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Azalea
“I don’t know. That thing seemed more like an animal. All this is the work of a thinking creature.” Huntress said. “If they’re connected at all, I’d say the creature that took her was the pet of whoever this is.”
Azalea nodded, “Unless it’s putting on an act, but you’re probably right.” She glanced round again, then faced the way that they had come. “I wonder…” Azalea went out of the room and felt along the wall. Her fingers brushed a hard, round object. She pressed it, and a patch of the wall opened up, leading to another tunnel. “Here we go.”
Huntress and Azalea started on the tunnel’s path.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Okay!
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”You’ve returned!
Azalea
Huntress studied the pictures of her and Sniper on the walls. Azalea did the same of her own, and they all seemed to depict various moments in her entire life. They ranged from significant events such as when she first met Trevor and Rachel, to completely random ones, like one that showed her and Austin sitting at a cafe.
“Someone’s keeping tabs on us.” Huntress said. “But what do they want?”
Azalea pulled down an image. “Is this you?”
“Yeah.” Huntress said. “Yeah, that was just last year.”
Huntress inspected the image closer, then looked at Azalea. “See if you can find one of yourself and Trevor together. Maybe the most recent one you can remember. Or try finding Emmerich and Rosalind. Check if it’s got words on it.”
“Alright.” Azalea scanned the images, and spotted one of her and Trevor repairing a broken car together. She showed it to Huntress, “This one was from a few months ago. There’s writing on it, too.”
“What about Emmerich and Rosalind?”
A quick search ensued, and Azalea found a photo of both in a garden. “This one looks like it could be more recent, but it’s hard to tell with the dates…” She gave up trying to read it and handed it to Huntress. “Do you think the same thing that took Rosalind is the thing behind all of this?”
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”nahh I like it!
Oh, that’s good. Thanks!
btw it’ll take a while for me to reply cause i’m currently on a road trip for my dad’s birthday.
Okay, thanks for letting me know. Have fun and happy birthday to your dad!
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Nooo, you self-sabotaged yourself!
For this next part, I’m kind of making stuff up, so if it’s not anything you like then it’s okay if you want to change it.
Azalea
“I hope so.” Huntress said, following Azalea down the tunnel. Both were deep in thought and had nothing to say.
A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, growing brighter as the two neared it. It grew so bright to the point where they shielded their eyes. Azalea and Huntress stepped into the room containing the light.
It took a moment for them to adjust to the light. Once they finally had, they stared all about them as alarm slowly rose within them.
Photos pasted the walls, depicting all different kinds of people, places and strange creatures the two had never seen before. Papers covered a few photos, where, scratched onto them in the handwriting style of a child, were names, birthdays, and other information about certain people.
“What is this place?” Azalea whispered, her heart beat quickening with dread. Her gaze fell on one group of photos: her and Trevor. She inhaled sharply; they had been taken practically anywhere they had gone, whether they were together or not.
Azalea scanned the room with an eye looking for something. She soon found these things. There were photos of Emmerich and Rosalind (which she didn’t know how that was possible) and Huntress and Sniper. There were photos that seemed more fresh of a fourth couple, but she didn’t recognize them. “What… what’s going on?”
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Oof, thanks a lot KP.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Azalea
“Yeah. He’ll….be fine.” Huntress was clearly shaken, but did her best not to show it.
When Azalea asked what they should do, Huntress sighed. “I’m not sure.” She admitted. “We could keep going forward and hope they catch up eventually, or we could take our chances with the traps and try to find the boys.”
Based on personal experience, manipulating the traps would likely make things worse than before. Azalea wished Trevor were still there. She didn’t have half the confidence he had, or half the recklessness. Well, that part was probably a good thing.
“Maybe we should just keep going on.” Trevor would be fine. He had faced crazy things before, and this would be no different. “Maybe wherever the others are will lead to wherever this tunnel goes.”
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Azalea
“Sniper!” Huntress shrieked. Azalea watched in horror as he fell down a chasm that had torn open the ground behind Huntress and Azalea.
Huntress rushed to the edge of the chasm and peered over, once again calling Sniper’s name. It only echoed down without a response.
“Do you think he’s…” Azalea couldn’t finish the thought.
“Sorry, Huntress. Sniper’s tough, right? I’m sure he’s fine.” Azalea said, attempting a smile.
The reality of their situation crashed down on her: Rosalind was alone with some creature, Sniper was likely hurt, and Trevor and Emmerich had been whisked off to who knows where.
“What do we do now?”
idk i guess we could say he got grabbed by one of the animals and taken to the guy in charge or something.
Sounds good.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”That’s okay!
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Hey, you doing okay?
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Trevor
Huntress pointed ahead. “There’s an exit this way, although I don’t know what it leads to. Be careful, we could be walking into a trap.”
The group followed her cautiously. The tunnel seemed to narrow round them, causing them to walk in a single file line. Trevor was feeling alright until he felt some sort of stone press down underneath his foot and knew that it was over.
A sound like a stone shifting echoed through the cave. Trevor realized what was happening about a second too late, and at that point he and Emmerich had been taken by a wall trap, flipping them to a new location.
A new sound filled their ears, one of a scuttling noise below them. Trevor peered over the precipice and gave a low whistle. “That’s a lot of bugs.”
Emmerich gazed down, and Trevor might have imagined it, but there seemed to be a flicker of fear. Trevor looked to the other side, and it was a long way across, to say the least. Well, this is gonna be interesting. He thought.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Sorry about that. I thought Sniper sounded different. Also, I love that idea, it sounds really sweet.
Azalea
Sniper confirmed he didn’t have a photographic memory, but nodded to Huntress. “She’s pretty good with that stuff.”
“Putting me in the spotlight, huh?” Huntress joked as she walked towards the front of the group. “I’ve never been in a maze like this, but I should be able to detect which paths lead to dead ends.”
“Great, lead the way!” Trevor exclaimed, handing her the torch. They moved on into the maze, the torch becoming more and more unnecessary since stabs of light shone down and illuminated patches of the path. Huntress soon extinguished the flame.
“I wonder if Rachel and Austin have figured out we’re missing yet.” Azalea said to Trevor.
“Probably. Either that or they’ll think we’re dead.” Trevor chuckled, “Imagine if they did and they couldn’t find us, and there was a whole funeral for us and we showed up to our own funeral. Well, if we get out of here.”
“I don’t see the humor in Rachel and Austin’s pain.”
“It’s not their pain that’s funny, it’s – never mind.” Trevor laughed again at Azalea’s confusion, “You know, that’s one way I can tell you and Austin are twins besides your appearance. You two don’t have much of a sense of humor.”
“Not in terms of funerals, no.” Azalea replied.
“It’s not the funeral that’s funny or the fact that they think we’re dead… wait, no, it is the fact that they think we’re dead… Just lighten up, it’s only a scenario, which maybe won’t happen if we get back home soon.”
“I hope.” Azalea murmured.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Emmerich
Once Sniper observed the book, he turned to the group. “So. We going down the tunnel? Or are we staying here and waiting to see if the owner of this book shows up? I, for one, would rather continue.”
“We should continue.” Emmerich replied, though his eyes lay on the book. He wondered what lay inside, what the language upon its cover was. It might be from some sort of civilization native to the island alone, or-
“Let’s go then.” Trevor grabbed the torch (or stick, since the flame had gone out) from Emmerich, lit it using one of the torches on the walls, and examined the torches. “Eh, we probably shouldn’t take these.” He finally said, and marched towards the tunnel. “Come on, we don’t want to keep Rosalind waiting.”
The group was in the same arrangement as last time: Trevor led the way, Emmerich was beside Azalea, and Sniper and Huntress were at the end.
“How is one to respond to Trevor’s demeanor?” Emmerich asked Azalea when the silence had become too much to bear for certain thoughts.
“I’m not really sure. I haven’t figured it out yet, exactly, but I think you’re kind of just supposed to go with it. He can be reasonable, sometimes.”
“And as for the other times of willful recklessness?”
“I… really don’t know. It’s better when my brother’s here. Austin can reason with him.”
“You have a brother?”
“Yes, he’s my twin, actually. Do you have a brother?”
“I have two.”
“What are they like?”
“The youngest is kind, if a bit headstrong, like Trevor there. The other… he has gone horribly astray, on account of me.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” When Emmerich didn’t say anything, Azalea added, “I’m sure you’re blaming yourself too much. How could you have known what would have happened to him?”
“There were ways my behavior could have prevented it. There are still ways my behavior could prevent it.”
“Why-”
“Hey guys, we’re in a new place. Uh, I’m not exactly good at mazes, could someone else lead?” Trevor had halted again, except this time the path overlooked a myriad of tunnels.
“A maze?” Azalea repeated, joining his side and peering into the little sight of vision the torch afforded.
“Okay, does anyone have a photographic memory?” The response to Trevor’s question was blank stares. “That’s alright. Who’s good at mazes here? Sniper or Huntress, you got anything?”
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Emmerich
The last to follow the others, Emmerich found the group in a cave. Torches flickered on the walls.
“Where are we?” Azalea said, voicing the question in everyone’s mind.
Emmerich gazed round. The walls were smooth, perhaps suggesting someone had carved this place out of stone. The cave was bare, save for the torches and a small, wooden table. A leather bound book lay on top of it. Several feet from the table was yet another tunnel, which spanned out before them into darkness.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”Lol, that’s funny to think about.
Trevor
“Wildlife manager. Nothin’ too complicated.” Sniper responded, and he held up his rifle. “If a population of creatures in the national parks gets too large or dangerous to handle, I’ll take ’em down. I wasn’t given my callsign for nothin’…although, that was back when I was huntin’ for sentient beings, not animals.”
Trevor’s eyes widened, and Sniper chuckled. “Don’t worry, mate. I won’t hurt ya. Haven’t put a bullet through a thinkin’ head in over a year.”
“Oh, uh, that’s good.” Trevor forced a little laugh that even he knew sounded fake. “But that sounds kind of cool though, putting down animals. I mean, you’re killing, er, putting them down for a good cause. Although that sounds a little tough having to see that animal and uh, you know, eliminate it. But you must be used to it, right? Sorry, this all sounds wrong-”
“It sounds like a good alternative to your old job, Sniper.” Azalea interrupted Trevor’s rambling in as gracious a way as she could manage. “Someone has to do it, and those types of jobs are usually under-appreciated. It’s admirable you’re willing to do it.”
“Emmerich, what were you doing?” Trevor said, and he smiled. He’d made a fool of himself again, and there Emmerich was the whole time acting like a stone. It was ridiculous.
“The last location we were in was the Noble Ruthard’s castle. We were resting there, for a time.”
“You, Sniper and Huntress had much less thrilling events happen. Azalea and I were just about to get mauled by a bear.” Trevor watched for any trace of response on Emmerich’s face, but it remained a blank slate. “The timing for this was providential. Although, if we do get out of here, I hope we don’t wind up getting mauled. That would be painful, but an interesting way to die. How many people in Heaven could say they got mauled by a bear? I would hope to go down fighting it. I also hope Azalea would survive.”
This still didn’t produce a response from Emmerich, although Sniper and Huntress seemed to stare at Trevor with weird expressions.
“Stop.” Azalea said, holding out an arm that blocked Trevor.
“Oh, sorry.” Trevor apologized.
“No, sorry, I meant stop walking.” Azalea took the torch from Trevor and held it out before them, “There’s a hole.”
The others had stopped walking, and Azalea and Trevor looked down at the hole before them. Neither could measure the depth of the hole, but it appeared to be a straight drop. Azalea moved the torch as far as it would allow. The light showed a smooth wall. So this was the end of the cave.
“Well, you know what this means.” Trevor remarked, grinning. “The only way left to go is down. I’ll go first, and if you don’t hear any noises from me then that means I’m dead and you probably shouldn’t follow.”
He shoved the torch into Emmerich’s hand before anyone could protest, gave a salute, and would have jumped down if Azalea had not grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
“Trevor, you’re not going alone.” Azalea held onto his hand with a firm, but not unpleasant, grasp.
Trevor cleared his throat, “Uh, what?”
“We can’t keep getting separated. We’ll do this together.” She joined him by his side, Trevor shrugged, and the two jumped down, hands clasped tightly.
“He sure is a frog-walker, he heaves a big sigh
He only lacks wings for to be on the fly.”
