Paths of the Heart

Chapter 7-

...Everything to remember.

Disclaimer- NO MINE.

They walked for a while longer, soon abandoning the path for a slightly clearer and broader one that she could tell had once been a road of some sort, probably left in the wake of the construction process. With the going a bit easier she allowed her mind to wander, noting the songs of the bird life and the rustle that marked the passing of the smaller wild creatures that had managed to find an existence on the edge of civilization. She was startled when Tanner stopped suddenly, dragging her to a halt beside him, a mischievous smirk dancing on his lips.

Before she could utter a word he held up a hand. "I need you to do something. I'm going into the woods, and I need you to promise that you'll be a good girl and stand right here until I come back and get you, agreed?"

Surprised and amused, Chihiro only smiled as he vanished into the thick shadows and underbrush. Assuming that it was only a pit stop, she returned her attention to her immediate surroundings, concentrating on the birds that perched overhead, and the quiet scamper of some creature concerned only with its own business and having no time to spare on the strange things that had invaded its territory.

So engrossed in the life of the wood was she that she didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind her, and didn't register the presence of another human until the hands appeared over her eyes, cutting off her vision. Tanner's voice whispered in her ears, his breath tickling her face.

"Okay, now your going to have to trust me, okay? I promise that I'm not going to go and ram you into a tree or a rock or anything, all right?"

Nodding her acceptance, Chihiro followed his guidance blindly, feeling the nearby branches and bushes tug at her clothes as the waded through the thick growth. The constant stream of curses uttered near her ear, probably something that he was doing unconsciously, was highly amusing, and more than once she had to check her laughter as the thrashed along. Finally he stopped her, and with a flourish pulled his hands away.

Laid out neatly in a small clearing before them was the picnic lunch they had packed out there, arranged neatly on a blanket beside a softly babbling stream. Unable to contain her excitement, Chihiro's hands flew to her mouth, and she giggled like a little girl. Pleased with her reaction, Tanner took her hand in his and led her to the large blanket, dropping onto it clumsily and motioning invitingly for her to join him.

Full and content after her first real meal in ages, Chihiro thought she should be sleepy. Instead, she was alive, more alive than she could remember being in a long time. Impulsively, she leaned over and placed a blade of grass on Tanner's face, just where the breath from his slight snores would cause it to stir and tickle his face. After a few seconds, it stirred against his nose, prompting him to rub his face. And smear himself with a small handful of leftover peanut butter. Clogging his own nose with the sticky substance brought him fully awake instantly, and he struggled to his feet, yelling incomprehensible threats at the top of his lungs and waving his still peanut butter coated hand in the direction of her hair threateningly.

The girl danced away easily, filled with unaccustomed energy, and then plunged away through the trees, her friend in hot pursuit. Even with her recent self imposed confinement Chihiro was still far quicker than Tanner, outdistancing him so easily that she slowed, not wanting the two of them to get separated so far from home. Then her foot caught something, whether rock or exposed tree root she could not tell, and she sprawled to the ground, palms grinding painfully into the dirt.

She sighed with relief when she finally stopped sliding, as her head ended up only millimeters from a rather large rock. Feeling extremely foolish, Chihiro pushed herself to her knees and began brushing off the dirt as quickly as possible, not bothering to look up until most of the damp, clinging earth had been removed from the front of her blouse.

Sudden screams pinpointed her location, and brought Tanner at a run. He skidded to a stop, almost falling over Chihiro as she backed hastily away from a rock on her hands and knees. Confused, it wasn't until he looked closer that the boy understood her reaction, and then he had to do his best to keep from cracking up.

At some point in time, some clever person had seen the potential in this particular piece of stone, and had taken the time to carve a rather amusing face into the front of it. In her flight, Chihiro had not noticed the stone until she almost ran headfirst into it, and had not noticed the face until she looked up. Convinced that she was looking at one of her dreams incarnated, the girl had had a panic attack, which, he realized, was not getting any better to judge by the trembling figure with its arms wrapped fearfully around his legs.

Still struggling to rein in his laughter, he gently disentangled her arms and dropped down until he was kneeling on the ground beside her. After a moment he had her calmed enough to take a better look at the statue, which they discovered together was actually double sided, and which prompted a quick series of two-faced jokes. As those died out they her left her studying the carvings and meandered around, having never been to this particular part of the forest before.

As he walked away from Chihiro he encountered a wall of vines, and lifted his hand to brush them away. Behind them was an opening, cave-like. Curious, he stepped inside and was shocked to be greeted by the smell of old wood and dust, and at the distant end of the tunnel, light.

Chihiro was startled as Tanner came charging at her, almost out of nowhere. He grabbed her wrist and hauled her along behind him. At first she thought they were running away from something, but after a few more steps he turned and gazed up. Unsure what he was looking at, Chihiro followed his eyes, and almost choked. Buried under a layer of vines and leaves, almost invisible, was a building. Excitement glowed in the boy's eyes as he finally began to speak.

"C'mon, I found the way in. Let's go check it out."

For some reason Chihiro was not so sure that that was such a great idea.

"I don't know... something doesn't feel right." She whispered as she hugged herself and shuddered in the sudden wind that had kicked up.

For once Tanner dismissed her out of hand, ignoring her feelings in his own excitement.

"Come on! It's a tunnel with a light at the other end. I'll race you. And anyway, we can always come back. It's just a door, for pity's sake."

Chihiro debated with herself for a moment longer, but, unwilling to be left alone, she followed him through the natural curtain, eyes clenched shut...

...And she exhaled softly as she found herself in exactly the kind of environment he had described. A long tunnel with what looked like filtered sunlight at the end. Now slightly reassured, she followed the rapidly diminishing form of her friend as he raced away. After a while she came to a large open room, filled with benches. This piqued her curiosity as she looked around. Beautiful in it's simplicity, she wondered who might have built such a place and then just... forgotten about it.

Tanner called to her from a doorway, open to the world outside. He grinned as she came to stand beside him. "I think we found it."

Chihiro looked at him and matched his grin as she nodded in agreement. This was most defiantly the place that she and her parents had visited when they had moved out here seven years ago. She could now clearly recall the rolling hills and almost clear sky, bright with sunshine. Now that she thought about it, she could even see the scared expression that he mother had wore as her father had tore along the road that led to place after he had taken the wrong turn. It would have been funny at the time if she had not been just as terrified.

She was pulled from her memories by a gentle nudge, and looked down to find Tanner offering her his arm. She accepted it graciously, and the two of them set out across the waving grass. It was so peaceful in the late afternoon sunshine that Chihiro found all of her doubts about coming here began to vanish. Even the feeling of deja vu was ignored as they wandered across a dry riverbed. In the distance she could see buildings, and she squinted curiously in their direction before drawing Tanner's attention to them.

His reaction startled her, for he claimed that he could see nothing. At first Chihiro was sure that he was leading her on, and became so insistent and surly that he finally asked her to describe what she saw to him. As she proceeded to do so, she noticed the dark cloud that seemed to come over his features, and the cold gleam that appeared in his eye as she spoke. The look on his face was so unnerving that she turned away, unable to face him.

...pain...

...green eyes swam before her face...

...a gentle but panicked voice called her name...

...those eyes...

...that voice...

...right then, she would have given everything to remember...

Grin Sooo... Everybody like? C'mon. Tell me. Flames, constructive criticism (This ESP!), and positive encouragement always welcome!