OBLIVIOUS

Chapter 12

"I don't get it. What do you mean? There are sea creatures here in this forest?"

Baron slightly nodded. "They appear to be from the sea, but they act like terrestrial creatures."

I was mind-blown at that. "B-But how's that possible?"

"I can't explain it with just words," Baron replied with I read as a little discomfort on his face. "If you really want to know what I mean, you need to see them for yourself."

"Ah. But they sound so creepy. I guess it's better not to see them. Right?" I was starting to feel nervous because I already had an idea of what to expect with their appearance if I happen to see them. This disturbing look on Baron's face when he mentioned these creatures made me speculate. I think it distressed him. Or he must have been shocked or probably scared by what he saw. Maybe these creatures have disturbing appearances. Or maybe they too possess unusual abilities that are not supposed to be present in them, like those plants that have appendage-like vines.

I know there are things like that, so I can't blame him for what he feels. We already faced a handful of bizarre things in this place that shook my mind and I don't think that the surprises are already finished. It was also then that I realized how tough Baron as a person is. He had survived this place alone despite the circumstances. He fended off everything that tried to attack him and now he had saved us. That's why I would be forever grateful to him.

We trekked for quite some time and the sun had already risen in the sky. I was already sweating from the physicality of it all, but I could not complain because Baron had a tougher time with him carrying the new guy. I heard loud hooting noises that Baron said were from birds when we finally reached the place he calls his headquarters.

It was a giant tree as tall as the sky. I could not even see its tip nor its foliage because it's all trunk all the way up to the fog that covered it giving me an illusion that it was already touching the sky. The whole place was full of these humongous trees, but the one in front of us is the largest of them all. Looking around, I noticed that this forest had a layer of thick fog enveloping the trees' upper bodies. It gives off an ethereal look and to me, this was a red flag.

"Let's go inside." Baron motioned me to follow him. He was walking towards an exposed giant root of the tree. As we got nearer, I could glimpse that there was a space just behind the said root. It was the entrance to the tree's hollowed body.

Baron looked around before coming inside the hollow tree, making sure that nobody had followed or had seen us. Then we finally entered and a putrid smell welcomed me. The spacious inside of the tree was reeking of a pungent smell despite it being empty. It was not dark in here because the light was creeping in into the holes in the trunk that looked like it's man-made, so it gives me the vibe that I'm just inside a regular room.

Baron went into the side where a pile of giant dried leaves was placed on the earthy floor. He put the new guy there who was still knocked out while I looked around the place but saw nothing else. "So, this is where you hid."

"Yeah."

"What's that smell?" I was pinching my nose because the smell was already attacking my nostrils.

"It's from dried blood," Baron replied simply.

"But it's not your blood right?"

He shook his head. "It's from an animal. One of those bizarre creatures that looked like a walking fish."

"T-That's crazy," I said. "It attacked you?"

"Yes. It can shrink into any size and have followed me here. I almost died grappling with it because it has venomous fangs. It gave me a remembrance," he added, pointing to his upper chest where two puncture-like marks could be seen. I haven't noticed it before in him, so it shocked me that he had these scars. The punctures were purplish-red in color and micro-veins appeared around it like roots.

"Is t-that the thing you wanted to show me here?" I nervously asked.

Baron nodded. "Yes, but also those," he added. He was pointing at the walls (that are actually the trunk of the tree) where several huge scratch marks can be seen, as if the monster had tried to rip the tree apart from the inside too.

"It must've been a tough battle."

"It was."

"Baron, that wound of yours look bad," I said to him in a hushed tone because I don't want to upset him, in case he doesn't want to hear something like that from me.

"I know."

"Does it hurt? It looks like the flesh in that area has swollen and is---"

"Poisoned, yes, I know," he said cutting me off. "I have been bitten by that venomous monster and now the venom had started to spread on my body."

"What? That's serious! You could die from that!" I exclaimed because I could not believe that something as dangerous as this had happened to him and yet he showed no signs of it. "How are you feeling now? Particularly in that area?"

"It's numb," he replied with a dry smile. "I could not feel anything from it. I also don't feel any changes in my body. So I thought that it's just a mark."

"But it does not look like it's just a mark," I answered back. "If the venom spreads into the rest of your body---"

"Then I'll die," he said simply like he was just adding one plus one and the answer is two. "I already thought about it. Forte said that this is maybe the reason why the White Shadows were not interested in me anymore. Why they only want me dead. It's probably because I'm dying."

"No, no, no," I said while shaking my head with disbelief. "You are not going to die, Baron. We will escape from this damn place together!"

"Don't get me wrong. I want to escape too. Forte was thinking that maybe somewhere outside this place, someone could cure me. Because I doubt that the White Shadows will still want to cure me if they can. This is why I wanted to escape from here so bad. I want to get cured before the poison spreads out to the rest of my body."

"Yes, we will escape from here," I blurted out while trying to cover up the slight croak in my voice. "How long has it been since you got that bite?"

"About a week. Same as how long I am here."

"Good. That's good news. If that's the case then it means that the poison spreads out very slowly. We can still search for a cure. All we need to do is go to the pier and find a ship."

"Axis, you already know that it's not easy," he explained. "I'm warning you. If you decide to do what you just said, you should be aware that you will be risking your life from every point going forward. The forest is the only place I haven't explored fully yet, so I think it may be the way to the shore, but it also means we are going to the heart of this forest. It means that we are going inside those demon-like creature's territory."

"I know. I'm prepared for everything, Baron..." I was already determined to do my best. After what I discovered, playing safe was not an option anymore. We could not just hide in here and wait for a miracle to happen. The ship won't come here to fetch us. We need to move fast before Baron's poison spreads out into his entire body. "I will do my best to help you."

"It also means that you can get bitten."

"I don't care," I said bravely. "Hiding will not solve our problems. Plus don't get mad at me, but I can't stand the smell here in your place. I'd rather fight the devil's pet monsters than stay here ingesting this whack odor."

Baron laughed heartily at my joke, which helped us relax for a bit. Then we rested a bit because I could already feel my eyelids drooping from the fatigue. When I woke up, I saw Baron entering the hollow with a stash of food in his arms.

I stood up to help him bring them in. "Where did you get these?" I was in awe because there was a container which had two fat loaves of bread in it. Then some type of yellow, round fruits the size of my eyeballs, and boxes of milk.

"I looted this from one of my conquests," he said in his highest spirits. He pushed a box of milk to me. "I buried them just in case animals come and raid my headquarters."

"That's smart of you," I replied, munching on the bread that actually tasted good. "I never felt this hungry before. Thank you for the food."

He nodded and started eating too. We both lamented the fact that the new guy could not yet eat with us, nor Forte or Vista. But we still ate, because we needed enough energy for what we are planning to do next.

Baron had shared with me what he knows about the forest. According to him, this forest could be divided into three parts, based on the things that are present in those three areas. The first part is what he calls The Fog Dome, which is dominated by towering trees the size of which are titanic. It is where we are now, and he called it that way because the atmosphere in here had been altered by the fog that's been circling these trees. It is almost impossible to see the sun even on a clear day, or the moon and the stars in the night because the fog acts as a veil around the area. This portion of the forest is large, but Baron had already memorized the paths both leading to the other portions and the facility.

The second portion is what he calls The Secret Meadow. It is a wide expanse of grassland, south of the Fog Dome. Baron suggests that this is where most of the fog comes from. There is nothing much there except for abandoned buildings in the middle of the grassy field, and according to Baron, it was there where he first tried to build a hideout. However, the dangerous animals that come from the third portion which he calls The Lair usually come into The Secret Meadow so it was risky to stay there. In fact, it is where he met the venomous animal that had bitten him and followed him all the way back here to The Fog Dome.

The portion he calls The Lair is the area which Baron hadn't even gone into. He only knows of its existence because the very first and only night he was there in The Secret Meadow, he happened to see a portion of the forest that everything glowed in the dark, much like a city. If the plants and trees on the field inside the facility where we came from had these types of mysterious plants, The Lair had a whole forest of them. It doesn't even look like a normal forest anymore, according to Baron, because he thinks that the plants and trees there move like animals.

I can't picture what he explained about The Lair because it's very mind-boggling to think that such a place exists. But then again the entirety of this place is bizarre, so I don't want to force myself to imagine the place when I would see it with my own eyes very soon.

"Let me get this clear, Axis," Baron said, clearing his throat first before explaining what we are about to do. "Once we embark on this journey, there is no turning back."

I nodded. "Of course."

"I don't know anything about The Lair and I already told you all that I know so we might be going into the place very, very blind."

"That's okay. Everything feels a giant, orchestrated trap for us anyway."

Baron smiled at what I said but proceeded to explain again immediately. "My only weapon's already been lost, as you know, so I will lean on your ability for defense."

"This will be a problem," I said. "I don't know if I can control it freely with my own will at this point. I would like to think that what I did on the water was a lucky accident so that we will not rely on my ability too much."

"But we are talking about giant, venomous hybrid monsters here, Axis. We need to rely on your electric powers. We can only have a chance of seeing the bay if we can fend off those demons blocking our way. And right now we only have your ability."

I managed to stifle a nervous laugh when he called it 'electric powers.' "That's true, but it means that we're going to rely on something unpredictable," I replied. "That reliance could kill us too, you know."

"Which is why I want to tell you that before we can go there, we need to at least train you on how to use your ability," he added and that left me dumbfounded for a couple of seconds.

"T-Train? Are you serious about that?"

"Why not? I honestly think you can harness that ability of yours. Based on what you told me you can control it with your mind."

"I really hope you're right," I sincerely replied because I badly wanted what he was saying to come to fruition. I could already imagine myself, being able to harness my ability to create and discharge volts of electricity into my enemies. I could destroy the whole facility with this ability. No one will be able to touch me if that happens.

"I can see on the look on your face that you agree with me," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Now, do you want to train yourself in using that power? Because without you controlling it I do not want to go back into the inner parts of this forest. We'll be like naked moles walking into an eagle's bird view if we do that."

"I want to train my ability but how? How can I use it properly? It's not like we can ask a White Shadow about it," I joked but Baron seemed to be on that train of thought. "Wait, that's what you're thinking?"

"Why not? They are the only ones who know about us. And I know that they are aware of your electric power. It's about time we confront them about our identities, don't you think so?"

I thought about what Baron wanted us to do. I know that going back to the facility meant risking our lives again and again, but Baron is right. We can't just go to The Lair without a single knowledge on how to fight the monsters living there. And if we can't even reach The Lair, we would not have a chance of escaping from this island.

His idea of sneaking back into the facility is sensible enough for me to consider. I could not think of an alternative plan anyway, and we could even hit two birds with one stone by abducting or interrogating one of the White Shadows about what they know about my ability, plus we could check on Vista too. I hadn't forgotten about her pleading voice, and I will not let the chance of rescuing her slip away again. She's the reason why I wanted to be free in the first place.

"So what do you think?" Baron asked. "I respect if you refuse to agree with what I said, but if you do agree we have to work fast."

I swallowed hard. I know that the pressure on me is immensely heavy but I would choose this pressure repeatedly if had to, because surviving this place requires risks, so with a courageous stare at Baron, I finally nodded.