's been here two years still know nothing? It's so... bizarre. Like a dream but... not.
I don't know what else to say. What can I? In the end, all I can think to do is remain perfectly silent and hope none of that happens right off the bat. I wish I had my guitar. Music always helps in stressful and confusing situations....
