K.W. had taken Max, still small in comparison, in her arms.
"You need to be quiet, it isn't safe here." She whispered with all sincerity. The gravity of her words silenced Max. Feeling the cold of the night's air on his wet frame, Max held tightly to K.W.' s warm and soft body. His mind spun, wondering what had happened to the land of his fantasies. Through the burnt grass plains they went, to a charred forest. It was a place Max recalled to once be lush, though mostly leafless in the fall of his mind. The further along K.W. took Max the less he saw smoldering embers. Finally, at a certain point, K.W. lowered Max to the ground, littered with dead leaves and twigs.
"See that tree?" She asked Max, pointing to a medium sized pine tree. He nodded. "Go to the base, there is a hole we can slide down, to our home."
Max examined K.W.' s features briefly, and then did as instructed. Pushing aside some of the decay, Max found the entrance K.W had spoken of. Despite his misgivings, Max did as was asked of him, and plummeted forward into a dark tunnel that was much deeper than anticipated.
"Whoa!" He cried, falling into the black expanse. Behind him Max heard K.W. jump into the entrance with him, her fur and hide catching on roots poking out in the dark. With her passing sounds of loose dirt rolling could be heard along with the snapping of pesky branches. Falling and falling, it seemed like an eternity of it, and Max found himself getting queasy from either the constant motion or the lack of light he so longed for, he could not quite tell. Before he could ask, K.W. gave a small, reserved howl of sorts.
"We're here Max." She said, her voice hushed. Together the paired fell into an open space, lit by a sizable fire in one corner in a makeshift fireplace. The room was warm, like a bed after being slept in all night. In the center of the shelter support beams from tree trunks supported the compacted dirt ceiling. Around the room were special rocks and objects assembled by K.W. or some other wild thing, their meanings secret to all but their owners. Richard the raccoon scuttled over Max's feet and up an adjacent tunnel, off to important matters.
By the fire, there were some logs arranged for seating, each varying in size for their respective wild thing, but all large nonetheless. On two of the logs sat Alexander, his eyes entranced by the flame, and Bernard the bull, who was looking towards Max and K.W. silently. Max felt nervous in such a small space, especially under the scrutinizing gaze of Bernard. Horrifying still, Max noticed Alexander was missing an arm and Bernard had no eyes. Much effort was required in order for Max not to stare.
"Hi." Max greeted pathetically, waving his arm only to feel dorkier. Bernard, just as Max had remembered, remained characteristically silent. Sitting on his log, Alexander looked over to Max with a twinge of disdain, and looked back to the fire. After a short pause and a disgruntled cough from K.W., Alexander finally gave a brief hello.
"Hey… King…" He muttered, with an emphasis on king for an effect of sarcasm. K.W., next to Max, frowned. Regardless of all Max had gone through over the years to fit in and feel welcomed, Max had yet to feel so exposed as he did then. Alexander's general nihility and apathy unsettled Max. This was the perfect opportunity for Alexander to get his word he always craved in, and yet he was silent. K.W. put her paws on her hips and let out a low growl.
"That is way rude Alexander." She scolded, lowering her gaze. Alexander finally gave his full attention to K.W. Bernard looked on, or at least had his head lifted in their direction his emotions virtually illegible upon his gruff face. Max tugged on K.W.' s arm, very much like a little kid.
"It's fine. It's perfectly fine." He muttered lowly, feeling the judging eyes of Alexander upon him. Never before had Alexander carried this much power over Max, and a part of him was definitely enjoying such a change. Alexander turned to the fire dramatically dark, and then in an exaggerated motion turned back quickly, leveling a hoof Max's direction.
"It's his fault you know." Alexander accused, directing his words at K.W., who was glowering down at him in return. She stepped closer.
"You know that's not true, this is all of our fault really." Explained K.W. Alexander rolled his eyes, but delighted in seeing Max look on confusedly between them.
"Uh… what am I responsible for exactly?" Asked Max, getting a bit defensive. K.W. angled herself towards him while Alexander gave a short and humorless laugh. This only served to provoke K.W. and irritate Max.
"Well?" Asked Max, swinging his hands.
"Tell him K.W., tell him. Tell him why all of these fires even started in the first place. Tell him why the sun is gone and everything is turning to dust." Instructed Alexander with fury; replacing the joy he had ultimately felt. All of the pent up emotions he'd felt these years was finally finding a release, at Max's expense. Feeling affronted, Max put up the disguise of being angry, really feeling rather worried. K.W. gave a bit of a sigh and looked to Max.
"I think we should sit down." She said, worrying Max. K.W. took a seat by Bernard, and patted the space beside her, motioning for Max to come closer. All the while Alexander watched with a critical glare from his spot by the flame. Even Bernard waited eagerly for him to take a seat. In the back of his mind, Max wondered if there was time to get away, or at least something to take his mind off things, and return to the confines of his room. The thought of his enraged family yelling his ear off kept him in place, neither coming nor going.
"Sit Max." Instructed K.W. again. This time Max obeyed, and took up the space left beside K.W., who allowed him to nestle in at her side once more. In a very professional way, K.W. cleared her throat in preparation for a long story. Intercepting her long speech, Alexander interrupted with a bit of a laugh.
"Tell him about the fire!" He chuckled. K.W. shot Alexander a glare for what felt to be the fiftieth time in such a short period.
"Shut up." She ordered, kicking Alexander at the shin. Recoiling and letting out a shout, Alexander was silenced. Waiting for him to finish, K.W. was allowed to carry on.
"After you left, everything was like, so perfect, you know? Carol was so sweet, and Bob and Terry hung around for the longest time without any problems. We even finished your fort, though we never got robots or anything fancy." Hearing this, Max smiled. Anxiously Alexander waited for K.W. to carry on. "Things were great for awhile, but then Bob and Terry just went missing."
"Missing?" Asked Max. K.W. nodded.
"Yeah, just like, gone," She said, snapping her fingers on poof. "Just like that and they were gone. It totally destroyed me you know? My friends were just gone all of a sudden. It really sucked, and even though everyone helped me look, we could not find them. The only one not looking for them was Carol. It was like, well, it just had to be him. I knew he had done something. With my entire soul I knew Carol had done something."
"But why would Carol do that?" Asked Max, wishing the best for his friend and bewildered at the thought of Carol doing such a thing. K.W. looked sadly down at Max and shrugged her shoulders quite sadly.
"I don't know, I just feel he had something to do with their leaving. Maybe he did not hurt them physically and all, but who knows, maybe it was something he said. They're sensitive you know." K.W. gazed into the fire and sighed and looked back towards Max. "So all of this stuff is going on, I'm mad at Carol, he's mad at me, typical sort of thing, and then something new happens. Normally we just would make up and move on, but Carol never came back to me, never apologized or said anything at all."
Listening intently, Max wondered where Carol was now, and what any of this had to do with him. K.W. proceeded on with her story. "One day, out looking for Bob and Terry, I found something, something like, completely scary. It was your name Max; your name was burned in the woods on every tree I walked past. It was so freaky. The further I walked along the more of your name I saw, burned on tree after tree. All the leaves were singed off. It was totally weird. That's when I found Carol."
K.W. paused, looking at Max, gauging his reaction. Seeing he was listening intently with keen interest, she carried on. "Carol was bleeding all over, something cut into him. There is something evil going on Max, and it's destroying our home."
"What do you mean?" Asked Max.
"I am not sure how to describe it, but something is changing things around here. Like, taking friends over, making them do bad things, and then hurting them." K.W. said, rubbing her arm to comfort herself. "I don't know how this started, but I know it has to do with Carol and his anger. Max, we need your help, I know you can do something about this."
"I bet he could pretend he can." Muttered Alexander. K.W. promptly kicked him in the knee, silencing him effectively following a yelp. Shifting uncomfortably, Max avoided K.W.' s pleading eyes.
"I," he said, trailing off, looking for an appropriate way to decline, "do not think I can do anything. Sorry."
Shoulders slumping, K.W.' s eyes contorted into a dismayed shape. Her wide mouth fell into a hard-pressed frown. On the spot, Max felt like crap. Now, more than ever, he wanted to leave. Faced with disappointment from someone he had so looked up to was even less appealing than a shouted out lecture. Standing up, he brushed away the immense amount of mud on his jeans.
"I would help, but I have to go home. Sorry." He said, repeating his apologies.
"Let me guide you out." Offered K.W. Giving no time for a refusal, K.W. pushed away some of the wall, revealing a hidden passageway. "A shortcut to the beach."
Together they walked through the tunnel, Max feeling indignant with K.W. treating him like a child. As the burrowed exit widened and it became easier to see, K.W. offered Max her hand for support. A small part of Max wanted not only to take her large hand, but to also embrace her tightly. He was so afraid in actuality, or at least very uncomfortable with what had become of his world. A greater part of Max wished to come off as an adult; he wanted to be someone who was left alone. So, instead of taking her hand, he ignored her offer, playing it off as if he had not heard her. Following some time, hours it seemed, of walking the hidden path, Max and K.W. came upon a boulder. Seams of light filtered in through the cracks between the boulder and what was apparently the opening to the outside. Pushing the boulder lightly, the exit was opened with ease by K.W. Allowing Max to pass by; K.W. rolled the large stone back into place, concealing the opening.
"What happened?" Asked Max, staring with confusion at his once pristine boat. All that remained was the charred skeleton of his watercraft and ashes that whipped up with the breeze of the beach. K.W. walked up beside him, keeping with her typical steady pace. Sickened by the burnt wreckage, her eyes widened in abject horror.
"Max, that force, it knows you're here. You need to get out of here." K.W. urged.
"How? Where? My boat is destroyed." Replied Max, discovering that hiding his fear was becoming more challenging. K.W. shook her head, rolling her eyes to the hazy violet sky for answers. When none came, she looked back to him.
"We really need your help. You're the king, can't you just stay and try?" Pleaded K.W., bringing up the issue once more. Opening in closing his mouth, Max resembled a fish more than an arrogant teenager, fearful of the confines of his mind. Struggling with what to say, he felt so entirely stupid.
"I…" he started, pausing to think of something, anything to say, "I…"
Max would not finish his sentence however, because at that moment there was a resounding boom. Sand shot up into the air, splashing with a swishing noise into the ocean lapping on the shore. In the horizontal crater that had formed, a figure rose. Its fur, matted and torn, blew every which way in the soft gusts of air. Looking to its face, Max was so repulsed he could almost throw up. The face of the creature had tears running across it. Rotting flesh hung from gaping wounds, probably being the source of the malodor. In a moment of shock and terror, Max recognized his aggressor.
"Ira?" Asked Max, his knees quivering.