When the Universe Breaks- A Shred Squad Story

(7) The Forest Of Repetition

                        Dick's POV
       We walked for a while more through the forest. Everyone was talking, having conversations, and every once in a while the mutt would bark, annoying me. I for one, though, wasn't talking to anyone. There was no one worth talking too, except for Don, but he was too busy talking too his NEW friends. The stupid ghost, and the idiotic mutt. "You're the Dick, right?" Someone suddenly questioned beside me and I looked, seeing the boy with the stupid mask looking at me. I huffed, "My name is Dick." I hissed, and he laughed, "Sorry, brutha."

     I rolled my eyes, looking away from him. "You aren't very talkative, huh?" He asked. I shook my head, "I'm not good at communicating with idiots." I snapped. He scoffed, "Someone's short tempered." He said. I clenched my teeth, "And someone's very obnoxious." I retorted. He laughed, pulling out a bomb, "I can't help that I have a very EXPLOSIVE personality." He joked, smiling brightly. I don't know why, but for some reason, I cracked a small smile at the bad pun. He looked at me excitedly, nudging me, "Hah! I actually made you smile!" He joked. I sighed, elbowing him roughly, "Ow!" He exclaimed, making me smile more.

      Then, Duni stopped dead in his tracks, holding out his arm, signaling for us to stop aswell. He turned to us, a strict, serious look in his red gaze. He gestured to the forest, and the path ahead of us, "We are about to enter the Forest Of Repetition, and we'll be walking on Rewind Road." He said simply. "But, there is a set of VERY strange, yet specific rules to go into this forest, if you wish to make it through." He explained. "Let me demonstrate." He said.

                    Ashlie's POV
         Duni turned towards the forest, and eyed a small, pink flower that sat at the edge of the forest, just slightly in the forest. He gestured towards the  flower, "I'll use this butterfly flower as an example." He said, and I watched curiously as he reached down, quickly picking the beautiful flower. He held it, then crushed it tightly in his hand.
Why'd he do that? I wondered. He dropped what was left of the twisted, broken flower, and as soon as it touched the ground, it disappeared. He watched as it hit the ground, then he looked back at us.

     "Watch." He said simply, looking back at where the flower once was, before he had killed it. For a moment, nothing happened, then...The dirt in that small spot trembled, and a small plant began to quickly grow from the ground. Large, pink petals began to sprout from the green stem, and it was once again the flower. I was amazed, "Just wait..." Duni said. And After a moment, the flower began it shrink, as if it were being crushed, before disappearing. The flower regrew, only to face the same fate. Everytime the flower would grow again, it would leave frames of itself playing after it. As if it were a ghost, glitching, forced to relive the same twisted fate over and over again.

       Duni looked away from the ghostly sight, "That flower has faced It's fate in the forest. It will be forced to die eternally, reliving the same moment over, and over, and over again." He said, looking over all of us, DDawn beside him, looking at the flower emotionlessly. "If you do anything worth being kept, or watched, then the forest will take you, and there's no way to get out. You will be forced to relive it eternally. But you will be completely conscious through it." He explained darkly, "And that moment, will drive you to insanity for the rest of your useless, repetitive existence." He finished. I shivered at the thought of that terrible damnation.

      "The rules are, don't speak, don't trip, don't laugh...And if you see someone, don't try to communicate with them..." He said, "And most importantly, DON'T stray from the path." He said sternly. "Now, ve are going to valk in a line down as path...Stray from ze path, and we cannot save you." DDawn said sternly, and we all nodded, getting in a line. Duni was first, then DDawn, Tommy, Cory, Uni, Nick, me, Jon, Fon, Don, Dick, Dawn, Funi, Thomas, and Ash.
"Alright, everyone, we're going now, remember, DON'T stray from the path, and be uninteresting" Duni called back to us as we all began walking. When I entered the forest, I was immediately hit with an eerie, cool wind, which seemed erratic, as though it too had been stuck in the forest.

       We walked slowly, and steadily, and I glanced around, squeezing the small clock in my pocket tightly. I heard a bark, and for a moment, I thought it was Funi, then, I noticed a dog running through the forest. It was small and brown, with curly hair. It would run a few feet, then dissapear, reappearing the same distance back, repeating the movement. Frames of Itself lagged behind it, and It's echoy bark filled the air. I looked forward again, finding the slightest bit of comfort in Nicks familiar back, reminding me that I wasn't alone.

      As we continued forward, a squirrel fell from a tree deeper in a forest, looping repeatedly, the sickening thud ringing through our ears. Everything was gray and slow in the forest, making the place creepier than it already was. Then, I heard something that made my ears prick. It sounded like children's laughter. A girls laughter, to be exact. I looked ahead, seeing the ghostly imagine of a small girl, probably 5 or 6, veering off the path giggling, and an older girl, around 9, chasing her, laughing. The young girls disappeared, reforming at the edge of the path, repeating their carefree movement as nearly transparent frames of themselves followed.

         We passed the two girls, and I took in a shaky breath. Then, the word, "Help....Help....Help.....Help....Help....." Could be heard being whispered, and I glanced beside me, and I jumped slightly at the sight that I saw. A girl with dead, emotionless eyes, and black hair stood, staring at the path, whispering that word repeatedly. As I walked back, I made eye contact with the girl..And It broke my heart when I saw the distance, desperate look in the girls eyes. I winced, looking back forward, then the sound of sobs filled the air, and I looked into the forest, seeing what looked lime a girl in a blue hoodie leaning against a tree, hugging her knees, crying and sobbing. Her body glitched out ghostly, and I let out a shaky breath, We'll be out soon....

A/N I actually REALLY liked this chapter ALOT. And something happened yesterday, so this really helped me feeling better, so, thanks for reading! And as always, I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY! AND GOOD BYE PEEPS!!!