Chapter 26

Terror in the dark.

She sank to her knees in the dark and gave a low groan. Her insides were mush and butterflies. The kiss Youko had given her had took a toll on her body, making her shiver in delight. After a few minutes, she stood up and began the journey through the tunnel. The blue mushrooms glowing along the floor lit her path so she would not stray into any water in the dark.

The vixen wrung the end of her tail in her hands, 'I shall never get used to this,' she pouted. Twenty minutes later, she rounded a corner and saw a spot of light ahead. Breaking into a run, she headed for the exit. The light came closer and closer; she tripped on a stone, wrenched her ankle and skinned her knee. Giving a cry, she landed on her palms and sat. The blood from her wound flowed quickly down her leg. Tearing a piece of cloth from her clothing, she bound her bleeding knee and started to walk again, biting her tongue when she used her hurt foot. The light slowly inched closer until she was outside of a small cave opening. The sun had gone down, the waning moon had rose; a sliver had been trimmed from its perfect circle. Taking one last look at the moon, she assessed her surroundings.

The area the cave opened up in was unfamiliar. Tall trees with hanging vines and moss made a sad and terrifying atmosphere. The air was stagnant and smelled of mildew and other decaying plant matter. Not a single thing made a sound. Not a bird, not a small rodent; nothing. Her imagination began to run away with her, conjuring up ideas about ghosts and zombies. She shook her head, 'don't be silly! Nothing like that exists! Well, if my father was really in my dreams, then yes theydoexist.' The hair on her tail bristled, making it look five times bigger than it was; her ears folded back and she began to shake.

A pair of lamp-like eyes suddenly appeared in the trees in front of her. To her relief, the cool voice coming from it was one she recognized. Koronue had not quite left after all. "So what happened? Did you two kiss?" he asked eagerly.

"That's none of your business, Koronue. Shame on you for following us around! You nearly made me jump out of my skin!!"

He chuckled to himself. "Sorry. C'mon, I'll lead you back to the den." He offered her a hand, noticing her limp. Gabriel took it and they slowly went down the winding path. She noticed Koronue's wings twitching now and again. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm just very superstitious; I believed that ghosts lived in this forest once, and that was why its so grim looking."

"Ghosts?" she whimpered. "Are there really ghost out here?" she clasped his hand very tightly. Koronue shook his head, "No, I only said ghosts lived here because the idea seemed so romantic at the time." He tried to sooth the quaking vixen. Her tail had now puffed up to ten times its original fluffiness. He continued to scare her and himself with his nervous jabbering. "Though, once I heard of the spirit of a dead child creep up behind some one and lay its icy fingers on their shoulder."

"Was it here?"

"No, in another part of the forest, before Youko and I made it into a defense wall of monster plants. The village near here has a rumor about the spirits of dead people that were killed by the monster plants; the spirits of those dead people are said to wander around the forest, looking for the way out, but damned never to find it."

"Where did you hear that from?" she whispered.

"A priest; he was old and probably senile, but I don't believe a priest would lie." He whispered back.

"Do you suppose Raden is with them, looking for his bride? Oh, no! I shouldn't have said that, he may follow me here!!" her voice was strangled with terror. A crook in the path sheltered an old abandoned cabin made of wood. "Do you think the ghosts live in there?" her voice was barley audible.

"Maybe, maybe not. I don't think ghosts can fully appear with out a full moon."

"But its only one day after the full moon."

"Ghosts or no ghosts, we have to walk by there."

"Can't you fly us out?"

"I don't dare to in the dark, I might knock into a tree and break my wings. I can't see through the tree tops."

"We'll have to be brave then. If there are any ghosts, we can't let them know we're scared."

"Let's hold our breath as we pass; that way, we won't be able to shake."

"Good idea." They took a deep breath and slowly walked past the cabin. It was ten meters behind them. They felt light headed, as they had not yet let out their breath. Gabriel looked behind her as she limped along; the cabin was almost out of sight. She thought she heard a faraway moan, when the ground opened to swallow her whole, she squeaked. Koronue watched in horror as the earth gaped open and ate his vixen friend. "AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGH!!!" He screamed bloody murder with the suppressed breath in his lungs.

"Koronue! Stop that and help me out of here!" a small voice said. He looked down and saw she had not been eaten, but she had fallen into an old well and caught a hold of the edge. With his screaming ceased, he reached down and pulled her from the old well. Branches and leaves had fallen over the mouth, hiding it from view in the dark. "Are you alright?" he asked, setting her on the ground.

"I've wrenched my other ankle. I can't walk on either foot now." She groaned, clenching her ankle in both hands. Her tail had puffed to fifteen times its normal size now. "What should we do? Should I carry you?"

"No, I can't bear to move at all. You'll have to go with out me."

"But-!"

"Listen to me," she grabbed his hand and forced his chin toward her, "Run as fast as you can and get Youko; he can heal me enough to get me home."

"I can't just leave you here!!"

"You have to be strong and run fast, Koronue, I shall endure this forest; though if my imagination gets the better of me… I shall be forced to faint." She said fearlessly. Koronue wrung his hands for a moment, clenching his eyes shut; his eyes snapped open and he handed her one of his scythes. "Keep this in case you are attacked," he said.

"Go now!!" Gabriel said. He took a deep breath and shot down the path like a black rocket. The vixen scooted as far as she could away from the well and concealed herself between a bush and a tree. Sweat began to form on her forehead; her ankles throbbed painfully. 'Don't be afraid, nothing can happen to you if you aren't afraid.' she reminded herself. A cricket gave a single chirp somewhere to her left, her head snapped over to the direction it came from. 'Oh,nowthis forest has sound!' she thought bitterly. An owl hooted for a while, she froze; her tail bristled so much it was bigger around than her whole body. She sat bolt upright; a fluttering sound was heard directly above her head. O.o Her eyes glazed over, and she fell over in a lifeless faint. x.x

Youko was sitting outside the door to the den when his ears picked up the sound of a terrified yell. He recognized the voice as Koronue's. He was running as fast as he could, screaming at the top of his lungs. "YOUKO!! YOUKO!! YOUKO!!" the said fox stood up, watching the bat skid to a halt and stutter aimlessly.

"Sh-she, it- g-ghosts in the- fell in a well g-ghosts in the- hurt her- g-ghosts in the- ankle-g-ghost in th-the-" the fox gave him a sharp slap.

"What the hell are you trying to say?"

"Gabriel'shurtandshe'sinaforestfullofghostandshe'sallalone!!" being used to Koronue's blabbering, he discerned a few crucial words from that sentence and took action. He picked up a small pouch of bandages and a lamp and turned Koronue around by the shoulders. "Show me," he commanded and followed the bat as he tore across the woods again.

About twenty minutes after she had fainted, she woke up and saw a dark hooded figure leaning over her. "Koronue?" she murmured. The figure was massaging her hurt ankles in cool hands. No answer was heard from the figure. "Who are you?" she asked. The figure merely continued to ease her soreness, giving her a concise hiss. "Are you a ghost?" she asked meekly, her ears pressed firmly to her scalp. The figure turned its hooded head, not stopping the motions of its hands on her skin, and nodded to her. "Why are you helping me? Aren't you going to eat me or something?"

The figure shook its head quickly. "Oh, I guess not all ghosts are bad, right?" the figure nodded to her conclusion. She said nothing for a moment, and then something hit her. "If, you're a ghost, how can you touch me with out passing through me?" the figure stopped and took her hand. It brought her hand to the bark of the tree she was next to, and made her arm pass through it as if it were air. "How can I do that? Am I a ghost too?" the figure released her hand and shook its head, going back to working on her ankles. "Oh, I see! I remember I was once able to pass through walls, if I can become astro-projected like a ghost, then you and I can be able to touch each other because we are in the same level of existence!" the ghost nodded again. "Thank you…Mr. ghost. My friend went to get help and should be back any time now. You don't have to stay with me if you're tired of healing my legs." The ghost seemed not to have heard her, and continued helping.

A faint call was heard through the forest. It came closer to her and she was able to understand it. "Gabe! Gabe, where are you? GAAABE!!" it was Youko and Koronue to the rescue. "I'M OVER HERE!!" she shouted back. A beam of light lanced through the darkness, the ghost beside her hissed and slinked away to the shadows. The two bandits soon found her and pulled her out from under the bush. Minutes later, she was being carried by a certain fox, and fussed over by his companion. "Did you see any ghosts? Are your ankles still hurt? I should never have left you alone!"

"Koronue! Calmed down, I'm fine." She laughed. "But I did see a ghost…" Koronue gasped, O.o "You did?!"

She nodded, leaning her head against Youko's chest, "He seemed pretty friendly, like we had always been friends." And with that, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Suddenly, Koronue started to laugh hysterically.

"What's wrong with you?" Youko asked.

"You have a sissy bow on your tail, ha ha ha ha!!"

"Baka…"--;