Chapter 3 – Wither
A/N: Hey everyone, Happy New Year! Thank you also for your support. This is the longest chapter yet.
Heads up, the angst begins.
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They gathered enough material from the remains of the nest to make some salve for Wormwood's injury. He then insisted on carrying her back home so she wouldn't have to limp her way back until she finally gave in. As they made their way back to the camp, Wendy found herself curious about something. "What was your aim from tempting death like that?"
Wormwood's face turned a darker green at that. "Sorry, I just wanted to keep flower friend safe from crawly bugs," he said, sheepishly.
"Such an endeavor is unnecessary. I am accepting the possibility of death,"
Wormwood stopped and an uncharacteristic somber look came over his face as he gazed down at her. "Flower friend can keep saying funny stuff like that, but…she will always be my friend. And I don't want to lose friends,"
Wendy fell silent at that and let him carry her back with Abigail trailing behind them.
A week quickly passed. The most noteworthy thing that happened since was them finding an old axe abandoned near the frog ponds, much to Wormwood's chagrin. Wendy had gotten much better and no longer limped her way around. Having her sister back also made her feel at ease for the first time in a while. Everything was so dull and dreary without her. There was no one to play with. Well, there was the living root, but he wouldn't like her idea of "playing" nor did any of the creatures unfortunate enough to come her way for that matter.
"Come back here, floaty friend!"
Speaking of that. She was pulled out of her reading with a groan as Wormwood chased Abigail around the camp, giggling and bouncing so much she could mistake him for one of the annoying frogs.
"I will catch you!" he jumped to "tag" her only for Abigail to rise up just enough for him to miss her and fall on his backside. He stomped his foot in frustration. "That's not fair!"
The ghost's face glowed with delight as she continued teasing him.
Abigail had always been energetic and mischievous, so returning to the land of living to find someone just as bubbly was a welcomed surprise for her. Wendy could tell they would've been great friends if they met when she was alive.
Wendy was about to go back to her reading when a shadow fell over. It was the two smiling down at her. "What?"
"Flower friend, come play with us!" he said and Abigail nodded eagerly.
"I would rather stay,"
"Come on!"
"I said- hey!" she yelped when he pulled her up and ran with her after Abigail.
"Let me go, you fool!"
"Can't! We have to catch floaty friend!" Wormwood laughed while Abigail glided around whispering for her to hurry up. Wendy struggled to keep up with him, her shorter legs not helping her at all. Her chest burned from running so much and her feet ached and there was no way on earth for them to catch Abigail anyway. Overall, this was terrible in every sense of the word…yet, something about the burning was oddly pleasant too. She only ran to save her life and gotten used to that fact. Her body never worked itself like this just for the sake of it and she found herself somehow craving it. Pursing her lips, she doubled her efforts to run. She felt the root grow surprised from this, but he tightened his grip on her hand as they sprinted over the grass. The sound of their laughter filled Wendy's ears.
She hadn't played with like this anyone since she arrived here, only had with Abigail on the day she…
A cliff to the sea, her sister's smile before she plummeted out of sight, a shrill scream that filled her head as she-
Wendy dug her feet into the ground and yanked her hand back, forcing them to stop.
"Flower friend, what's wrong-"
"Enough!" she panted and stormed away, catching them off guard.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly.
"We are wasting time. Abigail needs our help and we've done nothing for her since she's back!" she said coldly.
Wormwood slumped.
"Oh…sorry…" he said guiltily and then looked determined. "Don't worry, flower friend. I will not come back until I find something to help floaty friend!"
Was it possible for this creature to mope for more than five seconds?
With a bright grin and a promise to play again with them later, he dashed away, leaving the two sisters alone. Wendy immediately felt Abby's eyes on her and turned away. She didn't know what came over her back there. Being composed and apathetic came naturally to her, but that moment brought back memories that she would rather not recall.
Not feeling like reading at the moment and having become fed up with her failed attempts to make rabbit traps, she chose to look after the garden instead in the absence of the living root. By the time the sun vanished into the horizon with no sign of him, unease began to creep its way into her thoughts. Feeding their fire pit, she sat there, trying her hardest not to think of what could have happened. Abigail kept her gaze fixed on the surrounding darkness as if expecting Wormwood to come running toward them through the shadows and was readying herself to offer her spectral light to aid him.
For all the two sisters knew, the darkness might have already claimed the naïve root.
The garden on the other side of the camp was almost mocking her. Wormwood's talents, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud, had gotten them enough food to last them a while, which meant less relying on traps and berry bushes for her. Yet, she had driven him away.
Chewing on a carrot, Wendy released another long-suffering sigh. Pride and distaste aside, she knew deep down that Wormwood did care for her wellbeing and had her best interests at heart. No matter how hard her mind tried to twist that negatively, there was one thing for certain; this was not the first time she took someone like that for granted and lost them in the end.
Wendy ended up falling asleep with the fire crackling away. Her sister would wake her up if it went low or a monster attacked. Despite having not known him long enough to warrant it, the absence on the other side of the fire was difficult to ignore.
By the time morning came without any sight of him, she knew something was wrong. Two weeks ago, she would have enjoyed the silence and peace; it hadn't been this quiet since his arrival, but now she awaited his return.
Listening to Abigail's concerned whispers, Wendy nodded solemnly while putting a few more carrots in her bag. "I know, Abigail. I'm going to search for him," she said which made the ghost twirl around in joy. They might not find anything at all, but she had to at least look. Her thoughts would drive her mad if she didn't.
With Abby by her side, she was less hesitant to head out. They wandered for a while without any leads. It wasn't until they passed the graveyard and got near the pine forest that a loud screech hit her ears.
"Ahhhhh!" Wormwood bolted through the evergreen faster than she saw him and he hurried over upon catching sight of them.
He's alive? She thought for a disbelieving moment before seeing how mortified he looked with a red axe in his hands. Knowing his distaste for chopping trees, she couldn't fathom why he would carry that thing at all.
"Take it, take it, take it!" he screamed, pushing the axe into her hands before she could utter a word. Any questions she had for him were lost when she came to realize the other source of the noise was the axe she was holding!
"Let me go! You will pay once Woodie finds me, you filthy, fiendish-" the axe stopped spewing her threats once she noticed the other person here. "Oh! I didn't realize a little girl was here!"
Wendy became fascinated by the talking object. She could sense a presence within it, similar to that of Abigail; a spirit residing in a physical vessel. Despite the spirit's passive state, she was able to communicate with people in a way her ghostly sister could not.
She had to get to the bottom of this. "Where did you find this axe?"
"The red, hairy human had it. I saw him whisper to it like you do with tiny flower!" he was quick to reply.
"That's Woodie, you oversized weed!" the axe shot back. Wendy dismissed her, clinging to this piece of information.
"So…did I help?" he asked nervously.
He went through the trouble of stealing this just for her sake and despite everything, but why? Wendy really couldn't understand this root. She thought he was a bumbling fool who would cling to the first person he met and now…
"Yes…this is very good. Well done," she forced herself to admit and he clapped at the praise.
"Yay!"
"Hey, get back here, you little thief!" a new voice broke in. Wormwood squeaked and hid behind Wendy as a redheaded man stormed toward them. His anger faltered briefly upon seeing her. "Wait, there are more people here?"
"Did you miss all the skeletons?" Wendy asked.
"Um, that wasn't what I meant- never mind. Give me back my axe!"
Was this the 'Woodie' the axe kept talking about? Wendy merely stared, unfazed by his outrage. When he kept approaching, he was startled by Abigail appearing between them, burning red.
"What the-"
"Calm down, dear sister," Wendy stepped forward and held out the axe to him. "I already have one of my own, so I have no use for this. My companion just thought it was pretty and wanted me to see it,"
The man took the axe and eyed them suspiciously. "Well, he could've just asked, eh?" he hummed, quirking a brow at him. "So you're the plant monster Wolfgang was talking about? Gotta say you're a lot less menacing-looking than he described,"
"Hello," Wormwood said with a nervous grin.
Woodie then knelt in front of Wendy. "But this is still no place for a kid like you. My pal and I have a nice camp back in the pines. Whaddya say we go there, eh?" he said with a smile.
Wendy looked at his extended hand, unimpressed, and asked him something else. "What did you wish for that got you here?"
Woodie froze, clearly not expecting that. His face became guarded. "That's of no importance, kiddo. Now come on,"
"Being with other people is a matter of no interest to me. They will only add to my burdens. Please don't follow us," she said and walked away.
Wormwood looked between Woodie and her before waving at him. "Bye-bye, human!"
"Hey, wait up!" Woodie called out, only to be stopped by another warning from the ghost trailing behind them.
Once the man was out of earshot, Wendy turned to Wormwood. "Did you sense anything strange about the axe?"
He rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, it felt funny, but not as much as tiny flower. Not so…" his eyes darted at her uneasily as if searching for the right word. "…cold. No pretty string too!"
Wendy hummed. She had considered this possibility before, but now she was sure she was onto something.
"What you thinking, flower friend?"
"I need some time near the obelisks first,"
She ended up spending the noon sitting there in front of the dark, towering spikes, listening carefully to their whispers and trying to discern as much as she could. She eventually turned to her sister and Wormwood who had been watching her awkwardly from afar.
"I think I found a way to help Abigail…"
"Really?" Wormwood exchanged odd looks with the ghost. "How?"
"We need a lot of meat and wood first,"
Wormwood groaned.
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The two of them worked relentlessly for the next few days. The sky grew grayer and the tress lost the last of their leaves.
"Sorry, tree friend," Wormwood said, patting a bare tree.
While Abigail helped with hunting for all the meat, he helped Wendy work on …well, he had no idea what it was they were making. They had hollowed out the logs she gathered and asked him to stuff them with the meat. Once done, she began assembling all the parts together into a humanoid figure.
"One thing left," Wendy reached over for a sharp piece of flint and grabbed both her pigtails. He gasped when she used it to cut off the end of them, stuffing the fistful of blonde hair inside the head of her creation. "The effigy needs hair. I'm the only one who has any here," she shrugged at his bewilderment.
The "meat effigy", as she called it, was soon ready. As it stood there, the three of them observed their work closely with varying reactions. Wormwood shuddered at the lifeless thing, put off by the feeling of sheer wrongness coming from it, which had become a familiar feeling to him by now.
"So what this for?" Wormwood finally asked. "Keep meat?"
"I'll fully explain later today. All you should know for now is that tonight is a full moon,"
What did that have to do with anything?
"We need to be ready for the approaching winter, mainly in terms of food and clothes," she said, observing the nearby trees.
"I got us food!" Wormwood chirped, pointing at his garden proudly.
She nodded. "Indeed. All that is left is getting winter-suited clothes from the other survivors,"
"We will go visit?" he asked excitedly.
Her silence dashed his hopes though. She was averting her gaze from his again.
"Flower friend…." He said, disheartened.
"I can't make a flimsy trap, let alone clothes, and learning how will take too long," she replied sharply.
He didn't want to argue with her, especially now when they were on better terms, but he didn't like this at all. "Why not just ask?"
"We don't know if we can trust them. Everyone here only cares about their own gain and well being. How do you think they will react upon seeing you?"
Her question silenced his retort as he was reminded of when that "Wolfgang" chased him out of his camp with a hammer. "Floaty friend?" he turned to Abigail for help. This couldn't really be their only solution. He refused to think so!
The ghost looked unsure before floating next to Wendy with an apologetic whisper. He slumped. "Fine,"
Wendy led him back to the northern side of the grass fields where the rabbit traps were and remained hidden behind the trees just on the edge of the forest. Wormwood stared in wonder at the camp in the distance. They got way closer to it than last time. It was so much bigger than Wendy's and he actually could make out new humans too!
There was one woman making a huge fire and standing way too close to it for his comfort. She got a warning from a grey-haired human who had her face buried in a book. The last one was a lanky man with a weird haircut who was busy tinkering with a noisy machine.
"Ladies, please," the man was saying once he caught on to the brewing argument.
"Forgive me, dear Willow, for worrying about our camp going up in flames!" the human with the book snapped.
Willow shrugged. "The fire's perfectly contained. Besides, Wilson and I built this camp way before you showed up, Wickerbottom, so you have no right-"
"Abigail, go," Wendy whispered as the two women fell into a heated yelling match with the man hanging near them, looking almost frightened to interfere.
The ghost disappeared into the ground and slipped inside the machine, causing the cogs to start turning madly.
"Wilson, what is going on with that thing?" Willow said.
"I'm not sure!" Wilson approached his machine, hesitant to touch it when it gave a loud roar.
Wickerbottom joined his side, fixing her glasses calmly. "It is alright, dear. Let me have a look,"
"Now is our chance," Wendy muttered and they began making their way to the camp while the three were distracted. Wormwood was actually surprised at how quietly she moved, silent as a breeze. Meanwhile, he felt clumsier than ever with every step sounding as if he was walking on dry leaves. They stopped in front of the three chests placed in a perfect line. Wendy carefully opened one and began looking through it. Disappointed with her findings, she opened another while Wormwood kept his eyes on the three survivors.
"Psst," Wendy pulled his attention when she took out a woolly hat from the chest and motioned for him to help her. Wormwood picked up a brown furry coat and pressed it against his chest, marveling at its softness.
"Wait, who's that?!"
The two stiffened as they found themselves under the eyes of the other survivors. Everyone seemed too stunned to say a thing for a while before Willow scowled.
"Kill it!" she said, eyes on him while she whipped out a red box that breathed flames from its top, making him scream.
"Run," Wendy was quick to flee with him in tow. Willow was chasing them while Wilson was a bit behind struggling to catch up.
"Stop right now!" Wilson shouted, panting.
"That's my coat! I'll torch you, you little menace!" Willow said with a glint in her eyes.
"Flower friend!" Wormwood wailed.
Pressing her loot to her side, Wendy drew out Abigail's flower in one hand and whispered into it. Wormwood saw the ghost come gliding across the ground, knocking Wilson then Willow off their feet before joining their side.
Making it back to the edge of the forest, Wormwood glanced back to see the two humans recovering and looking confused. He sighed before following the human child. They ended up with the coat, a scarf, and a woolly hat. Wendy seemed pleased with their loot. Putting them away, they began preparing for the night.
"So…why this?" he asked again, pointing at the effigy.
Wendy walked over it, placing a hand on its chest. "A meat effigy can give a body for dead spirits and resurrect them. At least, that's what I managed to learn from the shadows. The reason why Abigail cannot use normal means of revival is because of this," she held out Abigail's flower in her hand, where the blue thread ended. "Her spirit is bound to her flower, as you are probably able to see. It prevents her from being saved. If she was a free spirit like other people who die in this world, it would be a different story,"
She turned to him. "And this where you come in,"
Wormwood's gaze broke from the effigy. "Huh?
"You may not realize it, but you have the power to play with life energies," she said, her hand gesturing to his green core. "A ghost is not the absence of life, but a lingering trace of it, so you may be able to help Abigail pass into the effigy without the risk of her vanishing forever,"
"Um," Wormwood scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. He spotted at the corner of his eye Abigail floating closer to the effigy, her expression unreadable. "But I…I never-"
"Yes, your powers are currently limited to plants, but that is why I waited for tonight specifically. This desolate world awakens under the light of the moon and all that is hidden away from the eyes is revealed. I believe that when its power is at its peak, yours will be too,"
Wormwood's uncertainty only grew.
"So, will you assist us, Wormwood?" she asked. He looked at her, struck by the fact she was actually using his name, rather than "root" like usual. She may be holding her usual blank expression, but something in her eyes seemed desperate and sorrowful.
"I don't understand everything you say, but if it will make you and floaty friend happy, then I will help!"
She looked away and hesitantly said. "…thank you,"
The sun soon dipped into the horizon, and the forest darkened. They sat around the fire anxiously. Wendy seemed to be struggling the most to keep her worry unnoticed. The clouds eventually parted. As if a curtain had been pulled, the consuming blackness was driven away and the entire world bathed in ethereal light. Fireflies drifted around the britchnut forest and the fields like stardust. It was as if they slipped into a hazy dream.
Wormwood felt a sudden surge in his green core and brought his hands to his chest, gasping. The gem was pulsing brightly and repeatedly. He raised his head to the pale moon with wonder and nervousness. That permanent stare was stronger than ever.
Something was calling him.
The whole landscape around them meanwhile was humming with life. His senses have become heightened. He could feel everything for miles and miles on end. The critters, the monsters, the other survivors wandering the island…
"Your eyes glow,"
He turned to Wendy, blinking as if had been pulled out of deep sleep. The overwhelming rush made him forget about the sisters entirely. She looked even daintier and more death-like in the pale light as if she would fade into the night air at the slightest breeze. Abigail's misty form seemed to grow more visible on the other hand.
Loud howls in the distance made them tense up. Whatever made those sounds, even he knew they were better off not meeting it.
"Let's begin. We shouldn't waste time," Wendy said as she took his hand and placed the flower in it. He shivered from it like before, yet the sensation didn't bother him as much now. He also came to realize the blue thread seemed to be more tangible than before. "Wormwood, you will try to loosen Abigail's connection to her flower long enough for her to haunt the effigy. We only need a few seconds,"
"I…okay," he said, hesitantly grabbing the thread and shuddering from the cold bite on his leaves. He began pulling; wincing at the effort it took. The end of the threat unraveled but kept trying to latch back onto the flower. Abigail's form began waning.
"Abigail, it's time," Wendy turned to her sister, who was floating behind them, brows furrowed. She quickly reassured her. "It's okay. The effigy is guaranteed to work. We can save you!"
"Flower friend, hurry!" Wormwood called, struggling to keep this up.
"This is our chance, Abigail. We can finally be together again. Everything can go back to the way it was!" Wendy urged, desperation alien to all of them in her voice. "Please, do it!"
Abigail's eyes darted between her and effigy, her face a mess of conflicted emotions before giving a defeated sigh and finally shaking her head.
Wendy's whole face crumbled.
"Abby…. why?" she murmured, hurt. The ghost wore a pained expression in return.
Wormwood finally lost his grip on the thread and it latched back onto the flower. Giving them one more apologetic look, Abigail disappeared back into it. Wormwood was at a loss.
"F-flower friend…what do I do?"
Wendy was standing still.
"Flower friend, what-" he tried reaching for her, but her shoulders just shook.
Her agonized cry was a sound he never wanted to hear again.
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A/N: One more chapter to go.