Annihilus was somewhere. He had dived into this part of the forest, many many miles from the city. Johnny wondered how long he & the team had been pursuing the flying monstrosity that could camouflage fairly well against a late night sky. Unfortunately, he was cut off from the rest for now & his comm device was busted by an earlier attack. He landed in a distinct clearing that opened up into a single forest path, gasping for breath after a most arduous aerial pursuit.

A small but sharp pain tugged at his right arm. It'd be worth boiling Annihilus alive for ripping away part of his uniform like that. But a quiet stroll may gradually give him back the strength to flame on again.

When he had started, he was at the edge of a gloomy forest buzzing only with the night music of crickets. It gave him enough of the chills to get him walking at a brisk pace, hopefully to stumble upon an exit into a more open space. The claustrophobia looming over him would cease to exist if he was successful.

The path was ramrod straight; it seemed too…"unforest-like". The silent minutes passed as if there was never going to be an end to them. He made a decision to pick up the pace. As a result his breathing got louder; though his energy was waning more quickly now, there was that feeling he wasn't alone as he could hear himself quite perfectly. Don't flinch, he told himself in his mind. Reed would come, as he always did, to find me.

Still, the foliage & canopy around & above him kept extending on into the distance. As far as he could see, bluish moonlight allowed him to make out the path ahead. But his confidence level steeply dropped.

There was a noise. Much like the wind yet distinctly not of it. As he spun round to look behind him a mysterious moving mist caught his eye.

"Aaaaaahh! Stay back!"

He fired in the direction of the grey-blue mist, only to have his flames dodged by his target.

The cloudy shape vanished. Yet the uneasiness hadn't. The cool night air just didn't feel right. Plus the heebie jeebies were beginning to overwhelm him.

"I know you're there, ugly bug!" Johnny shouted, "Come out & fight, 'Annihilator'!"'Annihilator' was the name he used to address Annihilus.

He tried his best to hear for further sounds. Funny enough, there was some sort of…purring…cutting through the forest's tranquility. He'd expected a very sudden screeching, like that of a crazed beast. A voice with a British accent startled him when the purring stopped, "It looks like you ran afoul from something of…wicked claws…"

Johnny wished he hadn't been looking up at a long, horizontal branch. A large animal rested on it, appearing as a silhouette only displaying the glow of its large sea green eyes. It wielded a grin that literally stretched to reach both his ears.

"Don't you come here, errr…ghost! Or I'll roast you!" Johnny snapped, almost paralyzed with shock.

"Ghost? What is it about me that makes me resemble…a ghost?" asked the animal in a joking manner. He leapt off the branch & hovered in mid-air, mist encasing part of its body.

"You scared me. That's what ghosts do!" Johnny replied. Involuntarily he hurled another fireball at the creature, but to no avail. This time the fireball went through it, for it had changed completely into mist in the nick of time. It reappeared right in front of Johnny, only making its head visible.

"You need to master…shall we call it…evaporating skills…," chuckled the animal.

Now Johnny surrendered; he was certain this wouldn't be a nice experience. Still he queried, "You're…a friendly ghost? Because I…hate…ghosts."

Unexpectedly, the creature politely introduced himself, showing off that signature grin of his again, "I am the Cheshire Cat, or Chessur, as most here call me."

"Yeah, whatever," said Johnny, "I just know you're up to something." He narrowed his eyes.

"Whatever happened a moment ago was not my fault," the animal responded, "It was certainly not my intention to spook or harm you." Johnny refused to acknowledge that verbally.

"What did that to you?" Chessur asked, gazing at the bit of tattered uniform on Johnny's right arm.

"A large bug. What's your problem with that?"

Chess was inquisitive. He vanished for a split second & appeared on Johnny's other side. "Well, I better have a look," he purred warmly despite Johnny's bluntness.

"What are you doing?" asked Johnny, making the words cold.

Chessur kept smiling, "It needs to be purified by someone with evaporating skills or else it will fester & putrify." Purrs rose in his throat. His whole body reappeared & he playfully spun around in the air. Johnny was still irritated.

"Not listening…I'll be fine," said Johnny.

"At least let me bind it for you?"

"Ugh."

Chessur repeated his disappearing & reappearing cycle once more, now holding a soft cloth in his paw. Slowly & gently he tied it around Johnny's wound, knotting it nicely. "What do you call yourself?" was his next question. The smile hadn't left his wide jolly mug.

"Johnny. Or the Human Torch. My fans call me that."

"Ah…you mean 'Jonah'? Or 'Jonathan'? Or 'John'?

"Jonathan Spencer Storm. You happy now?"

"Ah, yes….Jonathan. I think I had spotted you in the sky before you made your entrance down here…You looked much like a smouldering fire." Chessur chortled at the thought of the last sentence.

"Look, uhh…Chess. Thanks for tryin' to be helpful & all, but I'm on a mission. You can go away now & quit annoying me," Johnny waved a hand to attempt shooing the cat away.

"On the contrary, dear boy. I've always been in this part of the land.You were the one to enter my forest…," Chessur pointed out.

"But I admire your tenacity," he added.

"Hey, hey! I'm here for a reason, ghost kitty."

"Now, now, I never get involved in politics…let's not struggle to be better than the other," smiled Chessur.

Johnny didn't answer.

The cat finally said, "You'd best be on your way, then." He began to float away with help of the mist carrying him.

A suggestion bothered Johnny, all of a sudden. He did have this feeling that he had bottled up from his teammates, even from his own sister, Sue. Crazy as it sounded, he just wanted to share it, despite the fact he was communicating with a talking phantom cat. Chess spoke rather well & sounded like a wise old crack. Johnny had cooled down, anyway, & would take it if he had to spend a while more with the cat.

After all, Chess mentioned that he never left this place; he wouldn't be blurting out to others about everything he heard from strangers.

"Hey, Chess -"

"What is it?"

"Could you show me the way outta here?"

"Well, I do have all the time in the world…"

"I'd…like to ask you about something too."

"Fine. But that's the end of it."

Chessur vanished yet again. Johnny scrutinized his surroundings in anticipation. He grunted impatiently, containing his feeling of annoyance.

"Coming?" the cat reappeared several metres ahead of him. Johnny trotted after him to catch up.

Another chapter coming!