Mark walked with a strange sense of existing within an alien world. The forest was quiet; the trees loomed from above, spires casting deep shadows all around them. It reminded him of walking through downtown after dark, it might have held some more eeriness to it if not for the company.

Some douche named Daniel had self-assigned himself the position of “leader” of the people who’d left in search for food and/or help. Tall, lanky, and with a growing bald-spot on his head, the man had claimed it without hesitation as the only teacher in the “team”, he’d just kept insisting on being the one to tell the others what had to be done, and how. No one cared to tell him that walking at the front of the others also meant potentially being the first to meet any possible monster that crossed their path.

Mark was more focused on Barry. His younger brother had a limp he was trying to hide. But it was clear he was slowing down the others. That fact made Mark wonder whether it’d been the best idea. He did not wish to leave his sibling with the hag, but more importantly, he didn’t want to leave him in that deathtrap. But the limp was worrying, he hoped it would be manageable.

“If not for the hair, I’d have a hard time believing you’re brothers.”

“We get that a lot.” Barry quickly smiled at Veronica. “We have different mothers.”

“So the one back there…?”

“Not really any of your business.” Mark hissed, peering at the dark-haired woman and scowling.

“She’s just asking… and she’s our aunt, it’s complicated.”

“No, no, Mark’s right, it wasn’t my place to ask.” She wasn’t apologetic, just twirling a lock of hair, glancing around the forest. “What do you figure the next thing we encounter will be?”

“Next?”

“You know, there was that spider that ate glasses-guy. Then the bat that got eaten by the cat. Then the cat. I’m betting on hogs.” A slight smirk followed. “Hog women, or maybe there’s going to be a male monster sometime soon?”

The younger Dodson grimaced, becoming pale. “Are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Don’t you ever get those flights of fancy of wanting to go someplace else? We ARE someplace else. This is as weird and wild as it gets.” A cackle left her, the sound bouncing all around them.

“Not like this.” Barry shook his head with haste.

Mark rolled his eyes. Not that he could escape Veronica’s attentive gaze. “And you?”

“Waste of time to think about that.”

“Not like we have better things to do.” She shrugged, but didn’t push for conversation any further.

The elder brother’s attention shifted away from her and Barry, turning to the rest of the group. There was an air of nervousness, their eyes peeled and attempting to look into the woods, there was something almost funny of how clear it was they wished to be able to see through the wood of the massive tree trunks. The amusement was interrupted when Mark heard a hissing sound, looking over his shoulder, he noticed Veronica had stopped and pulled out a… can of spray paint? She’d drawn a single line across the tree trunk, bright yellow and a glaring contrast to the brown and dark greens of the forest all around.

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“What’s that for?”

“It’s easy to get disoriented in a forest you don’t know.” A shrug. “Besides, if we can’t make it back, it could be a good way for the rescue team to find our bodies.”

“What… about the smell?”

Barry’s words got an arched brow out of Veronica. “It’ll dissipate soon enough. And it’s not going to get far with how stale the air is.” She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand, drawing a line on the next tree.

“Experience hunting, huh?”

“Just a little.” She shook the spray can. “Not that I’d thought of using this for something actually useful.”

“You were going to graffiti at the mountain?”

“It’s a tradition.” Veronica chuckled. “Sophs get the trip to the big rock, and the ones looking for some fun find the fuck-cave. Then they do the do and paint their names there.”

Barry stuttered and blushed, looking the other way and scratching his head with awkwardness. Mark hid his frown as he noted the mirth in the young woman’s lips as her gaze become distant for a second. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, there was something that certainly felt out of place about her.

“And… you came with someone?” The younger sibling’s question rung in the air as he kept his gaze lowered.

“Meh, doesn’t matter anymore.”

Not wanting to bother himself with the conversation, Mark returned his focus to the forest that surrounded them. The roots were a hassle when it came to walking, too clear a tripping hazard if one didn’t pay attention. Thick and large, the trees looked like someone had wanted to make the plant life as big as they could, and then some. And this size kept feeling too out of place, his eyes looking upwards every other second, like some damn tourist lost in a big city, every skyscraper a new sight to behold.

Except these were more dangerous, holding unseen threats he was certain he didn’t want to meet. Not that he’d be given a choice. Would some other spider drop out of the trees without them noticing? Had that been a rustle? Movement? Or just the wind? Was it something else? It made Mark want to frown, squint, stop, and stare. But he couldn’t really do that with every single twitch that frayed his nerves.

His only sense of reassurance lay at the bottom of his backpack, a distinct weight, heavy, and metallic. He’d thought of bringing it out and keeping it in his pocket, but there was little use there. It might fall, or worse, it might draw the attention from the others, and then a fight might break out.

“Yeah, I’m nervous too.”

Barry reached out to clench Mark’s shoulder, the younger, paler sibling putting up a reassuring smile. The sound of crunching twigs was all that could be heard for a very long second.

“You’re always afraid.”

“Shut up.”

Chuckling, Mark shot an upward look one more time, staring at the glimpses of blue sky from between the tree tops that stood at what felt the edge of the sky. It took him a long moment before he frowned slightly. “I wonder if there’d be any way to climb these and get a good vantage point.”

Veronica glanced up and whistled. “Not unless you plan to spend a day or two doing it.”

“Two days? Seriously?”

“These things look two hundred meters tall, maybe more. Two days might be a low-ball unless you’re good at it and don’t need to sit down to recover your strength every handful of minutes.” Her gaze flickered at Barry at that last comment, the younger sibling didn’t notice it.

“What, you a rock-climber as well?” Mark snorted.

“My ex was, wouldn’t shut up about it. Guess some things stuck even though he kept boring me to death.”

“So you’re… single?” Barry paused.

Veronica rolled her eyes, stepping past the shorter sibling, moving ahead and twirling her black hair. Mark glanced at Barry and sighed, slapping the back of his younger brother’s head.

“What?” The younger man asked in confusion, not receiving an answer from either party.

They kept walking.