10) Running from your mistake

The acknowledgment of this fact seemed to be what opened the floodgates, the peace they were enjoying, no matter how creepy it is, was broken. Right as Dubs finished his sentence a shrill growl started to radiate off the walls.

The moonlight that was highlighting the floating dust suddenly burst to life and took form only to start to slowly charge at him and Dubs. A ghostly figure, clearly that of a human with limbs too long for its ragged body, a sickly pale yellow where the body could be seen. It hovered above the floor as it continued forward at a slow and creeping pace.

No wonder he couldn't find anything, they didn't even touch the ground. He could have been surrounded by thousands for all he knew. 

Skye quickly detached his hand from the roots and rolled out of the way, summoning Thorn at the same time. He wasn't a master fighter but he could at least swing a sharp stick, and that's what he did. Jumping out of the roll with his new found athleticness and with all his force behind the blow, he swung the spear in a downward arch.

The distance was a bit off, and the blade didn't hit the ghostly monster, but the part of the staff right below it where the roots connected the two. It didn't matter much though, because it passed right through it, hitting the stone underneath. Blue sparks came to life and the spirit continued forward unphased.

"I guess you can't beat a spirit to death with a stick, who would have guessed. Thank god, I've seen the way you've been looking at me recently."

Dubs finally started to chime in again, the fear of being perceived by the spirit alone must be lessened with both of them experiencing it. But he was right, you can't beat a ghost to death with a stick, but Skye still had to try.

Knowing he had no way to defend himself, he was left with his last option, getting the fuck out of there. Skye wasn't a person to quit on things when they got hard, but even he knew a hopeless situation when he saw one.

Turning his back on the spirit, he took off into a sprint and leapt out the window onto the main road clumsily, almost rolling his ankle when he hit the ground. He stumbled forward with Thorn in hand, using it to catch his balance. 

As soon as his feet hit the street the town came back alive and the neighbours came to visit. Down the block and in front of him ghosts depicting the different types of people who lived here long ago started to phase out of their homes through the walls and out the doors.. Each floating above the ground and each deformed in new and exciting ways.

Did they just watch me crawl through their homes until the timing was right??

Dubs chimed in a if he could read his thoughts

"Did they just watch you crawl through their homes until the timing was right??"

"Thats what im saying!"

Skye was able to reply even though he was still dazed and confused with the new unfolding events taking place. 

He had to get out of there and knew there wasn't anywhere to hide, so the next best option was the one he took, and he headed towards the castle. If there were sounds coming from there someone either knew how to fight these things or a bigger beast would scare them off.

Or I'll instantly die and join the community

No matter what he couldn't go back to the forest, he would be a sitting duck of the Flat Spider Cats and everything else that roams the woods. At least here the ghosts were slow.

He took off into a sprint and dodged a few swipes on his way, trying to swing Thorn a few times to see if any hits would land, but of course they didn't. Their ghostly bodies with their flat heads and overly long arms just kept moving forward.

It was hard to dodge as he ran at full speed and Skye was paying the price for it. He would dodge to the left to only have to duck and roll, getting clipped and cut along the way. It seemed like when he dodged one there was another right behind it ready to swing at his neck. He had to keep going but didn't know if he would even make it out in one piece.

He ducked under the arms of the spirit swinging wide right in front of him, only to be met with a downward slash at the claw like fingers of another

SLAM

His duck became a sideways roll in an instant to avoid bouncing his body off the ground. His bones felt the reverb of the stone under him, missing the soft loving embrace of his first foe, the tree. Wood was definitely softer than stone. He pushed himself off the ground with shaky arms, his feet pushing himself forward before being fully upright, trying to carry him to safety.

Right into another swipe coming out of a nearby house. There was no end to them in sight. He looked back down the road for a second as he propelled himself down the road.

He noticed that they didn't venture too far from the homes they originally came out of, they'd give chase and then stop in the middle of the road and stare at him flee. Behind him stood hundreds of specters gleaming in the moonlight, flickering in and out of existence. They were either bound to their homes or didn't see the point in chasing a fast moving target. It didn't matter much, because for every one he lost, two came out to join them. 

Skye could feel his chest start to burn and his muscles call out for more oxygen, he took off running too fast and out of fear continued the pace. When you're being chased by ghosts, no matter how slow, you don't really think of resource management. His arms were scraped and bloodied, a few near misses left deep cuts on his shoulder and thigh.

The spirits didn't seem to be his only problem. In the dark of some of the houses he felt like something else was watching him, something more tangible yet singular, their eyes moving in unison. Red specks appeared and disappeared along the road, almost doubling in number by every house. They kept their eyes glued to him, taking a bite with every glance yet did not dare to move.

Skye finally made it safely to the end of the houses before the foot of the hill, the opening between the castle wall and the sprawling neighbourhoods would hopefully let him catch his breath. He continued forward until the last spectre from the road stopped and stared holes in his chest. The same distance he travelled in an hour he cleared in a matter of minutes. 

His sprint had become a panting jog, which was now a body crumbling to the ground to catch his breath. He didn't know how much more he had in him but he was happy that it was enough. 

Stupid stupid stupid

He thought in unison with the pounding of his heart. 

This could have been it for me, and then 4 other people wouldn't be able to form a team and would be stuck here forever.

Skye was caught off guard by these thoughts, he wasn't really the type to put the needs of others before his own, but even while thinking about his demise he considered how it would have hurt others. Maybe his time with Claire was showing him how good it felt to be needed by others and to accept the help of a team. He wanted more of it, he wanted to be there for others more. He wanted to see how far they could go in this new world.

"Really almost kicked the bucket there a few times didn't ya?"

Dubs' voice rang nonchalant as he floated behind him, but Skye knew he was just as scared. Being in danger for the first time must have really shocked the wee fella. While Skye sprinted forward Dubs took the easier option and floated upwards and then took his sweet time getting to the finish line.

"Something tells me those spirits would be able to do you some harm too"

"Let's not go back and find out if you don't mind"

Dubs replied quickly

Skye didn't plan on it, but at the same time, he didn't really have any plans on how to get back out. Something told him that he may have no choice. Maybe if he was able to travel during the day they'd be gone, but that caused him to think.

Maybe they were the only reason those little eyes didn't come out to say hello, they could have been keeping them at bay. What would they do during the day?

Turning towards the wall of the castle with the closest moon in the middle of the sky, he set forth to find a way in.

—-

After about half an hour of searching he found a crumbled door to what looked like a servant entrance, small with steep steps into a dark room. He had no way to see in the dark so his best bet was to slowly feel around with his roots before entering.

Extending it above ground was a lot quicker than pushing it through the soil, it slid down the steps like a cautious snake, going back and forth. When it got into the dark room Skye had a bit of a silly idea but he wanted to try it.

Focusing on the tip of the root he mentally tried to go in two ways, splitting the root completely. He got the idea from connecting to the trees, seeing how their roots never were singular, always sprouting from each other and going their own way. 

And with a little more pressure his did the same. The singular root sprawling from his hand became two, then 4, then 8, all the way into 36 roots going their own way moving in all directions. They were crawling up the wall and into the grooves of the stone, over and under anything they could find. He could feel his mind start to split under the stress, being pulled in multiple directions and getting fed information that didn't connect just right. 

He felt like he was some type of corruption taking over the old room, bringing it back to nature. He didn't feel the subtle influx of mana that he did when his roots were in the ground, like they were absorbing it from the soil itself and feeding it to him. He really was just like the old trees in the forest the more he thought about it. 

But through his efforts he knew the layout of the room and where the door was leading out into the main hall. He also knew that there wasn't any movement or any shifts in the wind, like a ghost floating past or whatever those red eyes belonged to scurrying around. 

I couldn't feel the ghosts last time either and they were still there, am I really going to risk it?

The choice was made for him, a banshee scream pierced the night, he needed to hide away now. He was tired, he was thirsty, and god he was filthy. This whole thing was a bad idea and if he returned with his life he'd be happy about it.

He wasn't going to take any risks, what he did in this room he'd do for every room and hallway going forward. Creating the roots themselves didn't take much mana, and once they were in the ground they would feed back into him, creating a balance, but with no ground here it would all be outgoing. But it's better to run out of mana than to run out of life and bleed out in an old abandoned castle. 

He came here with a goal, and if he left now he would forever wonder what if. He needed to find people or tools, or anything for that matter. They didn't have the ability to create what they needed to survive. He knew Claire would understand if he came back empty handed but he kept focusing on the thought of how excited she'd be if he returned with a pot to hold water or something.

Dubs was there to bring him back to reality as he hesitated outside the door.

"Now or never hero. Time to risk our lives for a spoon or something."