My Homies Have Turned into Gorgeous Babes?! (16) - I Can Fix You (Patreon)

Two days. Two days of walking.

And nothing.

Just trees, more trees, and the occasional bush that looked suspiciously like it wanted to eat us.

The initial burst of manic energy had long since faded, replaced by a grueling, mind-numbing trudge. We had to leave the safety and familiarity of the clearing and the lake behind, which had been a hard thing to do.

My injuries had mostly healed, to my astonishment. Well, not healed like they were never there. The gashes in my side and arms were now scabbed over, a network of angry pink lines that itched like hell. The dull ache in my ribs had subsided to a faint stiffness. I could move, breathe, and even swing my sword without wanting to cry.

Not to mention the plethora of tenderized meat in my legs and arms that, while no longer making me cringe in pain, still served as a reminder to my very own folly and how close I'd been to kissing the grass for good.

It was unnatural, this rate of recovery. Back on Earth, I'd have been laid up in a hospital for weeks, probably with a tube sticking out of my chest.

I couldn't help but think, once again, that Theo had somehow contributed to my miraculous recovery.

Or maybe this world just has a weird way of healing people. Or maybe it was my own delusional self, but I didn't care.

The Silver Talons were a constant source of... well, not quite amusement, but something close to it. They were utterly baffled by our group dynamics, by our casual conversation about dragon dicks, and by our complete lack of any survival skills beyond 'hit it until it stops moving'.

I, personally, couldn't care less about their confusion. I was still on my 'bacon cheeseburger' high, and I was determined to see it through.

"Are we there yet?" Jeremy whined for the tenth time that hour.

"No." Oliver and I said in unison.

"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked, peering at the map again. "This sad penis tree looks exactly like the last sad penis tree we passed."

"That's because we're in a forest, Jeremy. All trees look the same." Oliver deadpanned.

"What..."

"All sad penises look like sad penises." I chimed in.

Jeremy shot me a look. "You're not helping."

I shrugged. "I'm just saying."

She sighed dramatically. "This is the worst adventure ever. I want to go home."

"Me too." Theo piped up, her small voice barely audible over the crunch of our boots on the dry leaves. "I want a cheeseburger too."

"We're getting a cheeseburger, Theo. I promise." I said, my voice a low, comforting rumble.

She nodded resolutely at my words, grim determination written all over her face. The promise of a cheeseburger was a powerful thing.

"Let's take a break." I announced, gesturing towards a small clearing. "We've been walking for hours."

Oliver practically collapsed onto a fallen log, her face a mask of exhaustion. Jeremy, on the other hand, was still buzzing with energy, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "Come on, come on. We can't stop now! We're so close!"

"We're not close to anything, Jeremy." Oliver groaned, rubbing her temples. "We're lost in a magical, monster-infested forest with a map drawn by a five-year-old. We're the opposite of close."

"It's... it's not drawn by a five-year-old..." Lyra mumbled, looking hurt. Almost as if she had drawn it herself.

Oliver shot her a look that could curdle milk. Lyra immediately shut her mouth.

I leaned against a tree, my sword resting on my shoulder, and watched my friends. Theo, clearly exhausted, had plopped herself on the soft ground, staring sullenly at the leafy debris. The Silver Talons were stretched out next to one another, sitting in the sunlight, their wounds seeming better after some well-earned rest.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, Oliver was right.

We were the complete antithesis of close. We had no idea where we were going. No idea what we were doing. Even worse, we were just running straight towards a danger we knew almost nothing about.

Maybe not the brightest plan, in hindsight.

Admittedly, it'd been a rather spur-of-the-moment type of decision, mostly based on our instinct to survive and get out of the god-forsaken woods as quickly as humanly possible, to hell with the consequences. And we had followed through, trying our luck, mostly running and hoping to God we didn't get lost, killed, or eaten.

It was a shitty situation, I tell you.

I hadn't had a proper shower for days. There was no toilet paper and no warm bed, and this place was pretty terrifying overall.

But hey, at least we had each other.

And the promise of bacon.

I was jolted from my thoughts by a strange, sweet smell that wafted through the air. It was a sickly-sweet, almost cloying scent, like overripe fruit left to rot in the sun.

"Ugh, what is that smell?" Oliver wrinkled her nose.

"It smells like flowers." Theo said, sniffing the air.

"Flowers that died and then were pissed on by a diabetic badger." Jeremy offered, ever the poet.

We all stood up, on guard. Reasonably so. A sudden, shitty scent in a forest that had been smelling of pine and damp earth was never a good sign. It was like being in a horror movie and hearing the spooky music start playing. You just knew something was about to pop out and try to eat your face.

The Silver Talons were on their feet as well, their hands on their weapons, their faces pale with fear.

"What is that?" Isolde whispered, her eyes wide.

"Aren't you the adventurers here, shouldn't you know?" Oliver turned towards them. "You're supposed to be the experts."

"We've never smelled anything like this before." Lyra said, her voice trembling. "It's... wrong."

"Well, 'wrong' is our specialty." Jeremy said, a grim smile playing on her lips. "Let's go investigate."

"Are you insane?" Oliver grabbed her arm. "No. We're not 'investigating'. We're going the other way. Very, very fast."

"I concur with Ollie. Wherever this stench is coming from is not a place we want to be." I said, my grip on my sword tightening. Jeremy blinked, then opened her mouth to argue. I shut her up by grabbing her arm and giving her a hard look. "No, Jeremy. Not this time. We're already in a bad spot as it is."

She stared at me for a moment, her jaw set in defiance. Then, she deflated, her shoulders slumping. "Fineee—uhhh?" She blinked when I tugged at her arm, firmly urging her to walk faster. She tilted her head, glancing between me and my fingers firmly wrapped around her soft, squishy bicep. She smirked. "Seb. Seb. Seb. I can walk perfectly fine. You know that, right?"

I rolled my eyes but loosened my grip. "Walk then."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners. I ignored her.

And so we fled the scene.

Or so we thought.

The scent grew stronger as we walked, and the forest around us began to change. The trees became gnarled and twisted, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers.

The sunlight struggled to pierce the dense canopy, casting long, distorted shadows that danced and writhed on the forest floor.

It was quiet. Too quiet. And we all knew that, in horror stories, 'too quiet' was never a good sign.

The rustle of leaves, the chirping of birds and wildlife, the buzzing of insects—it all ceased. The silence was so unsettling, it was almost a physical presence. "That can't be a good thing..." I heard Theo whisper.

And then... the rustling.

Like the hiss and crackle of burning leaves, or dry sticks being crushed beneath heavy feet.

We all tensed, exchanging worried glances.

"Don't. Move." I hissed between gritted teeth.

At that exact moment, there was the loud snap of a branch behind us, and we collectively froze. My heart thundered in my chest, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I gripped the sword tight, my knuckles white from the effort.

"Seb. You've got a badass sword." Jeremy's voice was an urgent whisper. "You've gotta go check."

"Why me?"

"Because... well... you look manly and fierce and cool!" She gestured vaguely with her free hand. "Now go!"

I stared at her, at a loss for words.

"We believe in you." Theo and Oliver nodded vigorously, but remained rooted to the spot.

Growls and snarls slowly reached our ears. Shrill, grating screeches split the air and made my hair stand up. It was a chilling sound. A cold sensation ran down my spine like a drop of ice water. 

I kept the sword pointed, holding my breath and tensing all of my muscles.

Until the rustling stopped.

"Let's just get out of here!" Oliver yelled, grabbing Theo's arm and pulling her back. They were in full flight mode. "Run!" 

Jeremy and I exchanged a look and nodded, then turned and ran after the others. The Silver Talons lagged a little, as if it took them a few extra seconds to register what was happening before they bolted.

Branches whipped and cracked as we rushed past. I was certain there was something moving amongst the shadows. Nothing tangible, perhaps. A smudge in the corner of my eyes. 

My lungs burned as I panted, heart hammering against my ribs, but I knew we couldn't afford to slow down, even if only for a second. We picked a random direction. Straight ahead. It was darker there. Then left. Right. Left again.

We ran.

In circles, maybe.

I stared ahead, eyes darting left and right, taking in the gradual shift in the vegetation.

As if nature itself had begun to rot around us.

Everything was a dark, sickly green. The trees. The leaves. The air itself. Even the ground seemed to ooze with a sickening ichor. It looked as if a massive, noxious pool of pestilence had exploded. It smelled, at first, of the musky, sweet scent of rot, mixed with the musty aroma of decaying plant material.

A swamp?

Great. Just fucking great.

And, of course, the deeper we ran, the more the smell hit us like a wet corpse wearing too much perfume.

Oliver gagged first. “Oh Jesus fuck, that’s disgusting.”

Jeremy clapped a hand over her mouth and nose. “Nope. Nope. Turning around. New plan. We live in the woods forever. I’m fine with that.”

"......"

I gritted my teeth as a high-pitched whine rang in my ears, seemingly only within my own head. 

"Don’t be afraid… please don’t be afraid of me."

My eyes went wide open. "Did you say something?" I turned towards Jeremy, who stared blankly at me.

“No?”

“Shit.”

I lifted a hand to grasp at my own temple, grimacing. 

"Are you okay?" Oliver frowned next to me, running a little behind, along with Theo; they were the slowest group members, so we had to hang a bit back to keep the entire herd together.

"Yeah... I'm fine. I think so—"

"Over here, darling..."

No. It was nothing.

Nothing!

"Everyone always runs."

"......"

The voice followed me like smoke.

“I’ve waited so long… and you came so close.”

There was an edge of despair in that tone, a note of sadness so poignant that it made my heart clench. Like listening to someone on the verge of tears.

“Why do you run from the one who loves you already?”

“......”

"What's wrong with you? Have the beasts devoured you? Have the bile blight rendered you mad, you poor lover? Have these precious dreams gone sour and bitter in your heart?"

The ground turned soft under my boots. One step it was leaf-litter, the next it was cold, sucking mud. Cypress knees rose around us like crooked gravestones. The trees leaned inward until the sky was only a thin stormy ribbon overhead. What the actual fuck. 

“I waited." The voice trembled, and the sorrow was ancient. “I waited through every season that ever turned without you. I kept the flowers. I kept the dress. I kept the vows. And every year another guest arrived… and left. They always leave.”

Something giggled through the forest, a distant, girlish, soul-wrenching laugh. I tensed, whirling towards the noise, sword raised.

"Your steps falter… do you hear me better now?"

I nearly stumbled to a stop. Everyone around me slowed. Some of them were already coming to a halt. A heavy weariness weighed down on my limbs like chains. It felt like we were slogging through quicksand.

"Wha... what's going on...?" Theo groaned next to me.

"Please come back, my dear... don't you know how cold I am?”

The voice was the same, but rambled on mindlessly. 

Ever closer. 

So, so much closer. 

"You're different, aren't you? You're not afraid. You’re warm. You’re alive. Please, don’t look away. Please don’t go.”

“Seb.” Oliver hissed, gripping my wrist so hard her nails dug into my skin. “Something is wrong with this place.”

No shit.

But I didn’t say that aloud, because the voice vibrated in my skull again. Soft, trembling, like a lover whispering into my hair while standing inches too close behind me.

“Don’t leave me in the dark again…”

I staggered. 

The world tilted. For a horrifying moment, I swear I felt fingers—icy, delicate fingers—press against my jaw, brushing the line of my cheek.

In front of us, the swamp rippled as something began to emerge.

“I can fix you…”