"Sis, I'm sorry! Please don't go, I didn't mean it like that, Dad still needs you, I need you!"
"You should've thought of that before you said how you really felt about me, I'm sorry too, however..."
"My mind's been made up."
Shane instantly awakens and finds himself laying on a dirt surface next to the lake. His vision is much clearer compared to when he was in the water, checking his surroundings Shane saw he's no longer underwater and is now on ground level, safe from drowning. He picked himself up seeing right away his hands and clothes were covered in mud along with being soaked obviously due to being in lake water moments ago.
He didn't have a clue where he ended up after the accident involving him falling into the water and hitting his head or who saved him for that matter, only one thing's for certain, no one was around. "Chilli! Mort! Brandy!!" He cried out, trying to get the attention of one of the red heelers, but no response was given. Where have they gone? Is all he thought in his head. The area around remains quiet with the only source of noise being a dash of wind and occasional noise from wildlife, he was the only one around for the time being. "Alone, just my luck." Shane said out loud to himself, now aware of his current situation.
Observing the area more, he then saw in front of him a trail with torches heading straight into some woods. "Huh, a pathway?" He said, now facing the trail. Where it would lead is beyond him, he stared at it hesitantly. The idea of following it with the possibility it would take him somewhere bad or good was 50-50, it couldn't take him anywhere bad... right? However his options were pretty limited at this point.
"Guess this is the only path around, seems like it's leading me somewhere." Shane said, following it up with a sigh. So with no other choice he carefully walked and followed said path into the woods, checking left and right, hoping one of the red heelers would appear from the trees. It was still late at night but due to the trees blocking the moon its light was barely visible which made things a lot harder to see, the torches at least gave some light but not by much. After walking down a straight path for 12 minutes now Shane started to become inpatient, wondering if there's an end to this trail in sight.
"Where is this taking me?" Shane grunted, feeling like he was making zero progress and doing nothing but going in circles which jogged his memory about what happened back on the boat. "I should've never tried to help, all I did was make your life worse." He began to say, getting slightly emotional. "Brandy, if you're there, I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to reveal your personal secret, especially to me." Shane said while walking with tears in his eyes. His tears began to flow heavily to the extent that his vision was distorted by all the water, he felt like it was needed to stop and get a hold of himself.
When he did he used his sleeve and wiped both his eyes before adding. "I wish I could take it back." He said, wiping his eyes. Clearing his vision again he took a few deep breaths, ready to continue forward. His plan now was to keep following the trail, there had to be an end and he's almost there although his expectations weren't the highest. But as he set his plan in motion and took a step forward, fate had other plans. A loud animal-like roar came into his ear which spooked him as he covered both ears quickly to avoid any damage to his hearing.
Seconds later the noise faded into nothing but Shane uncovered his ears slightly hoping to not hear that loud roar again. "What the hell was that?" He wondered, curious as to what that sound was and where it came from. "That wasn't an animal... right? No it couldn't be, it sure isn't one I'm familiar with." Shane continues to suspect what he just heard, He scratched out the possibility of it being an animal or inhabitant amongst the woods.
Something about it just didn't add up, the roar sounded unlike any animal or creature he's familiar with, not even a lion or tiger had a roar like that despite not living in the woods. Though his thoughts on the matter would end when he heard and noticed something ruffling inside the bushes, moving from one to the other in a quick pace which spooked Shane again.
"Hey!" Shane yelled out. He tried to get the attention of whoever it was in the bushes only to receive no response, was it Chilli, her sister, or her dad? either way Shane had to investigate. He thought firstly to use the flashlight on his phone as a way to see inside the bushes, but reaching into his pockets he came to find out that his phone wasn't in any of them, not even the charger or his wallet. "Wait, where's my stuff?" He asked himself, finding this rather odd. He just had them in his possession on the boat, now starting to think more, maybe after he tripped, they fell out and were now at the bottom of the lake.
Regardless, this did not help one bit. "Great, I'll have to take care of it without any light. How wonderful." Shane said, pretending to sound enthused, in reality he was not happy, seems like he was going to have to handle it himself and with no light. Feeling a bit paranoid he then grabbed a long stick from off the ground and walked over to the brushes in preparation for if something jumps out of them. He gave it a little tap, only for nothing to happen as a result which made him confused. "Huh?" He reacted in confusion.
But right after saying that a black creature jumped out from the brushes like a jump scare. "Shit." He shouted, that scared him half to death as he moved out of the way of the creature. He instantly turned around and saw it landed behind him, Shane could now see it more clearly, a small creature with black fur and bright purple eyes that sparkled and stared at him. His eyes widened, It was a creature he was all too familiar with.
"Not you again." Shane said. It growled and immediately tried to attack him, he dodged said attack and with no way of fighting it he began to run as fast as he could while the creature was hot on his tail. He followed the path again passing by trees along the way. But just his luck more of those things appeared from the trees all having the same bright purple eyes.
"There's more of you!" He remarked, eventually the trail ended, placing him alone in a small circular plain of grass with trees around him. He looked around for a continuation of the trail but didn't see any torches that would show a path. Where was he supposed to go now? "No, this can't be where the trail ends." He said as the small black creatures emerge from the bushes along with the trees.
"What are these darklings?" Shane then asked, they found him and he was now cornered. He took steps backwards while trying to find an opportunity to escape as they all began to circle around him. "No wait." Shane pleaded, but as they got closer to him, he saw a strange blue light started to glow around them, getting bigger and bigger by the second until it exploded into a bright flash. Shane insanely covered his eyes as in the blink of an eye, the small creatures around him disintegrated into nothing but dust. The bright blue light eventually disappeared, leaving him as the only one there as he uncovered his eyes to notice they all were gone.
"The heck was that?" He wondered, after it was all set and done he saw the dust was all what remains of the creatures on the ground. "Are they gone?" Shane asked himself. He placed his index finger into the dust and rubbed it with his thumb. It looks like the creatures were erased from existence by some beam of light or a laser gun, had it been thanks to that blue light? The question was on his mind for a moment but then he heard a voice, putting that question to the side.
"You alright, Shane?" A disembodied female voice asked him. This spooked Shane out for the third time now, someone was there and called out his name however the voice... it sounded familiar, like the one he heard back on the trail heading to the boat dock.
"That voice? Your voice! I heard back on the trail! Are you here with me? Who are you?" Shane asked, wanting an answer to whoever he was speaking to. His wish would be granted when the blue light appeared again behind him, only this time a female red heeler appeared when it faded. Shane turned around and saw her appearance, she looked strikingly similar to Chilli and Brandy with brown, light orange and yellow fur, there was also a blue glow around her, like what a ghost would have.
"Hello dear." She said with her eyes on him. "Wait, that blue light? Was it you that saved me from those creatures?" Shane asked her, she nodded in response. "I did, it seemed you needed a helping hand, especially with Chilli and Brandy, my daughters." She stated. Shane was surprised by what she just said, looking at her more clearly, he came to realize, is it who he thinks it is? "Hold on a minute, I've seen you before, Mort had a picture of you." Shane replied, he then put two and two together.
"You're Chilli and Brandy's mom." He said, surprised by her presence. "Indeed. I am." She nodded, it really was her in person, but one thing started to linger in his mind. "But you're a ghost." Shane responded while staring at the white glow around her. "I know, it seems strange to be talking to me right now, I sadly passed away years ago, but I've been watching over my family from the clouds. However something has re-emerged, I have seen a ripple rearing its ugly head again." She explained. Shane's expression changed to sadness, he knew what she's referring to.
"I saw the whole thing, It's all my fault." He told the red heeler. "Don't say that, you were only trying to help, though it didn't go as expected, your help is needed more than ever, you're my last hope Shane." She replied, pointing at him. Shane was surprised to hear this.
"Me? No, I've messed up already, all I will do is make things worse." Shane stated while turning his back, feeling like no matter what he does it won't fix the obviously complicated situation. "That's not entirely true, I understand you feel as if it's your fault, but that doesn't mean you can't make things right, I've had my fair share of conflicts with my family too, everyone has." The red heeler said which Shane turned around to face her again.
"So what do I do then?" He then asked her. "Learn, learn from your past mistakes, it's ok to disagree with family, that's how life is sometimes, but it shouldn't lead to what you saw, I believe you can fix things between Chilli and her situation with Brandy, you just need to take a risk." She said kindly. Shane's eyes widened hearing her words, it sounded like what his father once told him.
"Hey, my dad said something similar to that." He replied, recalling his dad giving him similar advice which she giggled. "He must have taught you well, I see." She smiled. Shane knows what he needs to do now, he's gonna fix what was started before it's too late. "Alright I can do this, I'll help you." Shane said with confidence, now determined and ready for what comes next. So with that he saw himself begin to glow blue, his eyes were slightly closing as he began to fade away presumably going elsewhere.
"You got this kid, help my family for me." She told him before telling him. "And one last thing, tell my family I love them with all my heart." She said to which Shane nodded. "I will, I promise." He promised her, remembering to do so when he sees them. After saying that he felt his eyes fully closed as she told him one final thing.
"Just don't ever give up, Shane."
A/N: Hello everyone, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter, it's a short one but it leads to the next chapter which will wrap up this fishing arc. Also I have a question for all of you. Who is your favorite OC (Original Character) from this fanfic? Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Anyways that's all for now, see you when a drop another chapter.