The Fox and The Forest (EDITING)

Four minus One (1.5)

  ☆  ☆  ?  ☆  

"You were in the Forest Facility too?" Kate asked, her eyes flicking from the dark tree on Flynn's wrist to his familiar and not so familiar face. 

"That obvious? Age lines showing again?" Flynn looked to the place in which Kate had been staring, and caught sight of his arm.  "Damn. I should keep that better hidden," he said thoughtfully, pulling down his cracked leather sleeve as far as possible. 

Then he flinched slightly and suddenly - in recognition. "No way. You too?"

He had spotted the dark veins on Kate's forearm, the roots of which were sneaking onto the palm of her hand like wayward roads from a map.

She nodded in response, adding that Tom was also branded, just in case he tried to pretend that he was more normal than her. 

Flynn's carefree disposition from just a moment ago diminished, turning into something more sombre. To Kate, it looked like a prison of clouds had  formed above him; out of character and affecting his mood as soon as the first droplet escaped onto his head, dripping in defiance down his face. 

Flynn brought his two friends closer to him.

"It was horrible," he recalled painfully. "-in the facility I mean. I felt like a ghost of a person in there," he shuddered from the grim memory of it all. At least, Kate presumed that was why Flynn shook. 

Unexpectedly, Flynn then straightened up- the familiar gleam returning to his eyes. "The only thing that kept me sane was pissing off that nurse with my well devised jokes," Flynn winked at Tom, whose mouth hung slightly open. 

"So, you just feel fine now? Like normal? " said he, who was astonished by Flynn's optimism. Tom gestured for Kate and Flynn to start walking again, as the guards observed them carefully, from their designated posts. 

Tom noted that their posts looked peculiarly like sculptures of trees. Of course, for most of the people in the Lake District, the posts were simply that. They had no idea what a tree was supposed to look like or even what one was. 

The guards themselves lined the road in pairs. To Tom's left, one whispered to another, as they passed. Perhaps they suspected them of inappropriate language- which involved mentioning nature or plotting against the government. Either way, the three of them made sure to walk on, faster this time so that they were less likely to be scrutinized. 

"Of course I feel the same- just like before!" Flynn replied, once they were out of ear shot of the guards. "Now I don't even need an oxygen tank to breathe. How great is that?" He gestured to his lungs in amazement. 

Tom felt sick at the thought of accepting his condition. Yet he envied Flynn for being able to do so.  "Plus, we saw some pretty cool stuff in the forest all those years ago. We need to go back there!" The boy's enthusiasm certainly hadn't been stolen from his body, even if his breath had. 

"Flynn..." Kate began, taking hold of his hands which seemed to be aged beyond his years. "That forest was destroyed." A few people marched past them whilst they talked, in hushed voices.

"What! By who? Why would the government do that to something beautiful?" Flynn abruptly stopped walking, causing Kate and Tom to stop beside him. He scratched his head in a questioning movement, as though the action would help drag the answers from the depths of his skull.

"Most likely the government destroyed the place as soon as they'd caught us in it." Tom replied logically. He and Flynn felt a sudden surge of guilt. Had they not been in the forest, it would still exist. 

Maybe there would be hope, if the forest was still there Tom thought to himself.

Kate however was preoccupied, her gaze fixed on something behind Tom and Flynn. An opportunity.