Light shined on her back. Jessica could do little about this. There was a gap between the nightless grounds and the hill.

Even though there were trees and other cover inside the nightless grounds. With only so many hours in a day. Jessica had her hands tied on an alternative.

Moving forward with a bit of anxiety was the only choice. As her shadow gave her position away, causing her to feel uneasy about moving forward. If the nightless grounds wasn’t behind her, it was reasonable to wait for more advantageous timing.

Was and if were things that created hesitation in times when one needed to move without any. A bad choice would only be made worse with such a mindset.

Size alone caused the tree branches to reach out around the hill. Traveling at the bottom, she didn’t dare enter the hill itself. Moving to the side, she hugged the incline, staying on flat ground.

Looking up, into the darken shade, with very little light cutting through. Giving raise to unease, with the only alternative to proceed blindly. A helpless expression reached her face. Her breathing slowed as she started to take deeper breaths to calm herself.

Sparse patches of grass were being used to soften her steps on dry dirt. As her foot set down on the mix of grass strands and dirt, there was crunching. As she moved slowly, the sound was dampened. Still giving raise to a myriad of questions.

Having used tall grass just a day before. The very small patches of yellowish grass combined with the waterless dirt. The nightless ground had a large amount of vegetation. From normally seen short grass, tall grass, trees, and plants. There wasn’t any abnormal signs of drought.

If she turned around, there would be a number of trees behind her. In front of her, to both sides, showed more vegetation. It was only in this single location that lacked other healthy vegetation. It wasn’t completely void of any life, it only had small patches of dry and dying grass surrounding the hill.

While the hill, itself, was a dirt pile with a tree growing on top. The tree itself was showing great signs of health. The bark was a bright yellow, while the leaves a colorful array of blue. If not for the location of the tree, it would offer a rather breathtaking view.

Stranger still, was that the core of the foliage was standing while the outer edges showed signs of spring. However, there weren’t any leaves around. As she couldn’t see the entire thing, it was possible there were some leaves.

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Alone, this didn’t mean anything. Being a hill, leaves would easily be blown away. Though, not seeing a single leaf caused her to question the situation as strange. These thoughts were forced in, without any evidence.

By this point, Jessica had made it to the halfway point. No changes had occurred. Nothing had shown itself from the darkness. Not a single abnormal shift in the weight causing noise or sight disturbances.

Moving slowly, making it to the edge behind the tree. Releasing a large breath as she finally looked in front of her. Not having time, her attention was solely focused on the tree before. Not willing to leave it up to chance, there was the possibility of missing something by being distracted.

To the left and right were still the same views of the distant mountain and swamp, respectively. From a distance, it could be heard to tell. Looking to the right, the view of water with trees growing out of it. Land receding to a massive amount of water.

The water was somewhat difficult to see from the distance. If not for the setting sun reflecting just right off some of the water showing a greenish tint, showing signs of heavy vegetation in the water. Along with heavy pollution of what she believed to be algae.

None of this was conclusive proof. Only, the dangers of a swamp were so high that just signs of a large still body of water, possibly just a lake, or worse the product of mangroves. This was enough for her to steer her course far away. Even without any solid evidence and the unlikelihood of her thoughts.

In the far distance beyond, was another patch of trees that seemed to expand. As the sun was behind her, she had little choice but to quicken her pace. As dangerous as it was, the longer she stayed in the open, the higher probability of running into trouble.

With a clear view of the air, there wasn’t anything to be seen. From above or below. Speeding across the plain with tiny variations of height. Having to watch where she was putting down her feet weighed on her consciousness.

As the sun was showing signs of fully departing. A row of dark-colored bark and various degrees of foliage were found in front of her. Doing a quick scan, she couldn’t really find anything but a few patches of trees.

There was both a few patches, and empty space here. The density of which would increase the more one moved in. The safest place would be in between the edge and deeper parts. With time being the limiting factor, she nearly had a heart attack when she found a small family of badgers in the roots of one of the trees.

A few adults could be seen at the entrance of the roots as light and small cries of young could be heard behind them. Even when confronted with a stranger, the adults only growled with very low volumes. They didn’t try to force her out or do anything.

This tiny stand-off occurred as the edges of the hole were being plugged with small rocks. Normally, such an occurrence would likely be met with far harsher consequence. Animals protecting their young were anything but rational.

Yet, even still, they choose to ignore her in an attempt to close up the entrance of their home. Giving her a scary thought. Was it that they didn’t think she was a threat? Or was it that they knew something else was more of a threat?

As darkness gained ground, Jessica was forced to make the best of a bad situation. Having left the nightless grounds, finding a relatively healthy foliage. Setting up a perimeter alarm. Using sticks and a wire to make it.

Opting to use two sticks, she kept in her hands. Having learned her lesson the night before.