Wolfsbane

4. Imogen lays down the law

The click of the door was what caused me to sit up. Luca had been gone for the entire night giving me time to sit and sulk. Even so I'd was wondering where he was.

I looked towards the door not to see Luca but to see Imogen. She smiled at me warmly. Her hair wasn't in its normal messy bun but down. Her brown tresses reached just below her collarbone.

Imogen looked a bit exhausted, even so she tried to look happy even though she'd probably not got any sleep. She reached into the end table and grabbed a pair of gloves. She reached to her collar and pulled out a necklace with a gold key on the end.

She got down on one knee and began to unlock my handcuffs. After about three minutes I heard a click and felt instant relief. I rubbed the insides of my wrists which were marred with red marks. Imogen placed her bag down on the table and began to fish out clothes.

"I brought some old clothes for you" she said.

I looked down at my outfit, it was a bit grimy. Okay, it was very grimy, being thrown around in the mud really does wonders to white fabric. I sifted through the pile of clothes and pulled out a pair of old jeans and a black long sleeve shirt.

"If you'd like I can take you to the town nearby to get some clothes" Imogen said

I nodded and slipped out of the room to change. After about five minutes I'd successfully been able to get dressed without any problems. I walked back into the room to see Imogen sitting on the couch. She stood as I entered and turned to face me.

"We need to talk" she smiled, I nodded.

Imogen took in a breath and gripped her necklace.

"Let's go for a walk" I said

Imogen raised an eyebrow, after moments of thinking she walked to the front door and gestured for me to follow.

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The woods off of the camp stretched out for 15
Miles, that being said the main road was 15 miles away. The wood were full of tall dark red woods and pines. Every once in a while we'd pass a stream a lake or a waterfall, there was one campsite which was full of guys with long hair and girls who looked like they hadn't brushed their hair in weeks, hippies.

The woods were a bit creepy so to speak. Mainly because of their emptiness. I didn't remember seeing a single animal during our walk, I didn't even hear crickets or bees. Not even a frog. The woods were dead.

Imogen had strayed from the path about ten minutes ago. She was making her way through bushes and fallen branches. It was a funny sight to see considering she looked as if someone had pumped her abdomen full of air.

"Where are we going!?" I yelled. I'd been following Imogen for at least an hour and I had no clue where she was trying to take me.

She didn't answer, I ran towards her, jumping over the fallen brush.

She kept moving forward despite hearing my grunts and curses until we reached a clearing.

The grass was a bright iridescent green laced with the shadows of the surrounding trees. Small white flowers grew to my mid calf. For the first time I could see small bugs zipping around, there were lighting bugs with fluorescent yellow bottoms.

In the center of the clearing stood a tree. It wasn't the tallest tree in the forest but it was obviously the oldest. It's wood was almost grey and the bark was gnarled and covered in moss. The roots of the tree were above ground and curled around each other. The tree had no leaves. Just miss hanging from pale branches. In the center of the tree there was a hole, which was almost a perfect oval.