In the Dark

Part Seventeen: Enter the Swamp of Death?

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingie: All characters and some plot lines are borrowed from their original owners, whose names I can't spell very well because they're in Japanese. Heh. Complete disregard is felt for the American owners, so from them I am stealing and altering back to their semi-original states. Okay, so they're a bit altered. So there. At any rate, most of the plot is mine. Don't steal, Don't sue, and Enjoy!

***

Takeru slept fitfully, bothered by dreams and the uncomfortable circumstance of sleeping on the ground. The remaining needed cots had not been built yet, and he had refused several offers to take on of those that were built. When he awoke, it was mid-morning. His head was pounding and his back was aching, though with somewhat less intensity than the evening before. He was glad they'd decided to return to the cabin for the night then, because he felt rather sick to his stomach. He vaguely remembered some sort of nightmare he'd had during his sleep, but he couldn't recall any details.

He realized as he pulled himself to his feet – slowly so that he wouldn't further aggravate his sore muscles – that he was the only one remaining in the small room made of blankets hanging from the rafters and so established that he had slept later than the others. He made his way to the trunk with his clothes and began to dress, shivering in the cold air and half wishing that they had camped out in the warmer sections of the forest even if there were enemies there.

Takeru remembered the day before and the battles and he understood that he had been allowed to sleep late because of what had happened to him. He'd probably been one of the more prevailing reasons why they'd trekked back to the cabin even though they'd planned the outing to be more long-term. He still felt pain in his head, though now it was a dull, constant ache where before it had been a pounding, head-splitting pain. First he'd been thrown into he bushes and managed to bang his head painfully into a tree, and then he'd been attacked by Digitamamon's Nightmare Syndrome attack – which had only increased the pain tenfold.

He didn't think he'd ever forget the raging nightmarish images flying at him from the dark cloud that surrounded him. Each of his deepest fears played out before his eyes – Angemon's deletion recalled a thousand times, the death of his brother, of his parents, of his closest friends, his home burning while he could do nothing to stop it. He shivered and pulled his shirt over his head.

"No point in dwelling on it," he said aloud, as though it would drive away the memories. "None of it was real."

Patamon watched him curiously from the pile of blankets they'd slept on. "None of what?" he asked.

Takeru shrugged lightly. "Just dreams," he answered. "That's all." He put on his most optimistic grin and stepped out through the curtains.

***

Iori had spread a large piece of parchment across the table-like structure assembled in the communal area of the cabin, and was marking at it with a piece of charcoal. Koushiro was aiding in the process, examining the notes the younger boy had made on a pad and commenting on this, while at the same time doing his usual research in the books he'd brought with him.

It had begun to snow lightly outside, adding to the accumulation already on the ground, and so for once the cabin was filled with all its regular inhabitants. Miyako sat up on one of the rafters, her liking for climbing apparently not too badly dampened by the disastrous experience of the day before, and was studying her latest spell book with some vigor. Jyou was bent over a ledger and using a pen and a bottle of ink to scribble within. He was determined to keep careful account of each and every herb, medicine, and bandage that had been delivered to the cabin, and this had somehow been transformed into a very long and extensive procedure that took up most of his time.

Hikari also was engaged in writing something, and she'd chosen to sit on the ground near the stove, using a pillow as a seat and a crate ordinarily used for sitting as a desk. She was engaged completely in the activity and appeared oblivious to the rest of world. The only one who wasn't engaged in some productive but sedentary activity was Daisuke, who was made restless by the snow and hanging about in the rafters, doing nothing in particular but moving about a bit.

Takeru emerged from his late sleep and spent several moments unnoticed by the rest of the room. He stepped around the table and Iori's project, which he could tell now was the beginnings of a map, although it contained little actual information at this point. He noted the pot on the stove and saw that it was filled with the still-warm leftovers of the morning meal. He located a clean, unused bowl on the shelves his brother had helped build near the stove and went to work ladling himself some of it for himself. Then he turned and searched for a place to sit. The table was out of the question, being covered with papers. He thought for a moment and then decided to adopt Hikari's strategy, and seated himself near her and the wall and set the bowl on the floor.

"Feeling better?" a voice questioned from above him, and he noted Daisuke, still hanging in the rafters, looking down at him. The only one not engaged in something, he must have noticed Takeru the moment he entered.

"Yeah," he said between gulps of his breakfast.

And then he didn't get a chance to say anymore because Koushiro let out a triumphant shout that he usually only used when he had discovered something. All eyes turned to him, but he said nothing more about his shout, and all returned to their own respective activity or inactivity after a short period of time.

"I suppose the snow sort of puts a halt on our plans for the moment?" Takeru asked then when the silence had been restored.

"For the moment," Daisuke agreed with a frown, shifting position and swinging to another rafter. "Sure wish it wasn't winter."

"How soon do you think we'll get out there again?"

He shrugged. "Who knows."

"Koushiro says he thinks the snow may be over before the end of the day," Hikari said, finally setting down her pen and looking up. "But he can't be certain. He says weather predicting isn't his forte."

***

The snow continued until the sun had gone down, and then it began to gradually lessen. The supply of firewood needed to keep the cabin warm was, unfortunately, slowly diminishing, and so, shortly before the evening meal would be prepared and more wood was required, Daisuke and Takeru decided to gather more from the outdoor woodpile, which was stored next to the cabin, under an overhanging roof built to keep it dry from the snow. Their volunteering was really more of a desire to escape the cabin.

The night was silent, anything which could have made noise having been buried under the snow. It was also dark, because the clouds that had brought the snow had not yet drifted away. Daisuke and Takeru wrapped in their warmest clothes and forced the door open.

The snow came to just below their knees, and it was tightly packed around the door, transforming the mere task of exiting the cabin into a long and difficult adventure. They hadn't managed to bring shovels to the cabin, so there was nothing to use to move the snow away. Finally, a few buckets were used to scoop the snow, and then both resorted to kicking at the fluffy white stuff with their feet in order to try to forge a path.

After they'd gotten out of the cabin, they needed to get to the woodpile, which was only a few footsteps away. They each took sticks from the remaining wood inside and dipped them into the already burning fires. Then they used the torches to melt a path, having decided that kicking and scooping would take too long. 

They made it to the woodpile without too much further trouble and were soon busy with carrying the wood back to the cabin. The outside pile, thanks to the snow and the cold, was already beginning to deplete.

"Maybe we ought to get more wood," Takeru suggested, looking at the smaller pile outside the cabin.

"In the dark?" Patamon asked, perched safely on his partner's head.

"What if this doesn't last until morning?" he returned. "What if there's more snow in the night and then it's even harder to get out tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," Patamon disagreed. "What if we get lost in the dark?"

Daisuke held up the burning torch they'd used for their path-making and grinned. "We won't as long as we keep one of these on hand," he answered.

And so they both traipsed off into the woods in the dark of night, leaving the cabin behind them. Takeru carried an axe over his right shoulder and a burning torch in his left hand. Patamon rode safely upon his head.  Daisuke carried the same, and V-mon pushed through the snow behind him, finding walking difficult in snow that was as deep as he was tall.

***

Hikari and Miyako decided to work together to prepare the evening meal for several reasons. The first was that, although Jyou had been doing an adequate job with the cooking, he wasn't spectacular, and they wanted something else. They also needed something to do. And the reason for their pairing was, quite simply, that Miyako wasn't a very good cook, and Hikari was a bit better. So they determined that Hikari would plan and delegate, and Miyako would stick to things that were the least likely to cause an explosion.

Miyako's inability to work wonders in a kitchen had been one of her mother's chief worries about her youngest daughter. Marrying required, quite simply, that someone do the cooking, and unless Miyako were to marry into a quite wealthy family and have many chefs and servants for this purpose, she would most likely be the one responsible.  However the various attempts Lady Inoue made to try to teach her daughter how to operate a stove had resulted in considerable damage to the household kitchen, and so, for reasons of the health and safety of the entire kingdom, she'd abandoned the attempt.

And so it was that Hikari set Miyako to work with the somewhat less dangerous task of cutting vegetables. Although this involved the use of a knife, it was less dangerous because it did not involve the use of a flame. With some trepidation, Hikari set a plate of vegetables in front of her and advised her of the proper way to use the sharp object. Miyako seemed to grasp the concept fairly easily, and was soon chopping and slicing away.

Iori, who wanted to help as well, was set to work cleaning and cutting the fish, simply because it was a job that he could do, and that Hikari was not certain she could. Koushiro and Jyou both wisely sat in the corner, out of the way, their noses buried in their books. Hikari herself set about trying to figure out exactly what it was she was cooking.

By the time she'd figured out that they would have some rice – of which there was plenty – with the meal and had began to plan in more detail, Miyako had finished chopping most of the vegetables and Iori had finished with the de-boning of the fish. All three were so busy they didn't even notice that the steady in and out motion of Daisuke and Takeru carrying wood had ceased.

***

The silence of the night was broken only occasionally by the sounds of grunting and of a sharp blade connecting solidly with the trunk of a tree. Patamon watched from a safe nearby tree branch as Takeru slammed the blade of his axe into a tree again and again.

Since they'd determined that it was impossible to both cut the wood and hold a burning branch, Daisuke stood nearby, observing, and holding both torches while Takeru chopped. There had been some disagreement over who was to chop and who was to hold, both wanting to chop because it would be the first actual physical activity they'd experienced all day. In the end, this dispute, like so many others, was ended with the flip of a coin. It was decided that Takeru would first chop, and then they would switch places.

The eerie silence beyond the chopping sounds was making them all nervous, though none wanted to admit it. Daisuke held one torch close to the trunk of the tree so that Takeru could see what he was hitting, and the other at arm's length away from him, wanting to keep at bay whatever dangerous creatures might be lurking. He could almost swear he heard footsteps swiftly moving in the snow.

He was so intently listening for further sounds that he hardly noticed when Takeru finally finished with the tree chopping and the massive trunk was prepared to fall. He stood, listening to the sounds in the forest as the tree began to creak and drop.

"Daisuke!" Takeru warned, and grabbed his arm to pull him away from the place of danger.

Shaken from his reverie, Daisuke turned toward Takeru, who was looking toward the tree, and then, seeing the tree, took a step away from it to avoid the falling timber. Takeru slipped in the snow and, because he was still holding Daisuke's arm, he too fell into the soft snow, dropping both their torches as he did so.

With a soft hiss, the snow extinguished both flames, plunging the boys, their partners, and the rest of the forest into darkness. For a moment, no one moved.

"This could be bad," Daisuke said aloud.

There was a loud crash as the tree fell to the ground nearby. Unable to see where it landed, everyone instinctively covered their heads.

Takeru climbed to his feet, nearly tripping over Daisuke, and looked around. "I can't see anything…," he said hesitantly.

"Yeah," V-mon said from somewhere nearby. "This is bad."

"Anyone know which way it is back to the cabin?" Daisuke asked, trying to climb to his feet as well and slipping in the wet and frozen snow.

"Even if I did know, how would I tell you?" Takeru pointed out.

Patamon sighed, and his voice came from somewhere overhead. "I knew this was a bad idea."

***

The food was nearly finished cooking, and the smell of the it drifted through the cabin. Hikari expected someone to comment on the scent of it, or to ask how long until they could eat, but no one did.

Miyako sighed contentedly. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until just this minute."

Iori was busy setting the plates out on the makeshift table. "I've felt hungry ever since food was mentioned," he admitted, glancing around the cabin interior so he could count how many settings to prepare.

Gradually, Hikari became aware that something appeared to be missing. She looked around. Miyako sat at the table, content with the scent of the approaching meal. Koushiro and Jyou were both still engrossed in their books, hardly noticing the rest of the world. Iori was setting the table.

She turned toward the door, where the small pile of wood stored inside had been steadily growing. It was a bit larger now than she remembered it, but still…. A few moments passed, and then she realized what was absent.

***

"I think it's this way," Daisuke said, pointing.

"Which way?" Takeru asked, unable to see anything. "You see what I'm saying? Even if I knew which way it was back to the cabin, how are we to find that way?"

"Well we won't find it if we just stand here," he returned. "We should start walking."

"And then what? Hope we crash into the cabin? It has no windows. How will we find it if we can't see it?"

"If we stand here all night, we'll freeze to death."

There was a momentary silence as they reached an impasse. Frustrated, they both paused to think. A branch cracked in the distance. A soft sound was heard in the snow.

"Footsteps," Patamon warned, his ears tuned that direction immediately. There was silence. A moment passed. Then, from the completely opposite direction, another sound.

"We've been watched," V-mon stated dully. "Probably surrounded now."

There was another squishy sound in the distance. "Yeah, definitely surrounded," Daisuke agreed.

"What now?" Takeru wondered. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves against something we can't see?"

***

Iori frowned at the door. "Yeah, it has been awhile," she agreed. "Should we go look for them?"

"And miss the food?" Miyako complained. "Their loss."

"What if they're in danger?" Hawkmon scolded. Miyako sulked.

"Well, they can't stay out all night," Hikari said, worry evident in her voice now. "They'll freeze if they don't come back soon."

"Should we go find them, then?" Tailmon asked, looking up at her partner.

"I think we should," Iori stated. "There could be real danger."

***

"Digimental up!"

"V-mon armor evolve! Fladramon!"

For a moment, the darkness was broken by a blinding light which flashed brighter than a flash of lightning. In the midst of this light, Takeru thought he could see a few small shapes hovering the forest, quickly darting away once they'd realized they were spotted. Then the light ceased, and the suffocating darkness returned full force.

"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon shouted, aiming his attack toward the fallen tree. Immediately, the fire spread and the trunk was engulfed in leaping flames, lighting the forest again. In the leaping flames, they glanced around, but whatever had been making the footsteps had slinked away in the light.

"Cowards," Patamon mumbled. "Must be pretty weak."

"Do you hear footsteps?" Takeru questioned. Patamon raised his ears, listening intently for a moment, and then he shook his head.

"Then they haven't retreated," Daisuke agreed. There was silence then as everyone tried to sense the sound of footsteps. "If they're controlled, they wouldn't retreat that easily."

"Should we go after them?" Fladramon wondered.

Takeru shook his head. "We'd better not. It's late, it's dark, and it's cold. We should just go back and sleep for the night."

Daisuke disagreed. "What if they're waiting for us to go back to the cabin, and then they attack us all there?"

A cold wind blew gently through the snow-covered silence of the forest, causing the flames of the fire to jump and flicker.

***

The breeze fluttered through Miyako's hair, through her skirts, past her ankles and then dissipated behind her. She shivered slightly and opened her eyes.

"See anything?" Hikari questioned, hugging herself to keep warm.

"They're not far," she answered. "But I do believe they're surrounded."

"By what?" Iori questioned.

"Can't tell. Too dark. Something that's not on our side, though."

Tailmon sighed. "Of course. Can't be surrounded by anything friendly."

***

The silence was broken by an odd shuffling/hopping sound, and then there was the sound of something being thrown through the air at a great speed. Something crashed into the ground at the edge of the forest, but they couldn't tell what it was.

"Ayaaaaaaaah!" something shouted from within the woods behind them, and then Takeru felt something slam into the back of his neck. It was cold and hard, but not too painful. Something ice-cold trickled down his back.

"Snow?" he questioned, reaching for his neck. His gloved hand was wet now. "They're throwing snow at us?"

Patamon shrugged. "It's available, isn't it?"

Suddenly, from out of the forest, came a barrage of snowball fire. Dozens of wet blobs of snow came from every direction, most of them finding their targets. Daisuke and Takeru were pelted with the fast moving missiles, and searched for some place to take cover. There was none.

"This doesn't seem fair!" Takeru protested.

"I don't think they're trying to play fair!" Patamon pointed out.

"Fire Rocket!" Fladramon called, blasting several of the snow balls in mid-air and turning them into melted balls of water which fell uselessly to the ground. There were too many for him to handle all at once.

"Don't worry about the snowballs," Daisuke scolded. "Go after whoever's throwing them!"
"Right," his partner nodded, and aimed his next attack at the trees instead. "Fire Rocket!"

"Can't I help?" Patamon asked, half whining and looking toward his partner.

Takeru had already raised his digivice above his head. "Digimental Up!"

***

"I hear something," Iori commented, head cocked slightly, concentrating on the sounds of the forest. "But it's so far away I can't tell what it is. Or how far it is."

"Can you see anything, Hawkmon?" Miyako questioned, looking skyward.

"Not much except trees and snow," her partner replied, hovering above her.

"If only there were something we could see," Hikari sighed, frustrated.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light that lit the forest for a split second and then faded as soon as it had appeared.

"You mean like that?" Tailmon asked.

***

"Anyone for retreating?" Takeru questioned, wiping the snow out of his hair. Their attempts to destroy the snowballs' point of origin had failed because the snowballs took the brunt of the attacks and protected the ones throwing them. What's more, the attacks were also aimed at the fire that provided the only light in the area, and were gradually beginning to dampen the flame.

"Retreat to where?" Daisuke retorted, surprising no one with his reluctance. "We're surrounded, remember?"

"We can blast past them, can't we? We can't stay here for long, you know. Our partners will need to recharge but they won't run out of snow any time soon!"

"If they're comfortable in the snow, what are the chances that they're as agile and dangerous without snow?"

Takeru shrugged. "Pretty slim, I'd guess. Are you saying we retreat to the desert?"

"Think about it. In the desert, there's no snow. They won't have any snowballs. And, we'll be leading them away from the cabin."

"You do have a point."

"If we lead them back to the cabin, there's a chance it could be damaged. Destroyed, even. And, that's the direction of Primary Village, remember? We can't lead them that way. If you want to retreat, then let's retreat in the other direction."

***

"This is crazy," Hikari commented to Nefertimon as they soared through the bitter cold air, heading for the source of the light they'd seen. "We'll never find anything in the dark!"

"I don't see anything," Nefertimon admitted, scanning the ground below. "Are we sure we're going in the right direction?"

Hikari held her torch above her head. "I think so," she answered. "I can see Miyako and Iori ahead." A small, flickering flame that was Iori's torch was floating through the air ahead of them.

"And I see something else. Look down there."

She turned and looked down, noticing a large, flickering flame below. "What is that?"

"I don't know. Looks like a burning tree."

"Let's go closer," Hikari decided. "Miyako!" she shouted, loudly, trying to get her attention, but she and Iori had already flown out of hearing distance.

"We'll find them later," Nefertimon assured her, swooping low in a wide arc.  A few moments later they landed beside the large burning tree. The flame was slowly dying, and the tree itself was mostly destroyed. Nefertimon de-evolved for better maneuverability below the trees.

"Looks like there was someone here recently," Hikari noted, looking closely at the footprints which covered the ground. "I see boot prints. Do you think Takeru and Daisuke were here?"

"That would be the obvious assumption," Tailmon answered. She was sniffing the air, trying to see if she could detect a scent, but her talents did not lie in her nose the way they did with Agumon. She tried to listen, but apparently whoever had been there had left, and their sounds were too far off.

"They head that way." Hikari pointed off in the distance.

***

Iori carried the torch in his hand as they flew along, somehow managing to keep the burning stick ablaze. He glanced back through the sky, eyes searching for Hikari's torch in the inky blackness. He saw nothing.

"Miyako," he said quietly, tapping the girl on the shoulder. "I don't see them."

"Nor do I, Iori," she sighed, still peering at the ground for signs of life.

"No, I mean Hikari and Nefertimon. I don't see them."

Miyako's head snapped back so quickly that he was afraid it might somehow snap off. "What?"

"It could be that they're too far back," he continued. "But I don't see their torch behind us."

Holsmon paused in mid-flight and turned to face the other direction. "I don't either," he concurred.

"Should we turn back for them?" Armadimon wondered, a worried frown on his face. "What if they were attacked?"

"And what if Daisuke and Takeru are in more danger?" Iori pointed out.

Miyako groaned. "We don't know where to begin searching for any of them!"

***

They ran at top speed, crashing blindly through the snow-covered forest as they did so, trying their best to avoid the dark shapes that sprang out of nowhere and became trees. The clouds  were beginning to part overhead, and the snowstorm was over. A bit of moonlight filtered through the trees, making it possible to see shapes against the darkness.

Takeru ran until he felt his lungs would burst and his legs would disconnect from his body and give up the chase in protest, lying on the ground and refusing to go on any longer. And then he ran some more. He could hear the shuffling movement in the trees behind them and knew that whatever had been attacking them was indeed following them. The splat of snowballs continued around them, along with some angry shouts.

"Any – idea – what's – chasing us?" Daisuke asked, panting as he ran.

"No!" Takeru answered simply. He could spare no lung power to say more.

"I can't get a good look at them for long enough to see what they are," Pegasmon agreed, sounding strangely calm even as he ran alongside them, the trees and darkness having hampered his ability to fly.

"How far is it to the desert?" Fladramon questioned. No one could see anything, but they were aware that the temperature was slowly beginning to rise.

***

"Whatever came this way was moving pretty fast," Tailmon observed. The snow here was deep, but dozens of footsteps crashing through the forest had left a very navigable trail.

A slight breeze filtered through the trees and moved the clouds, adding a bit of light to the otherwise dark forest. Hikari held her torch above her head. "They're headed toward the desert, I think. Why would they go there?"

***

The temperature had risen quite a bit. Miyako removed her gloves and stuffed them in the pocket of her jacket. "I think we've come too far," she sighed. The trees had slowly disappeared below and now she could see the light of their torch reflecting off the desert sand below. She looked up toward the sky and wished the sun would rise.

In the distance, Iori thought he could hear something, and when he turned his head in that direction, he saw a bit of a light. "I think there's something over there."

***

They'd been running for some time, and it was a surprise when Daisuke tripped over a rock and fell face first into some water. It was cold water, but not ice-cold like the snow, and there was no sand at his fingertips, only small, slimy-feeling plants.

Takeru heard the splash in the darkness and stopped running. "Daisuke?" he asked, barely able to see. He squinted and made out a dark shape moving near the ground.

There was a spluttering sound and then the dark shape moved a bit. "Water," he mumbled. "Cold  water."

"What? That's not possible. We're a few weeks' journey from any ocean!"

"Well then it was my imagination that got me wet?" Daisuke retorted. He pulled himself to his feet. "We're not in the desert. There's no sand."

"Great," Pegasmon said from somewhere in the darkness. "Now we're totally lost."

"I don't hear those little creatures anymore," Fladramon observed. "Did we lose them?"

"Maybe." Takeru reached down to his feet. "I don't feel snow. Only dirt and grass."

"We could really use some light," Daisuke sighed.

Fladramon located another tree. "Fire Rocket!" he shouted, and then the tree was aflame, lighting the entire area.

***

Hikari followed the footsteps with caution for some time before she noticed that they had turned a bit. Now she wasn't certain where they were going, but she was certain that it wasn't a direction she'd ever headed before. The snow was melting now and the temperature rising, but there was no sand, and she could see no clearing ahead where the desert began.

"Which way do we go now?" she questioned. "The snow is gone and so is our trail."

Tailmon shook her head. "Don't know," she answered. "This definitely isn't the desert." She cocked her head to the side. "Do you hear water?"

In the darkness, there was a hissing voice. "Chosen…?"

Hikari froze. "Who's there?" she demanded, holding the burning torch in front of her.

Suddenly, from nowhere, something flew at her and crashed into the rocks by her feet. There was a shout, and then several more projectiles crashed by her feet. Hikari glanced down and saw that some melting snow had accumulated.

"Snow?" Tailmon asked with disbelief. "They're throwing snow?"

"They mustn't have very much ammunition left. There's hardly any snow here, and any they do have will melt." Hikari raised the torch, trying to make out what was attacking her. "Who's there?"

There was only an odd laughter, and then more snowballs flew toward her. Hikari stepped backwards, away from the snow-covered forest and towards the warmer sections. She heard a splashing sound in the distance and was struck suddenly with an almost paralyzing fear.

"I see a light…," Tailmon said suddenly. And then there was a steady glow coming from deeper into the woods.

***

The light that Iori had seen was visible even from across the desert. The sky had cleared now and the moonlight was faintly illuminating the vast wasteland. Miyako shivered in the cool of the night. "I don't like it here," she said, frowning.

She, Iori, and Armadimon were soaring quickly over the empty sands, scanning the ground below. Iori still carried his torch in one hand. "We're too exposed," he agreed, a similar expression on his face.

"We're heading closer to the forest now," Holsmon reported. "Do you want to head in that direction?"

"I'm not sure," Miyako admitted.

"Fly higher," Armadimon suggested. "Maybe we'll be able to see the light better."

Holsmon complied, but looking back over the forest and toward the cabin revealed nothing but dark treetops for some distance.

***

Thanks to Fladramon, the area was visible now, and they were able to see that Daisuke was standing in some shallow water. There was mud beneath his feet and a bit of mud on his face, the usual result of landing face first in mucky water. The edge of the water was difficult to determine exactly, only that it was someplace between Daisuke, standing in shin-deep water, and Takeru, who was standing on a dry rock. Some tall, reed-like plants filled the space, making the water itself difficult to see until, like Daisuke, one tripped and fell into it face first, at which point one became more acquainted with it then most people wanted to be. The whole area had the general atmosphere of a swamp.

"Fabulous," Daisuke muttered grumpily, trying to clean some of the mud out from under his fingernails and failing miserably. "Now we're completely lost. I don't remember coming past water any other time."

"I wonder where it leads to," Takeru wondered thoughtfully. "To a lake, a river? Or is it just a swamp?"

Before Daisuke could remind him that now was possibly not the best time to be gathering further data for Iori's map project, the strange shuffling, hopping footsteps broke the silence. The creatures that had attacked them with snowballs earlier had apparently followed them after all. Both boys and their partners froze at the sound, not sure what to do.

Suddenly, a voice could be heard over the soft shuffling footsteps. "Super Stinky Spray!"

There was no hesitation. There was no debate. There was no indecision. Immediately, both Takeru and Daisuke turned and ran, fast as their legs could carry them, away from the attack. They didn't know who was behind it, but they had a pretty good idea of what it would do. And so, they ran. Deeper into the marshy swamp.

As they ran, the voice and a hundred others like it could be heard laughing with amusement. "Go that way, Chosen," the voice urged. "Enter the Swamp of Death. The serpent will kill you with ease."

***

Erm. Yes. The Swamp of Death. Right brilliant, that is. ::sigh::

Anywho, that was the latest chapter. Again, not too terribly much happened, but there was suspense…right? At least that's what I was going for. Not sure if it worked.

Next chapter promises much more happening. I'll try to have it out before school starts again – because then I'll have no time (as opposed to all the time I have now?) – but I make no promises. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. Later!