The Voice of Oz

By Eule Vix

Disclaimer: I do not own Welcome to Night Vale, I do not make any money off this story.

Chapter 2: This Time, There Are No Slippers

At first all he could feel was the sharp digging of the seatbelt into the flesh of his shoulder as he started to wake. Beneath the ringing that was in his ears he could hear the rush of water seeping in through cracks. His head throbbed painfully as the cold liquid lapped at his scalp. He groaned and opened his eyes, vision blurred and disjointed because of the skewed position of his glasses. He reached up and fixed them, the clear sight of the inside of the cabin now focused despite the new crack along his left lens. Outside all of his windows all he could see was a dark abyss completely surrounding him.

His mind slowly started to piece together where he was and what had transpired. He remembered the cars, the breaking of a bridge, and the rush of water coming to meet the face of his car; but it ended there. He tried to reach forward and touch the chilled windshield, but the movement caused a searing pain to burst from his head. He relaxed back and moved a hand to his head, feeling through his soaked dangling hair. When he reached near the top of his head he winced from sudden pain, and when he withdrew his hand he could see the red streaks of blood and water weaving across his fingers.

The sight of his own blood sent a shock through his system. It pulled him enough out of his stupor to realize that his car was completely submerged and he was running out of time. He turned to his door, pulling the handle and pushing as hard as he could but it remained steadfast from the pressure of the water. Ignoring the shooting pain from his head he leaned back as best as he could and rammed himself into the door. He tried again, and again, and it still refused to move. He abandoned it, frantically looking around him for some other way out as his breaths became quick and his lungs burned from the rapidly dwindling air. An idea struck him, he turned back to the door and started to jab at the buttons, hoping one of the windows might still work. If he could get it open he could get out. But as he pressed repeatedly, not a single one budged.

"Hijo de puta! Come on!" He slammed a fist down against the door and tried the buttons again but the result was the same.

His heart raced, his breath was short, and he could feel the air start to become thin in the small confines of the car. He needed to think, but he found himself unable to focus through the sounds of water and rapid pulses of blood in his ears. With shaky hands he struggled with his seatbelt, the world seeming to throb around him and a dark ebony black creeping at the edges of his vision. He heard a soft click before he slammed down on his head, the seatbelt jarring his left shoulder in the fall. His body crumpled oddly, his head submerged in water and his legs caught on the steering wheel. He swallowed a gulp of the water as he tried to breathe. He reached and pushed and grabbed at all he could till he was sitting up crouched on the inside roof of his car. He hacked and sputtered from the dirty water, a hand over his mouth

Once his fits of coughing stopped, he was able to take in ragged breaths. The throbbing in his head calmed and the darkness in his vision fell away to just a thin black outline at the edges of his eyes. His breathing became deeper and less erratic as the water swam around his legs. The film that covered his mind started to fade, his mind truly starting to catch up to the situation at hand. The water was rising at an exponential rate, to where he half-ass calculated that he might have five minutes before the car was filled. He started a small checklist of what he had tried in his head. He came to the conclusion that all he had left to try was to find something to smash one of the windows open or to wait and hope someone was able to save him before he drowned. The likelihood of being saved being a near zero he started to scour under the water hoping he could find something.

After a while he cursed himself, for of course today had to be the one day his car had been clean, free of any possible tools. All he had been able to find was the drenched case of his laptop, the thin electronic piece more than likely destroyed by the water, as his only weapon. He crawled to the window and started to plan his strategy. He put the strap of the case over his neck so that he wouldn't have to search for it again as he started to fiddle with the seatbelt of the passenger seat. If he did manage to break through the glass he didn't want to become pinned by the water. He put himself between the loop of the belt, hoping that once the water came rushing in he would be able to hold onto the strip. Once he made sure he had it at his waist he grabbed the case and after finding a comfortable and as powerful position as he could, aimed and smashed the side of the case into the center of the window.

It bounced off the glass, excruciating vibrations moving up his arms causing him to cry out and drop the case. He waited till the ache in his bones lessened before he again grabbed the laptop and swung again. It again was repulsed back, and this time he ignored the pain and bashed it against the window again and again. He could feel a sting in his eyes and a slight wetness start to form at the corners as his attempts continued to make no dent. It was when he reared back for the fifth time that he heard the small sound of cracking glass; a small crack now in the middle of the window like the tiny web of a spider. He felt like laughing, it was actually working. But now was not the time to celebrate, the water was up to his waist and he already had too little room left. He made sure the seatbelt was properly positioned and he again struck the glass, aiming for the center of the small fissure.

With each hit the break grew, weaving in jagged patterns of solid lightning. Little spouts of water began to spray out between them as he came closer to his freedom. When he could tell that it would only take one or two more hits he curled a bit more around the belt as he swung at the window. A shattering sound quickly drowned by the rushing water as the glass gave way. He let go of the case and instinctively closed his eyes and sucked in a breath and clung tightly to the belt as the water came hurtling towards him.

He waited, his lungs fevered with need for air. He felt the pressure equalize and that he could now easily move through the window. He swam desperately, not caring of the sharp kisses from the glass that cut his skin as coat as he moved through. He found it easier to swim then he thought it would be, as though there were invisible hands helping and pulling him to the surface.

He breached, gasping for the needed air, choking on the water that had seeped into his lungs. He swam for the edge, finding an odd girl waiting and a strong but small hand reaching out.

[+]-[+]-[+]

Slowly reality started to ebb back into his body. He could feel the pounding in his skull and the throb of the cuts that covered his body. Everything hurt and ached and burned. He opened his eyes, his vision filled with a dark blur and silhouette of tall dark green and purple splotched things which were illuminated by the red and orange flicker of fire.

Again he found himself unable to clearly picture the events that had transpired. So he closed his eyes and took catalog. Slowly, he remembered the cry of bending metal, rush of water, and shattering of glass. He remembered the desperate gulps of air and him taking the hand of some hallucination before falling unconscious. He opened his eyes again, his heart racing and his fists clenched. Again he was met with an un-seeable night sky as he upon some dusty floor. He could feel he was mostly naked save for the bandages and underwear that still donned his body.

He was outside, naked, and most certainly not in a hospital where he should have woke up.

He attempted to sit up, only succeeding in causing a splitting pain to rip through his head. He moaned and lay his head back against the ground. He moved a hand to his head in a feeble attempted to still the throbbing.

"Don't move so much. Unless you want the pain, then by all means."

His eyes went wide. He knew that voice. From the countless phone calls and occasional meetings after long flights, he would know Melody's voice anywhere. But he could feel a small fear well in his chest. The voice might have been her's but it was darker, no, stronger than her's. He turned his head to where the voice came from, across from where the fire burned. On the other side sat his hallucination in the vague form of Melody.

"But, I would prefer that you refrain from trying to go unconscious again."

He blinked repeatedly as he stared at the wriggling mass upon her head, not able to believe that it might actually be some slithering dark mass of snakes. He wanted to sit up, to find his glasses, and truly make sure of what he was seeing; there was no logical way that a mini-Medusa was watching him from across the fire.

"Glasses…" He had aimed to say a full sentence, but found his voice hoarse and throat scratchy, for now the one word was all he could manage.

The girl, or creature, stood up and moved to him. Once she was next to him he felt her small but strong hands gentle lift him up, he winced as she did the pain. It was still much less than when he tried to move himself. She carefully leaned him against something warm and a mix of soft and rugged like bark. He could feel tiny light hairs, like that of a cat, against his skin easing the bite of whatever lay beneath it. She moved to the side of the thing she had him leaned up against and came back dragging a long green and purple mass that she draped over him. It was warm and felt just as soft as the hairs behind him, but without the scratch of the wood-like texture. She tucked it around him, till he swore the mass might have been hugging him. He was sinking into the heat around him, on the brink of wanting to sleep again when he felt something metal and cold press against his face skewed and awkward. As the girl backed off he reached up and fixed his glasses, finding himself most definitely sitting in front of a mini-myth that should and could not exist.

"You're not real…" He blurted out. His pulse rose, but he was too drained to even think about doing anything except lean against the warmth on his back.

"Neither are you." She retorted, her arms cross against her body. "Yet here you are."

"Who are you?" She knelt down to his eye level and held up her index finger. His eyes met her's and he could only lingering fragments of Melody, the rest told a story of knowing too much death, hardship, and strife.

"Follow my finger." He did as he was told, forgetting that his question had been ignored. "Good." The girl then stood up and moved back around the fire, picking up some large lumpy black mass. With the think in her arms she moved back around and placed the mass in front of Carlos before sitting upon it comfortably. She crossed her arms and leaned her elbows against her knees and hunched over, studying his face.

"I need you to answer some questions for me, think you can do that?" He gaze was unbroken on him, building an uncomfortable prickling along his skin. Each time she blinked it alleviated it slightly, but it was unnervingly rare. He watched her hair, the light reflecting oddly off it as the mass seemed to move around and over itself. His mind clung to it, trying to decide what he was seeing now that he could see clearly.

"Hey. You can hear me, right?" It then dawned on him that he had been asked a question.

"Wh-what?...Oh. Yes I can do that. Why?" His ability to speak was still limited to short phrases and words, but the pain of his head was slowly becoming more manageable and the grog of sleep lifting.

"You have a concussion. I need to make sure you've been able to escape without any kind of permanent damage, or other problems. Make sure all of you mentally still intact." He tilted his head and scrunched his face, confused. He knew he had a concussion, but this girl of seemingly 12 had not only bandaged him but was already doing basic care for someone in his situation. It seemed, odd, to him though at the moment he could not fully explain why.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen." So he was wrong, 14. She was quite short for her age.

"How do you…know all this medical stuff?" He then berated himself mentally, 'Great technical linguistics Carlos…'

"I read it in a book, 'The Complete Collection of Edger Allen Poe', one that fell from your world."

"Oh…" Carlos was sure that her answer made sense, it had to right? She was so confident in her answer.

"Now that I have answered your question, I want you to answer mine. What are you?" She spoke the question slowly, making eye contact. Carlos put a hand gently to his head to still the throbbing of his head more.

'What am I?' He thought to himself. He wasn't entirely sure what answer she was looking for. She hadn't asked for his name, maybe she wanted to know what his job was? She was certainly an interesting young girl.

"I am a Scientist…I suppose." The girl frowned.

"Never heard of one of those before. Your just an assortment of impossible things, aren't you?"

He did not know how to respond, and took to blankly staring at the young girl. He felt very possible, he had spent a very long time getting his degrees and learning all those languages. He was sure what he did might have been hard but impossible? His thoughts were cut short when she asked him another question.

"So, where did your come from Mr. Scientist?"

"Phoenix."

"Phoenix?"

"Yes…the Large City in the middle of the desert?" The girl nodded slowly, seeming to take his answer.

"Right…'Phoenix'. So, what do you do in 'Phoenix'." He chuckled, besides working on his project from work he found the city to be quite a lonely and simple place, at least for him. As he spoke he felt more clear though, his hand being quite the good temporary remedy for abating his headache.

"Not much, just work."

"What do you work on?" That was when the floodgates opened.

Carlos spent the next few hours, in the dark warmed by the, chatting to this young girl about isotopes and ions. He got into chemicals and their reactions; he talked about the biology and geology. The girl kept asking questions, and even though some things were not his field he knew enough of the basics to answer her questions. By the end his headache was nearly gone, and sleep was starting to take over him again, his eyelids drooping and the thoughts that her hair was definitely moving signifying that.

"Well," the girl stood up and grabbed the large mass she had been sitting on. Carlos thought he heard it faintly purr when she touched it. "It's getting quite late, and you seem to be fine. So it's time we slept."

She took his glasses and placed than near the now dying fire before then padded over to the other side. Once there she rubbed her hand on the underside of the mass she held. Carlos wasn't sure what happened after that. He knew that she somehow put it on, or he at least thought she put it on, but there had been something strange about it. He shook his head and gave himself a quick rub across his eyes. He was tired, he had just been in an accident and had a concussion, and he was for certain that he needed to sleep because he was seeing things. He looked back up, to see the girl now laying down on the ground, back to him, and wrapped up in a black sleeping bag. He was sure it was his time to follow suit, and pulled the soft fuzzy blanket more around his body and leaned to the left where it seemed to be hanging from, and soon fell into dreamless sleep.

[+]-[+]-[+]

He was warm and only slightly cramped in the hammock he found himself sleeping in as he slowly woke. He wasn't quite sure as to why he was in a hammock, or how he had gotten there. He didn't press much but rather took to turning over in the very soft and furry sling that cradled him. He tried his best to enjoy the tranquility despite his sore body and massive headache. He figured that he had drank too much at the picnic or something, and somehow ended up at his mother's house. He briefly remembered that she did not have a hammock when something soft prodded at his back.

"Hey, it's time to move. We can't stay here much longer."

He recognized that voice, young, strong, and assured; it was Melody. He must have gone to with Trish and Melody after whatever may have happened at that picnic. It was odd for a hotel to have a hammock but regardless he was simply glad he had made it safely to somewhere. He murmured wordlessly and rolled over, away from the prodding the best he could in an attempt to go back to sleep. There was then another more forceful prodding, this time in his side.

"Mr. Scientist, I implore that you get up." Carlos moaned and squirmed but still refused.

Not with the headache he had and the more than promised nausea that would follow once he stood. If he had enough drinks to black out what had happened that night then he was sure to be sick, getting out of the comfortable sling was the last thing he needed.

"Fucking lazy, Dorothy." Carlos cracked an eye open, face met with the green and pink soft hairs of the hammock around him.

There was no way sweet young Melody would say such a word, not around him at least. Sure she was 14 but the girl at most might say that around her friends. But what gave him more pause was that she had called him 'Dorothy'.

Strange memories of the night before started to ebb into his mind, his hallucinations, the lack of a hospital, a fire, a black mass, and him ramblings of Science. His chest was starting to feel tight, his nerves on end, and he suddenly wanted to find his clothes and do nothing but run; because there was something not right.

Before he could do any of this there was a loud rumbling noise from where the prodding had come, followed by the ringing of air being sliced, and then sudden drop of the hammock near his feet. Carlos came crashing to the ground, feet first, sliding out of the hammock and onto the rough and dusty ground. He didn't feel nauseous, but his head and body started to bloom with pain as he skid against the earth. Once his body came to stop he clutched his head, the pain being the worst from it.

"Look, I know it hurts now, but trust me when I say you will be in a lot more pain when the trees wake up."

"Wha-"

"Come on Mr. Scientist."

A pair of small calloused hands were place on his shoulders and helped him sit up. His head swayed on the inside like an overfilled fishbowl and his stomach was in knots of hunger and unease. Once he was fully sitting the hands left him and a large bundle of clothes were shoved into his hands.

"Put these back on, and hurry. The sun is almost up." The cold metal of his glasses pressed against his face with gentle easy. They were crooked but everything came into focus in the low light that tinged the world a baby blue.

He must have hit his head exceptionally hard, for in full focus and with a now semi-clear head he again saw the young medusa. She pulled back from him after placing the glasses on him and turned away from him to pick up the squirming mass behind her. It reminded Carlos of living shadows or some pitch black sea creature, its feature indiscernible and whole mass moving. It inched its way toward her, the girl picking it up and petting it when it was close enough. He could hear the light clack of teeth, the purr of a cat, and the coo of some bird being made by the mass as she stroked it. His eyes widened and breath stopped as he watched the large mass start to twist around her arm, it's body becoming smaller. It shrunk and twisted until it was just a simple black bracelet on her wrist, maybe one sixteenth of the size it was before.

His brain stared to race, trying to figure out how exactly that had just happened and if the girl herself even existed in the first place. He began to run through the possibilities. He could be dreaming, but he could feel the pain of his head clearly, and he had never felt pain in his dreams before. Maybe he was simply still hallucinating, just seeing the girl and her odd creature. He looked around to take in the sight around him. In his lap was his clothes, ten feet away was his laptop, in the center of the small clearing there were in was a simple fire pit, surrounding him was a forest of green and purple haired trees. Their bark and branches covered in it, the majority of it cascading down from where leaves would normally be. They looked like plush weeping willows. He looked at the one beside him, the makeshift hammock made from its 'leaves' slowly pulling itself upwards, back to the top of the tree and revealing a face. Clearly seen eyes, lips, and nose could be made out between the bark and fur. Carlos reached out and gently touched where its cheek would be and be found the bark to be warm. It was then that he decided he was probably not hallucinating.

"Stop!" Before he could react his arm that was touching the tree was quickly pulled away, his body tugged at until he was facing the little medusa again. "Do you want to kill is both?"

His mind felt like fractured glass, leaving him unable to do much then blink at the girl. She let go of his arm and sighed.

"Okay. This," The girl gestured to the trees around them. "is the whispering forest. It sleeps just like everyone else, but once the forest is awake it is a highly dangerous place. So, unless you want to become one of these trees, bound to say endless compliments at those who wonder in, I suggest you get dressed and follow me."

All of the girl's eyes, even the ones of each small snake glared at him, wanting for him to show some response or acknowledgement to her statement. Carlos however just watched her, perfectly still, not truly seeing her anymore. She went to wave her hand in front of his face when he suddenly sprang up from where he was, throwing the rest of his clothes to the ground while he struggled with his pants.

It had taken him a moment, a small time for it to all click into place, but once he had realized he was surrounded by the most scientifically interesting forest he had to take action. Once his pants were on searched the camp fire area for his laptop, finding it not too far off. He ran to it and scooped it up quickly before running back to the tree.

"Scientist?..." The girl stammered as he drew close, but he paid her no heed.

Once at the tree he quickly pulled out the laptop, booted it up, and set it on the ground before pulling out small cables and other little on-the-go instruments he liked to stick inside of his case.

"Scientist, what are you doing?..."

His laptop had finally booted up completely and his fingers flew across its keys putting in the password. Once it would let him he quickly found his recoding program and activated it and plugged a small microphone into it. He clicked the record button on the program, holding the microphone close to his mouth.

"November 1st 2014, Carlos Ramirez. I am currently looking at a tree that seems to be covered in fine white, green, and purple hairs."

"Scientist! Stop it, what are you even thinking?!"

His fingers ghosted over the hairs near the face on the tree as he continued.

"The hairs seem to be quite soft to the touch and cover the entire surface of the tree." He looked up into the branches where the hairs grew in thicker places along the branches, spilling down and around the tree.

"Stop it we don't have much time!" Carlos quickly wheeled around to the girl, pressing a finger to his lips, his eyebrows scrunched together and a frown on his lips.

"Shush!" He turned back to the tree, his eyes fixed on the branches above him. "There do not seem to be any leaves or other noticeable featured that are typical for a tree of this type."

He moved back down to the face on the tree, reaching out a hand to once again touch the face. He first touched the nose, the coarse feel of the hard splintering wood under the hairs. He sucked in a breath, wanting to describe the feel when he felt warm, no, hot air push out from the nostrils.

"Its…breathing…"

His body went ridged as his mind spun with theories and possibilities. All of it was completely and utterly fascinating! Here he was, all around him breathing trees with faces, a girl with snakes for hair like out of the old myths, and three eyes! All this just from the immediate things around him! He felt real, he felt the pain in his head and as long as he was still taking in oxygen he would have to throw out his degrees to would pass up such a golden opportunity. He had his laptop, though he wished he had more of his equipment, he still could perform ground breaking, never before done, Science! Before he could start little arms wrapped around his waist and started to lift him.

"No more! We are going now!"

His entire body was picked up off the ground bring carried by the small girl. The cable of the microphone pulled out from the laptop as she carried him backwards. He started to flail attempting to get out of the, oddly strong girl's grasp.

"No! Wait, please! This is amazing! I must to run some tests!"

"No! No tests, no more waiting, no more touching, not more trying to get us killed! We. Are. Going."

"Why, is that you, Tamika?"

The voice, or maybe voices, were nearly unearthly. He could not tell if they were male or female. He took a quick glance around him, and through each hair that hung around each one he could see black beady eyes. Each pair of eyes glimmered and reflected in the morning light, like a clear chucks of obsidian. The girl completely stopped, holding Carlos still in the air, her feet in mid step. She was quiet, not saying a word as she slowly placed Carlos back on the ground. He could feel her shaking.

"My you sure look lovely today! Did you do something new with your hair?"

Once his feet were firmly on the ground he turned to the girl, his mouth open to speak. But with a quick tug she had pulled him down to her level, clasping a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet." She whispered.

"What are you saying dear?"

"Get ready to run."

"You can tell us, Tamika. We care share secrets with each other and be very good friends."

"And, whatever you do."

"No one can hurt you here, here you can be safe and free! Wouldn't you like that, Tamika?"

"Don't look back, don't listen, and go back for nothing. Now…"

Carlos casted a glace to the girl, whom the trees were calling Tamika. He knew that wasn't her name, or at least it shouldn't. However, now was not the time. He could see the girl's breathing was rapid, he could feel the sweat on her palms and shaking of her body. She was terrified, a small girl of 14 strong enough to lift him off the ground, was afraid of talking trees. Instead craned his neck till he could see the tree that his laptop and case lay under. He figured listening to the girl was probably the best idea, the smartest idea, the one that would result in the best chances of avoiding the supposed death that the girl said the trees would bring.

"Tamika, stay with us! We can-"

"Run!" The girl let him go, sprinting towards a pathway that he had not noticed before towards their right. He should have run with her towards the exit, the planned escape that they could make while they had time. There had always been a lot of things Carlos should have done, not going back for his laptop was just another thing he would have to add to that list.

Carlos instead ran full speed back towards the tree where his laptop sat. Behind him, in some unfamiliar language he heard the yell of the small girl. He knew she of her worries but he was sure that they were just trees. Sure they were talking trees, but trees don't move and can't chase after them. What fears the child might have had were quite possibly nothing but just that, completely unfounded fears and nothing more. He came to the tree, using an arm to quickly brush away the draped hair, and leaned down to start gathering his equipment.

Or he would, but he found himself stopped short body restrained by the arm, just inches from the device. He turned and found the hair he had pushed away had wrapped itself around his wrist inching its way up his arm.

"Oh…"

He watched the hair-tendril curl its way around him, the hairs soft and oddly warm. He started reaching for the laptop again, if he could just reach it he could run a few more tests and if he could get out of its grasp maybe a few experiments as well. He at least had to take a few notes. If he could just manage to grab it and balance the laptop on his knee, he would be set. No matter how far he stretched or pulled he could not grab the device. Soon he noticed that the distance between him and the laptop was widening. Maybe he should have just listened to the girl's advice.

"Let him go!"

Carlos turned towards the voice over his right shoulder, just in time to see a large stone slam into the hairy tendril just barely above his hand. There was a high-pitched shrill, the hairy appendage retreating from his limb. Carlos fell to the ground, his face scrapping along the dirt next to his notebook, his hands stinging with embedded rocks. Carlos scrambled into a sitting position, his bare back against the tree. In the distance he saw the girl holding a sling shot, aiming at one of the tendrils that were making their way towards her.

"For fucks sake, run!"

His head was pulsating with pain again, his vision swam, and his thoughts hard to grasp. He knew that she was right that he needed to go, but he found himself unable to keep his focus. He held the sides of his head, attempting to hold the pulses still and clear out the mental fog. His sight finally calmed, the world around him made sense, and he was able to see the new hairy appendage just inches from his face. He let out a cry and in a flail of limbs rushed to get away. He avoided the tendril but nearly stepped on his laptop.

He knew he should have been thinking what he was, that he should just run and get away from there and leave as soon as possible, despite the scientific possibilities. But the computer was right there, it wouldn't take much to bend down and gather it all up. So he did, dodging another tentacle as he frantically started to throw the odds and ends he had pulled out before back into the case. He heard a slice of air being cut followed by another loud thump which he hopefully assumed was the girl blocking another of the offending limbs of the tree.

"Stop bumbling around and run damn it!"

He grabbed the cables and instruments, picking up some dirt along with them, and threw them into the bag before swinging it over his shoulder. He had just closed the top of the laptop when he felt himself completely lose his balance.

He protectively cradled the computer in his arms against his chest, his eyes pressed shut and ready for impact of the ground again, but none came. When opened his eyes he say he was now floating at least 2 feet above the ground, surrounded by a giant pale blue bubble that was completely defying gravity.

The bubble had him moving at a slow pace, yet the limbs of the trees would not near it. The ones that hung about him did so in a five foot radius. He tried to get his bearings inside of the bubble, fumbling around until he was laying on his stomach facing the direction the bubble was headed. Up ahead he saw the girl, arms outstretched, body perfectly still, face pulled tight in concentration as three of the tendrils wiggled around her. She too was inside of a bubble, one far larger than the one Carlos was in. Carlos felt himself grinning.

"How are you doing that?" He called out to her, but there was no reply from the girl.

He was still a few feet away when the bubbles suddenly popped dropping him back to the ground as he watched the young girl crumple into a heap, unmoving. Everything slowed for him, cold fear washing through him. The young girl, who looked like Melody, how he was sure was somehow Melody was now a sill heap. He sprung to his feet, his pain far forgotten, as he sped to her side racing the appendages of the trees.

He beat them to her, scooping the girl into his arms before running as best as he could while avoiding the tendrils. Somehow, with some creative dodging, he made it away from the trees in the clearing and down the pathway, heading hopefully to the exit.

He ran down the path made by the frequent travel, following it as it weaved between the trees as he found himself just a smidgen ahead of the trees reach as he past each one by. His muscles burned and his breath came in gasping breaths but he sprinted forward desperate to get to a safer area. He needed to protect Melody.

Eventually he broke free of the forest, both of them seemingly fully intact. He looked around, finding seemingly endless sands, the forest it's self abruptly stopping at its edge. He wanted to explore, to find out the very sudden fracture between the two. But there were more important things on hand. He went to set the girl down, his breath cool against his now rapidly heating skin from the desert climate, when he stopped and stared at the small girl.

He was sure that there had been no other young girls there with him, that she had been the only one. She looked exactly like Melody, more so now that the snakes I her hair had been replaced with long wavy hair and the third eye in her forehead had instead turned into some kind of sigma or tattoo.

He spun back to look at the forest, some of the tendrils would be seen occasionally surfacing from the tops, swimming in the air like multicolored fish, before dipping back under. He feared he had left the girl back in there, that he had mistaken her for another he had somehow not seen. However they could still be the same, they still looked like Melody, he still felt so sure she was Melody. He lay her down in the sand, using the case of his laptop as a pillow for her after he zipped it back up.

Once he had her situated he took her pulse and a closer look at her. Her heartbeat seemed normal and her breathing even, but he was a Scientist not a doctor so he could not be sure. He saw that she was bleeding from her ears and nose, but the rest of his clothes had been left behind in the forest and so he let the blood be.

Other than the small amounts of blood the girl seemed fine. He could feel a stabbing in his heart still as he watched her. There had to be some way to wake her up, his took hold of one of her shoulders lightly shaking it.

"Melody? Melody, are you okay?" He waited and the girl gave no response, her breathing still the same. An idea crossed his mind, one that left a small drop of terror in his heart. He gulped and he shook her shoulder again.

"T-Tamika?" This time she stirred, coughing up small spurts of blood as she opened her eyes.

"Hey there Scientist…"