Chapter 7: Lay of the Land

Standing next to Sarah we looked at each other thinking what on earth happened while Dan was gone. After not returning for most of the evening and the night to then be returning in such a state and in a condition we had never seen before was very unnerving. Moving up to the middle-aged couple we stood near not wanting to intrude in their moment and distract them from what is clearly a serious situation.

Seeing Dan unmoving in the lake and holding the body submerged we could see the tell tale signs of the lake working its magic; seeing the effect he visibly relaxed and looked up at the couple smiling for the first time tonight and you could see the tension drain away from the two of them.

They both turned to us and with a small barely visible smile on their faces they introduced us, being Thomas and Natalie. They were in their early 30's and were parents of a little boy named Theo, they didn't talk much as their attention quickly shifted back to the lake and what we could only assume was their son being held by Dan.

Watching the bundle shift and a young slight face framed by light brown hair get exposed we could only worry about the circumstances that occurred; as the lake's magical qualities went into effect pretty damn quickly and for it to take over 5 minutes showed just how dire the situation was.

Watching the royal blue gem like eyes open and look around we let out a sigh of relief as the worst had past, and could now focus a bit more on the happenings and the actions that had taken part for a young boy not far past 5 or 6 to be injured so heavily. Moving up to Thomas and Natalie we proceeded to ask them about what happened and how they came to be here and it turned out to be quite a story.

You see when Dan had entered the forest the previous afternoon, he very quickly had lost the cats or at least they hadn't seen any when Dan met up with then, they were in the process of moving out of the forest due to the changes taking place. They were lucky to be stuck in their house when the trees emerged from beneath the buildings, they had both been home due to Theo being sick and taking the day off from work.

A few other families that lived around them had also been inside when it happened and due to the branches from different tree being interconnected making them like mini highways they could still move between buildings. The trees themselves had become full integrated into the houses and no original part remained, they were all a weird amalgamation of wood and technology. It still did what it normally was meant to, just made out of wood, on top of that the electricity to run the different appliances also came from the trees making it even weirder.

The other families around them had heard about people moving towards the police station for safety and were gradually moving away. Til a few days after the initial emergence and they were the only ones remaining in the area, thinking that it was probably about time to move as well they had started packing up and had been travelling through the forest toward the police station getting a good look at how everything had changed, it was a bit harder as everything had shifted slightly and it was taking longer than usual.

It hadn't been far until they had come across something weird, being a pulsing, shifting shadowy shape stumbling upon a pack of the shadow cats. With a stroke of luck they had avoided the initial surprise attack and in the process of fleeing Theo had tripped over a loose stone and fell. In the span of a few seconds one of the cats had proceeded to pounce on him clawing up his legs and lower torso causing horrible gashes and cuts over half his body.

His cries of pain, the cats growls and his parents screams of horror drew Dan over and upon witnessing the sight sprang into action leaping at the cat attacking the young boy thrusting the sharp handle deep into its body seeing the animal go limp. Pulling off his pack he proceeded to pull out some of the sports clubs clothing he had with him and wrapped the cuts up tight, thinking quickly he told the parents which direction to go and sent them towards the sanctuary while he led the cats on a merry chase to give them some time.

Meeting back up with the parents at the edge of the clearing he grabbed the body and sprinted back to the lake screaming out for the both of us, and that got us to where were now. After seeing the young boy wake up Dan made his way to the edge of the lake and passed young Theo up to his parents, seeing the grateful look on their faces he waved them away and just collapsed onto the shore in sheer exhaustion. We moved up to him while the parents fussed over the young boy and sat in silence until he was ready to speak. After about 10 minutes he looked over, "well that was a pretty shit night",

"Tell us about it, we kinda freaked out when you weren't back and it was getting dark. What happened? We got the story from Thomas and Natalie but they only know when you got to them, nothing before that."

"Well when I first got into the forest I lost the cats pretty easily, they couldn't keep up with me and probably after 5 minutes I couldn't see them at all. After that it got pretty boring..."

He proceeded to tell us about the forest changing pretty quickly, even more than what we originally saw. The trees were about 2-3 metres taller and the trunks were much thicker and the general shape and colour made them seem really old. Not something he would normally notice but they had a certain feel to them, something ancient.

He had been exploring the area noting certain landmarks that would make it easier to notice moving around. Saw some places that could have some food and supplies and others that could be used for shelter, these were in tree's that were a bit closer to the ground or had branches that had sprouted much lower that with our increase to physical ability would allow us to climb.

He couldn't notice any other people, yet he did see signs of groups moving in a certain direction that he was sure was the way to the police station. He had moved away from that area and started circling back when he hear the screams and sounds of the interaction with the cats and young family.

Coming onto the scene he felt a flash of rage at what he witnessed and without thinking shot forward trying to stop a travesty taking place. He could remember when he got close to the cat that it felt like time slowed down for a moment and his eyes locked onto the cat seeing and feeling the area where he knew instinctively was its most vulnerable position. Without hesitation he thrust the sharpened handle forward and he felt it puncture the animal and he knew that it was dead beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Upon the result of the actions the other cats froze taking in the outcome and he used that time to bind the injuries and pointed Thomas and Natalie in our direction. Taking the chance to cut a few of the other cats and running in the opposite direction to the couple he led the cats on a merry chase through the forest until he was far enough away they wouldn't be a threat.

Moving towards the sanctuary he came upon the three of them about 10 metres from the edge and taking the bundle that was their son he sprinted to the lake. Knowing about the healing qualities the lake had he knew it was Theo's only chance and without and second thought or hesitation dove into the water submerging the young boy.

Letting out a big sigh he lay back down and closed his eyes passing out in exhaustion, Sarah and I looked at each other thinking that any further thoughts or plans could wait til morning. Picking Dan up we made our way inside and set up a sleeping area for Thomas, Natalie and Theo after explaining where everything was we said good night and fell asleep the minute our heads hit the pillows.