Ch.3 The Girl In The Woods

 When Oliver woke up and realized he had fallen asleep, he grew worried over how much time had passed. After he found himself safe and not a significant amount of time had passed, his heart rate and breathing slowed as he watched the color-changing mist. Watching the changing mist had been quite soothing, as if he was watching the Western lights in the Slortwer Desert, regardless of its constant reminder of his new hellish reality. His short rest didn't create any miracles, but it did make Oliver feel slightly better. While he was hungry and thirsty, and his legs and lungs ached, he knew he was out of immediate danger, and he could feel the strength slowly returning to him.

 'I need to shelter, hopefully with food and water. How long was I asleep on the train? It couldn't have been that long if we were still this far from the city, so it's probably close or just past noon.'

 As Oliver realizes he may only have several hours of precious light remaining, he pushes himself to stand up with an audible groan. He forces himself to walk in a direction that he can only hope contains some civilization. It was merely a few minutes when Oliver heard what sounded like someone crying and fearfully squatted down for cover between nearby trees, his legs aching in protest. As he listened closely, it sounded like a child was crying. 

 'It almost sounds like a child is crying. And in the middle of nowhere in the woods, great. This is just great. Did she escape from the train? I mean, what are the odds that a child is actually this deep in the woods? It can't be, right?'

 Oliver struggled between fear of the unknown and his conscience. After a short internal debate, Oliver decided to lay eyes on the child or demon to know for sure. If he just left and potentially left a young child in the woods to die, he may never forgive himself. Oliver's conscience was full of guilt, remembering the man who had been eaten alive and all the cries for help left behind as he fled from the train. Oliver not only felt guilt but something he never experienced before. It was hard for Oliver to understand what he was feeling when he realized it was the feeling of humiliation and weakness. He hated it. 

 Whether it was courage or anger at his weakness, he headed as silently but unhesitantly as possible toward the crying, using the foliage to hide his figure. As he lowers his body to a crouched walk, the crying gets louder as he closes in. After a short moment of slow crouched walking, he can make out a figure in a gap between the foliage. At first glance, it certainly does appear to be a child, but so does the demon child.

 Meanwhile, this girl is holding her head between her knees, and Oliver can't tell if it's just a girl or a child that turned into a demon.

 Oliver, not knowing what to do, simply decided to do nothing and continued to observe her as she sobbed. After a minute, she slightly raised her head and wiped her face and eyes with her sleeve. Her head was raised just enough for him to make out her features through the obstruction of the fog; she was an ordinary girl.

 'Oh, thank G-, thank goodness.'

 Now relieved, Oliver takes a large breath of air through his nose and mouth. The girl somehow heard his exhale from a distance and crawled backward until she stopped at a tree. 

 "I'm sorry," He slowly walked out from the foliage and asked as gently as possible. "I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you might be one of them. Are you hurt? Do you need help?" He slowly raised his arms and tried to give a friendly smile. However, the girl seemed frozen in fear.

 "Are you hurt?" he asked again. "Do you need help?" She stared at him with large, wide eyes filled with panic. 

 "My- my mom she- she- she's, auuuuuuuu." the girl stuttered and resumed sobbing. 

 "What happened to your parents?" Oliver gently asked.

 The young girl continued to cry, so Oliver sat a few feet away to not alarm her and patiently waited for her to calm down. After several minutes, she was finally able to speak in broken sentences.

 "My Dad, he- after I h-heard that v-voice in my head, he b-became a monster. He attacked Mom and- and she screamed, and there was blood, she screamed at to run and I, I w-was so scared I ran away." She answered with difficulty between her sniffles. Her eyes glistened with tears, ready to fall again.

 She kept repeating broken sentences until Oliver deciphered that her family was on a camping trip, and after they heard God, her father became a demon and killed her mother. She could only run away because it was too occupied with its new meal.

 'That's horrible to experience, but it explains where she came from. So demons could appear from anywhere. A camping ground is a good sign. It means we aren't too far from civilization.'

 "Do you remember where the camping ground was?" Oliver inquired.

 She shook her head furiously.

 'She probably doesn't know or is too scared to go back. I don't want to go where a demon is, but it could point us in the right direction.'

 "Do you know where to find a building, road, house, or anything else to get us out of the woods?" Oliver asked.

 She thought for a moment before shaking her head again.

 'Well, it was worth a shot. She couldn't have been able to run too far, so the demon and campsite could still be very nearby. It might be able to track her. We need to leave and find somewhere safe.'

 "What's your name?" He cleared his thoughts and asked.

 "A-Amelia," she whispered.

 "Amelia, that's a pretty name," he said to calm her down. "My name is Oliver. It's very nice to meet you." 

 "How old are you?" Oliver asked.

 "I'm eight and a half," Amelia replied.

 "I'm twenty-two, so compared to you, I'm just an old man," he said softly. "Well, Amelia, do you think you can walk? We can't stay here. It's not safe." 

 She shook her head vigorously.

 "That's okay, I'll carry you on my back," he replied, giving her his best customer service smile. Oliver got back on his feet and held his hand to help her. She took his hand, and Oliver pulled her to her feet. He turned around and squatted down, allowing her to climb on his back.

 It was another long period of walking, and they were both tired, thirsty, and hungry. Amelia continued to cry, and her tears occasionally fell on his back. The fog glowed with different beautiful colors, making it even harder to know where to go in the middle of the forest. As the fog changes color, Oliver notices that the slight tingling sensation on his skin becomes more noticeable based on the color. The tingling sensation became strongest when it changed to pure white or electric blue.

 'Is this fog doing something to us? Am I still going to become a demon?'

 After hours of constant walking and stumbling half-blind through the wilderness, the sky has gotten slightly darker, even with the fog constantly producing a tiny bit of light. Oliver tried to converse several times and was only met with non-verbal responses.

 'It's hard to tell when she shakes her head or nods because I can't see her behind me. She's an orphan now, just like me. However, I don't ever recall not being an orphan. The train was horrifying, but her experience was something else entirely.'

 Squinting in the distance, he can see a gap between the shadowy figure of trees. Oliver approaches the opening, hoping to find a place to rest for a few minutes. He made an extraordinary discovery when he finally made it to the opening. It's not a clearing at all. It's a dirt road. While it may only be a dirt road, it greatly relieved Oliver and Amelia. 

 'We're heading in the right direction! There should be houses in at least one direction.'

 "Amelia, look a road! We can find shelter, food, and water if we follow it!" Oliver said excitedly. 

 Amelia tightened her grip around Oliver in acknowledgment. As Oliver looked towards both ends of the road, he was at a loss as to where to go. Regardless of the direction he looked in, the street disappeared into the foggy woods.

 'The best case scenario is that we find our way toward shelter, and the worst scenario is that we waste a lot of time going to the middle of nowhere.'

 "Haaaaaa."

 Releasing a deep sigh, he crouched and loosened his grip to let Amelia down.

 "Let's take a short break," Oliver said.