Chapter 8

On the horizon I spotted what looked like a clumb of dark green, like what happens to bread when it spoils. "What's that ahead?" I asked Tobeke.

"It looks like a forest." he said. Then he sniffed the air and made a disgusted face. "Eww. Do you smell something foul?"

I sniffed, and a horrible smell, an indescribable, nose-killing smell entered my nostrils. It was like a mixture of rotting meat, a dead skunk and cow droppings. "Yes, I do smell that. It's awful!" I replied. 

As we drew nearer to the forest, the putrid smell grew stronger and stronger. By the time we were about a few yards away from the forest, I pulled my red sweater up to cover my mouth and nose to avoid getting sick. Tobeke pulled up his golden tunic, too, and I could see his stomach peeking out. It was very flat. I hoped he didn't notice mine- It wasn't the flattest it could be, like the pretty dancers at the Sun Festival.

We then stood, facing the forest. The trees above us seemed slimy and fragile, as though you could tear then with the touch of a finger. 

"Should we go in?" Tobeke asked. He sounded as nervous as I was. But if he wasn't going to be the brave one, I had to be.

"We have no other choice." I said, trying to sound courageous. 

"I guess you're right." Tobeke agreed. "After all, this journey will cost us our lives if we don't retrieve the flower on Wanae Mountain."

I stopped. "Wait," I asked slowly. "This will cost me MY life, not yours. Right?"

"No," Tobeke said. "My father told me that if I didn't survive the journey with you, he wouldn't revive me. I'm a pretty useless star, and so I have to prove I'm at least not a useless soul."

"Oh..." I said. "You're not useless. Don't say that." I didn't like the thought of him thinking that way. From my experience with him so far, he certainly wasn't useless. He seemed quite the contrary.

"Hm." he said, and I stepped into the forest and gasped.

The ground under my feet was a gloppy, greenish-brown mud of sorts. I pulled my foot up from the glop and it slowly dripped off my now coated bare foot. "Eww, it's disgusting!" My feet were sinking into it. It was halfway up my calves.

Tobeke stepped through the canopy and had the same reaction I did. We kept trudging through the glop, raising our feet high. Giant yellow slugs slithered around us, leaving a slimy trail which we also had to lumber through. Mosquito-like bugs darted around us. One bit me and left a cold, green slime on the itchy bite. I'm sure we looked like fools, with shirts pulled up onto our faces, trudging through awful glop and swatting at bugs. At least the bugs and slugs were the only ones around to see us. We kept going on, though. What choice did we have?

It must've been hours when I really started to ache. My legs hurt from walking so far and pulling up my knees, and my mouth was parched, though I'd never drink anything in this horrid forest. I reached up to grab a branch to rest myself on, but it was dead. It crumbled and fell into the glop, and losing my balance, so did I.

My face, arms and body were covered in the putrid stuff! I wiped it away from my eyes so I could see, and I saw Tobeke trying to hold in a giggle. 

I growled and went on, trying to breathe through my mouth. Even the air tasted bad. 

Reviews

[nightshade]

I love your plot twist about it not just being her life on the line. I think that it really helps them become a really kick a*s team, which is awesome. also I love how descriptive your settings are and how vivid the characters reactions to their environment are. I am not quite sure why she would be self conscious about her stomach but I guess every one has their flaws and are susceptible to vanity so great chapter and I cant wait to see what happens next.

[One Lost Anti-Hero]

I like your attention to details when it comes to scenes like these. Besides being too short I don't have any issues with this.