Chapter 88 - Is there even an end to this forest?"

Putting my hands on the ground, I start to push myself out of the water. Right before I get out, I hear a sharp intake of breath, and I fall back into the pond. 

Suddenly shivering, I watch with alarm as Blake jumps out of the trees, heading for some unknown location. He seems to circle some random area near the edge of the clearing, as if eyeing his prey, and pounces.

A squeal erupts as Blake grasps at air, almost as if locking it into an embrace. 

"Blake, that hurts!" The air gasps. I think I'm about to have a heart attack.

"You can stop now," Blake growls, now putting the air into a headlock. "And no excuses."

Suddenly a man starts to materialize, a wide grin on his face. As his face appears, I realize that the intruder is Lee. My eyes narrowed into slits. 

"It was a joke," Lee says laughingly, "I was just passing by."

Blake says nothing, glaring at him with seemingly laser vision. 

"Okay," Lee continues, "maybe a bad joke."

"Look, Lee. We need to learn to trust each other, to feel safe with each other, and even though you think it's not a big deal, in this you are tearing down what everyone has worked to build up." Blake grabs him and pulls him into the bushes. 

"Sorry, Elena!" He calls on his way out, never once looking at me.

I stare after him for who-knows-how-long, while entertaining conflicting thoughts about him and the rest of the world, and then sink into the sparkling depths of the warm waters with exhaustion.

"So, what next?" George asks, looking at all of our faces. We stare back, as clueless as he is. Silence reigns between us, and not even the sounds of insects or birds are heard. I shift restlessly in my seat on the dark gray rock.

"We need to find Jim and James," Blake finally says with a commanding tone, "I'm sure they are around here somewhere."

"So far, everyone has all been found within the same ten mile radius. Maybe scouting out the rest of this area will prove fruitful," Danae says calculatively, staring at a notebook in her hand. "We still have a lot we haven't covered."

"I say we look for water," I speak up forcefully. "There isn't a limitless amount of food near that tiny little pond, no matter how filling the fruit is. And if on that journey we find Jim and James, great. 

If we don't, we can always go back and look for them with a significantly higher chance of survival on both sides." I can see Lee and Kurtis nodding after my suggestion. Blake just looks back at me with displeasure.

"I think Elena is right. Let's just gather up all our resources and all the fruit on those bushes, and head towards the outskirts of the forest," George says firmly.

"Is there even an end to this forest?" Danae asks wonderingly. Her question marks a similar concern for all of us. Are we really here just to die in this empty wasteland?

Why are we even here, anyways?

I think back to the dozens of visions I have had over the past month, searching for some clue to lead us on the right path. 

Castle doors, tall mountains, and endless forests flash before my eyes. I do remember seeing an ocean or lake of some kind before but where was it?

After pondering hard, I point to the north of us. "It's that way."

"What?" George asks, looking at me with a dubious expression.

"Water. I figure that since we are at the base of the mountains, the lake should be directly north of here. Although I don't know how far away it is."

I can feel all of the eyes on me, making me fidget uncomfortably. "How do you know that?" George shoots back, and then abruptly stands up from his position on the fallen log. 

"In fact, do you know something about how we got here in the first place? And what here even is?" He steps closer to me, and I shake involuntarily.

"George." Blake stands up and puts his hand in front of George to gently push him away from me. "Don't be so overbearing. She can't take too much at once."

"No, Blake," He brushes past him, flinging aside his arm. "I think Elena owes us some answers, and that we need them now." When he looks at me, his green eyes glowing with barely contained intensity, a strange fear grips my heart.

"You're… right," I acknowledge, "so you can sit down now, and I promise I will share everything I know."

He stares at me for a minute, and then returns to sit on the log. Blake sits down as well, and I can sense his gaze. Knowing he is looking at me gives me the jitters in my stomach, for some unknown reason.

"For quite some time now, I have been seeing visions. Usually they are about people, some sort of elite group that lives in a tall castle, but some give me views of the world beyond the castle. 

Based on what I've seen up to this point, I believe that we have landed in the world of my visions. Given the conversations I've witnessed, I also think that this world is not a physical world, but exists in some sort of spiritual sense, and is also the home of the Shifters."

"What the -" Lee curses under his breath, and the rest of the group reacts similarly. George in particular is looking both confused and almost annoyed, rubbing his knuckles together in a worried fashion.

"What did you hear?" George asks, but his voice is quickly drowned out by the others. Everyone comes forward with questions at once.

"Elena, what do you mean by saying this world isn't physical?" Kurtis queries while rubbing the bark on the log. "Looks pretty real to me."

"Just what I said. I believe that this is the spirit world, kind of similar to what we have heard about heaven or hell. Except this is obviously much different," I speak, sounding much more confident than I feel. "I mean, there's Shifters absolutely everywhere. There seems to be no other explanation."

"Last time I checked, we were in that dark room in Headquarters," Lee comments, "even if this is the Spirit world, how in the world could we have ended up here? Unless we're dead."

"No, I don't think we are," I assert, standing up from my perch. I cast a glance at the sky, which is still covered in heavy fog and thick clouds. "I think, somehow, I transported us here. And don't ask me how, because I honestly have no clue."

The group breaks into chatter, with everyone talking among themselves. Strangely relieved by finally sharing what has been within my head for quite some time, I tilt my head to let the mist embrace me, dancing across my jawline and chilled skin.

My eyes close, and I let my senses encompass my entire body, trying to feel everything around us.

"I don't understand how this is not a physical world when we can feel things, and we all still retain our bodies," Danae says hesitantly, "how can you be so sure?"

"I'm not." I open my eyes with new focus and clarity. It is time to test out the conjectures I have made, seeing if it is possible once and for all. "Just… let me see…"

Blake quickly stands behind me as I close my eyes again. "Are you okay?" He murmurs softly into my ear. My heart starts beating like a drum, distracting me from the swirl of thoughts I am trying to create.

"Blake, stay there," I command, all the while thinking of words concerning pain. Strike. Blood. Hurt. Ache. Stab. Destroy. As I let the words boil within me, a spirit spear begins to materialize in my hand.

Except this time, it isn't a spear, but a miraculous, sparkling sickle. It looks deadly, with a sharp curve and pointed tip. I marvel at the size of it, and the feeling of power that it gives me.

I look out among the group, and I can tell none of them can see the weapon. They are only staring at me in confusion. I somehow know that now is the time.

Please work, I beg as I bring down the sickle upon a nearby tree with all of my might. Collective gasps erupt from everyone, and then we all look in stunned silence. Myself more than anyone else, quite honestly.

"Move!" Blake jumps and pushes me out of the way as the tree comes crashing towards the ground, hitting it with a resounding thump.

In the process, my sickle falls from my hands and lands on Blake. No, the correct phrase would be that it seemed to melt on Blake, dissolving into nothingness as soon as it hit both him and the ground.

I am on my hands and knees now, covered in dirt. Deprived of the strength to move, I just stay in my exact position. But once I finally look up, I find that once again I am the center of attention.

I turn my head laboriously towards the falling tree, seeing the clean cut where the tree had been severed from its trunk.

After a few more seconds of this awkward silence that seems to be the norm among our group, Kurtis speaks up. "So… North?"

~

We have been trekking for endless days, and short nights. It seems at the beginning like every step is leading towards deliverance, yet when I lose that hope towards the evenings it seems like we are only walking farther away from our goals. 

We try to rest, but I am just too anxious. So far we have seen nothing, and no one, except the Shifters.

Even them I only catch sight of once or twice, and only at a glance, as if they are trying to hide from us. It is strangely disconcerting to see the Shifters running from us, like we are the villains in all of this. I guess in their point of view, we may be.

To try and pass the time while both walking and running, I practice making weapons. After lots of experimenting, I have figured out that the weapons won't hurt tangible people, but will affect the world around us. 

I was scared to try it before, but now I realize it is necessary for both our survival and for an even higher purpose that none of us may even realize yet. 

Already I get the feeling in my heart that we are supposed to be traveling towards the water, because the water is close to the castle. And the castle is the key to everything at the center of the uncertainty.