Chapter 7: The Nightmare returns

''What's taking her so long?''

Shade, Marina, and Orestes were waiting for at least an hour. But so far Vanessa still hasn't returned to them.

''Do you think something has happened to her?'' Orestes asked anxiously.

''I hope not.''

''She just wanted to disappear for a moment in the bushes over there. That shouldn't take so long. Better I take a look.''

Shade was about to fly off when Marina held him by the arm.

"Not so fast. You know why she had to leave for a moment, so maybe I should go check on her.''

''But...'' he sighed ''Alright.''

Marina nodded and then quickly flew over into the bushes. But Vanessa was nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, Marina picked up her trail and followed her through the thicket and down to the stream. There she couldn't find a clue to where her friend might be, till her eyes fell on a dark grey owl feather on the ground.

"Great Nocturna, no!''

Marina immediately feared the worst and asked herself how Vanessa could be so reckless and leave the protective thicket. But then her eyes fell on something in the water. Bending over she picked it up and looked at it more closely. It was one of the small flowers that Vanessa had wrapped around her hips. But what was it doing in the water? Could it be that she...

Marina took one last look at the flowing water, then turned around and hurried back to the others.

''Are you sure Marina?''

The Brightwing nodded. ''I followed her trail up to the stream. There I found a feather of an owl and one of the flowers from her skirt in the water.''

''So you are saying she jumped into the water?'' asked Orestes.

''Either that or an owl caught her and that flower fell off.''

I rather think she jumped into the water to escape the owl,'' said Marina ''At the place where I lost her scent, the stream was flowing through a tunnel as well. That must have given her the idea. She wouldn't have had time to run back into the undergrowth. The owl would certainly have caught her before.

Orestes nodded ''That's right.'' he agreed with her.

''Well, what are we waiting for then?'' Shade looked at his two friends questioningly. "Come on, we gotta go after her. Who knows what place she got out.''

''We know Shade, but maybe she has made it outside or got back to the others.''

Shade wasn't so sure. He preferred to follow Vanessa to be certain that she was safe.

"And what if the owl did get her?" Orestes considered.

"We can't dig up the entire forest for her.''

''Then we'll have to take our chances with the stream. Come on, guys!'' Without waiting for any objections, Shade flew off through the forest and down to the stream.

Once there, he wasted no time and threw himself right into the chilly water. At once the current took hold of him and pulled him mercilessly with it. Unable to see more than blurry images Shade was pushed through the tunnel. He had no idea if Marina and Orestes had followed him, but he hoped they would all arrive safely.

Finally, the nightmare was over and Shade's head burst out of the water, gasping. Coughing and spitting, he struggled to paddle to the shore and lifted himself out of the water. A movement behind him made him flinch briefly. But it was only Marina who emerged from the water, closely followed by Orestes. Both greedily inhaling the much-needed air.

''You really can't even wait for two seconds," Marina said, glancing at Shade reproachfully.

Orestes collapsed on the sandy ground, panting. "Gosh, what a trip. Can we please agree that we will not do this again? Thank you.''

Marina wrung the water out of her blond hair and looked around. ''Uh, boys. Where are we?''

Following her gaze Shade took a look at their surroundings and was more than surprised by the sight of the strange world that stretched out in front of them. It was a forest. But not like those he knew and lived in the north. This one was ... different. It had trees Shade had never seen before. They were incredibly large and covered in moss and long thick vines that wrapped around the trunks as if they wanted to strangle them while others hung casually down from the branches. On the ground, flowers bloomed vibrantly in lost of different colors. Each of them larger than Shade's own body. And the heat.

The moment Shade shook the water out of his fur he felt a displeasing warmth surrounding his body. It reminded him of the hottest summer nights at Tree-Heaven, only worse.

He could hear the sound of a splashing waterfall deeper n the forest and the chirping of several insects. But besides that, it was rather quiet. Too quiet for his taste.

''What animal do you think lives here?'' Orestes asked. He had shaken the water out of his feathers and now looked like a puff flower. Shade would have laughed at his sight if the situation wasn't so severe.

''Maybe the humans are still waiting to fill it'', marina suggested.

''Maybe.'' Shade kept looking around. Although he knew he had never been to such a place, the surroundings still seemed terribly familiar. Like someone had told him about it. Painted with words into his memory.

''I don't like this,'' said Marina, ''We should find Vanessa as soon as possible and get the hell out of here.''

Shade nodded. He knew she was right even though part of him wanted to take a closer look at these strange plants.

''Guys!''

At Orestes' call, Shade turned around in alarm. His feathery friend pointed to the stream with the tip of his wing. A figure inside darkened the water and came closer and closer before it broke through to the surface.

Winnie.

Meanwhile, Mercury was searching all night for the snow-white Kermode bear. He was scared that owls or wolves could attack him at any time, and he had searched almost every imaginable place. It was frustrating. A big bear like her could not simply make herself invisible. He just had to keep looking.

When morning dawned he had no choice but to look for a roost. He was tired from flying so long and his stomach was growling as if he hadn't eaten for nights.

Partly that was true. He had refused to eat the insects the owls 'generously' offered them and insisted that the elders ate them instead.

He would be fine, he had said, and if necessary feed on the fat reserves he had gathered for hibernation. He knew that this could be dangerous. If he went to his fat reserves beforehand, he would have nothing left to get safely through hibernation. Whether it would come to such a thing this time he doubted a little bit. Normally they all should have been asleep already. He, his mate Icarus, the elders, and all the other Silverwings plus their newest member the Brightwing female Marina. Except for Vanessa.

As a human, she was excluded from hibernation and the thought of it made Mercury rather happy that this was no ordinary winter this year.

Hopefully, she was alright, and Icarus and the others as well.

If only he would finally find Ursa. He just had to. Who knew what Brutus would do to the elders once he finds out that one of his captives had managed to escape.

Mercury headed towards an old elm tree, hoping to find a place to roost and rest for the day. As a sound caught his attention. With his keen ears, he listened more closely and send out sound waves until he spotted something big and furry on the other side of the tree.

He landed on the bark and carefully crawled around the tree till he was close enough to see what that big, white, furry thing was.

He almost couldn't believe his luck. Before him was a bear. A female white Kermode bear with an orange tag on her left ear. This could only be Ursa. It had too. She was by far the only white black-bear known in the forest.

Right now her back was turned to him and she seemed to be brooding about something while painting pictures into the frozen ground with her claw.

Despite his exhausted state, he fluttered in front of her face to capture her attention.

''Ursa,'' he said, ''My name is Mercury Silverwing and I am in need of your help.''

With shock and disbelieve, Shade, Marina, and Orestes watched the young barred owl arrive at the shore. Coughing she staggered to the shore and shook the water out from her feathers before glaring hatefully at the bats.

''Thought you could escape, huh? Forget it!'' She turned to Orestes and nodded to him. "Don't worry, your highness, I have come to your aid. The others will be here soon.''

He just stared at her.

''I wouldn't be so sure about that'', Marina said, ''They are too big to fit through.''

Now the little one seemed a bit insecure. "D-doesn't matter." she stammered. "You are just two. We can deal with you. Right, your Highness?!''

''Would you please stop calling me that'', Orestes asked. ''I'm not royalty. There is a big misunderstanding.''

She starred at him confused. ''Huh? But of course. You are ...''

Could we continue this conversation some other time, Shade interrupted her. His gaze nervously flitting back and forth. "I think we're being watched.''

"You're just making that up to distract us.''

"No, Winnie," Orestes sighed, "Listen, Shade and Marina are not our enemies.''

She frowned not understanding what he means. "But they killed pigeons and owls.''

''No, we didn't!'' Shade was getting tired of hearing that all the time. ''No northern bat has killed any birds. The killers came from the south. Huge cannibal bats that were after my colony.''

''And you expect me to believe that?''

''It's true,'' Orestes confirmed. "I saw them myself.''

''But don't worry,'' Shade continued. ''They're dead now, and can't harm anyone anymore.''

"Well, I feel very much alive.''

With a gasp, they spun around and saw Throbb grinning at them while hanging upside down from a branch right behind them.

''Sweet Nocturna...''

Shade couldn't believe it. Throbb was alive. This couldn't be true. On the other hand, maybe he wasn't as badly wounded from his fight with Orestes as they had hoped. But what was he doing here? And was his cousin here as well? No, that was impossible. There was no way he had survived the fall from the waterfall. He and Vanessa barely made it themselves. So what...

''Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear amigo Shade Silverwing. His Brightwing friend and the Owl. What a welcoming surprise to see you all here.''

Shade's heart skipped a beat. That voice. He recognized it immediately and wished he was wrong. But as he looked up, his eyes saw none other than Goth himself. The Vampyrum was kneeling with one leg on the branch where Throbb was hanging. His chin propped up on his right hand with his elbow resting on his knee. The other hand hidden behind the trunk.

Maliciously, he grinned down at Shade and his friends. ''What aren't you happy to see me? How unfortunate.''

Shade was speechless. This had to be a nightmare. Goth couldn't be alive. It was impossible. On the other hand, he had already survived a deadly electric shock before. Yet Shade had felt so sure that this time it was different. How could fate be so cruel?

''Uh, Shade, here!'' He turned to see Orestes handing him a flower.

''What..?''

''Well, you said that if Goth's still alive you would ...'' Shade threw a meaningful glance at Orestes. ''Uh, nevermind'', he replied and threw the flower away.

''I have no idea what you guys are talking about down there,'' Goth said. ''But it's nice to see you are already picking flowers for your grave.'' He chuckled and his yellow eyes sparkled in the light of the sun.

What confused Shade the most was that Goth looked the same as he did when they first met. His hair was long and well-groomed and his fur and wings were free of any wounds or scars. Throbb also looked completely unharmed. As if the incident at the power station and the fight at the waterfall never happened. How was that possible? Did the humans have something to do with this? Did they heal them? It had to. Why else would they be here?

He wished Vanessa was here. She could tell him if her kind was capable of such a miracle.

As if Goth had read Shades' mind, he addressed him directly. ''If you and your compañeros are wondering why I'm not surprised to see your little human friend is not with you. Well, that's simply because... She already met us.'' Goth rose up and pulled something from behind the trunk.

Shade gasped in horror as he recognized Vanessa in the cannibal's grip.

''Guys!'' She tried to free herself but Goth's grip on her wrist was just too strong.

''How generous of the almighty Zotz to not only heal me from my wounds but also send you four here for me to get my revenge.'' His gaze wandered to the young barred owl, who was hiding behind Orestes. Her eyes widen in fear at the sight of the large bats. ''And look at that. You even brought a dessert.'' He laughed viciously, causing the small she-owl to grow pale.

''Don't you dare touch her,'' growled Shade, trying to sound braver than he actually felt. "Release Vanessa and leave us alone.''

Goth tilted his head. Completely unimpressed. "And what if I don't? Are you gonna attack me then or what?''

Seeking help, Shade looked around. There had to be something he could do. Maybe if he created an echo projection, fearful enough to distract the cannibals, they could rescue Vanessa and get out of here as quickly as possible.

''If you think you can save yourself and your friends with some tricks, enano, then I'm afraid to disappoint you.'' Goth glared at him. ''I will certainly not fall for any of that anymore.''

''We have to do something'', Marina said. Shade knew she was right. But that was easier said than done.

''Well then'' Goth flicked his claws. ''Enough talking. Time to eat.''

With his eyes widen Shade watched how Goth threw Vanessa from the branch. Fortunately, Orestes acted immediately and caught her with his back. At that point, Throbb pounced on him while Goth was targeting him and Marina. Only with luck did Shade manage to jump out of the cannibal's range. With whirling wings, he plunged into the undergrowth, hoping to lose Goth in there somehow. But after a quick glance over his shoulder, he realized that he wasn't following him at all. Instead, the Vampyrum was about to charge at Winnie, who was still standing on the same spot, terrified to death.

Without thinking twice, Shade raced towards them, slipped in front of Goth, and threw an echo image in his face - the skeleton of a human with a masked face and sparkling eye slits, reaching out to grab him.

With a horrified scream, Goth flinched back.

''Fly away!'' Shade shouted to Winnie. She didn't need to be told twice. In a feathery whirl of wings, she was gone. Shade whipped the air and turned over Goth's head as his sound illusion dissolved.

Not far away from him, he saw Marina vanishing behind a dense umbrella of leaves. But there was no sign of Orestes or Vanessa. Neither could he see Throbb anywhere.

Shade prayed to Nocturna that his friends were safe while desperately looking for a place to hide. Behind him, he heard Goth howling with rage but he didn't dare to turn around. He kept going deeper and deeper into the thicket and almost collided with Marina, who was hiding behind some ferns. Wordlessly they flew further down and finally hung themselves up behind huge leaves with rounded corners. There they were almost completely hidden.

''I can't believe they are alive.'' whispered marina, the horror still written on her face.

''Me neither,'' he replied and only now realized that he was trembling. He had so hoped they got rid of the two giant bats once and for all.

''Funny how Orestes remembered your bet.''

He frowned. ''That's really not the time for that Marina.''

''I know.'' she chuckled softly. ''At least you didn't say you would marry Chinook or something.''

''Seriously?'' Shade just stared at her, but before he could say anything the leaves above their heads were swept aside by a purple-colored wing and Goth pounced on them headfirst.

At that moment Winnie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped at the cannibal. Completely taken by surprise, Goth staggered to the side giving Shade and Marina the opportunity to escape. On their flight through the forest, Shade almost collided with a human.

The human was dressed in white and hooded. He ignored him and Marina and walked through the thicket. In his hand he held a long pole with a net. Just like the ones who took the other bats the day before. Shade spun around and watched as the human lifted the metal pole high into the air. There was a sharp crackling sound and Goth plunged into the net. A second human appeared from the other side of the thicket, hit Winnie with his stick, and bagged her as she dropped down lifelessly.

Then they put both of them into metal cages as another human appeared. To his horror, Shade saw that Orestes was in his net.

AN: Looks like I'm in a flow. xD Well, I do have some (unwanted) free time right now. So why not use it to keep working on my story ?!