Against the Universe - After ONE 18

TWO | Into The Forest

A couple of days passed, days Liam mostly spent learning. He could try out different commands, but the one that mattered the most remained a riddle wrapped up in an enigma.

He worked on it practically all day, rarely getting something to eat - barely enough not to starve. Sleep was not an option, either.

By copying parts of the command history and through trial and error, he only managed to discover what Airy had used previously. That being, spawning (and despawning) the sticky notes, pens and some other competition-related equipment. Now how to do the same with people?

He caught himself staring at the screen blankly, having his head in the clouds. He sighed, too mentally exhausted again. I guess that's it for today. He needed some fresh air, his mind felt like boiling alive.

He got off the stool and came up to the Plane, searching for the contestants. He noticed that they've grown a habit of sleeping in one another's arms or in a group hug; probably because it provided some comfort, and the ground wasn't exactly the best bed to begin with. He felt a bit more lonely just by looking at them having contact, he wished he could be embraced like that now.

Liam slowly limped out of the cave. The night had fallen, the sky filled with stars. Despite his exhaustion, he took an effort to admire the view for a minute. In this sense, he got lucky: his friends couldn't appreciate the delicate coat of the night sky. He sat on the grass, trying to clear his mind.

No wind was blowing, no leaves were rustling, even the waterfall sounds were unusually muffled. It unsettled Liam how dreadfully quiet everything seemed.

Like the world was anticipating something.

Or someone.

He got lost in his thoughts for a moment... but then something caught his attention. When he focused his eyes on the first line of trees in the forest, he saw someone hiding between them. He couldn't identify the person, but was still taken aback: did somebody find him? Was he not alone anymore?

The backpack got up and looked at the trees again.

Stone? he thought to himself.

It felt impossible that Stone could've found him here, but... so had felt everything else up until this point. And Liam was ready to believe that Stone had somehow managed to get here, that everything Liam had experienced led to this moment in an unimaginably well-thought and deeply complicated plan. Hope ignited sparks of happiness inside Liam; if that were true, ONE would end soon.

The person was standing still, just as if... waiting for him. Some part of his mind warned him about how suspicious this was, but Liam was honestly too sleep-deprived to think much of it.

Not wanting to keep Stone waiting, he strode there eagerly. But as he was approaching, the shadow in the trees blurred more and more, and when he got there, he found no trace of anybody. He looked around, confused, and spotted the same shadow further into the forest.

I must be really tired, he thought, but followed the figure nonetheless.

"Stone?!" he yelled, hoping for an answer, but he didn't get one. Oh... wait... right, he's mute...

He walked, walked, walked.

So far into the forest he might have got lost.

"Hello?" he called again, starting to think he should retreat.

But then he bumped into... a strange set of lianas.

He immediately stepped back purely because of how unexpected that was. He examined the plants closer, having to sharpen his sight because of poor light.

In front of him were... vines? He admitted they were kind of unusual for this type of a forest, as it was not a jungle, but come to think of it, was the computer in a cave any more normal? Liam stood back, dumbfounded for a while. And then he noticed another weird thing. The lianas were swaying despite there being absolutely no wind.

And... they were moving more noticeably each second. Swinging from side to side, which movements Liam followed with his eyes, intrigued. He stepped closer again.

One of the vines rose in his direction. It shook a little, and then started...changing shape at the end. Some smaller vines grew out of it; the sharp edges rounded out; it reshaped some more, until it looked like a hand, reaching out to the green backpack.

Liam was unsure how to react, but curiosity got the better of him and he lifted his own palm to touch the liana. It emanated with strange warmth, which stunned him: it really felt like a hand of another person. He rubbed his fingers against it, getting the feel of the texture.

A shiver went down his spine. Only then did Liam realise how touch-starved he really was; how he craved it with every cell of his body.

Logically, it made no sense - these weren't objects, these were some weird shapeshifting plants. But Liam was tired and didn't listen to the rational voice in his head. Because if he closed his eyes, he could imagine that someone was standing there, touching him, and that he wasn't so horribly alone anymore.

He instinctively grabbed the plant hand in both of his and continued to knead it, wanting to comfort himself. The whole world seemed so distant now... maybe because his vision was a bit watery.

Everything was going to be alright. This thing certainly knew its way around here. Surely it would help Liam. Though maybe not with the coding, unless the plants had a brain. Could they have a brain? Plants aren't intelligent, are they?

Liam's scattered thoughts stopped flowing when he felt something else.

The lianas were all around him, wrapping around his body. This wasn't comforting anymore.

He was above the ground. He shouldn't be above the ground.

Liam's eyes opened wide and his vision finally sharpened. He glanced down, seeing that the ground was very far away.

He tried moving. He barely could. His breathing quickened.

"Put me down!" he cried out.

The plant hand appeared in front of him again, tilting itself, almost as if looking at him playfully. Mocking him for being so gullible.

And then the vines around him tightened, squeezing the air out of his body, so much that Liam couldn't inhale again. Dark spots danced before his eyes and he wriggled frantically, trying to break free with every ounce of strength he had. But he felt himself weaken, and a moment later everything went black.