Chapter 2 – In the Light
A/N: Hey everyone, I'm finally done with college stuff, so I'll be able to write for this fic more. I'll say there is about two more chapters remaining, but that can change later.
Anyway, enjoy!
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Blinking away the faint sunlight, Wolfgang woke up, gasping when he put too much pressure on his broken arm. He sat up and looked over to see Woodie sleeping on the other bedroll by the fire pit. It was too early for the sun to be out. Their fire was pretty much gone, but it was light enough to keep the darkness away.
He poked his cast and turned his attention to Woodie again. The lumberjack was lying on his back, snoring with his arm over his head as if he was sleeping on a couch. Well, he did say on a number of occasions to having camped many times in the past, so he probably had more experience with this sort of thing than Wolfgang did.
"I'm sorry…I wasn't' there to help ya out,"
Those words kept coming back to Wolfgang, playing over and over, and every time his chest grew heavier with worry. Woodie, while an excellent tree chopper, was much smaller and frailer than him. If he experienced the same thing that happened to Wolfgang, then he…would most likely not survive it.
Woodie was always looking out for him and showing a lot of patience when it came to his phobias and mad apatite, always quick to reassure him with an easy smile and tell him it's all alright, no matter how many times he felt like a burden than help. Wolfgang was well aware he was not the bravest of the people here, but he was confident in his strength at least. He was determined to do everything in his power to make sure no harm ever came to Woodie.
"Sleep well, Wood Man," he muttered, getting up and picking up his spear before walking away from the clearing.
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"Woodie, just leave that thing alone!"
Woodie grunted as he messed around with the radio. "Just a second, Lucy. I think I…there!" he cheered when an upbeat tune began playing from it. He put it back on the table and relaxed against his chair as the music jumped around their little cabin. He caught Lucy shaking her head while stirring the stew.
"Why are you bothering with it anyway? You said you'll be heading to the woods for that tree you found,"
He grinned. "Still gonna. Just wanted to leave ya something to keep you company. No fun being in the cabin all by yourself, I imagine,"
"Well, look at you!" he could see the grateful smile playing on her lips. "Alright, just make sure to be back for our dinner. I've spent hours preparing for it, you know,"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Woodie promised and headed outside, taking a deep breath and gazing at the pine forest outside. A single deer was shuffling through the bushes and trotted away upon noticing him. Leaves fluttered about in the wind, some landing and collecting on the roof of their cabin.
Somehow, he could never get tired of this scenery.
Walking over to the old tree stump, he yanked his red axe out of it and examined the tool fondly.
"Woodie?"
Slinging it over his shoulder, he made his way toward the forest, feeling the shadows of the trees falling over him as he stepped in-
"Woodie!"
The lumberjack's eyes shot open and he looked around frantically. "W-what?"
"Your friend. He left earlier and hasn't come back yet!" Lucy exclaimed.
Woodie's heart dropped when he realized Wolfgang was nowhere to be seen. Considering his condition, Woodie could only imagine the danger he could be in. "Where did he go? Did you see it?"
"Of course not! How do you expect me to?!" the axe said, flopping on the ground to emphasize her point. "I just heard him walk away,"
"Right, sorry," he mumbled and picked her up. He looked around for any clues on where his friend went and alarms went off in his head when saw the spear was missing too. "We gotta look for him now!"
Wasting no time, he rushed out of the camp, looking for any sign or hint that his friend was nearby or passed here at some point. Because of his size and striped leotard, Wolfgang should be easy enough to spot, especially in the forest. Wolfgang, where are you? Worry festering within him, he called out. "Wolfgang? Wolfgang!"
"Here, Wood Man!"
Spinning around, he sprinted to where the sound came from. He saw Wolfgang kneeling on the ground, spear in hand. "There you are! Don't run off without saying anything like that. You're still hurt. Scared me half to death, eh?"
Wolfgang ducked his head. "Sorry,"
"It's fine. At least you hadn't gone far," Woodie sighed in relief only to recognize the spot they were standing on. It was the same clearing where Wolfgang fought the were-beasts, where Woodie-
"Um, Wolfgang. What are you looking for here? Did you lose something?" he asked, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Just being here a left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Wolfgang is searching for clues on Moose Man. In case monster comes back," Wolfgang said, gesturing to the massive footprints on the ground. It felt weird for Woodie to think these belong to him when the footprint was practically three times bigger than his own foot. Wolfgang frowned. "Is strange. Tracks disappear here,"
Woodie panicked. Wolfgang was getting too close to connecting the dots. If he didn't steer him off, he would realize the "Moose Man" came from the same direction Woodie headed toward that day.
The strongman beamed as he shared his idea. "Wolfgang thought maybe we can make big trap for monster. If it comes, we take it here and catch it!" he concluded, sounding proud of his plan.
"O-oh, well. I got a feeling we won't be seeing him around any time soon," Woodie said quickly.
"But how you know?"
"It's…just a gut feeling. Trust me on that, eh?"
"But what if Moose Man come back? Monster is big and strong. If it hurt Mighty Wolfgang, then it will hurt little Wood Man too!" he insisted, concern lacing his voice.
It touched Woodie to think his friend was simply looking out for him and trying to keep him safe. He just wished the situation wasn't against his beastly form. He set a hand on Wolfgang's other arm and gave him his most reassuring look. "I appreciate it, Wolf. I really do, but you're worrying too much about me. I lived in the woods practically my whole life and nothing bad ever happened to me," for the most part at least. "I'll be fine, so-"
"No, is too dangerous!" he gave him a look that told Woodie he wasn't about to back down on his idea.
Fighting the urge to groan, Woodie tried another approach. "But are you sure it happened on purpose?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, what happened was pretty bad, but how do you know it wasn't by accident?" If Woodie could ease his friend into the idea that no all monsters here were evil, then maybe it would make telling him the truth a bit less stressful and risky.
"But…but it is a scary monster!"
"Well, not every monster here tried to kill us so far," he countered.
"Like?"
Woodie blinked owlishly at Wolfgang's expectant gaze and scratched his head. Darn it, now that he was put on the spot he couldn't think of any examples. Why did everything in this world had to be out to get them? "Um, like…ah…the beefalos!"
"Hair-cows?"
"Yes, they never attacked us, at least unprovoked. That counts for something, right?" He observed Wolfgang who seemed to be trying to take all of this in. I hope it works.
"But that is not what he said," Wolfgang countered.
That threw Woodie off and he stared at his friend, bewildered. "Wait, who is this he you're talking about and what did he say?"
As if realizing he said something he shouldn't, Wolfgang clamped up and laughed nervously. "N-nothing! Forget I said anything. Wolfgang was being silly,"
Having spent enough time with him, Woodie knew Wolfgang was terrible at lying. He was far too innocent to deceive someone. "Is it Wilson you're talking about? Come on, you gotta tell me. This is important!"
Wolfgang's nervousness disappeared and a scowl took over his face. "Wood Man is always keeping secrets and Wolfgang never asks! Why can't Wolfgang have secrets too?"
Woodie felt as if he's been punched in the gut and his shoulders dropped, realizing his secrecy had come back to bite him after all. "I-I guess you're right. Sorry, buddy,"
They went back to the camp afterwards. Woodie hoped the tension between them would die down soon, but the next few days went by with them awkwardly stumbling around each other. Dinner, a time once dedicated for sharing stories about the life they had in the other world, was spent mostly in silence. Woodie would wish to share a funny story for a moment only for the words to be caught in his throat and he would change his mind. Wolfgang was no different.
The lumberjack approached him one morning with his plans for the day while he was sharpening the spear. "Hey, buddy. I thought we could go visit our pals in the other camp and spend the night there," he said and added with an awkward smile. "Um, last time I remember them mentioning planting potatoes and stuff in their farm. You like those, right?"
Wolfgang perked up for the first time in the last few days. "Yes! Let's go!"
"Just give me a moment. I'll collect some fire wood for them then I'll help ya pack our things. You know that fire lady likes burning stuff, so I imagine they ran out of it by now,"
Wolfgang nodded excitedly. Woodie headed toward the closest pine tree and began chopping.
"Just tell him already!" Lucy grumbled. "I'm so tired of this!"
"It's not that easy, Luce," Woodie sighed, whipping sweat from his brow. "Wolfgang is already scared of this place, scared of the…'Moose Man'. How do you think he will react when he finds out it's the guy he's living with?"
"I get what you mean, but it might be a bit better if his friend talked to him and trusted him with his secret,"
Woodie paused, thinking this over. He couldn't really imagine a scenario in which this could turn out well, no matter how he phrased it to him. "I don't know…"
"Just think about it, Woodie. I can tell this whole thing is tearing you up. When his arm all heals up, would you really be able to go back and pretend like nothing happened?"
She had a point, he knew she did, but the possibility of being rejected, being feared, scared him more than anything in this nightmarish world.
Keeping her words in mind though, Woodie walked behind Wolfgang as they headed toward the fields that afternoon. They watched the ground shift from green to brown beneath their feet and could almost hear the beefalos bellowing in the distance.
Woodie watched the strongman anxiously and bit his lip. "Hey, buddy?"
"Yes?" Wolfgang stopped and glanced at him.
"Listen…I…" he shook himself out of his hesitation. "I know things have been pretty hectic lately, and I know I'm not always honest with you about stuff, but I do have my reasons for keeping some things a secret from you. I will tell you all about it if it weren't for that," he gave him an earnest smile. "But, despite it all, you're still the best pal I've had and I wouldn't want anyone in your place,"
That, at least, wasn't a lie.
Wolfgang looked stunned. For someone who took great pride in his strength and praised himself all the time, he seemed quite flustered by compliment. "T-thanks. Wood Man is great friend too,"
Laughing, Woodie walked over and patted him on the back before moving on. It wasn't the truth he wished to admit, but it was something he was still certain of.
The other camp soon came into view. He spotted Wickerbottom tending to the garden and waved for her. "Hey, Mrs. Wickerbottom,"
"Oh, hello, dears. It's wonderful to see you," she gasped when she saw Wolfgang, putting down her watering can immediately.
"Hi, Book Lady," Wolfgang muttered sheepishly.
"Wolfgang, what happened to you, dear?" she asked, fixing her glasses and studying his cast carefully.
"He…got hurt during a monster attack," Woodie answered, averting his gaze a bit.
"By were-piggies and a Moose Man!" Wolfgang supplied. Woodie tried not to react when he said that.
Wickerbottom rubbed her chin. "I am somewhat familiar with the were-pigs, but a moose monster? I don't think I've seen such a thing around here. I wonder if the others have," she shook her head. "I'm very sorry to hear that, dear,"
"Is alright. Mighty Wolfgang is still standing!" he reassured her as she led them through the camp.
"That is good to know. I'll start making some tea right away,"
They sat down by the fire pit while waiting for her, looking around curiously at the camp and making note of all the new additions to it like the small tent at the corner. Woodie noticed Wolfgang's eyes on the garden and snickered lightly, but then a familiar feeling settled in within him.
Wolfgang would probably be better off here. He would be safe and sure, he would have to share food with three other people, but they seemed to be faring well together.
"Mr. Woodie?"
The lumberjack snapped out of his musings to see a tea cup being held out to him, with Wickerbottom looking confused. "S-sorry, spaced out for a moment. Thanks!"
"It's alright,"
Just then, Willow and Wilson arrived at the camp with a quiet greeting.
"Fire Lady! Science Man! Hello-" the cheery greeting died down once they took in their disheveled appearances, with dirt and grass clinging to their hair and clothes.
"What happened to you two?!" Woodie asked.
"Um, I think we're the ones who should be asking," Willow said, pointing at Wolfgang. Woodie reluctantly gave them the same answer and they both expressed their sympathy for him.
"Now then, what went on with you guys?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Someone thought it would be a great idea to try and tame a wild beefalo,"
"It seemed simple enough…in theory," Wilson mumbled. "Just think of the possibilities. Travelling around and carrying resources will become a cinch if we have one of our own!"
"Instead we ended up giving it so much of our food only for it to throw Wilson off and got chased by the entire herd after he pulled too hard on its fur when it tried to leave," Willow summed up.
Woodie whistled. "Well, seems you two had an exciting day,"
"Hey, don't act like you don't have your own fair share of brilliant ideas, Willow," Wilson huffed, turning his face away. "Aren't you the one who tried setting the beehives on fire to get the bees to leave last spring?"
She shrugged. "It felt like the most logical thing to do since taking the honey nearly got us stung to death!"
"Alright, that's enough, you two! You can see we have guests here," Wickerbottom cut in with sigh.
"Got you guys some lumber too," Woodie said, gesturing to the pile.
"YES! Finally!" Willow cheered.
The old woman grabbed her shoulder before she could run off. "Actually, we could use another chest for our supplies,"
Willow's excitement plummeted in an instant. "Ugh, you guys are no fun,"
Wickerbottom ignored her. "You two should get yourselves cleaned up and then help me with dinner,"
"Fine," they both said and went away.
Night eventually fell upon the fields and they had a plate of jerky along with several potatoes roasting over the fire on sticks.
Wolfgang blew on his before stuffing it into his mouth, mumbling about how good it was before asking for another.
"Easy there, buddy," Woodie grinned, taking a slice of jerky and chewing on it. It tasted a little funny, but he didn't want to be rude to their friends, so he made no complaint about it.
"Is my favorite!" Wolfgang muttered, mouth full. "Missed it so much!"
Wickerbottom gave a pleased hum. "I'm delighted to hear that, dear,"
"I'm surprised you managed to farm potatoes in a place like this," Woodie noted.
"You can thank our nerds for that," Willow laughed, earning a glare from both.
"Is...is it okay if Wolfgang say something?" the strongman asked suddenly after a long pause.
Even the other seemed taken aback by the request just as much as Woodie was. Wolfgang always spoke his mind, so this seemed beyond odd for him. "Um…of course, Wolfgang," Wilson said.
Wolfgang took a deep breath, as if steeling himself before finally speaking up. "Man in Suit…came to Wolfgang,"
The entire camp fell into stunned silence. Out of everything they expected him to say, none of them could have seen that coming.
"Wait…you mean Maxwell?!"
"When?! Where?" Woodie stammered.
"Days ago. He came when Wood Man left to get bug silk," Wolfgang explained.
That explained the weird, yet familiar smell that Woodie caught when he came back. "But why didn't you tell me?"
Wolfgang looked down. "Man in Suit said not tell anyone. Wolfgang got scared. Sorry,"
"Hey, no one can blame you. That guy's creepy," Willow said.
"Yeah, don't be hard on yourself, buddy," Woodie added, thinking of that jerk showing up when Wolfgang was injured and alone. The poor guy must have been frightened out of his mind.
Wilson's expression turned serious. "So, what did he want from you? Please tell us everything you could remember. Even small details can be very crucial,"
Wolfgang scratched the back of his neck nervously before speaking up. "Man in Suit said to beware Moose Man,"
What?! Woodie's eyes widened. He absently heard Lucy mutter an 'oh dear' beside him.
"Hmm, Maxwell has been hiding since he brought us here. To think he would reveal himself just to discuss this mysterious creature, the same one that attacked you before, is quite concerning," Wickerbottom said.
"Do you think it's really that dangerous?" Willow asked, glancing at Wilson.
"I can't say since Woodie and Wolfgang are the only ones who have seen it so far," Wilson admitted, arms crossed thoughtfully. "I should try and investigate more about this creature. It might become a problem for us later on,"
Woodie listened speechlessly as they went on about this new revelation and felt his anger rise. That jerk was trying to turn the other survivors against his cursed form! "Seriously?! You all just gonna fall for that?" he growled, shooting up and catching them all off guard.
"Wood Man…?"
Realizing what he did, he quickly elaborated. "I mean, really. That guy tossed us all into a world full of danger and monsters without a care then suddenly appears to warn us about a specific one. Doesn't that sound a bit suspicious to you?"
Wickerbottom nodded. "You have a point there, Mr. Woodie. That is rather strange,"
"You can never know with Maxwell. Whatever he does, it always seems to benefit him in the long run somehow," Wilson sighed. "If he really is pulling the strings of this world then why he is so concerned with one of the creatures in it?"
Willow stared at the fire, biting from her roasted potato. "Do you think he lost control of it or something?"
"That is exactly what I'm thinking," Wilson hummed. "I will still keep an eye out for both of them, just to be sure,"
Woodie slumped. That didn't really put him out of trouble, but it seemed that he averted some of the damage. He grabbed another slice of jerky and munched on it in frustration, grimacing as his discomfort grew. A pain was blossoming in his chest and making his skin itchy.
"Hold on a moment," Wilson grabbed some jerky from the plate, his face growing paler. "This is monster meat!"
The slice in Woodie's hand fell to the ground.
Wolfgang, who was just biting into one, spat it out. "Yuck!"
"What? Are you sure?!" Wickerbottom asked, her glasses nearly falling off.
"Yes, see?" Wilson held out the piece in the firelight, noting the dark purple color. He glanced at Willow who had a guilty look on her face. "Willow, you were in charge of the drying racks last time. How did this happen?"
Willow stuttered briefly before finally confessing. "Fine! Wickerbottom kept nagging me about drying some meat for winter, but I already cooked all the meat we had. I found some leftover monster meat from the last hound attack and-"
"But you know monster meat is poisonous!" Wilson gaped.
She groaned, throwing her arms to the air. "I thought drying it will make it safer to eat! I'm sorry, okay?"
While they argued on, Woodie hugged himself as the pain grew stronger.
"Oh no! Wood Man eat so much of this!"
He felt Wolfgang place his hand on his back worriedly, but he hardly noticed everyone panicking as a burning sensation spread through his body, a very familiar one.
"Hurry, take him to the tent!" Wilson called out and took Woodie's shoulder.
Woodie squinted through his pain to see ginger hair sprouting rapidly on his arms. No, no, no, please, no!
He had to get out of here. Now.
Without a second thought, Woodie tore himself from their hands and grabbed his axe before dashing into the darkness, ignoring the alarmed cries of his friends.
Lucy was shouting something, but his mind was growing blurry by the second, hardly registering any of her words. He could feel the dark monster slithering all around, whispering and hissing into his ears. He nearly stumbled when shadows wrapped around his body only for the dark appendages to shrink away when pale light burst into his vision and the field became clear for him to see. His body was growing heavier and it was becoming harder to move, but he refused to transform anywhere within sight. Please, just a little more…
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"NO!" Wolfgang cried out as his friend disappeared into the dark.
"What is he doing? He's gonna get himself killed!" Willow shouted in horror.
"Hurry! Before the Grue gets him!" Wilson reached for a torch and Willow lit it with her lighter.
"Come on. There is no time!" she exclaimed and ran ahead.
Despite his mind screaming to back out of heading straight into the darkness, his worry for his friend proved stronger and he rushed with the two after Woodie.
It was like wandering through the depths of an inky sea. There was nothing visible beyond their little circle of light, nothing at all. The combined light of the torch and the lighter was barely enough to keep the darkness at bay. The only indication that the lumberjack was still ahead of them was the sound of his footsteps.
"Wood Man! Please come back!" Wolfgang called out, heart pounding madly. Entering the darkness without a light source was a death wish and everyone who came to this world learned that eventually. His friend might get devoured any second.
"Woodie, I'm sorry! Get over here before it gets you!" Willow cried out.
After nearly half a minute of chasing him, something became clearly wrong. "How is he still alive? N-not that I'm complaining, but the Grue should've gotten him by now!" Wilson panted, growing noticeably tired.
As far as Wolfgang was concerned, if there was a chance for his friend to be saved then he wouldn't question a thing.
The sound of something collapsing ahead reached their ears and their light eventually fell on the form of the lumberjack curled up on the ground, trembling and clearly in pain. His axe had skittered in front of him.
"Quickly, let's get him back!" Wilson held the torch closer to inspect him and his breathing hitched.
"Wolfgang will help!" Wolfgang made his way over only to be hit by a sense of sheer wrongness coming off the other man lying on the ground. Woodie suddenly rose up to his knees and cried out as his body grew in size and a pair of antlers sprouted out of his head right in front of their stunned gazes. Their light now illuminated a hulking behemoth in the darkness.
Wolfgang froze up when the same pair of pale eyes looked back at him with their haunting glow. "Wood Man…?"
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A/N: Thanks for reading!