Hi everyone!

I know that some of you may be a little confused last chapter. I wish I could console you, but this story is gonna get a whole lot more confusing. Sorry...

If anyone has any theories, I would love to hear them. I value everyones opinions no matter how out-there they are.

Super thanks go to MidnightWinter76986, venombelladonna & supermommy1 for fav'ing and following, and VioletDreams13 & Edlovesme for their continued reviews. This story is for you guys.

:-D

EPOV

"What the fuck is going on out here?" a deep voice calls from the far end of the campsite.

Apparently my panicked screams and manic pacing has woken the others.

I turn to face them as they emerge from their tents, shielding their eyes from the bright morning sun.

"Look!" I yell, pointing at the foreign tree.

"Oh my god," Mike snickers as he turns to his friends. "Look guys, it's a tree! Hey look over there, there's another one. Oh and another, and another." He turns back to me. "We're in a forest, dipshit. There are trees everywhere."

"Not apple trees," I argue. "Apple trees aren't native to this area, they're not even native to this continent. Someone planted that there."

"Big deal," he sighs. "So someone planted a fucking tree, still doesn't explain why you're freaking out about it."

"Because it wasn't there last night!" I scream. My voice is high-pitched and hysterical but I'm beyond caring. No-one seems to understand that trees just don't appear out of nowhere and it would require heavy machinery to move a tree of that size, machinery that would have definitely woken us all up.

"Okay, I'm too hungover to deal with your special brand of crazy right now, Cullen," Emmett says, rubbing his tired face with his hands. "Where's Molina?"

"Not here," Bella says quietly. It's the first time I've heard her speak since our...encounter...earlier.

"What?" Emmett asks rudely. If he wasn't three times my size and able to snap me in two, I'd consider punching him for taking to Bella like that. Or maybe I'd just give him a stern talking to.

"He's not here," Jasper confirms. "He never came back."

"Right...so we have magical trees, a freaked out weirdo and a teacher that's M.I.A.," Emmett says. "I say we pack our shit and head home."

Personally I'm a little offended about being referred to as a weirdo but he does have a point. We need to leave as soon as possible and try to put this whole bizarre discovery behind us.

It's not until we are all packed up and ready to leave the campsite that I realise what will possibly be the first of many flaws in Emmett's plan. The trails that we need to walk to return to the visitors center are gone.

"What the fuck?" Emmett asks, completely perplexed. Nice to know I'm not the only one.

"I know," I reply. In the rush to get the neck out of here, I had completely forgotten about the paths being replaced by more trees.

"Well then, oh wise one, you wanna tell us how the hell we're supposed to get back?" he says. I think I can detect a hint of sarcasm in his voice but wise one is definitely a step up from weirdo.

I reach into my pack and pull out the compass that I had purchased from the camping goods store when I bought my other equipment. My father had laughed when I'd shown him, telling me that we would be hiking on marked trails and would never need to use a compass. Now I can't wait to get home to tell him how my foresight had saved myself and my classmates from being lost forever in the wilderness.

"Well aren't you just a regular little boy scout," James says as he snatches the compass from my hand. I want to argue that my mother had never allowed me to join any scout troop but I like that he thinks I have useful skills. James turns the compass around trying to find the right direction. "So how does this thing work?"

"You can see from the map that we need to head north northeast. So if we point the comp-"

"Why don't you just point us in the right direction, okay?" he interrupts, handing the compass back to me.

"Wow, thanks James," I say. Although all the jocks always make an effort to include me in their shenanigans, James has never been exactly friendly towards me, so I'm incredibly proud that he would hand me the responsibility of guiding us home.

I'm not entirely surprised though, I am the appointed leader after all.

After taking a few minutes to find the most appropriate starting point, I begin directing our group back through the forest.

This time they follow without complaint.