4 -Making Preparations

It turns out, that the large leaves were from bushes. Each one was covered with leaves that had fallen from the trees above. That explained how Silence had brought back the first packet so fast.

"Wait... Why are the leaves falling?" Katie asked.

"It's fall? Why else would they be falling?" I replied, flipping a bush leaf I had torn from its plant onto another one.

"But they're green. It's all green."

"Huh... You're right." I realized as I flipped another, "can I get a hand with this?"

"Sure." Katie got to the other side of the leaf I was holding the edges for. Together, we lifted it and stacked it on the other two we had assembled. Silence had shown us the place, then started taking bundles by herself. I didn't understand how she prevented all the leaves from spilling out the bottom, but she did it.

We grabbed the bottom bundle, and together hefted the three packs.

It wasn't far back to camp, where we deposited the bundles for Juliana to arrange under the pillar, and plugged our noses against the acidic snake odor. She sent us back for another load.

When we got back, I was finishing a tale of another world that Katie had asked for.

Juliana arranged the leaves into bedding under the pillar while the rest of us helped Thomas finish dinner. We actually cooked all the meat, deciding it was easier and safer that way.

An hour and a half after our discussion of what to do, we sat around the blazing fire with our immediate to-do list done.

"I think that we'd be safe leaving someone here to watch the camp while two people take the snake skin to the river." Thomas said.

"Do you think you have time?" Juliana asked, glancing to the sky.

"I think so."

"You or I should go," I told Thomas.

"I was planning on going," he agreed.

"Then I'll stay and protect these two."

"I think I'd rather rely on the snake odor." Juliana said.

"I'm not completely useless with a sword." I protested.

Thomas laughed. "It's the smell that makes me think that we're safe to split up. Nothin' in its right mind would come close to a smell like this."

"What does that make us?" Katie asked.

"Special cases," Thomas replied, "now Silence and I should get going."

Silence coiled the skin between the torso plates, Thomas grabbed the claws, and the two left for the river.

The rest of us set ourselves around the fire, at a loss of what to do. In the meantime, we sat entranced by the dancing flames.

Katie abruptly turned to look north-east.

"What is it?" Juliana asked.

"Do you hear... singing?"

Juliana and I shared a look, then bot shook our heads.

"Come, " a distant male voice called. Quietly, calmly, and from that same north-east direction.

I stood, focusing in the direction I had heard the voice from, "Who's there?"

Katie and Juliana gave me questioning looks.

I waited for an answer, searching the darkness. Finally, I sat down. "I think that either Katie and I are going crazy, or we're dealing with something touched by Andernite."

"Andernite?" Katie asked.

"It's the stuff my friend used to end the world. Don't worry, it won't do anything as long as you don't make wishes while holding it."

"Well, what does it look like? It's hard to avoid holding it if we don't know what it looks like." Juliana asked.

"Oh, right. It's as black as a cave without light. Blacker, if that were possible."

"That's our only indication? It's color?"

"When you see it, the color will be enough. If a teenage girl with sky blue hair done in pigtails appears, calling herself a Goddess or promising to fulfill desires, don't make any deals with her."

"Why? Who is she?" Katie asked.

"She is the Sister. The demigodess I told you about earlier. If I see her or Justys again in my life, it would be too soon."

"Come," the distant voice called again. I scanned the area in that direction again.

"Marcus?" Katie asked.

I looked back to her. "Sorry, what?"

"Is it safe to deal with people who have dealt with Andernite?" she asked again, glancing to the source of the distant call.

"I can't say. I've met both good and bad people affected by Andernite. But if I had to guess, any people on this world before we came here would be primitive survivors."

About two hours passed, and night crept towards us. There was a chill that we staved off by maintaining the fire.

"Silence and Thomas should be back by now." Katie worried aloud.

"Something might have happened to them." Juliana added.

"If something happened, what could we do about it?" I asked.

"Look for them." Juliana answered, as though it was the most obvious thing.

I hesitated with my reply. That was common sense, but if you thought a little harder... "If we look for them, do we split up even more, or do we worry them if they make it back before we do?"

Neither of them had an answer.

"Come," the distant voice called again.

"Not now," I growled under my breath.

"What was that?" Juliana asked.

Leaves rustled from the north-east.

"What's that?" Katie asked, jumping to her feet, but shaking.

"It's just us," a now familiar southern accent called.

Thomas and Silence entered the clearing. Thomas's sleeves were rolled up, and Silence's hair was pulled back in a pony-tail. Silence held a pink ball with spikes that looked like our cups. Thomas held the hard shells. They sat down by the fire and set their burdens down. .

"What happened?" I asked.

Thomas glanced sidelong at Silence. "We heard a voice. A man mumbling something incoherent. We followed the voice after we finished washin' the plates and soaking the skin, but whoever it was was further than I wanted to go. If I hadn't stopped Silence, though, she would have kept going."

"Silence," I asked, "did you hear the mumbling?"

"I just told you that we—" Thomas broke off as Silence shook her head no.

"But you heard another voice?"

She nodded.

"Come," the distant voice repeated patiently.

"Katie hears singing, Juliana hears chanting, and I hear a man repeating the word 'come'. Either we're all crazy, or something touched by Andernite is beckoning us."

A shadow of fear crossed Thomas's face.

"I don't think they'll stop calling until we come. But it's late. Whoever is calling us will have to wait until tomorrow."

"We should take turns staying up and watching for monsters," Thomas added, "I'd hate to not wake up because a giant kitty decided we were a good midnight snack."