Storm Island Expedition

Trees Again

I had to stop and catch my breath.  Running for three days straight, without sleep, and barely eating was taking its toll.
My week in the woods started out so uneventfully.  How did it end up like this?
I had seen nothing but trees, rocks, and grass.  I even had a seemingly convenient path to take.  I figured I would make it out of the forest and back to that Slayer camp in no time, and from there, back to port.
Then four days ago, I managed to run into the other three.
Sienna looked fine; her trek was just as dull as mine.
David had a run in with some 'dark spirit', but was no worse for wear.
Yesna on the other hand, her hair was a mess, covered in mud and grime, and clearly hadn't slept for two days.  The terror in her eyes though ...
She just mumbled about something following her.  Then we heard a rustling in the bushes behind her. We prepared ourselves, but just saw a pheasant that ran out past us.  Sienna giggled in relief, but Yesna's face indicated that wasn't what was scaring her.
The four of us started to trek together, just in case.  Sienna stayed close to Yesna, David took point, I was in the rear.  By nightfall, we never saw what kept Yesna so terrified, and she seemed reluctant or unable to tell us.
David had found a spot that would make a decent camp, but Yesna seemed to beg us to keep going. We tried to calm her down, but nothing worked, at least until Sienna slipped her a sip of tea that was laced with a sleeping mix.  Yesna, finally went to sleep, and I took first watch.
Two hours into my watch, the fire went out, and for some reason, so did I.
I woke up to David urgently shaking me.  When my eyes opened, it wasn't even dawn.  Yesna was missing, Sienna was out of the camp too.  David informed me that he and Sienna had heard Yesna get up, make some sort of shriek in terror, and run off into the woods.   They gave chase, but couldn't find her.

I asked why they didn't wake me, or in fact, why her yelling and cries did not wake me up.
David only stated that they had tried to wake me, but I would not budge.  In fact, he barely managed to wake me up just now only because he had kicked me.
Sienna was still not back from finding her, but David had a good guess which way she had gone.
A few minutes later, we had caught up with Sienna, and she had found Yesna.  Yesna was lying down in a patch of grass and leaves, curled up in a ball.  Her body was already cold.
No wounds, bites or scratches, no burns, not even a sense of magic.  We had no idea what killed her.
Sienna looked shaken, and I was starting to get an odd feeling of not wanting to stick around.  David suggested that we try to bury Yesna, but before we could debate it, Sienna heard a sound in the distance as if something was coming.  Neither of us heard it, but to me, it did 'feel' like something was coming.
David was about to suggest we take care of Yesna's body, and kill whatever it might have been that scared her, but Sienna was already starting to run away, and David must have seen some look on my face that convinced him that fighting 'it' may not be a good idea.  We quickly ran after Sienna, picked up anything of use from our makeshift camp, and started running.

Just over a day of running, and David somehow got separated from us.   I'm not sure how.  One moment he was just a few paces ahead of me, the next, gone.  I never saw a body, or got a reply when I called out for him.  I tried to spend a few more moments looking for him, but Sienna was already panicked and still running full tilt.  Torn, I chose to keep up with Sienna.  David didn't seem to be as scared as either of us, I thought he might be ok.  Plus someone had to keep an eye on Sienna.  My legs felt like they would fall off as I tried to catch back up with her.
On the second day of full running, it felt like the entire forest was chasing us.  Something was out there, I just couldn't see 'what' or 'who'.  A few times Sienna would stumble, I would help her back up, and she would dash on.  I stumbled once or twice, and she didn't even stop to help, or even blink.  The one time it seemed I had caught up to her, she had the same expression as Yesna when we ran into her.
By dusk, I wanted to stop ... rest ... sleep.  Sienna had gotten ahead of me again for what felt like just a moment.  It didn't take me long to find her on the ground, she appeared to be sleeping.  When I approached her, I called out to her, even joked that she finally decided to take a nap without me, and took the best spot, but she didn't reply.  I called to her, again, no reply.
Her eyes were wide open, her mouth seemed to hold back a shriek.
I swore I didn't see anything, or hear anything.  I looked around, but the only tracks were mine.  I looked into the trees, but saw no birds or insects.
That 'feeling' came over me again.  Then I heard something ... in the distance.  I felt it.  I knew it was there.  I knew it was coming.  I ran again.  I didn't stop.

So here I am.  A day later, and I finally stopped.  I feel like my heart is going to explode.  It is still out there.  Chasing me.  I can't win if I fight, I just know it.  I can feel it in my body, I can't run anymore, I'm just too tired.
For a moment, I thought it was coming, but then something else came, from the wrong direction.  I saw a shape, a blur, rush at me.  Then I felt something hit me hard in the head, and the world went dark.

When I awoke, I was back in the Slayers' camp.  My arms and legs were bound.  David was asleep a few feet away from me.  A few others were starting to notice that I was now awake.
"So, what do you remember?"
I started to shake "running ... lots of running.  And fear.  Why?  What ... what was chasing me?"
The amateur scientist spoke up "Why nothing.  Nothing at all."
"What?"
David chimed in. "There was absolutely nothing following all of you.  I know, because that is all I saw, nothing."
"David, I am certain that something was there!  I heard it!  By Guthix ... why else would we have been running for our lives?!?!?"
"Simple, because something made you 'think' something was there."  The comment came from a new voice.  A new arrival to the camp, who styled himself as a healer.
"What?"
"Oh I've been catching up on the tales of that forest.  Or at least what few there are."
"And?"
"The forest is alive in more ways than we think.   And more dangerous.  I'm almost amazed your party lasted as long as you did.  Especially your friend over there.  I'm not certain how he was able to keep his mind intact.  Or how you were able to hold as long as you did either."
"Gee, thanks."

The healer began to summarize the tales of the forest.  Simply, the trees themselves discovered a way to hunt.  Either magic, or a swamp gas, or pollen ... the prey seems to slowly go ... crazy.  Fear in the prey causes it to run, and keep running.  Eventually, the body simply stops.  Humans, Cyclopes, animals, birds: we all seem to make good compost in the end.
"And just how is it that you knew about this if there were so few tales of the forest?"
"A survivor here and there over time will live to tell of that part of the forest.  Eventually, anyone who hears it, and believes, simply avoids that region.  If you do not, then, well ... "

"OK, then why am I still alive then?"

David spoke up again, "Simple, I had reached the camp first figuring you two would have made it after me.  I had no idea we got separated until I got here.  Took us two days to track you down as you seemed to keep running in circles.  I even called out to you but you never responded.  Dumb luck let me catch up to you.  You didn't look like you were even all there, and might have attacked me, and you looked like you were about to fall over dead if you took another step.  So I did the only logical thing ... "
"Knock me out?"
"Yup.  It worked."  David started putting some finishing notes on the map indicating areas not to go into.
"OK, that explains all of this, but why tie me up?"
"Just in case you didn't recover and had the urge to run back into the forest."
"Oh."
"We went looking for Sienna after we found you.  Do you know what happened to her?"
The look on my face was more than enough for David to stop asking, as he quickly understood.
In a pained voice "two more?"
"Yeah."
One of the Slayers in camp finally cut me loose.

An hour later, we caught sight of Ella's group coming into camp.  But only Ella and Gavin seemed to have caught up with us.