"Follow me." William muttered. Mantis picked himself up off the ground and stumbled after him, clutching his head, which still ached. Drops of rain trickled down plants towards the forest floor, which was still absorbing the effects of yesterday's downpour, let alone today's.
"Where are we going?" Mantis asked. William didn't answer, but trudged on, his spear clutched in his hand. Mantis rolled his eyes and picked up the pace, until he was level with William.
"Ok, fine. But at least tell me your name."
"William."
"Cool. So, how much do you remember?"
"Not much."
"What's your earliest-" William heard a loud thump as Mantis suddenly tripped over an unseen tree root and went sprawling. "Ouch."
William chuckled. "I told you to follow me, not to try to kill yourself."
"That's easy for you to say. You've probably been here for ages," Mantis grumbled, trying to get back up. His hands slipped across the roots and he fell flat on his face.
William grinned and offered his hand to Mantis. He was beginning to warm up to the guy. "You'd be surprised. I haven't really been here for long. Probably a couple of months, at the most."
"That's still quite a while. How do you survive?" Mantis asked, brushing himself off. Mud stuck to his hair and clothes, as well as his forehead, which was now completely caked in brown.
It was raining heavily now. William started walking, avoiding the puddles that were starting to form. "I have this tube thing that you stick into trees and water drips out."
"A spile?"
"Yeah, i guess." William mumbled absentmindedly.
"What about food?"
William shrugged. "I have some supplies."
"So... How did you get here?"
"I don't know. I just woke up and i was here."
"And you had amnesia?"
"Amnesia?"
"that's when you lose your memory."
William frowned and turned, walking slowly away from Mantis. "Um...yeah."
"That's so weird." Mantis grinned, his teeth flashing. He picked his way around the roots, trailing after William. He soon heard the trickle of water as the river came into view. Rocks sat among the reeds, spots of grey amongst a world of green. Trees loomed above the two boys, cloaking the blue sky in a shroud of leaves. Hanging from one of the branches of a particularly large sapling was a small package of supplies, bound together by a thick length of rope. It was obviously William's.
William sat down next to the stream and played nonchalantly with his spear, deliberately ignoring Mantis, who kicked a tree and asked, "Is this where you live?"
When he didn't receive an answer, Mantis scowled and turned, pretending to be indifferent to his accomplice. He smiled, suddenly deciding to aggravate William. "Will? I'm hungry... I think I'll go get some of your food."
Go ahead, Will thought, hiding the mischievous grin plastered on his face. We'll see how it turns out.
Mantis frowned at William's disinterest and proceeded to climb the tree. Mantis' hands screamed in pain as the rough bark dug into his skin and cut his palms open. Once he reached the branch where William's supplies dangled, he paused, breathless. I'm really not made for this, am I?
Crawling forward on all fours, Mantis balanced precariously on the branch. Mantis wasn't especially heavy, but the branch bent under his weight, leaning over the river. Mantis' heart thumped in his chest. Why was he up here?
He inched forward... And heard a whirring sound as he was suddenly kicked into the air by an invisible force. He soared past William's head, landing unceremoniously in the river with a loud SPLASH!
Will sat in the grass and giggled, pointing a finger at Mantis. "Did you really think i would leave everything i have ever owned in a tree, unprotected?" he said, choking on his own laughter.
"I'm glad you're enjoying my misery," Mantis grunted sarcastically, wading out of the water. His teeth chattered, and he shivered, soaked to his bones in freezing water. He wrapped his arms around his body, trying to warm himself, but then he paused, confusion clouding his features. "Hold on," he muttered. "How did you do that?"
"Do what?" William asked innocently, still chuckling a little.
"You...you just pushed me out of the tree! But you... you were sitting down here! How did you do it?!"
William's eyes suddenly went dark. "You don't need to know that."
Mantis grunted and turned away from Will, who he was beginning to hate. He nursed his hands, which were covered in splinters and bleeding heavily. Why had he climbed into that tree? How did he get here? why did he have no memory?
Overpowered by the day's events, Mantis felt tears forming in his eyes, and didn't even try to hold them back. They rolled freely down his face, making his cheeks turn red. He tried not to make a noise, but a sob escaped him and he collapsed in on himself, hands pressed to his face, knees drawn up to his chest.
William heard the sob from where he was sitting. He looked up to see Mantis curl in on himself. Will remembered what his first day in the forest had been like, and instantly felt sorry for him. He had cried too, terrified of this strange, mysterious place.
Mantis' shoulders heaved. Concerned, Will reluctantly got up, carefully placing his spear on the ground as he did so. He shuffled over and sat awkwardly next to Mantis, who didn't seem to realise he was there. "Hey, Ant."
Mantis uncovered his eyes, wiping his nose with his sleeve. " Did you just call me Ant?" he sniffed.
"Yeah. Look, Ant, it'll be okay. Everything's not as bad as it seems at first."
Mantis seemed to not have heard that last sentence. He sat there, shaking, his eyes distant as he stared into space. Will, who hadn't encountered another human for as long as he could remember, decided to put an arm around the other boy's shoulder, attempting a hug.
Ant shuddered. His icy blue eyes glistened with tears. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For trying to cheer me up."
William smiled weakly, pulling his new friend closer. "No problem."
