Bunk Beds

We took the stairs to the second floor. There were many doors that I  assumed contained bedrooms on the upstairs hallway, but only one of the doors was ajar. We took that as a sign to enter. It was a small room with a bunk bed. There was a window, but it was only as big as my face, and there was a large dresser that had baseball trophies and other memorabilia hanging off of it. I glanced at a medal that read "Most Valuable Player." "I don't think this is a bed and breakfast." I tell Olivia. "No, I don't either, but we'll pretend. Just for tonight." I nod. "I can do that." "That's a small window." she says, changing the subject. "Yeah, it's kinda pointless in my opinion." "And we have bunk beds." She says, less than thrilled. "We do. Which one do you want?" "You can take the top one." "Really?" "Yeah, I don't like heights." I smile big. This was the best news in a while. "Well, shall I turn out the lights?" She asks. "Not yet." I get on the end of the dresser. It is much heavier that I had anticipated, and it creates an awful noise, but when I'm done it completely blocks the door. No one can get in or out now. "That for the monsters?" She asks. "Or the owners of the house. I figure that won't be too happy if they come back." "Good idea." With that Olivia turns out the light.

In the Willow Tree

The enterence to the willow tree was a small, dark corridor. It was a tight squeeze. We had to enter single filed and sideways, but it was worth it. The corridor openened up to Victorian style kitchen. Complete with a wood burning stove, floral wall paper, and a rotary phone. My mouth was wide open. I could not believe this was inside the tree. "Neat, huh?" Olivia says. "It sure is. What is this? Someone's house?" "I don't know, maybe. Maybe it's a bed and breakfast." I half smile. "You like that, don't you?" "If it were a bed and breakfast it would make me feel better about staying here at least." I say. "Well, we could always pretend it's a bed and breakfast." "Yes, we can pretend , but that doesn't make it true." "Nightfall is coming." She reminds. "I know, but what about your shield bubble? We can use that." "We can, but I need heightened concentration for that. At least to deal with these strange monsters we've been encountering." I take a sigh. "You're right. I'm guessing that leads to the rooms?" I say pointing to a staircase in the corner of the kitchen. "Probaby. We can grab the first room we see and then leave right away tomorrow."

Under the Willow Tree

I sat and stared out into the marsh that I had previously emerged from. I could not locate any of my friends. If it weren't for my muddy clothes I would have naturally assumed that my previous experiences were all but a dream. "Hey, you didn't touch your soup." A voice shouts from behind me. I look to the side to see a light green soup in a stone bowl by my feet. "There's no spoon." I say. Olivia crosses in front of me and then takes a seat on the ground beside me. "No, there's not. But you can pick it up and drink it that way." "I suppose I could." "Don't worry. It's not barbaric." "I just don't want to spill anything." I admit. "I wouldn't care if you did." I shrug, picking up the cold stone bowl and pourning the contents into my mouth. Indeed bits of soup splattered on my body, but I didn't care. I was famished. I drank the whole thing. When I was done I pushed the bowl aside and gave a satisfied grin. "Was it good?" Olivia asks. "Yeah, it was like split pea soup but better." "And it wasn't too hot?" "No, it was tepid." Olivia smiles. "Oh good. I didn't think it was scalding, but I wasn't sure when I took it." "Took it? What are you talking about? You didn't make it?" I ask. "No, I grabbed it." "From where?" "From a stove." She says straight forward. "Where was the stove?" Olivia points to a large opening in the willow tree. "Through there."  "Is that someone's house?" I ask nervously. " "It looks like it, but I don't think anyone is home." "That doesn't mean we can take their stuff." "Normally I would agree, but you were in dire need of sustenance." She says. I sign."You're right and I thank you for your help. Now I think we should return the bowl and be on our way." Olivia picks up the bowl and looks to the sky. "What now?" I ask. "Night is coming. We should stay here." "No. We can't do that." "And why not?" She asks. "Because this is someone's house. What if they come back?" "They'll be easier to deal with than the monsters." I shake my head. "Fine. We'll stay the night. "

In the Big Muddy

I could not see Olivia, Fredfy, or Norm, and screaming for help was impossible. The mud around my neck was thick, and seriously restricted any air flow. I could not move and I could not cry for help. It was clear to me I only had one option. I closed my eyes and took in my as much air as I could. As I sank deeper and deeper in the mud I noticed my body grew lighter. I'm sure it was due to lack of oxygen in my brain, but it was an interesting sensation none the less. It was like sleeping underwater. Perhaps I was shifting into the dreamtime. I have no idea how long I held my breath. It could have been hours. It sure felt like it. All I know is that when it seemed as though my head and body could take no more, my eyes suddenly opened. I then found myself sitting under a willow tree with a blanket wrapped around me.

Marsh

We trudged through the wet, murky marsh. A dense fog hung over the area. Even if it lifted,visibility would still have been limited. The grass was over five feet tall. Meaning even though I could see over the top, there was plenty of space for us to lose our fury friends, and we did early on. So Olivia were on our own once again. It didn't start out so bad, but then just moving became increasingly difficult. The mud became thicker and thicker the further we went. It started swallowing my feet. I had to pull with all my might to yank myself out of there, but the mud faught back. It grabbed my foot and pulled me down until I was waist deep. I foolishly tried to fight back with all my might. This was a bad idea. The mud was now up to my neck. It was only a matter of time before it swallowed me whole.

Upstream

It seemed counter intuituitive to follow the water upstream, but none of us had any better ideas. Plus it was nice to see Norm so gleeful. With every twist and turn he grew more excited. It felt as if we were truly getting somewhere. That is in untill the water suddenly stopped. We ended up in a marsh. Norm scratched his head. "This is where it took us?" "I guess we shouldn't be too surprised." Olivia says. Norm lifts his feet. "The ground is barely even wet." "Go further?" Freddy asks. Norm nods. "Yeah, you're right. We should."

There's A Way

"So, we're on our own?" I say out loud while watching Davies leave. "With no direction home." Olivia adds. Norm decides to jump in on the song reference. "Like complete unknowns." I half smile then sullenly lower my head. "Why despair?" Norm asks. "Because it seems easy." I reply. "Well, sure. It is the easy thing to do. But is it the right thing?" "Then what do you suggest?" I ask. "Alright, here are the facts. The monsters are on the streets, Eagle Eyes and his men got the tall buildings, and Sgt. Rodgers has the underground. Did I forget anything?" Norm asks. I shake my head. "No, I think that sums up everything." Norm grins. "Here's the thing. No one is covering air or water." "But none of us can fly." Olivia says. Norm shrugs. "Okay. Scratch air. We can do water." "Are you suggesting we go back to the stream?" I ask. "Yeah, but not to swim in it. We already did that, plus that would just lead to Sgt. Rodgers, and we don't want that." "Then what? We walk beside the stream in the opposite direction?" I remark. Norm's eyes light up. "Exactly. We see where that leads us. It's gotta go somewhere." I sigh. "Okay. The stream it is."