Night 66: Forest

[sixth_attack]

[From here.]

It was an odd thing really. Sechs had been so used to walking through those rigid hallways for the past few weeks that this trek through wide-open space felt almost foreign to him. No walls, doors, stairs or tiled floors... Just a wet, open field with grass, rocks and the occasional shrub. It was like he had returned to a very old memory, one of traveling for miles on foot through deserts and canyons back at his homeworld. He didn't think he would ever get rusty at this sort of thing! This nighttime walk was reminding him of just how much he missed all that freedom of travel before. Now if it hadn't been raining so damn much...

Ascending the peak of a sloping hill, Sechs paused and scanned the area to make sure they were going in the right direction. The rain was coming down so thick that he had to wipe his drenched hair away from his eyes to see properly. From there he could barely make out the pitch black wall of trees near the base of the hill. Sechs gave out a mixed sigh of relief and trepidation. They had made it to the forest, and so far it wasn't looking one bit welcoming...

"We made it..." he panted, "Now we just gotta find where those leaves come from and whatever water source is nearby..." He stopped and looked to Link, "I don't think there's any paths we can take there. You uh, you good at navigating through forests?" he asked, looking somewhat abashed that he had to ask that question in the first place. "They're uh, not too common back where I come from..."

Comments

[gald_digger]

[from here]

Maybe it had been a little too soon to celebrate.

They'd made it to the forest, and Anise was happy about that, but the visibility had just gotten ten times worse from what it already was. There weren't any paths to follow, either, so they just had to go deeper and deeper until they stumbled onto something. Not Anise's favorite plan.

She let out a sigh, her breath slightly visible in the cold air. "Well... at least we're almost there." Anise really, really hoped so, anyway.

[nobleman]

Once they made it under the shelter of the canopy that the trees offered, Guy paused to shake some of the water out of his hair and wring out the sleeves of his shirt if nothing else. His boots now squelched with each step and the way that his clothing clung to his body was pretty uncomfortable, but they had to keep going.

He hoped that they had access to the showers tomorrow. A nice, hot shower sounded great right about now...

While the trees did offer some protection, it was clear that some of the rain had made it to the forest floor, which muddled any indication of where they should go.

"We'll just need to head further in and keep an ear out for rushing water." Which would be hard when they were essentially surrounded by it, but what other choice did they have? Guy just hoped they didn't get attacked by anything. That was the last thing they needed right now.

[earthling]

As they ventured further into the trees, Claude let out a small sigh that was drowned out by the sound of raindrops pelting his hardhat. It was so loud that, now that they'd been out here for awhile, he could barely hear himself think. Feeling physically depleted and tired from his symptoms didn't help things, either, even if he was supposedly better off than some of the other infected patients.

And of course he'd have to listen for something specific at a time like this. Awesome.

"Man, they sure didn't try to make this easy," Claude huffed, and his teeth began to lightly chatter. "Rivers sounds pretty different from rainfall, though, and I'll bet it's gushing from all this water." It made logical sense to him, anyway. Or was that just him trying to stay positive?

[dispersive]

"Yeah, tell me about it," Luke griped right along with Claude as he blew into his right hand to make sure his fingers hadn't permanently lost sensation. But honestly, when was life ever easy? Actually, he took that back. Life was easy when you didn't know anything and didn't care to. It was certainly true that ignorance could be bliss, but after his rude awakening into the world the replica couldn't say that he wanted to go back to the person he had been with that attitude.

"Alright, well, there's only so much forest. It's in there somewhere." It was supposed to be a morale boost, but it sounded more sarcastic than he meant it to be. He thought about splitting up, but with the rain they would never hear each other if someone got attacked or found the river. They would just have to comb the forest the hard way.

[gald_digger]

So they just had to listen for running water. Anise didn't like wandering around blindly, but that was the best they could do right now. Maybe if they just went straight, they'd end up crossing the river no matter what! ... But even that was easier said than done, as there were enough twists and turns in their path that it took a lot of careful attention just to make sure they didn't get turned all the way around.

At one point, her ears seemed to pick up a watery sound that stood out a bit amongst the plopping and pattering of rain, but it was hard to tell. Anise stopped walking, hoping the sound might be clearer without the sloshing of her own footsteps getting in the way.

"I thought I heard it," she explained, a little sheepishly, figuring she ought to explain that sudden pause. For a moment, Anise wondered if it wasn't just wishful thinking on her part, that she'd imagined the sound she wanted to hear so badly, but now that she was standing still, she was almost certain she was on the mark. "Do you guys hear it too?"

[nobleman]

At this point, everyone seemed to be in a bad mood, or at least a little bit grouchy. With half of them sick and all of them drenched, on a wild goose chase to try and fix things, it was really no surprise. Guy tried to keep calm, though, shaking moisture from his clothes and hair whenever he could.

After some trudging through the muddy undergrowth, Anise paused all of a sudden. Worried that she might have heard a monster creeping up on them, Guy quickly whirled around, but let out a sigh of relief when the girl explained herself.

Guy went quiet and tried to push away the sound of the rain to hear what else was there, and eventually his ear caught onto rushing water. "Yeah, yeah, I think I do." He pointed in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from. "Come on." As silently as he could, Guy changed direction, keeping an eye out for any monsters in the trees or the brush.

[earthling]

When Anise paused, Claude grew tense right along with Guy, but for fear that maybe her symptoms had gotten worse. Thankfully, his heart settled when she finally spoke, and soon he was straining to listen for the river.

"Hmm," was all he'd say on the subject. The sound of rushing water did indeed reach his ears, but he honestly wasn't sure whether it was in his head or not. His friend had just claimed they knew their next direction, though, and Claude desperately wanted it to be true. On the other hand, a small part of him dreaded the possibility that they would reach the river without finding anything to reward them for their trouble.

Well, there was only way to find out. After taking a deep breath and wordlessly glancing at Luke, Claude began to follow Guy's lead.

[dispersive]

"... I don't hear anything," Luke admitted into the harsh rain, but he didn't question his friends. If Anise heard it, then that was good enough for him. He felt less silly as he quickened his pace beside Claude. Luke figured with the amount of noise reverberating off that strange helmet of his, the blond probably hadn't heard it either. The four of them had to hope Anise and Guy had heard right.

It was strange, but her assurance had left his heart thumping in his chest. All of this could be over in a matter of minutes. It put some color back in his cheeks as adrenaline began to flow through him with every step beside the group.

[gald_digger]

Anise’s confidence wavered when Claude and Luke didn’t seem to hear what she had, but Guy was agreeing with her, so that had to count for something. She followed where Guy led, wrapping her arms tightly around her body to ward off the cold. Hopefully, this could all be over and done with soon.

The sound grew clearer, but there was still nothing within view. After a few minutes, they finally approached what appeared to be a gap in the trees, and Anise felt hopeful once more. A place where trees wouldn’t grow… maybe that was the river!

Before long, her hopes were confirmed. Somewhere between the trees, she could see the rippling surface of rushing water. “There! That’s it!” she cried, pointing excitedly.

[nobleman]

While Claude and Luke's uncertainty made Guy question what he'd heard, it didn't look like anyone had a better idea, and so they continued in the direction that he'd picked. Guy did his best to shine his light into the trees where he could, keeping an eye out for any monsters that might want to get the jump on them. Surprisingly enough, it was pretty much a clear path that they ended up walking.

As they grew closer, Guy became more aware of the sound of rushing water, though he only allowed himself to feel relief when Anise pointed out that the river was now in plain view for them. "Great," he said as he let out a sigh.

While the hard part was over now, Guy realized that they were about the face the music, so to speak. If they didn't find anything around the river, then they were officially out of options, and would have to resort to surgery. Guy sent Claude and Anise a worried glance before he moved down toward the river and started to search around the banks.

"So, keep an eye out for any plants that might be useful, or anything out of the ordinary..." The problem was they honestly didn't know what they were looking for. His hope was that they'd known what it was when they saw it.

[earthling]

They didn't have much time to stumble blindly through the woods, so Claude was relieved when they managed to find the river without any major hiccups. Of course, their work was cut out for them, and the overwhelming task began to sink in the moment he followed Guy and stared down at the wet underbrush next to the river bank. Claude knew better than to complain out loud, but seriously? They didn't even really know what they were looking for! Talk about finding a needle in a haystack...

On the other hand, he hadn't considered that maybe he ought to be grateful that nothing had tried to ambush them yet. He sure inwardly changed his tune the moment his hardhat light brushed across something that, upon a second glance, looked out of place.

Like an alarmed animal, Claude instinctively froze. "Guys," he breathed, unsure of whether he ought to say more. They would probably see for themselves soon enough.

[damned_monsters]

Underneath the light's beam, the beak-like mask appeared all the whiter, a stark contrast to its cloak, and the rest of the dark forest. Standing within the river itself, it didn't seem to make any move to approach or attack.

The group, however, had definitely been noticed, which became clear when the apparition quizzically tilted its mask to the side, empty eyes pointedly gazing at them.