18:00

56 : Return

OJ observed the forest clearing ahead of him. It was a small patch of grass, hardly considerable as a clearing in the first place. It was overgrown and poorly kept, with little to no sign of life outside of the trees around it.

If he hadn't known otherwise, he would've thought it was just another piece of land in the woods of the island. But he recognized its placement well enough to know it wasn't.

"We're here, what now?" He asked into the phone. He kept the volume nice and low, speaking relatively quiet as well.

It took a moment to get a response. Though he wasn't shocked by the posh voice that responded, even if it sparked some unnecessary annoyance in him.

"You see," Taco stated with the slightest hint of nervousness in her voice, "I don't know myself. I wasn't there, I only have what Trophy said to me before the communication cut off."

OJ groaned, shaking his head. "We know that. What I mean is what did he say to look out for?"

"Give me a moment. I'm trying to recall..." Taco mumbled to herself. OJ's eyes lowered as he was forced to wait longer than necessary.

Luckily, his wait wasn't too long. The distinct voice on the phone spoke up again shortly after. "He said something about a tree near the edge 'opening up'. Like a lever. It had to be an awfully large tree he was speaking of, as the entrance was supposedly in the log- like the old hatch in the vending machine."

"Right." OJ nodded, taking a quick look around. So it had to be one of the thicker trees if it could open up... but where exactly? He doubted Taco would know the exact answer, considering the fact she wasn't actually here. But it was still something he'd like to know.

He walked along the edge, letting his fingers graze along the edges of the trees. The bark scratched at his skin, leaving white marks. His nails tapped against them, as if checking each one.

Then, one clacked. He paused in his tracks, staring at the tree. Then, he pressed his palm to it. It was cold.

"I'm pretty sure I found it." OJ said into the speaker. "What now?"

"Good, good." Taco responded. "Try knocking on it. I'm not entirely sure what Trophy did, but I'm guessing you have to interact with it in some form."

OJ let out a small hum of affirmation, before gently knocking on the tree. He paused, waiting. Then, he lifted his fist to try again, but as he did the tree split straight open.

"woOAH-" OJ sputtered out, tripping backwards out of surprise. He did a quick double take, looking at the opened entrance. "...Well that's certainly one way to hide an entrance, huh?"

"Ah. I'm assuming you found it then?" Taco asked, sounding less than shocked at the revelation.

"Yeah, I think so." OJ replied, shaking it off as he stood back up. He looked in, seeing the newly formed gap. He stayed silent for a good few minutes, his gaze unfaltering as he looked at every little scratch and bend in the metal. It was just like-

"Right." Taco huffed abruptly, clearly not fond of waiting. "So I suppose I've proved my information correct now, or at least trustworthy?"

"Oh- yeah, sure." OJ nodded dismissively. He glanced back down, thinking a little more. "He never said anything about how to close it, did he?"

"He didn't have the time to even try." Taco stated. "Though if the vile vial made her mechanisms so simple, I suppose just pushing it back up would work, shouldn't it?"

Without responding, OJ reached for the metal log laying on the ground. He squeezed his hands beneath it, finding how surprisingly light it was, before pulling it up and pushing it back towards the log. And without struggle, the log snapped back into place as if nothing had happened.