The Knight Club: Part I - The Foggy Forest

Chapter 15: The Tree

The group watches the ghostly youngster stare at them without saying anything. The fact that the victim is dressed in early 1800s-era clothing lets them realize that he is a very old victim.

"Holy shit." Michael muttered as he lowered his baseball bat.

Jon stepped forward from the group and spoke to the boy in a quiet tone. "You know why we are here, right?"

The boy gave no reply.

"Help us find our friend; take us to the oak tree where the monster took you, and you can finally be at peace with your family."

The youngster moved forward, either understanding what Jon was saying or perhaps sensing Jon's kind intentions. When he extended his hand toward the gathering. Jon looked at the others and said; "I think it's best of we close our eyes and hold each other's hand while he lead the way."

The others nodded in response as they held on to each other.

Jon felt the child's fingers encircling his hand then he started to guide him. They walk across the treacherous terrain, but it feels like they are traveling on flat ground, it was a strange feeling. Maybe that's how this feels.

After a moment, they begin to hear the child giggle as though he is overjoyed. Its like he can see the route to the place he has been attempting to get all these years.

Then, another voice filled their ears. It wasn't the child, rather, it was an adult. It sounded like a women. Possibly the boy's mother calling out to him.

Jon can feel the boy's hand becoming surprisingly warmer, as if he were alive again. The small boy stopped and whispered into Jon's ear and said; "thank you," and let go of his hand.

The group didn't open their eyes yet but they could hear the child and his mother walking away, accompanied by the sound of leaves and sticks crunching away as they were getting fainter and fainter.

As the sounds faded away, the whole gang opened their eyes and found themselves in an entirely new area of the forest.

The smells of dirt, and moss were harsh and sharper over here for some reason. And the thorny briars, razor-leaves and mossy stones were greener. The green of a hidden place.

The fog ominously swirls all around them like it has a life of its own, revealing the enormous oak tree before them as if it were materializing out of thin air.

They stood rooted on the spot, gazing up and down at it. It had no leaves on its skeletal branches and the bark was dark and peeling off. The cave sat right at the base and nestled among the roots that extended far out.

Emerging within the cave were these vine-like growths clinging to any surface and sprawling everywhere, looking like an explosion mark or a very big spiderweb. Above the cave entrance was the same celtic spiral carved on the trunk. This one, however, glows green.

But despite the eerie oak tree before them, the surrounding trees were littered with stickmans that hung from their branches. Resembling witch totems that swing lightly in the wind. This is what Gerard was talking about. Some of them were on the ground, moss had already covered them and were withered by the elements.

The group shared a look, then moved towards the oak tree. The cave's entrance grew more eerie in appearance, as if something sinister lied ahead.

One by one, the group steps inside the cave, which has a blue-ish-dark atmosphere with
small shafts of light piercing through the surface, allowing bright green moss to grow on the walls and the vines continue further down the abyss. They all clicked on their flashlights, and the darkness began to swallow them as they began their search for Theo...

There were roots sticking out of the ground above, creeping down the cave walls, and resting at the bottom like skeletal fingers. The cave has a really strange alien planet feel to it, thanks to the eerie vines that sprawl and curve on every surface.

The air was heavy with the scent of dampness and decay. It's like the group traveled from one plane of existence to another. The only thing breaking the silence was the sound of their feet stepping down on wet, squishy vines that lay on the ground which had caught their curiosity as they slow down.