Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I just own the ones I've created (if any) and the plot.
Chapter two: Hiding
Normal POV
"What do you mean by we can't spirit evolve!" stuttered JP, as others gasped and groaned. They continued running through the parts of the forests that are most well-covered, but the black Digimon kept pursuing them. Fatigue was gripping the children like a talon's hawk, slowing them down. Tommy tripped on a tree root and scraped his knees, then was carried by Kouji, who was nearest, because he couldn't run anymore.
"We can't hold on for much longer!" Kouichi yelled through pants. His eyes swept frantically through the forest for a decent shelter from the dinosaur Digimon. Noticing a ravine nearby, he called over to Takuya and informed him. Together, the group dashed to the ravine and slid to the bottom of it, landing more or less ungracefully.
"Ugh," moaned Tommy. Zoe shushed him and looked up. If they were silent enough, the ravine should be enough to hide them from the Digimon chasing them. She dared not brush away the golden strands that plastered to her face, fearing that even the slightest movement might give them away.
Kouji was trying to silence his irregular breathing the best he could. Sweat trickled down his neck, wetting the collar of his yellow shirt. Glancing sideways, he could see that his friends were doing the same thing. He winced as the black Digimon stomped their way, roaring with anguish at its lost prey.
The six children stayed rigid like statues, trying very hard not to move a slightest inch. The black Digimon snarled, revealing its long, sharp teeth, and sniffed around. The children subconsciously huddled closer, and Takuya started to feel his nose itch. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the tickly feeling, but failed miserably. The other five quickly noticed Takuya's beginning of a sneeze, and covered Takuya's nose with their hands, managing to stop him mid-sneeze. None of them moved when the dinosaur Digimon went as close as ever. It flared its nostrils and JP tensed, waiting for the Digimon to roar with triumph and gobble them up. The black Digimon gave another bloodcurdling growl, and JP shut his eyes, waiting for the blow.
Which never came.
JP tentatively opened one eye into a slit, peering around. 'I'm still alive!' He thought. Opening his eyes fully, he peeked from the top of the ravine, only to find that the black Digimon was heading in the opposite direction in search of them, its tail swinging back and forth in frustration. When the Digimon had gone, they removed their hands from Takuya's nose, which started to itch again and made Takuya let out a fully-charged sneeze.
Tommy let out a sigh of relief, "I really thought it was going to tear us into tiny bits!" He was still shivering; the close encounter with being eaten alive had scared him thoroughly.
"We'll have to camp here tonight," Kouichi said. "It's a good shelter, and there's a brook nearby." He pointed to the brook behind them, scarcely more than a trickle of water. But it was better than nothing.
That night, they dared not light a campfire, for fear of attracting attention, and bring to them more trouble. Zoe sighed as she took out a lavender napkin from her skirt pocket, and dampened it with the water flowing from the brook. She then dabbed it onto Tommy's scrape wounds on his knees, cleaning them. Tommy winced at the sting, but said nothing.
Not far from the ravine were Kouji and Takuya. They were out in search for dinner. The problem was that everything was new to them, even the fruit on the trees, and they had no idea which one was safe to eat. Takuya picked an orange pear-like fruit, dotted with brown spots, and took a cautious nibble. The fruit was slightly sweet, with crispy flesh and a slight amount of juice.
"Hey Kouji!" Takuya called to his best friend. The boy stopped picking branches, turned and walked over. "This is edible, I think," Takuya picked some more fruit from the tree and held them with his arms.
"We'll need to guard the ravine at night. There's no knowing when another Digimon will come storming at our doorstep again," Kouji suggested grimly. Takuya nodded, his gaze darkening.
"I just don't get it," Takuya narrowed his eyes. "Our spirits are still there, so why can't we spirit evolve?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Tector with Agunimon on the screen. "I mean, they're still here, and we can talk to them, but somehow we can't… be them."
Kouji clutched his own D-Tector. "Well, the Digital World is so different. First we can't find any Trailmon tracks, and now we can't spirit evolve. We're also facing new species of Digimon that attacks us for no reason at all. Maybe we're here to do something, but it's not the time for us to know yet." He looked at Lobomon one last time before shoving his D-Tector into his pocket. "We'd better bring the fruit back, they must be hungry." He carried the thick branches he had found and walked away.
"H-hey wait for me!" Takuya anxiously grabbed hold of their dinner and tried to catch up with Kouji, which really wasn't an easy task when carrying at least a dozen fruit. The mountain of fruit blocked his view, and he tripped over a rock and fell down face first, with fruit scattered all around him.
'Maybe I should just walk back alone...' Takuya thought while picking up their fallen dinner.
When the Frontier gang had finished their dinner, they sat close together for warmth. "Tell me why we can't light a fire again?" Zoe grumbled, pulling her vest tighter against herself as she shivered. The others were no better.
"Because a fire might attract attention," Kouji replied curtly. "Do you want Digimon to chase us again?" Zoe stayed silent after that.
"We'll need to take turns guarding our camp," Kouichi suggested firmly. "Now that we can't protect ourselves, we can at least hide beforehand if danger comes. I'll guard the camp first while you all sleep."
"I'll take the next watch," Kouji volunteered.
"Hm…I'll be the third on duty then," Zoe said, smiling lightly.
"I'm coming right behind you, Zoe," Tommy grinned.
"Guess I'll take the watch after. After all, you might fall asleep during your watch!" Takuya joked, elbowing the younger boy lightly on the side.
"Great! I'll be the last to be on duty!" JP grinned. "At least I can sleep all the way through the night without being interrupted."
The once gloomy mood that drifted around them because of their inability to spirit evolve thinned out, and the children joked around, chatting just like the way they did two years ago. But it wasn't long before Tommy noticed the pile of long, thick branches next to Kouji.
"Uh, Kouji, what are those branches for?" Tommy asked, pointing a finger at the pile. Kouji picked up one of the branches, and explained, "I figured since we can't fight like the way we used to, we might as well take something new with us for self-defense. It's better than nothing."
"Easy for you to say," JP muttered. "You know kendo!" Kouji raised a brow. "Then you'd rather go out there empty handed? Even if you guys don't know kendo, you can at least whack someone on the head with this." He gave each of them a branch. "Better seize the chance to get yourself attached to your new companion," he smirked.
Tommy gave his branch, which was just a little bit shorter than he was, an experimental swing, and fell over in the process. Everyone cracked up, and they soon went chatting about again.
-Later that night-
Zoe tossed and turned in her bedding. The others were already asleep, well, except for Kouichi, who was keeping watch. 'I wonder if we'll have to hide like this everyday. It's bad enough that we can't spirit evolve, but we're attacked, and…the Digital World felt different somehow. We haven't seen any Digimon so far, except for that black dinosaur that chased us. I wonder…' Sleepiness interrupted her trail of thoughts, and Zoe closed her emerald eyes, joining the others in their sleep.
Little did the Frontier gang know, not being able to spirit evolve was only the least of their problems.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: A filler chapter. It's just a prologue to what happens after. Hope you guys like it! Oh, and don't forget to review!
