Chapter 14: The flora labyrinth

                                    

                                          
     I turned around and went in the direction I last remembered Cameron going. He probably went on ahead, looking for the remaining supplies. Although, from the impression he had given me so far, he didn't strike me as the working or running errands type.
     We were in a deep forest. Lots of trees surrounded us in the immediate area. This meant that a few steps would only be enough to get lost. Still, I moved amongst the trees. With every touch, I could feel the thick texture of the rough tree trunks as they grazed my skin. Thanks to the shade created by the endless trees around us, there was a humid atmosphere. My steps were clear and concise as I avoided tripping over any protruding roots. I was determined to find Cameron. The only thing aside from the possibility of finding a probably confrontational and difficult person was the overwhelmingly musty smell that soon engulfed my immediate vicinity. It only kept getting stronger as I moved amongst the tightly knit trees in the forest. Soon, my feet were greeted with occasional trips, not from the roots I so stubbornly looked for, but from vines. It struck me as odd. First, the unusual smell that came about as I moved on ahead, and now the vines that quickly became more noticeable the more I moved around. The last time I remembered seeing vines was not long ago near the cave exit we used to move here. If I recall, those vines constantly moved, slowly but surely, they kept a steady pace until they covered certain areas, just like the cave's exit before.
     I thought about it for a moment. The memory of Cameron pulling through the vines was still vivid in my mind, so I stopped to look at the vines around me. They were not as thick as the ones covering the cave exit, but I still paused to examine them. The ones nearest to me were stretched along the low, grass-covered floor. I bent down to see them up close. I saw no movement, at least not until I tried pulling on one. Since they were not as big as the other ones, I used little strength pulling against it. I felt some resistance, but it quickly gave out, breaking in half close to where I pulled. The part I had pulled on was still in my hand. I watched it intently for a few seconds. To my surprise, it started moving as well.
 "Hm, I knew it."
     I'm not usually one to attend to details, but in this case, it was worth investigating my hunch. These vines seemed to share the same behavior as the last ones. They seemed alive, moving slowly through the forest without attracting much attention.
 "I need to hurry and find Cameron," I thought to myself as I got up and moved on. I picked up the pace significantly this time. The anxious pessimism crept in slowly as I moved along. I had a bad feeling about what was going on. I had a knack for being right when I had a bad feeling about something, which only made me worry even more.
 "Cameron! Cameron!" I yelled.
     It had been a few minutes since I started my search for him, but I was unable to find him.
"How does a huge guy like that even disappear?" I muttered. "Damn it! I knew we should've stayed together!" I aired in frustration as I moved along the vine-covered trees.
     Soon, the trees were so covered in vines that the forest was unrecognizable. I quickly realized I was getting close to something—something dangerous. I had gone through enough problems since I arrived here to recognize a bad idea when I saw one. Nevertheless, I was way too far from Camila and Emilia, and even farther away from the second group. I wondered how they were... Were they aware of the overwhelming amount of vines in this place? It made no sense to return; Emilia was hurt, so I would only put her in danger by bringing her here, and Camila had her attention completely set on her sister. So, I was on my own. Something told me I was running out of time and I needed to find Cameron fast. As I moved deeper, I saw the vines getting bigger around me, and the occasional movements from the vines became more frequent.
     I could feel them around me, occasionally grazing my skin. Their slippery, mossy texture gave me shivers. It was all complemented perfectly by the piercing aroma coming from the front. The once humid, mossy smell had now turned into a dreadful stench that made my face squint. My eyes were in constant competition with my nose to see which was suffering more as I constantly fought off the tears trying to come from my eyes and the urge to sneeze. It was the worst smell I had ever encountered. So much so that, using my dirtied-up shirt, I tried my best to cover my nose, trying to breathe in as little as possible. The smell was potent, and my vision became slightly blurry, probably from the overwhelming stench and the lack of pure air.
     The environment around me had changed. There were so many vines around me that the forest was no longer visible. I could occasionally see what I assumed was the shape of what was once an uncovered tree or rock, but I was stepping into a vine-infested place. One that was alive. I was in a race against the clock. As I moved along the only path the vines allowed me to take, I would occasionally feel them grab onto my legs. It felt like a serpent's grasp. But it didn't feel as if it were going to trap me, It was almost symbolic in a way. The vines were telling me something. They'd grab me, coil around my leg occasionally, like a snake around its prey, but they would not feast. It was showing me that it could grab me whenever it wanted. Almost as if I were just a game to them. Or to it. I'd been here long enough to at least have an idea of what was about to unfold.
     I was in a constant struggle within my mind. A hard tug of war over my sanity ensued, as fear and anxiety pulled from the rope against my focus and calmness of mind. I already knew who the vines were rooting for, no pun intended. I felt like the walls were closing in. They, in fact, were—the vines around me slowly crept towards me, as if trying to close me in. I was too far inside; going back would probably be of no use. So, like a daredevil gambler, I put all of my survival chips on fate and pushed onward.
     I moved as fast as I could. The humidity had mixed with the slowly increasing heat emanating from the vines. My sweat constantly invaded my eyesight as I moved at a fast pace, as alert as I could be in the closing corridor created just for me. A tragic gift placed on my lap by our next enemy. We had been found. Maybe we had been watched and hunted all along. The creature had patiently waited until we separated from each other, knowing that we might be weaker that way. As luck would have it, yet again, I managed to hear sounds—signs of struggle. It felt as though a strong soul, determined to survive, fought back against life's badly dealt hand. A losing battle nonetheless. But he was far from losing yet. I was his trump card.