Hey Guys! Sorry for updating so late! I had seriou writer's block! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"How long have we've been lost?" Marshall asked aloud as Professor Z and Lucas walked a few feet in front of him and Corrine.
Z stopped in his tracks and turned round to face his complaining student. He was not up to entertaining Marshall's whining. Z sighed and rolled his eyes before answering.
"For the one-thousandth time Marshall, we are not lost. The sundial pointed us in the right direction and this is the way the object flew. We are going to follow it whether you like it or not."
Marshall was taken aback by Z's response. He could tell that the Professor was aggravated and almost at his breaking point. Instead of returning a sarcastic answer, as he always did, Marshall decided to keep quiet. Lucas stood off to the side next to Z and smirked at the scene before him. He then tapped Z on the shoulder.
"Professor Z, I don't mean to sound like I'm bitching and complaining, like Marshall over here, but we need to rest."
Marshall shot his best friend an angry glower and in response, Lucas smiled teasingly at him.
"I agree with Lucas Professor Z. We've been walking for way too long. It seems like the nighttime part of the woods are miles away. I noticed that with every step we take, the woods seem to move itself further away from us." Corrine replied.
Z turned his gaze way from Corrine and looked across the open field to where the dark part of the forest lay. He began to ponder over Corrine's theory and realized that she was right. The woods seemed to be further away than he calculated. He then turned around to face Corrine.
"Corrine I believe you are right. The woods seem to be getting further away as we walk. We should have reached the other side two hours ago."
"Yeah that's what I was saying…" Marshall chimed in.
Z shot Marshall a stern glare. He then sighed and looked at everyone's tired facial expressions. He too, wanted to stop and rest, but there was something inside him egging him on to continue their journey. But he knew that he was beyond exhausted and felt his body fighting with him to relax. He glanced at the dark wooded area once more and turned to his students with a smile.
"Okay guys. I guess we should stop and take a break."
"Oh thank God!" Marshall blurted out excitedly.
"Let's pick the right spot to get comfortable." Corrine suggested.
As they began their search for the right location, the sky above them suddenly turned to nightfall. Stunned, everyone stopped in their tracks, looked at each other and then looked up at the sky.
"What the hell just happened?" Corrine asked in shock as she firmly grabbed Marshall's hand.
Z surveyed the area and noticed that the other side of the woods, which was the place they were formerly walking through, had daylight. "It seems like we've somehow made it to the other side of the woods."
"But that's impossible. The dark woods were miles ahead of us. How the hell could we walk a few miles in just a few steps?" Lucas asked in bewilderment.
"I don't know, Lucas, but there's some weird shit going on. It's like someone or something is playing a cruel trick on us, guys." Marshall replied as he looked around the area.
The forest they were now standing in was slightly different from the daylight area they were once familiar with. The trees were much taller and thicker and were more spread apart from each other. The atmosphere seemed to be much more eerier. The night sky revealed a large, bright moon and stars, which were much larger than the ones back home. The light from the moon and stars emitted a ghostly silver glow onto the world below them. The science club stood in an awestruck silence as they gazed at the magnificent scene above them.
"Wow. The sky looks more beautiful when you're standing right under it." Corrine said in a soft whisper.
"Yeah. The moon looks close enough to touch." Lucas added. When he lifted his hand, probably in an attempt to see if he could possibly touch the moon, Marshall caught sight of what he was doing. He quickly ran over to him and forced his hand down. Lucas looked at him in confusion.
"Marshall what the hell are you doing?"
"What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I was trying to prevent you from doing something stupid! Why were you trying to touch the moon?" Marshall asked angrily.
Lucas stared at him and burst out into laughter. Corrine and Z soon joined him. Marshall frowned and eyed everyone in confusion. "What the hell is so funny?"
"You! You should have seen your face! You looked so scared!" Corrine said with a soft giggle.
"Yeah Marsh, chillax! You don't really think I was going to try and touch the moon did you? I did that to see how you would react." Lucas replied as he tried to stop laughing. Marshall rolled his eyes and then looked at Z, who was trying to hold back his laughter.
"Okay guys, that's enough." Z chuckled. "Let's sit over there. That looks like a great spot to relax." He said as he led the group over to a small clearing encircled by a few of trees. "I think we ought to make a campfire. Let's look around for some firewood."
After a few minutes, they met back at the campsite and dropped the sticks onto the ground, forming a pile.
"Okay, who knows how to make a fire?" Z asked with an enthusiastic smile.
"I'll do it. It can't be too hard. All you need is friction and some heat and wa-la. You have fire." Lucas replied knowingly as he sat down on the ground and grabbed two sticks from the pile and began rubbing them together.
A few minutes passed by and there was still no fire. Lucas was becoming frustrated and rubbed the sticks even faster. Marshall watched in amusement as his best friend struggled to light a fire. Corrine also watched Lucas and then glanced at her boyfriend, who was holding back a laugh. She smiled and nudged his arm.
"Marshall, don't laugh. Help him!" She said in a soft whisper.
Marshall glanced at Corrine and began laughing aloud. Lucas glanced up and noticed Marshall snickering. He then gave up on making a fire.
"What's so damn funny, Marsh?" Lucas inquired in an irritated tone.
"It's you man. You've been rubbing these sticks together for the past twenty minutes! I though you said that you knew how to make a fire?"
Lucas glared at his friend. "I do know how to make a damn fire. These sticks are bad that's all. Why don't you get over here and make a freakin' fire smart-ass?"
"Maybe I can help you out, Lucas." Z said as he walked over to the pile of sticks.
"Can you make a fire Z? We'll be here all night." Marshall retorted.
"Not necessarily Marshall, when you have this." Z said proudly as he pulled out a lighter from his pants pocket and flicked on a flame. Corrine, Marshall, and Lucas all stared in disbelief at Professor Z, as if they've never seen a lighter before.
"Z…since when did you have a lighter? Do you smoke?" Marshall asked.
"No. I happen to carry a lighter just in case I'm in a situation like this."
"Smart thinking, Z. I just wished you would have pulled out the lighter sooner." Lucas retorted under his breath as he got up from the ground and dusted off his pants.
Z then bent over and carefully lit the small pile of sticks and then put away his lighter.
"Okay guys. Our fire is finally born." Z said proudly as he sat down around the campfire. Marshall and Corrine sat next to each other while Lucas sat next to Professor Z. They all sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the cackling of the burning firewood. The light from the fire, along with the haunting glow emitting from the midnight heaven above, made the appearance of the woods seem less threatening.
"We should have bought some marshmallows." Marshall suggested. Lucas glanced at his best friend and smirked.
"Only you would think about food at a time like this."
"You know what, guys? This reminds me of the time I went camping with my boy scout troop when I was ten years old." Z began with a smile.
"How so, Z?" Corrine asked with a sweet smile.
"Well, we were in the same type of woods like this one, except for the abnormal sky. But anyway, I remember the whole forest seemed to take a life on it's own…"
Lucas looked at Z with a confused frown. "So what you're saying is that you think that this forest is alive in some way?"
"No, not really. Like our earth, this place is 'alive' per-se because it supports life. I think that this place has some sort of sub consciousness." Z replied.
"Now that I think about it, this place does seem like it is alive. That explains how the darker woods seemed to 'walk' away from us." Corrine added.
"So let me get this straight, you guys are saying that the reason why it took us so long to reach this forest is because it was purposely moving away from us?" Marshall asked disbelievingly.
"Yeah…think about it Marsh, that would explain why all of a sudden the sky turned dark and we ended up where we needed to be. It's as if it stalled our timing for some reason, or it was playing a joke on us or something." Lucas replied.
"Your theory seems correct, Lucas. I believe that there is a reason it took us so long to get here. We weren't supposed to reach these parts of the woods until a designated time. Maybe there's something about to happen…" Z concurred.
"Or maybe something did happen already…" Lucas retorted. Everyone eyed each other wearily and were silent for a few moments until Marshall began to speak.
"This shit is too weird. Hey Corrine, do you want to take a walk with me?" Marshall asked as he stood.
Corrine stood up and smiled. "Yeah, sure Marshall."
"Don't stray away too far guys, we don't need anyone else missing." Z replied.
"Don't worry Z, we won't stray too far. I just need to clear my head." Marshall retorted with a weary smile.
"Yeah, sure you doMarshall." Lucas said teasingly, knowing that his roommate wanted to spend some much needed alone time with Corrine.
Marshall smirked guiltily and walked away with his girlfriend by his side. They quietly walked a few feet away from the campsite, making sure it was in clear view. Corrine surveyed the area and began to wonder why Marshall brought her with him.
"Marshall why are we here? Is everything…"Before she could finish her sentence, Marshall whisked around and planted a heated, fervent kiss on her lips. Corrine was taken aback by his actions, but gave in freely to his embrace. She noticed that the kiss was different. There was more desperation and fear entwined with his embrace. After a few minutes, they broke away from the kiss and looked at each other with a smile. Marshall placed his forehead on Corrine's and held her firmly by her waist.
"Wow…I didn't expect that Marshall. That was…that was different." Corrine replied in a soft whisper. "Is everything alright?"
Marshall smiled and stepped back from his girlfriend and held both of her hands. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to spend some alone time with you. Do you know that we haven't kissed in like…forever?"
"Yeah, I know. But what I also noticed was that you seemed scared when you kissed me." Corrine retorted.
"I'm alright. I'm just stressed. I guess all this talk about the woods being alive and this whole stress of Josie and Vaughn missing is starting to get to me." Marshall replied.
Corrine smiled and cupped his face. "Well don't worry, as long as I'm here and we got Lucas and Professor Z, nothing can beat us."
Marshall smiled and grabbed her waist, drawing her closer to his body. "So, how about another kiss to take away my stress?" He asked huskily.
"I don't mind." Corrine replied sweetly as she kissed his lips. As they were distracted in each other's embrace, Marshall suddenly pulled away from her lips and glanced around the area. Corrine looked at her boyfriend strangely. "Marshall what's…"
"Shhh. Did you hear that?" Marshall asked. Corrine surveyed the area and then turned back to her boyfriend. She noticed that his eyes were filled with fear.
"No. I didn't hear anything."
"I could have sworn I hear something. It was coming from over there." Marshall said as he pointed towards a darker part of the woods. At that same time, a rustling sound came from the same direction he pointed to. Corrine heard the sound, also.
"What was that?" She asked as she clutched Marshall's arm tightly.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it wasn't the wind." He replied. As they surveyed the area, they noticed a dark, human shaped figure standing between two oddly shaped trees where Marshall had pointed. At first, they thought it was Lucas or Z, but when it stepped into the moonlight, they noticed that it was something they never saw before.
"Oh shit. What the hell is that?" Corrine asked as she and Marshall took one step back.
"I don't know, but this doesn't look good…"
So...like it? Let me know! Hmmm...What could be standing by the trees? What's going to happen to Corrine and Marshall? Stay tuned!