LOST IN TIME ... ||

The Lovely Woods

The boy ducked, tucking his head under a large rock, as he heard a quick and painful shot. The dangerous gunshot flew right past him. He dodged another bullet, but literally this time. He hated how he were forced to do this by some all powerful god that he indeed forgot the name of. Well, forced to travel through all of this, not dodging bullets in an almost failed attempt. He peaked his head out, not sure where he was. All he knew was he is in the middle of a heated war.

The oddly dressed boy could've swore he heard someone chant his name. "Kadupul, Kadupul.." He definitely heard it. The voice lured him in, as he crawled towards it. He knew he shouldn't since this was a war going on. Regardless, he ended up finding a path to a better looking part of the land. It wasn't as dead as the war zone he was previously in. He couldn't find the person who chanted his name. Maybe they meant a different Kadupul, or they were telling someone they wanted a kadupul. Both options had a clear split chance.

He was now in what looked like an enchanted forest. Right at the entrance. The trees at the edges looked rough, yet again, some people probably used them to hide from gun violence. There wasn't signs of anything ever living at this part of the forest either. It just looked like what you would imagine if you took every leaf off the trees and took away every habitat. He decided to brush that off though, as many trees could appear dead. He sat on his knees for a short moment to brush off any dust or ash off his pants, then decided it would be better if he stood up to do it. As he stood up, he saw another gun bullet fly by.

"You aren't supposed to be here, kid!" A mysterious man yelled this at him.

Those words alone, and dodging another bullet, made Kadupul run into the dead to slowly lush forest. Surely he could hide in here from the guy after him. Everything looked so... alive. Animals thrived here, yet they didn't mind or pay attention to the boy. It was the opposite of what he seen before. It shocked him that everything transitioned from a dead land to how teachers describe a rain forest. There wasn't any rain from the sky right now, but the forest sure thrived like one. There even was bushes you'd see in hide outs where you just push past them to a hidden location within them. The brunette was a curious lad, wondering if that existed.

He went up to a group of bushes and very gently pushed himself in, as to not disturb the wild life near him. The tunnel of bushes led the traveler to a broken down neighborhood. Nature had reclaimed all the buildings and signs. Vines and weeds grew all over the area and through cracks on the street. It's almost as if everyone wanted to forget about the place. Then he read the sign welcoming people to the neighborhood. Enchantskeep. The name was of his new home's district. So, was this the future?

Kadupul saw the store, recognizing it. The boy always went there before school. Obviously he'd recognize it. He sometimes even went on the walk back home. He closed his eyes for a short moment, visualizing he just was going on a walk. He had the picture, taking a deep breath and opening his eyes. He followed the street to the direction he knew his house resided, careful not to step on anything potentially sharp. Every house gave him scary vibes as if he weren't supposed to be there. The odd guy did say that. Maybe he should've listened, but he was too far in. He then saw his neighbor's home.

Vines grew through the chimney, seemingly if the earth was trying to pull the house down. The windows were all cracked or shattered. The pot of a plant his friend Sundown owned was in pieces, and the plant was missing from the scene. The front door was wide open, inviting Kadupul in. It also felt like a dare at the same time. The thrill called his name, yet he knew he shouldn't. It was already eerie that the whole town just abandoned it. He thought about the people who lived next door to him.

The Vandenberg's seemed pretty chill. Daray was the father, known for being a cruel villain. He had a son named Sundown. Kadupul called him Sun, seeing as the two were close. Sundown was mean just like his father, yet you could also tell the boy didn't want to be a villain. Daray always tells anyone who tries to stop his evil deeds that his son would take his place one day anyway. It clearly wasn't true. Sun showed interests of inventing and potion brewing around Kadupul, even if he didn't realize he talked about the possible job opportunities a lot.

Kadupul slowly pushed the door of the Vandenburg residence open, seeing as the door was pretty old. The floorboards creaked really bad, so bad you could probably hear him coming a mile away. There was a really bad smell from the fridge. It was the smell you'd smell if you accidentally left cheese out, really badly like that. The wallpaper had been shedding off the wall with scratch mark looking streaks. Nails were sticking out boards against windows. It was almost as if they let a wild animal in, everything was destroyed. Yet it also looked like all the important things he heard Sundown talk about within his family were still here. If they ran off, surely they would've took it. Unless... They didn't.

He carefully and loudly made it to the dining table where a letter remained in a wrinkled ball. He grabbed it, and gently pulled it open. It looked like whoever wrote this wrote it in a hurry. He straightened it against the table so he could read it better.

"If you're reading this, it already happened. It got us all. I'd presume you're a time traveler of some sorts. Run. Hide. It's still around the neighborhood somewhere. If you're Kadupul, I always wanted to say I love you. I know it most likely won't be him, but it was after him. I have to go help him. Tell him I said I deserved this. I deserve the pain of the blood draining from my veins. I love you, Kad. I wish I could've said it more.

—Sundown Vandenburg"