Jerome Harper stared in confusion at the map in his hands.
"Are you sure it's this way?" he asked his three traveling companions.
"Honestly, I think we might have passed it. At least we – hey! What the hell are you eating?"
"Vitamins, don't worry about it," Quentin answered as he pocketed the bottle of pills before Jeff could snatch it away.
Jerome turned the map sideways as if it would help him read it better. It didn't. It only punctuated the hopelessness of the situation. They'd come out to the Red Forest for a scenic hike and planned to end the day with burgers, but somehow, they'd lost the trail. To make matters worse, it was already dusk and the fog only seemed to be getting thicker the further they went.
"I think we're going circles," Mikaela said, glancing back at a tree with uniquely gnarled branches.
Spectacular. Why did I let them drag me into this again?
Jerome pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. This couldn't be happening. He opened his eyes to gaze upon the map again but, exasperated, passed it off to Jeff and scanned their surroundings.
Wha...
"Shh! Stop! Get down!" he suddenly hissed as quietly as he could.
In unison, the four of them crouched low and froze in place. None of them noticed it at first, but now they could all see it. A blueish blur slowly moving through the fog. Whatever it was grew close enough to make out the frame of a slender figure with what appeared to be long, flowing black hair. Jerome was puzzling this out in his head as it coasted past their huddled position.
A person? Why does she appear to be half naked... and blue?
"You guys see her arms?" Quentin whispered.
Someone shushed him. The figure paused. Through the swirling haze of the now dense fog, whoever the stranger turned for what felt like decades until they seemed to be staring directly at the four friends. Then, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, they disappeared.