Chapter Five: Aftermath

The forest was eerily silent as Wendy and Wolfgang walked between the trees. There wasn't a single creature in sight. Not even a bird chirping from a branch or a bee busily buzzing by. The only sound was the soft crunching of grass beneath their feet.

It was Wolfgang who broke the silence. "Something terrible happened?" he asked no one in particular but hoped Wendy had an answer. "Birds are usually singing here."

Wendy stopped walking for a moment and tapped her chin, examining the area. "Something scared them off, Wolfgang. Something big it seems," she said calmly, studying various patches of torn up dirt and grass.

As they continued through the quiet trees, they came to a small clearing and Wendy noticed right away that something didn't belong there.

There were two large holes on either side of the clearing, like two huge trees had been violently uprooted. A few dark wooden chairs were knocked over and bits of dark wood, which didn't appear to have come from any of the surrounding trees, were scattered around the clearing. As she examined the area carefully, Wendy picked up a chess piece that had been laying in the grass.

"Hm... I wonder who could've been playing chess in the middle of no where," the girl murmured to herself. She placed the white pawn in her crude backpack and turned to her large friend, who was poking around the edge of one of the holes. He was probably checking for spiders. "We should keep moving."

"Yes. Is good idea, Wendy," Wolfgang replied with an eager nod.

As they set off again, Wendy couldn't help but feel they were being watched.

"I never... Want to see... Another tree... Ever again!"

Maxwell brushed ashes off his clothes and face while Willow rolled in the dry grass and screamed at the sky. "Never, never, never, nev-"

"It'd be nice if you didn't attract another tree guard with your constant screaming!" Maxwell shouted in frustration, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

Willow sat up and shouted back, "At least I can do something to get rid of them! What did you do? All you did was throw your creepy sword at them!"

"My apologizes that I don't feel the need to burn everything to the ground like you, pal!"

"I don't wanna burn everything!"

"It sure as hell seems like it!"

"Creep!"

"Petulant child!"

Willow had no good comeback for that, so she turned her back on Maxwell and pouted like a child who had just lost an argument with their parents.

Maxwell rolled his eyes, ignored the girl's angry grumbling, and attempted to figure out where they were. They were surrounded by dry, tall grass and Maxwell spotted a few Beefalo grazing not far off. The huge beasts must not have noticed them when they had run, flailing, onto the Beefalo's territory. He couldn't be sure if this was the same grassy field they they had stumbled upon a few days earlier but he didn't really care. They still had plenty of firewood and meat to last them for a few more days.

And Maxwell really didn't want to go near that damned forest again any time soon.

The man sighed and began setting up a small camp fire. He tried to clear away as much of the dry grass as possible, not wanting to set the whole plains alight. He left the little firebug alone too. She had annoyed him enough for one day and he liked it better when she stayed quiet like this.

The air between them was more tense than a tripwire but at least it was quiet now.

Maxwell had just finished cooking some meat and berries when Willow finally decided to be mature and stop pouting. "I was worried that your face was going to get stuck that way," Maxwell commented, offering a decent sized hunk of meat.

Willow stuck out her tongue and snatched the food away from him. "Yeah, right. Like you care what happens to my face," she grumbled.

"Well, it's much more pleasant to be trapped on an island with someone who isn't constantly pouting like an infant," he told her, a small smirk on his face. He picked some charred leaves out of his cooked berries. "You look rather ridiculous making a face like that."

"Oh, yeah? Your face looks ridiculous all the time," Willow retorted. "What's your excuse, Maxy?" She gave him a smug grin.

Maxwell sighed heavily, regretting his decision to speak to her. "On second thought, you talk less when you pout," he said, mostly to himself.

"Too bad!"

It was going to be a long evening...

At least they had managed to survive the tree guards. Maxwell didn't think they'd be nearly as lucky in the future. But for now... They were alive, which was a plus.

The downside was they were dirty, tired, and probably had minor injuries. And Maxwell had to listen to Willow babble on about how much she liked setting the tree guards on fire.

But these were minor concerns.

Wendy snapped a few twigs off a small shrub, humming a strange tune as she worked. She might not be as strong as Wolfgang but she could still gather food and kindling. She also made sure to plant a few of the pine cones that dropped from the trees that Wolfgang chopped down.

It was tedious and rather boring work but it was necessary to survive. And Wendy found Wolfgang's rather cheerful demeanor to be contagious.

"Meat would be much better," Wolfgang commented as he watched Wendy roast some carrots. He didn't complain too much about only being able to eat berries and carrots for the past few days. However, it was obvious the muscular man longed for a steak or something meaty.

"Vegetables and fruits are good for you," Wendy replied, smiling softly.

"Meat is good too," Wolfgang chuckled. "Meat makes people strong." He munched on his roasted carrots.

Wendy couldn't disagree with him. She wasn't a vegetarian and she too wished for a tasty ham sandwich. Just the thought made her a little bit more hungry. "I've seen quite a few rabbits hopping around," she informed. "Perhaps we can make a trap and get a few morsels of meat."

"That would be good!" Wolfgang said enthusiastically. "We will trap the little beasts and feast."

Wendy giggled. She had to admire his excitement for this survival setting. He seemed to be the type to accept any challenge. Whether it be carrying a few huge logs over his shoulders or fighting off a pack of large spiders. And he was certainly helpful.

"Will your ghost be here tonight?" Wolfgang asked a bit nervously.

Wendy shook her head. "She wants to rest tonight," she answered calmly. "Just us tonight, Wolfgang."

The large man let out a sigh of relief. "Good, good. The ghost scares me," he grunted before stuffing a few more carrots into his mouth.

"Save some of those," Wendy warned. "We can us them for bait."

"Yes, little Wendy."

"You still have those bits of grass, right?" Wendy asked, gathering up a few extra twigs. "I think I know how we can make a good trap."

While Wolfgang slept, Wendy worked from evening to night, carefully and delicately weaving the grass into a basket shape. She would use a small stick to hold up the basket and, taking a torch with her, went off to look for a nearby rabbit hole.

The strange sounds of the night did little to terrify Wendy. Not much could scare the psychic child with the dead twin. She was easily able to ignore the whispers and growls that came from the darkness around her tiny torchlight.

When she found a rabbit hole with fresh little paw prints around it, Wendy carefully placed the trap near it and nudged a carrot under it. With the trap set, she walked briskly back to their little camp.

She threw a couple small logs and twigs onto the fire to keep it going. Didn't want her friend being eaten by the darkness while he slept after all. Wendy smiled and hummed an eerie tune, watching the flames.