Disclaimer: I still do not own "The Village" or any of the characters. Once again, if someone wants to give me Joaquin, I'll gladly take him. -
Chapter Title: Into the Woods

A/N: Yay, I've written another chapter! My one problem with multi-chaptered stories is that I'm not patient enough to get the story going. It'll get better, I promise. The characters will develop in chapters to come. Thanks to all those that reviewed. Ideas are welcomed! Feel free to leave constructive criticism as well. Don't forget to leave a review!

Chapter 2: Into the Woods

Ivy Walker sat on the steps of the school house, sightlessly watching the children play. It was the end of the week and a mood of normality and calm had settled on the secluded village once again.
A smile crept onto her face as a familiar sight approached her. Ivy instinctively extended her hand into thin air. A few second passed, but as expected, Lucius Hunt's hand met hers. Ivy smiled at him as he sat next to her; their hands still entwined. Lucius looked at her, and as usual Ivy sensed his question without him having to ask it.
"I will not tell you your color. It is not lady like to speak of such things," Ivy said as she turned her head to him. "Stop asking," she finished. A rare smile came across Lucius's lips and he turned to watch the children.
"Should you not be resting? The doctor said you should stay in bed as often as possible until your wound fully heals," Ivy questioned, a note of scolding in her voice.
"I feel fine, Ivy. I can not leave the others to do my chores. I am well enough to be up and about," Lucius paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as he squeezed her hand.

"Ivy….It has been a month and you have yet to tell me of Covington Woods," Lucius finished. Ivy turned her head away from him and appeared to be looking directly ahead of her. The children were now intently involved in a game of tag.
"I should not speak of it. Those we don't speak of were angry and took Noah all because I ventured into their woods. Now they are silent and let us hope it remains so." Ivy's voice quavered slightly as she spoke. When the elders had told her of Noah finding the suit, Ivy had not known what to say. Although she had not meant to do such a thing, her hands were now stained red with Noah's blood. No one except the elders knew and they had asked her to stay silent for as long as possible. She was forbidden to tell even Lucius.
"And of the towns? You have not spoken of them, Ivy," Lucius responded, his eyes directly on her as she blindly looked ahead. "Did you speak to anyone, Ivy? Surely you must have to have obtained the medicine."
"Lucius, I have told no one but the elders of my journey. Not even Kitty knows what happened, so you must promise not to breathe a word," this caused Ivy to smile. Asking Lucius to take a vow of silence was redundant. Her smile disappeared as she continued.
"I spoke to only one person. He…he was the one that obtained the medicine for me. His name was Kevin. Kevin is such an odd name, I have never heard one like it," Ivy said, her voice growing softer as she spoke on.
"I gave him the paper with the medicine listed and my grandfather's pocket watch. He was surprised, as if he did not believe I had come from the woods. You see, I had to climb a wall and jump over. I do not know how long the wall was, but I felt around and it seemed to stretch out everywhere."
"He left to go retrieve the medicine and he returned fairly quickly. He brought back a ladder to help me over the wall that separated the woods from the rest of the area." Ivy kept her head looking forward, seemingly unbothered by the few loose strands of her orange hair that blew into her face with the gust of wind. Her unseeing eyes appeared to be seeing something Lucius could not. When she spoke again, her voice was hardly above a whisper.
"He was kind, Lucius. He was from the towns that the elders have always told us were wicked, yet he was kind. He got me the medicine that saved your life and for that I'd never think unkindly of him," Ivy finished. When she stopped speaking, Lucius squeezed her hand as if to bring her back to reality. Finally, she shook her head and turned to Lucius once more.
"Kevin was the only one I spoke to," Ivy explained, once again answering Lucius's unasked question. She had a knack for that.
"Have you thought of him...of the towns…often?" Lucius asked.
"Let us not speak of the towns anymore. You are well and healing and I am here, away from the woods," Ivy responded. She stood from the steps and grabbed her new cane from beside her.
"Kitty is supposed to be making lunch for the children today," Ivy explained, letting go of Lucius hand.
"Let's go get ready for lunch, come on now, all of you," Ivy yelled, ushering the children to begin walking in front of her. Some had already begun racing to the Walker home, where Kitty would be waiting.
Lucius stood up slowly and watched Ivy begin her way from the school house to her home. She had taken the hand of Hannah, one of the youngest girls in the village and was laughing joyously at something Hannah had said. If it had not been for the yells of the children encouraging him to join them, Lucius might have stood there all day. Instead, he followed behind, bringing up the rear.

Kevin drank his cup of coffee quietly. He had called in sick from work and had told the Boss that he needed a few weeks off. A sick relative needed his care, he had said. Kevin snorted into his drink. His parents had never been close to their siblings and he hadn't seen any relatives since their funeral. The Boss had never liked him, so he had willingly let him go. A few weeks without Kevin being nice to the curious travelers was perfect.

Kevin was ready. Sighing to himself, he got up and washed his coffee cup. Today was the day. His backpack was sitting on the foot of his bed, ready to go. He had packed enough food for a couple days. Why had he asked for so many days off? Kevin shrugged as he asked the question to himself. Even if he couldn't find Ivy, he still needed time off. And what if he did find Ivy? What was he to do then? This was too unlike him. He's going out on a limb to find a girl that lives in the woods.

What if he actually managed to get over the fence? The sanctuary was enormous…how was he supposed to find Ivy? A whole village could probably fit in it. And perhaps it did.

But what if it didn't? What if he was just chasing a ghost? A figment of his imagination?

"She's real," Kevin said firmly to himself. He picked up his navy blue backpack and slung it onto his back. Kevin grabbed his water bottle off the table and headed out the door, locking it behind him.
He took a bus to the stop nearest to the sanctuary; yet it was still a couple miles before he would reach the spot where he planned to jump over. A sign at the entrance of the park read "Walker National Park." Ten minutes past the sign and he was walking past the Boss's station. Kevin stopped as he saw the shed near it. Someone had left the same ladder he had lent to Ivy, outside. It was an incredible stroke of luck. Kevin took it as a sign that he was meant to look for her.

Kevin took the gold watch from his pocket and opened it. It read 1 o'clock. No one would pass the spot where he planned to climb over for at least another couple hours. By then he would hopefully be over the fence and well on his search for Ivy.
"Alright, here goes nothing," Kevin said to himself as he set up the ladder and began climbing it. Once he reached the top, he sat on the fence and threw over his backpack. Then he used his legs to balance himself as he tried to bring the ladder up and over the wall with him. Realizing he could not sit on the top of the wall for long, especially since he had no sense of balance, he repositioned himself and began pulling the ladder up. He managed to get most of it, but soon he had to move his legs slightly so he could set the ladder down gently and close enough for him to climb back down. When he tried moving his legs, he heard a rip. Looking down, he saw that his khaki pants were stuck on the branches of the bush that had grown onto the wall. Cursing to himself, he let the ladder fall onto the ground as he untangled himself. With the ladder flat on the ground, he had no choice but to jump.
Kevin grunted as he landed on all fours, the pebbles on the ground sticking to the palm of his hand. With another groan, he got up and dusted himself off. Turning back to the ladder, he picked it up and hid it in the bushes on the side of the path. Once he picked up his back pack, he took one last look at the wall and turned around.
A small gasp escaped Kevin's rosy lips as he immediately recognized the path he had never really seen. It was identical to the one in his dream. He looked around, taking in the woods and half expecting Ivy to blindly run to him and greet him. When nothing but the sounds of distant birds came to his ears, he began walking.
Kevin took a sip of his water bottle every so often. He had yet to see anyone or anything. He must have been walking for hardly thirty minutes when the he heard the sounds of a river. Sure enough, as he kept walking down the pebbled path, a river came into view to the left of him. The path seemed to end as well, as the pebbles became fewer and disappeared into the leaves and branches of fallen trees. As he looked from left to right, he tried to picture Ivy. She had not been wet when she had hopped over the fence, so she probably did not cross the river. That meant she came from the right. Turning himself, he began trekking through the dense part of the woods. As he walked, he came across a stick that was long enough for him to use as a walking stick.
It had rained a couple of nights ago, and the mud on the ground was a testament to it. Glancing up, Kevin could make out grey clouds above the seemingly endless trees. The last thing he needed was for it to rain. He only had his jacket to keep him warm. It hadn't really occurred to him to bring a sleeping bag, but if he didn't find Ivy before night fall, he would be forced to spend the night in the woods alone.
Other then the sounds of distant animals and the creaking of tree leaves and sticks under his feet, Kevin couldn't hear much else. It was serene and quiet; despite the eerie feeling he felt came from the trees. They seemed to hold a secret, and he felt as if he was intruding.

Hours had gone by, and Kevin was still walking. He had kept going straight. It occurred to him then that he should have left signs to himself in case he wanted to turn back. Cursing himself again, he looked up at the sky. Stopping, he took out the watch again and looked at the time. It was only four o'clock, yet the trees and the lack of sun made it seem like after seven. Sighing, Kevin looked around him and saw a clump of leaves near a tree trunk. Sitting down, he looked through his pack and found one of the sandwiches he had prepared for himself. It was a good thing he was in shape, or else he would have felt ten times more tired, he thought to himself. After he finished his lunch, he got up and was off again.
Two hours later, it was apparent that he would not be able to get any farther without a flashlight, which he had completely forgotten to bring. He had brought a pack of matches, and when he found a place that was clear enough for a small fire and himself, he settled down and retrieved a few sticks. He put on his dark green jacket and wrapped his blanket around himself. The fire was helping him keep warm, but the looming clouds over head threatened to spill water.
He had never taken to camping, and the once small and insignificant noise made by small animals now became noisy and mysterious. The shadows once created by harmless bushes now became the image of predators. More then once he had whipped around, convinced that something was approaching, but each time he saw and heard nothing more.

The walk had tired him and Kevin now found himself yawning. He would have to give into sleep soon, but he added enough wood to the fire to keep it going through the night. As long as the fire kept going, he was safe. Perhaps tomorrow he would find Ivy. He had not given up hope. As he drifted into an uneasy sleep, his hand clutched the gold watch.