Craig of the creek: From beyond the creek

The Darkened Road Ahead



"Wait Will where are you going ?!" shouted Jeremy as he catched up to the silent figure "I'm going where someone needs me" answered Will flatly as he continued his silent march, the frondous greens of the clearing's undergrowth giving way to te ashy grays of the new terrain with every step they took "but where ?" shouted Rose from the back "wait, hold on, where are we ?" asked J.P. as he looked around the forest, it was very different from the clearing by the tower "and where are we going ?" asked Craig as he continued to scribble on his map "I don't know... but this place looks... familiar" answered Rose as she looked around the grey forest when she heard a sickening crunch under her feet. Everyone but Will stopped moving as she raised her foot to see what she had stepped on, it was a small bird skeleton... or at least what remained of one. Mortimer chirped shrilly and hid in Kelsey's hair as Rose herself hid her feelings of unease as best as she could whilst burying the little bird she had stepped on as carefully and gently as she could before continuing to walk along the road. Will spoke again "the dead forest... An ashen wasteland that once housed hundreds of birds and other wild life... Now empty... Just like the rest of our home" he muttered, just loud enough for the group to hear however Jeremy scoffed "I don't think so, you keep saying the Gulch is dull and gray, despite there being a jungle just on the other side of the water way" spoke Jeremy, Will just grunted "you say that like it too almost didn't burn down " and continued to walk, however the trio was...confused to say the least "wait, so this place isn't all covered in concrete ?" asked Kelsey "well, not all of it, only Will's campsite is" answered rose with a warm smile before sighing "only Will sees this place like that because HE mopes around that place every day, no matter how much we try to get him out of there"  Will heard this "yeah but you know why I was staying there ?!" he said angrily "dude, the accident wasn't your fault, let her go" conforted Jeremy "I did let her go and I lost her because of it !" shouted Will as he stomped on the ground "for three years I have been mourning her, thinking she was gone forever, but this-" Will pointed at the plate with Sarah's handprint on "there's hope, I know she's there, waiting for me with open arms !" Will's voice broke a little, "wait... so is this what I think it is ?" asked Rose to no one in particular "yup, this is the old factory road" answered Jeremy with a sigh. In the distance the factory was starting to show itself through the smog, and the stormy clouds in the sky made their presence known with a loud and echoing tunder, the bright sky from the clearing long gone "Will, stop. let her rest." Jeremy tried to reason however Will continued his March towards the ominous factory "no, I know she's there, I just know she's waiting for the day I get her out of that horrible place" Will spoke, his voice breaking down "wait what do you mean by that ?" asked Craig confused at this sudden change of mood from Will "he's talking about Sarah" whispered Rose as to not upset Will any more "ever since she passed away, he's been like this, a hermit" Jeremy sighed "yeah, just moping around on that little island everyday" Will scoffed but continued to walk towards the factory, which was not too far away now "look, you don't have to follow me anymore, tours over, go home" Will looked down "I can do this alone"  the group passed a rusted sign that read "Dup_p_nt _lectronic_ Inc"  Will kept going. his mind racing with thoughts, the evidence that Sarah was alive was just too much... yet... something felt off, but now was not the time to worry about things that were off, Sarah was trapped there. Lighting struck nearby snapping Will out of his thoughts and the rain that started pouring brought him back to reality "Will ! it's raining !" shouted rose as she put her shield above her head to protect herself and the visitors around her everyone quickly hurried towards the door in the factory... however it refused to move, reminding Will of the reason why he wasn't able to go inside the factory before... after the earthquake the power had gone out... locking the door forever. Will kicked the door  in frustration "come on !" He shouted, as if that would make the door open "Will, we need to get out of here,  if we stay out here they could catch a cold"  Rose Shouted Worriedly as she shielded the Kids from the pouring rain, Will stopped banging on the door , before turning  to Jeremy "knock down the door" Jeremy was shocked "no Will stop, let her rest" Jeremy tried to reason with Will however Will stomped his foot in frustration "if you don't want to come with then that's fine! I'll go alone..." he turned around and looked at a window above the door "... I always do that anyways" With that Will casted his rod towards the window, and climbed up the side of it before breaking in through the window "Will ! argh !" shouted Jeremy from below, but it was useless, Will was long gone "Jeremy, we have to get out of the rain... you know it burns on this side of the Gulch !" exclaimed Rose as the rain began to pour more "wait the rain does what now ?!" asked Craig panicked as he covered himself up more "it's acid rain" explained Rose as calmly as she could. however Jeremy snorted and chuckled "hah it's not that bad !" he exclaimed with confidence before he started to feel the rain slowly started to burn him "ow...ow, ow OW, OK, it burns, holy jeebus it burns !" he shouted as he swiped the acidic water off of his arms "OK, what in the world is this ?! I thought it only happened in cartoo- oh...." after that moment of self consciousness ended, they continued "well... better get out of the rain before it corrodes through your shield then..." Jeremy readied his club hitting the door as hard as he could. However it did not budge... but part of it fell off the bottom, just big enough for Craig and friends to fit through "dang it ! it's too strong" exclaimed Jeremy "and this rain feels like getting bit by an angry swarm of cliff ants ! ack !" "wait... hold on" interrupted Rose "can you kids fit in through there ?" she asked to the kids huddled under her shield "w-what ?" asked Craig looking at what Rose had pointed and saw the crevice in the door "yeah... no I don't think we should go in there" said Craig a bit afraid of the dark in the factory "Well, you could sit out here and let the acid rain burn us too that also works" Craig looked at the void in the orifice of the door but before he could do anything J.P. rushed in and went through the hole in the door "J.P. What are you doing ?!" shouted Craig worried "sorry Craig but I like my skin ! and mom would be mad if I showed up without it !" shouted the orange haired kid from the inside "yeah I don't think mortimer's feathers are meant to be exposed to rain, let alone acid rain" spoke kelsey worriedly as she too began crawling under the door followed by her feathered companion Craig looked at the hole in which his friends had gone through and reluctantly followed, it probably wasn't so bad now that his friends were in there, right ? ...