Saviors of the Forest

Chapter 4: The Riddle

Feather grabbed Sage's forearm, whispering frantically, all the nightmares and horrible memories coming back to her. "Guys...? Guys..."

Moss turned his head towards her. "What's wrong?"

In a heartbeat, the other three were staring at the words carved into the wall. They were small, jerky, and jagged, like whoever wrote them was in a rush or in a great, terrible pain.

Feather's heart began to pound and her mind began to race.

It wasn't Thorn's stuff, it was the Coyote serial killer. They still use this place and now that we're back they're going to kill us all and it'll be all my fault! Even if I make it out alive I can't save them. Oh Stars, what have I done? Feather thought, though she was being completely irrational, as she often was.

Thorn read the words aloud, not allowing the raw fear he felt leak into his voice.

"You need me, you've traveled far, I know this seems quite bizarre, but this is what you need to save them all. Come find me where stone is floor and rain is wall."

Moss gently pushed Feather aside, reading the small, messy handwriting over and over again.

Feather blinked slowly, not letting her exhaustion and panic consume her. She took deep breaths and answered simple questions to herself, such as her name, age, and favorite color.

"Is it some sort of... Threat?" Sage asked.

Moss pressed his paw against the words. "It could be... Maybe it's a message or clue of some kind?"

"Maybe it's a rhyme or a small part of a story we have yet to discover?" Thorn asked.

Moss shook his head. "That was a stupid thing to say."

"Thank you oh so very much."

"Maybe it's a Riddle?" Acorn commented, only half serious.

Moss gasped and turned towards her. "Acorn, you're a genius! Why hadn't I thought of that?"

Acorn looked at Sage, bewildered. "Thought of what? What'd I do?"

Sage smiled wide, grabbing her shoulders. "You solved the first piece of whatever puzzle this is! It's a Riddle, it must be!"

Acorn understood and laughed. "Well, that's just wonderful! Yay, go me!"

Sage giggled, subconsciously noting how big and starry her eyes were, like they were a constant daydream.

Feather snorted, then turning rigid and stiff as stone once more.

"How did we not notice this when we came in?" she asked.

"We're either blind or just plain stupid," Moss said jokingly.

Feather bit her tongue, taking another deep breath.

"No, it's quite small handwriting and everyone was more focused on Feather dying or going halfway insane," Sage said with a firm nod.

She turned to Feather and muttered to her in a calming voice.

Thorn rolled his dull yellow eyes. "Can we focus, please? The more important question is: Who wrote this Riddle and why? How did they know we were coming?"

"That was three questions, slug," Sage said, wearing her get-it-right-stupid face.

Acorn tried to cover her giggles with a cough. Thorn's expression turned hostile.

"Can y'all please stop arguing and help me with this?!" Moss growled, surprisingly intimidatingly.

Acorn's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe I like your tone."