After this luck of a find we head downstairs again. The staircase is still as small as could be and we're both having troubles getting down without falling. After I manage to get down I help Treek follow me and shortly after we find ourselves back on the lower floor.
I'm still getting used to my new hat. Though different from the old one, I find it very stylish. Unlike the one I had before, this one doesn't have a big cramp on the sides, thus making it much easier for me to see forward without constantly having to adjust the hat.
Before starting to wander about our lucky find, I interrupt myself and begin talking to Treek.
"Are you sure it was my idea to look upstairs? 'Cus I don't remember proposing such a plan..."
Treek finally reaches the lower floor where he stops and begins to think.
After a moment of thinking he states his answer. "Hmm... I don't really remember you saying anything, but I know for certain that I didn't come up with the idea. So excuse me if I just assumed it was your idea..."
He rubs his chin as he appears just as confused as me about the apparent missing information, while I try to think back to the conversation we were having before deciding to head upstairs.
"I remember joking about looking around this place with you." I think out loudly. "But we weren't looking for a new hat... And after that everything just seems blank..."
Treek is just as deep in thought as I am before he starts uttering his thoughts.
"I think there was something..." He tries to start a sentence before restarting. "Like I know that something happened, but I just can't get a grasp on what it was."
But in the end what Treek is describing is the same thing that I remember: nothing. And after a moment of silence, I decide to talk again. "Well... We know where we are and I don't think we're in danger. It's still weird, though. But I do remember what we were planning before."
That sentence seems to rip Treek out of his mental state of trying to remember, as he begins restating our plan.
"Yeah, me too." He says. "We're planning on catching one of the trains that are probably going to start leaving town soon, so we can get a head start on our journey to my parents..."
I interrupt him, as I just thought of a problem I hadn't noticed before. "Right, but I lost all of the money I had, so we won't be able to buy any supplies for the trip." I point to where the others should be on the other side of the wall of bookshelves as I continue. "And I don't think Nina's going to be happy about having to remain hungry if we can't get our hands on any food."
Treek wasn't there when Nina attacked Tolan because he was out to find food after the kids ate all of the remaining berries. So he didn't see her flip out because things weren't going her way.
As Treek tries to say something, I'm overcome with the huge urge to yawn. And while doing so I completely miss what Treek was telling me.
"*Yawn*... Sorry. What were you saying?" I ask him while stretching my muscles a bit.
"I was just saying how we should probably tackle this with a fresh mind on the matter. It's..." Treek interrupts himself mid-sentence as my contagious yawn must have infected him too.
But shortly after recovering from the interruption, he continues. "It's getting late, the others are probably long asleep and the night isn't going to get any longer if we keep on waiting before finally joining them."
I agree with him and give a nod before turning around and starting to head back around the corner to where Nina and the kids should be.
"Hey Cyder." I hear Treek talking behind me. "I know this place is probably a warehouse, but some of the stuff in here looks like it should belong in a museum, huh?"
After only having taken a few steps and not even having reached the corner at the bookshelf, I turn around to face Treek and start inspecting our surroundings again.
"I know dude. This place looked so tiny from the outside, too. When we entered I never expected there to be a second floor. It's like there shouldn't even be any room for it to fit in." After a short pause during which my eyes wander about the books and rolled up papers that can be seen, I continue my comment.
"But you know what's even weirder? I get the feeling that I kind of know this place. Of course I couldn't tell you what's around that corner over there." I say while pointing towards the corner next to the staircase. "When we were upstairs I saw that it leads into a maze of shelves and obviously I have no idea where that ends, but that's not the point. I feel like I've been to a place similar to this, but I can't get myself to actually remember when or where that could have been."
Treek start walking up to me and I can see the fatigue in his eyes as they reflect the light of my flame into mine.
"It's really late." He speaks, suppressing another yawn. "I don't think we'll be able to come to any conclusion if we don't get the proper sleep while there's still enough time."
He walks by me and I follow him around the corner of the bookshelf before starting to head back to the others.
I stay closely behind him and already start having troubles keeping my eyes open. My body knows that it'll be able to sleep in a few moments, and apparently it just doesn't want to wait those last remaining seconds before shutting down.
I extinguished my flame shortly after turning the corner and confirming that everyone is still where they should be. And almost crawling with the last bit of strength my body seems willing to provide me with in order to reach my goal, I fall down next to the chest Tolan is dosing away on top of.
I probably should have paid more attention to where I was falling, as I can feel a sharp stinging in my forehead. 'Ugh... Must have fallen on a pebble.' I think to myself while rubbing through the fur on my head. And although I can't feel the pebble that must have caused the pain, the ache subsides a moment later and I'm able to remain calm before starting to drift away.
Listening to Treek getting comfortable, I notice that I chose to skip that step when I fell down. And while I can't shake my thoughts about the questions Treek and I were throwing at each other, my head decides to remember that I forgot my bag upstairs.
'I'll...' I think to myself, interrupting my thought with an imaginary yawn. 'I'll just get it tomorrow.' And with that thought I find myself finally drifting into a dream.
"Wake up Daddy."
I don't remember what I dreamt of during the night, as I'm awoken by my kids jumping around me and telling me to wake up. Maybe because of the fact that they are only whispering to me, I get reminded of the good old times when we still had our den. It seems like so much time has already passed, when in fact the last time they awoken me this way was only a few days ago.
The feeling over my body returns and I use it to being the day by stretching myself. I can see Nina lingering next to me, obviously awake and chewing on empty air while still having her eyes closed and pretending to be asleep.
"Yay. Daddy's awake." Tolan excitedly tells his sister.
"Good morning you two." I greet them, ready to tackle another day.
Rubbing my eyes I notice some sunlight shining down the corridor. Although having walked past it more than once last night, I must have not noticed the window in the wall opposite of us. But seeing the sunlight now falling through it, it erases all my drowsiness and brightens my day.
"Woah!" Tolan exclaims, grabbing my attention. "Where'd you your cool new hat."
I turn back from the window and notice Tolan as he plays with my new hat. The hat is way too large for him and covered his entire head whenever he tries to put it on. And putting on a smile, I take it away from him, gaining his attention by doing so.
"Treek and I found it upstairs after you all went to sleep last night." Smiling at the happy faces of my kids I continue. "Guess we got really lucky with this one."
My eyes fall on Treek who seems to have woken up from our talking. I can see him reaching for his head and rubbing his eyes before slowing starting to open them.
"This place has an upstairs?" Cari asks, redirecting my attention back towards her.
While putting the hat down to the ground next to me, I answer her question. "Yeah. This place is actually pretty big when you go past the next corner."
"Come." Tolan says to Cari. "Let's explore a bit."
But before he is able to run off with his sister, I manage to stop both of them.
"Please don't." I tell them a moment before they would have dashed away. "I don't want you to go exploring on your own."
Cari seems to accept my restriction immediately and takes the chance to inspect my new hat while Tolan is still distracted from trying to run off.
After a short pause I continue, now technically only speaking to Tolan. "How about this, Tolan: I left my bag upstairs and I'm going to go grab it in a moment. You can come with me if you want."
Finally satisfied with my proposal, Tolan seems to notice that Cari is now playing with the hat. And disappointed that he lost control over the new toy, he gives me a short nod before heading back to Cari having fun blindly walking around with the hat covering her entire head.
I turn away from them and my eyes meet with Treek's. He has gotten himself up while I was introducing the kids to my new clothing item and is currently sliming at the two of them playing with it.
Noticing my attention, he looks away from them and turns towards me.
"Good morning Cyder." He says, greeting me again. "I see their commotion managed to wake you up as well."
"Yeah." I respond while giggling a bit and following his eyes looking at the kids playing. "Sometimes they sure can't keep their joy to themselves."
After a short pause I continue. "Mind if I head upstairs for a moment? I must have left my bag there and I was just going to get it."
"Sure." He tells me and steps aside even though he wasn't blocking the path in the first place. But while doing so he almost falls over an old wooden loom standing next to him.
"Careful dude." I tell to him before turning around and calling to Tolan that I'm about to head upstairs.
"Come Tolan. If you want a chance to look at the place, you'd better come with me now."
I don't have to say it twice, as he immediately stops chasing around Cari hiding under the hat and dashes towards me. And arriving shortly after, I notice Cari dropping the hat and following after her brother even though I didn't explicitly invite her to the excursion. But I don't mind her joining us on the expedition as I get the feeling that some carefree exploration would do well for both of them.
The hat however lands on Nina who was still acting like she was asleep. I can see a smile forming after the flinched a bit from it landing on her face. She must find the playfulness of my kids just as adorable as I do and is amused to participate in it.
After Cari arrives at my side, I turn around to head past Treek and around the corner next to the window. I still find it odd how I didn't notice the window the night before, but as I turn the corner I see something that confuses me much more than the new window, causing me to stop in my tracks while Tolan and Cari bump into me from behind.
Standing around the corner, I can't see any books at all. I see a corridor just as narrow as the one we were sleeping in. Also similarly, it is lined with random wooden and old looking machinery. Among other things, I can see a broom, some buckets, another tool rack, a few damaged crates and a dusty and rusty chandelier. But nowhere can I see any of the books I saw the night before. Nor can I find the tiny staircase that Treek and I had such troubles getting up on the night before.
Where the stairs should have been I can see a door instead. It is slightly tilted and the upper hinge doesn't look like it is still attached to the wall. Instead I can see a small crack between the door and the wall letting in more sunlight. The door must be leading outside, thereby probably being a back entrance to this storage building.
"Why'd you stop, dad?" I can hear Tolan ask me from behind and can feel his paw pressing against the back of my leg, trying to get my attention.
Looking up I can see the ceiling of the building directly above me. Where I am standing it appears to have given in a bit, thereby reaching lower than the roof was where we were sleeping.
"What's wrong daddy?" Cari asks from behind me, as I turn around and quickly head back to Treek.
But before I turn around the corner I run into Treek, barely stopping before crashing into him.
His eyes immediately fall on the narrow corridor I'm standing in. But instead of muting him like seeing it did to me, he starts talking while wearing a very confused look on his face.
"What? Where did all of it... it was... here..."
I can see Nina wearing my hat and peeking around the corner to see what all the ruckus is about, while Tolan and Cari are starting to become impatient.
"Well... What's the matter?" She asks, while handing me my hat. Only slowly regaining my ability to speak and still extremely confused, I accept the hat and manage to start speaking again.
"I... I... There were bookshelves here... and a staircase over there." I say while pointing towards the tilted door with some sunlight shining through the crack.
"And... and the staircase led upstairs." My ability to speak fades again, as Treek's seems to return. And although just as confused as me, he already appears to start coping with the situation as he continues talking while already searching for an explanation for what has happened.
Tolan and Cari turn towards him while Nina continues to inspect the heaps of ancient machinery lying where there should have been bookshelves.
"Cyder's right. This isn't at all like it was yesterday." Treek says and continues while pointing down the path. "There were shelves filled with books and old parchments among other things. But we didn't see any of these things."
Nobody seems to have a clue and as everyone remains silent, trying to come up with an explanation for the disappearance of half of the building, I notice a voice and some footsteps outside.
Responding immediately, I interrupt my state of deep though and react to the new threat without hesitation.
"Hide." I whisper, managing to get everyone's attention.
And not a second too soon either, as Nina looks around to see what I'm referring to. And while Treek and the kids are immediately able to dash towards me, hiding behind the wall separating this back area of the storage building from the front area, she isn't as fast to grasp the situation and remains frozen for another moment.
After the moment passes, I can hear the front door squeak followed by a voice starting to mumble to itself.
"Huh? Why is this not locked?" The voice says as a new light starts falling around the wall we are hiding behind.
Nina is standing directly below the window, letting the daylight shine upon her, thereby being in full view as the 'mon in front enters the building.
Finally realizing that she probably should get out of sight, she jumps into a pile of dusty buckets standing below the window.
But obviously not having her movement prepared, she causes half of the buckets to roll over the floor, fully grabbing the attention of the 'mon that just entered the building as she trips and falls into the buckets while I bite my tongue.
'Arceues damn it! We must find somewhere to hide.' I immediately start wondering, as I look around our surroundings. A moment later, my eyes fall on the damaged crates I noticed earlier. I count three of them in total and they are stacked on top of each other. And with that in mind I get the idea of hiding behind them, as they should provide enough cover to prevent us from being seen.
Wasting no time, as I can already hear footsteps coming from the front, I signal Treek and the kids to follow me immediately. But while Tolan willingly starts following me, I can see Cari ignoring my signals and starting to walk into the view of whoever is in the front before barely managing to grab her around the neck and drag her away.
"Let me go." She whispers at me. "We must safe Nina."
I ignore her bidding and continue to drag her across the floor, navigating around a tool rack while Treek and Tolan have already reached the crates.
Cari tries to bite me while I'm determined not to let go continue to drag her after me, barely managing to escape her fangs.
"Please." I whisper to her, trying to get her to understand.
And while Cari still doesn't accept my decision of leaving Nina behind, she doesn't try to bite me again and continues to let me drag her as I barely avoid crashing into a pile of firewood that I hadn't noticed before and finally manage to sneak my way to the back of the crates.
Tolan and Treek are already and anxiously waiting behind the crates, waving me to hurry up on these last few steps. And after I finally managed to drag myself and Cari out of view, I can immediately spot a Munchlax walking around the corner, dragging itself towards the pile of buckets Nina should be hiding under.
The Munchlax looks very tired and barely has its eyes opened, as it starts mumbling curses. "Damn ferals. Always breaking in here and making a mess..."
Cari is very angry with me and looks away, while Treek, Tolan and I are peeking through the tiny cracks covering the wood of the broken crates. The Munchlax isn't paying any attention at the crates and, instead directing all of it towards the buckets.
I can't see Nina as he walks up to the pile with some of the buckets spilled over the floor. But the Munchlax appears to already know what to expect as it sneaks up to Nina's hiding spot while holding a broom in its paws.
After being less than a meter away from it, he jumps forward and kicks aside the pile of buckets, causing the rest of them to scatter across the floor as well.
I can see a startled and tailless Rattata jumping out of the pile of buckets, immediately going out of view when it dashes behind the wall separating the back room from the front room. It is probably heading for the still open front door, as the Munchlax is angrily throwing his broom towards where the mouse was running while yelling "Get out of here!"
I can hear the broom colliding with some of the machinery stacked in the front area, alongside a crunching sound as either the broom or whatever it hit must have broken on impact. The loud noises continue and something is being scattered across the floor.
The Munchlax sighs and mopes. And after a moment during which I almost start to feel sorry for the poor 'mon, I see Cari peeking through another crack in the crate, inspecting the scenery as well.
I don't know how much of what happened she actually saw, but I get my answer as she looks up to me with a very sorry expression on her face. Unlike her, I immediately remembered that Nina can just escape by disguising herself as a feral that might naturally be scurrying through the warehouse.
As she looks at me she tries to tell me that she's sorry, but I shake my head and signal her to remain quiet. Something she immediately understands before turning back towards one of the cracks in the crate.
We continue to watch the Munchlax, as he bitterly collects all of the scattered buckets and puts them back into their former pile. He really doesn't seem too happy with having to do so and takes an eternity before finally finishing and putting the final bucket back into its place.
"' Been some time since 'e Rattata dared t' come in nea." He starts mumbling to himself. "'Dey betta stay outa here if dey know what's good for 'em."
He sighs again and turns around towards the crates we are hiding behind. We immediately freeze in place, trying to go undetected. And apparently we succeeded as the Munchlax rolls his eyes before restarting his mumbling while turning to head back.
"What was d' fing even doin na?" His mumbling continues. "'Tis not like there'd be any food lyin' round dese parts."
We remain where we are, as we continue to listen to the dampened mumbling coming from the Munchlax, alongside more items being dragged across the floor.
'He must be recollecting whatever it was he hit with his broom.' I think to myself before silence settles back in for a moment.
After the moment passes, I can hear a clicking sound followed by a loud squeaking. It isn't the squeaking that the front door makes and I can still see the light that must be passing through it, meaning that he has opened something different.
My thoughts remind me of the chest we had slept in front of the previous night and I start to fear he might discover the signs of our presence.
'I hope we didn't leave anything lying around.' I think to myself.
But after a while of the Munchlax shifting various wooden and metallic objects around, I can hear the squeaking again, followed by the same clicking sound I previously heard.
Immediately after, more footsteps can be heard shuffling across the floor, before the more silent squeaking of the front door closing can be heard, followed by the light vanishing and another clicking that is probably the lock of the front door.
I'm the first to dare open my mouth again. "That was close." I say as I step out from the back of the crates.
"I though he found us when looked directly at the crates." Treek exclaims with a sigh of relive.
I look down to Cari, as she tries to give me an apologetic smile. She opens her mouth but before she manages to start talking, I open mine and tell her that she doesn't need to say anything.
"Apology accepted, Cari. I find it very noble of you to want to protect Nina like that. But you've got to remember that she can simply disguise herself to get away in a situation like this."
She closes her mouth again and gives me a nod, to which I reply with a nod myself before facing Treek again.
As I try look up, I can see Tolan walking over to his sister. And following him with my eyes, I look my daughter into her face again. She is crying, so instead of facing Treek like I had planned, I kneel down next to her and pay her my attention.
"I'm sorry I doubted you *sniff*..." She starts whining, her sobs of sorrow addressed at me. "I even tried to bite you."
"There there..." I say, as I pet her on the head. "Hm? No reason to cry."
"But I could have gotten you captured..." She continues to snivel. "I could have gotten you captured and would have lost you forever..."
I continue to caress the hide on her head, cheeks and neck, as I finally realize that this was destined to happen sooner or later. She's just a child, and sooner or later neither she nor her brother will be able to cope with the constant danger we're in. The only reason she was able to deal with it thus far was because she just pushed it away and tried not to think about it. I should have already noticed when I woke up this morning. The only reason she and Tolan were playing so cheerfully together was because they were trying to distract each other from the harsh reality that is actuality surrounding them.
I continue to caress her, while Tolan does the same. My son must still be able to deal with it because he thinks he has to be tough, or because he wasn't the one who almost walked out into the danger, dragging me into it as well.
After a while, I look up to Treek watching us thoughtfully. He too must have realized that these are all the backed up emotions Cari was pushing away during the last couple of days.
Some more time passes before Cari finally starts to slow down with her grief, only to be completely interrupted as the backdoor flings open.
Startled, Treek and I spin around as Tolan does the same, giving his best effort at standing in a correct battle pose while covering his sister.
The sun is blinding us and I can't see what is we are looking at. But we were too reckless and should have never remained in the open corridor without making sure we could hide in a moment's notice.
'It's all over; we've been detected.' Is the only thing I can think of, as my ember flares and my eyes finally begin adjusting to the brightness flowing in from the outside.
