The Forest

[dont_turn_around]

The woods are lovely spooky, dark and deep...

The mist has not lifted.

The trees are still.

There's not so much as a bird singing or a fox trundling through the undergrowth.

Even the paths seem to lie in waiting.


Deep in the forest is The Tree.


If you think you know where it is...you don't.

Comments

[will_scarlett]

Will eyes Enzo's sword handling and curses as the path disappears,

"We need to make a torch an find 'em. Tis just a forest."

He sheathes his sword and draws his knife to search the ground to find out where others have passed before. No one can walk through a forest and not leave some sign.

[flip_the_lights]

Come on. Focus.

Her flashlight's become useless in the mist -- all it lights up is a white wall of fog -- but Olivia can't bear to turn it off. She falls back to let Will do his work, shoulders rising and falling as she stares off into the trees. The fear feels like it's taking a physical shape inside her, rushing through her limbs to sap her strength. Quickly, she shuts her eyes again to reign in the worst of it.

She is not powerless, she tells herself. The Slenderman is the one who's powerless.

The only weapon he has is the exact thing that will make her stronger.

(It's all right, Olive.)

Drawing one final breath, bearing down with all her mental might, Olivia opens her eyes -- and gasps aloud, rearing back a step before she can catch herself.

(To everyone but her, the landscape is completely unchanged.)

[ami_imperfect]

"A really creepy forest," Dani mutters under her breath.

She goes ghost, and lights up a flare of ectoplasm in one hand. That, combined with her own ghostly aura, don't provide a whole lot of illumination. But it's a little helpful.

[a1enzo]

"Are you okay?" Enzo asks Olivia.

[flip_the_lights]

The whole forest is alight.

Barely hearing Enzo, Olivia turns her head from side to side, taking in the bright stutter-skip of the glimmering trees. It's -- she can't quite describe it, but it's almost as if it doesn't have the same resonance as the glimmer around the Brayson Place Hotel. (Or around Peter.) It makes sense, she supposes. Milliways isn't the Other Side, but it's still a completely different universe from her own.

And as far as her ability's concerned, she's surrounded by objects that don't belong.

Olivia grits her teeth on an incoherent noise of frustration. Come on, she urges silently -- to herself, to her powers, to the Cortexiphan still floating in her bloodstream, who the hell knows. I'm linked to Milliways right now. I'm not linked to home. Show me what's different.

Nothing happens at first. Then, slowly, like air leaking from a balloon, the glimmer begins to fade from the trees.




No. Not all of them.

Far in the distance, a blurry light still dances.

"It's over there," she says, low, and strides toward it without a single glance backward.

[will_scarlett]

When Ami lights up, Will bites back a curse as that's sure to draw attention to them and then watches Olivia.

She has a focus about her and as soon as she starts moving he gestures for Ami and Enzo to go.

He'll take up the rear since even though there are things very wrong with this forest, it's still a forest.

[dont_turn_around]

[flip_the_lights]

The path may be gone, but Olivia doesn't need one anymore; the most she has to do is step carefully to avoid any roots or brambles. Her flashlight stays up, the gun joining it soon after.

As they move closer, the twisted silhouette of the tree becomes much more apparent.

Worse, so does the glimmer: it's taken on a sheen like oily, brackish water, shivering in violent patterns that make bile rise in Olivia's throat.

Quietly, to Will: "I think we're about another fifty feet out."

[will_scarlett]

As they walk, Will switches out his knife for his sword, his steps are quiet.

The silhouette reminds him of the great twisted oak in Sherwood, but that's a noble tree who watches over all. This one doesn't care for anyone,

"Will 'ave to watch for when we're under its branches. They'll stretch far."

[a1enzo]

Enzo draws his sword; it may not be any good against some things, but it can chop.

[ami_imperfect]

The only blade Dani has at her disposal is the ecto-saber, which she pulls out but doesn't ignite just yet.

She douses the green light around her hand, since she'll need both hands to wield the sword. Unfortunately nothing can be done about her ghostly aura; not unless she goes invisible or shifts back to her human form. Neither of these is a viable option right now.

[mnt_mike]

Sometimes it's not just problematic to not see the forest for the trees, it's down right dangerous.

One could make the case that it could even be deadly.

Now being one of those times.

[flip_the_lights]

Thirty feet.

Twenty.

Olivia clicks off her flashlight -- there's enough ambient light from the others that she can still make out the glimmer just fine -- and reaches for the canister strapped to her waist.

[will_scarlett]

Will moves to flank the tree and Olivia, he doesn't know how easy that canister will be to open.

He mouths a prayer to Jack Green and watches the tree and Dani and Enzo.

[a1enzo]

Enzo steps out in the other direction, sword at the ready.

[ami_imperfect]

Dani moves with Enzo, flanking him, ready to trigger the blade of her ecto-saber.

[mnt_mike]

Something races past them, leaving the mist to spiral in its wake.
You're a failure!
Something on silent feet.
You're the least of us!
Something with knives that cut through the air like a whisper, and embed in flesh like a kiss.
I never want to see you again!

[flip_the_lights]

Something just barely catches the edge of Olivia's hearing. She reacts without thinking, spinning toward the noise with her gun raised.

That turns out to be the only thing that saves her from a throwing star to the gut.

It strikes the neck of the canister instead, spitting out a loud hiss as the contents start to depressurize. Instantly, she moves again: "Get down!" she yells -- if someone already knows they're here, stealth won't accomplish anything anymore -- and starts a mad sprint for the tree.

[will_scarlett]

He hears the metal before Olivia's yell and blocks with his sword.

It deflects the star from his chest to his arm and then he's at Olivia's back to block what he can.

She needs to get that onto the tree. He can still move his sword and that's what counts at this point.

[a1enzo]

Enzo's forcefield (thank you, Jordan) stops another star in midair. He follows the others, keeping off to the left to cover more angles of approach. "Dani, you go right!"

[ami_imperfect]

It's a good thing Dani can go intangible, otherwise the star that passes through her would have hit its mark.

"Got it!" She moves right at Enzo's direction, lighting up the blade of her ecto-saber.

[mnt_mike]

Off in the distance the tree is a dark shape that looms.
When the blade of the ecto-saber lights something in that tree glints.
I'll never forgive you for what you've done!
Then what appear to be dark branches begin to slowly move.
There's something in the tree. Something dressed in black Something climbing in a way that would make Spider-man envious. Something that growls low and deep, a warning
You bring nothing but shame to our family!
And that something is poised to strike.

[flip_the_lights]

Olivia keeps running.

The glimmer writhes like curdling milk, or like tentacles unwinding themselves from the tree branches. She drives down a shudder and tries to focus on where the glimmer isn't shining: a human-shaped silhouette further up.

With one hand, she unhooks the canister.

With the other, she aims for (what she hopes is) the person's kneecap and fires.

[will_scarlett]

Will's close behind her and braces himself near where that human-shape is.

If it falls, then it will meet his sword, "Dump it! I'll cover ye!"

[a1enzo]

Enzo closes in on the left and, with his off hand, grips his stun rod.