Beyond The Lost

17

Once out in the open, I finally could remember my goal. The amulet.

I wasn't sure what i'd just seen, perhaps a pathetic attempt to waste my time, but I wasn't going to let it deter me. I pushed forward, feet hitting the ground roughly as I ran forward through the familiar woods.

The gentle glow of the moon lit my path, the faint memory of Victor dancing replaying in my head. I mildly wished to turn back just to dance with him again, but understood that it was for the best.

I wound up making a small campfire in the woods to rest and warm my hands, taking the time to search the area for the amulet. I found nothing but damp twigs.

Sitting alone by the fire, I began to hear leaves crunch around me. Unsure of which direction the sound came from, I stood up to eye my surroundings again. "No need to hide, I'm not here for you. Come out."

At first I received no answer, not until my eyes found their way to a dark area behind the trees. A pair of pale bluish green eyes glowing in the darkness, no facial features visible. It caught my attention, a familiar pit in my stomach.

"Excuse me." I stepped closer, sharp stick in one hand. "I said come out."

"Eve." A pale striped hand traced the tree the man hid behind, his demeanor intense. "Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you."

He held a hand out into the light. "Please hurry." The closer I look, the more I see that he's dug his nails into the tree, attempting to keep himself standing.

"Victor?" My breath caught in my throat when his pained voice spoke louder. I quickly lit the stick in my hand in the fire, creating a makeshift torch before I ran to him.

As I run to him, I see his skin is made of wood and he's just as beaten as he was when I saved him. His stomach is splintered and cracked, the wood on his forehead rotten. Dark red sap slowly oozes out of every crack and scrape in the wood, soaking into his clothes like spilled honey.

"Victor...?" I repeated, confused this time. "Is this a trick again?"

"Come home." He held up a hand as if he was trying to touch me, but something was between us. I lifted my hand and pressed my palm against his own, his wooden skin lacking feeling. As if an invisible force were between us, I couldn't actually touch his hand. He's looking around like he can't see me.

"You're not here are you?" My shoulders sunk as I looked him up and down, watching his eyes dart to me when I spoke. He tried to push his hand into my own, but couldn't move it any closer. "You're not." I sighed in confirmation.

"I can speak to you, isn't that enough?"

"I can see you." I swallowed, tears welling in my eyes as I pulled my hand away and dropped it down to my side. "Are you really here?"

"I'm not sure." He frowned, staring at me with a sense of urgency and concern. "You can see me?"

"You're made of wood...like a tree." His hair is made of curled leaves, mushrooms sprouting from his tear ducts and neck. "I don't understand. Why are you here?"

"I kept a piece of it."

"A piece of what?"

"The necklace." He held out his hand, a small coil of the same metal chain in the center of his palm. "I didn't know if it would work, by the looks of it, it worked just enough."

"Your soul wasn't strong enough." I paced around him. "It must've taken on a form that can withstand this kind of damage. I just don't understand why you can't see me."