Robin woke up with a scream, coughing and gasping after almost succumbing to suffocation as her face had lain in the mud. She had been unconscious for some time, and where she was was still a mystery to her. Her head hurt, and she struggled up off the muddy ground. She pulled her dirty auburn locks out of her face, leaving muddy streaks across her freckled face. Once she was up, she swayed to the side, almost falling over.
Her eyes wheeled across her environment. There was a forest floor was covered with dead leaves, and there were trees everywhere. As far as her eyes could see were trees; gray, lifeless trees stripped by the winter weather. She shuddered suddenly, and then realized her whole body was numb. The only thing she felt was the pain and dizziness in her head, and the occasional taste of blood in her mouth. The dizziness made it near impossible to stand. Her actions had been so fast she had gotten ahead of herself. She now wondered where she was, and how she got here. Nothing came to mind. She closed her eyes and tried to collect her thoughts. Nothing again. She looked down at her frozen hands covered with mud. She had to get somewhere safe, somewhere warm. Without much thought, she followed almost animal instincts and set foot forward on shaky legs. She shuddered with each step, tiring from the concentration she made towards not falling down. Each step she made carefully and slowly. The temperature was so cold; passing each tree was like a tiny goal. Robin did not get far, and after a particularly severe bout of dizziness and pain, she collapsed onto the wet forest floor.
Finton Coin jumped with a start. He stood up slowly, aware of the fact that he should have not been sleeping. He had a job to do; watching the forest for signs of Those We Do Not Speak Of. His eyes shifted around in the sudden confusion, and he looked to The Forbidden Line between the woods and the village. A sense of relief permeated him. No Creature was there. He wrapped his hood closely around his head and opened the hatch door to the watch tower where he sat. Nothing was there either. He sighed in relief, and slowly closed the hatch. "Finton, you mustn't let a bit of sleep get you so riled up about-" Finton gasped suddenly, dropping the hatch door down on the fingers of his hand. He yelped, quickly covering his mouth with his sleeve and pulling his fingers away. He could have sworn he had seen something on the ground! What was that he thought, his mind cluttering with a million spontaneous ideas. It wasn't moving, he thought suddenly, which gave him more of a reason not the ring the Warning Bell. Ring the Warning Bell if they are coming, Finton thought. But what he had seen wasn't Those We Do Not Speak Of. Finton put his injured fingers in his mouth and cautiously, hesitantly opened the hatch door. He closed his eyes and squeaked at the sight of it again, but only in fear. Once again he saw it wasn't moving, but one terrible detail was obvious. This thing was dressed in red. The Bad Color. And it was so dangerous near the Forbidden Line as well. He stared at it for a minute, and then came to a terrible realization. He had two choices: ring the Warning Bell, and send the entire village into as flurry of hysteria, or simply climb down the tower to investigate what it was himself. Finton closed his eyes again, whining silently about the choice he was going to make, and then slowly opened the hatch door all the way.
He climbed slowly down the ladder, fearing each step as he made his way closer to the thing. Be brave, Finton, and go see what it is, he thought. Finton stepped towards it, and it did not move. He made another step, and still it did not move. Each step he took, the shape of it became clearer. It was a person who was dressed in the bad color. Finton's fear turned to confusion as he kneeled beside the person. It was a girl, not younger or older than him. She was dressed unusually though. This girl wore trousers, black trousers covered with mud, and a shirt of the Bad Color. It also had a silver design on it, of a girl riding a horse. "Hollywood Cowgirl" it said in almost unreadable writing. She must be from another town, an evil one, named Hollywood, Finton thought. The girl had The Bad Color coming from her head as well in great amounts. Finton recognized it as blood, and touched her face. It was unbelievably cold. It then dawned on him that he must get help, help from Mr. Walker. He would know what to do. Having no choice but to leave the girl there, Finton ran as fast as he could to the village.
