After: Cold (6) | Trix

The post branches into three cold roads.

"Which way?" Keita asks.

A wave of fatigue passes through me. Through both of us.

We need to find a place to rest.

Keita pulls himself to his feet and offers me a hand.

I accept and we decide which path to choose.

Each road seems empty. We share a sigh.

He turns to me with a defeated expression of I-don't-know when I notice a glow past him.

Within the woods sits something lively.

A village.

I walk ahead and turn back to him. I gesture, "This way?"

We head in its direction and I notice the trees turn into shapes of toadstools. Giant mushrooms with a sprinkle of trees here and there.

It seems quiet, cozy, and safe.

"I think this is it," he whispers back to me excitedly.

We continue through the fungi forest until we reach the lights. They're what look to be lamps hovering above - in, out, and around a tiny settlement.

We come upon a cottage with its lights off. It leads to a farm, which leads to more buildings.

"They won't mind, will they?" Keita turns to me and points toward some hay bales.

My attention directs to his suggestion and I think for a second. "Maybe we should hang back."

He sighs again. "Yeah."

We're both a little run-down.

There's a second of quiet while we think.

Keita perks an eyebrow toward the night sky. "Unless there's a hotel..."

"Sure," I respond. "We don't know these people so..." I shrug. "Just be safer."

He sighs once more and walks around.

Not much use for anything.

"Yeah."

We set up camp behind one of the mushroom trees, just a way from the cottage. And by "camp" I mean rest in an unforgettable discomfort.

Well, it's not so uncomfortable. The ground feels warm. Soft. And the golden aurora swimming among the clouds is a comforting sight.

But, overall - the night feels cold.

Cold.

What a nightmare.

Keita does what he can to form a wall using the nature around us. Anything to conceal us.

In an instant, the cap of the mushroom tree comes collapsing upon us, and our bodies are flattened against two fluffy walls feeling of flesh.

We're coated in a slimy substance of lords-know-what and I fail to do much against the trap we've sprung.

Fortunately, as we lay still within these two warm platforms, I can manage enough focus to just make a difference.

I feel an opening form around my hand. I struggle to turn my head or even see what's happening down there. But, I hear Keita pushing.

I can imagine him pressed hard against the flesh below us and pushing with her feet up in the air against the wall above us.

I feel him make progress - little by little.

I offer what I can and use any of that liquid to raise the roof.

It helps.

Someone helps.

It feels as though the mushroom sneezes over us as it shoots back upward. It takes Keita with it, and his foot remains stuck in the mushroom cap.

He hangs from it, upside-down, and we're both as confused as the other.

I scan our surroundings for anything more unexpected and notice a few other tree traps around us have been sprung.

A noise escapes from Keita's closed mouth.

"Huh?" I look up to him.

I crawl to my feet and make some distance to the base of the tree. "Let's move."

He doesn't move. He just continues hanging as usual.

Keita makes some more noise and panicked breathing.

Paralysis?

I shake the slimy substance off him and give it a few seconds.

His worrying continues.

A poison must've already taken effect.

For now, I have to ignore our worries and get help.

I hurry to a fence, leap over it, sprint past chickens and deer, and stop against a cabin.

I hesitate for a moment.

I bash on the wall.

"Help," I call. "Help, please."

I feel a shock within my body and drop against the wall. My body fails to do much else and I land with my head smacking against the porch, staring back at Keita.

He hangs there, still.

After a moment, I hear footsteps.

Then, the door opens.

The mushroom springs into action again and swallows my friend.

I see a boot stomp on the floor ahead of me, but I don't hear it.

The toxins must be taking effect on me now.

The symptoms: paralysis, a total lack of hearing... No. I hear a ringing in my ears. My eyes are open but my vision is fading.

This sucks.

| Author’s Notes |

~ Happenings ~

The “mushroom tree traps” may be a little difficult to imagine as it’s an original nonsense. There isn’t any reference to the mushrooms other than my own word. There will be more explanations on these traps in the future.

“chickens and deer” show that this World consists of our usual as well. There are just many other creatures thrown in here. Maybe too many... I will do my best to distribute them at a comfortable pace, of course, but maybe there will be a reason for the abundance of life here. Maybe there is a method to this madness. Maybe I am just mad, myself. This could easily be diversity for diversity’s sake.