A Mind of Two || A HfjONE AU {WIP Cover!}

Chapter 2 - Searching, Questions, and Someone Else

The three of us left Airy's cave place, and went into the forest, calling Liam's name repeatedly.

In all honesty, I was extremely nervous. I couldn't believe that I was literally teaming up with the same dude that technically held us captive. But it had to be done — Airy lived in this place; he could help us out.

Our group continued walking deeper into the forest. The trees towered above all of us. I was now understanding why Airy warned us about this place. The forest was dark and gloomy, a slight fog coming in and cycling around us.

"Did Liam... have any enemies?" Airy asked. "Or... any problems with anger?"

"Enemies?" I repeated, thinking. "Uh... No offense, but I think it's just you."

"I overheard these two fighting a couple of times," Texty added. That... actually was right. "Liam can have a temper, especially in an argument."

Airy frowned slightly. "What else... do you know about Liam?" he continued. "Do you know what he likes? Like... his favorite place?

"What... does he fear?" Airy concluded.

It was a bit weird, his question set. But he means well, I reminded myself. "Well, from the small time we were on The Plane together, he's pretty... chill. A bit reserved too.

"His favorite place... I guess home? Like, San Francisco," I continued, still pretty deep in thought.

Texty decided to jump in again. "Another thing: once he finds something all cryptic and whatnot, he wants to keep finding out more clues until everything is solved," they explained. "That's why he wanted to come here in the first place."

I paused for a moment. His fears... "I guess he's afraid of death? And drowning." I shivered slightly, reminded of when Liam had drowned to death on The Plane.

"That's about it, I think," Texty concluded.

Airy was silent. "Was he good at hiding?" he questioned. "Could... Could he be hiding in the forest?" I noticed that Airy was trying to think of all possible scenarios.

Actually, I haven't seen him smile or anything since I first saw him, I recalled, then answered Airy's question. "Kind of? The only other time where he 'disappeared' was when he found the Plug.

"He could be hiding here, that's why we—" I was cut off by a high-pitched scream.

Suddenly, the trees rumbled and shook violently. We tried to run, but the ground cracked under our feet, knocking us down.

The fog turned black, and I got the feeling something else was here.

Something that wasn't supposed to be.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL—?!" I yelled in a panic. Then I remembered about Liam. "LIAM! LIAM, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

Now, it was impossible to move. The ground was shaking beneath us. Our hands and feet (and Texty's computer) were covered in a web of goo. It was cold, and strangely felt like metal.

Our group of three then heard a voice. It was laughing menacingly, and it's the most evil thing I've ever heard. I started to shake in fear.

The voice spoke, slowly and monotonous. "Liam... is gone..." it said.

All of my held-back tears began to roll down my face uncontrollably. I couldn't do anything to wipe them away or speak.

"What do you mean?!" Texty yelled.

The shadowy fog began to manifest into a sort of figure. It was kind of like Abstracty — it had a shape, but it wasn't a certain one. It spoke again, its voice sounding like multiple. "Liam is... no more." it said, looming over us all. "He was too... unbearably annoying." I had a shaking feeling that it found delight in our suffering. The figure started to laugh again.