The Playing Fields First Draft

Chapter Six

     The Forest seemed to go on forever.

     Trees as far as the eyes could see, all of them twisted and seemed to be as endlessly long as the Forest as the trees blotted out the sky. All of the trees had some kind of twisted deformity to them, as well as bark that was falling off of them.

     Claire wasn't too happy about the bark, as she constantly jumped when a piece of bark fell on her. There were no bugs in the Forest, which Claire felt was odd, but it could be from whatever was in the trees the note warned them about. I can't wait until we clear this area. Claire thought, miserably.

     Rick had the group stop so they could figure out where they should go next. The Forest presented the group with a different kind of challenge, unlike the Field where the height of grass distinguished one area from another, the Forest just continued on with no physical changes.

     It was easy to get lost here.

     Despite the situation, the mood in the group only slightly improved over the time they were in the Forest, mainly over the idea that they're finally getting closer to getting out of the Playing Fields. Despite the sinister atmosphere of the Forest, and the persistent question of whether or not there was a secret objective like there was in the Field.

     While Rick was as paranoid as ever, Mari managed to get a good laugh out of him every once in a while. Claire thought he brought up some good points involving the Playing Fields. One in particular that had everyone concerned was the possibility that they had no real chance with these secrets they needed to unlock before moving on.

     That was when Claire saw the things in the trees.

     It seemed silly for her to describe the creatures as "things", but they were too far up in the trees for Claire to see clearly. They also moved so quickly that they made Claire doubt that she was actually seeing them. What are they? Claire wondered, as they played in the trees. The creatures seemed benign to Claire; it seemed like they preferred to play in the trees rather than spy on those wandering through their forest.

     Claire looked over at the others, she didn't know whether or not she should tell them. They are just playing up there. Claire thought, she remembered the note. That's right, they should just leave us alone if we do the same for them. The creatures were so far up in the trees that Claire didn't think anyone else would notice them, and after the problems caused by Jim with Will, it seemed like a perfect storm to tell them.

     Besides, if anyone asked, Claire would pretend it was her first time seeing them.

     "What are you looking at?" Will asked.

     Claire jumped in surprise. "Nothing, Will." She lied. "Just amazed by how tall the trees are."

     Will nodded. "It's a weird place." He said, "But in a strange way, it's also beautiful."

     "How so?"

     "The otherworldly nature of the Playing Fields." Will answered. "Don't you feel it?"

     Claire nodded. Talking to Will felt strange now that it seemed like he's a completely different person than when Claire had her first conversation with him.

     However, he was right.

     There was a feeling of magic in the environment, whether it was the creatures playing in the trees, the emersion of Claire's psychic power, or whatever was manipulating the abductees and their attitudes.

     Ugh, this is giving me such a headache! Claire internally whined.

     "Am I interrupting something?" Mari asked.