Menka and the Belligo: Part Two

by chromefox

I pointed to some thick, green shrubbery. I guess at the time, I was too tired, bored, and hungry to realize that bushes like that were unusual in a completely dead forest. Shanter trotted over to the shrubs and sniffed, inspecting them. He stuck his head inside to find a Negg. He found nothing. He looked at me and started, "Th-" He looked back. There were no Neggs. There was no bush.

"HUH?"

I walked over to him. "Where'd it go?"

"I don't know! It just disappeared!"

"That's weird!"

"No kidding!"

I was getting a little scared, then. "L-l-let's just walk on, Shanter. Uhh...We'll get back sooner." Shanter looked back and replied, "I'd feel better if you'd turn on your flashlight."

It was getting darker, so I took off my backpack and pulled out my flashlight. Flipping it on, I directed it toward him. "Let's go."

It was nearly pitch black by 8:30. The eerie-looking trees were barely discernible. We walked on for a half-hour. Then, I heard some rustling from in the distance.

"You heard that, Shanter?" I asked.

"Yeah. I bet it's a little Chia. Can I go chase it?" replied Shanter.

"No. I'd probably never find you."

"Gaak! But I'm SO HUNGRY!"

"SO AM I..." replied...a voice?

"Whawazzat?!" Shanter and I yelled in sync. We had just heard a strange, low voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere. I decided that we needed to keep calm, so I teased, "I bet it was the Bellllliggooo, ooh!"

Shanter laughed shakily. "Y-yeah. Glurrrgha!!"

"I bet it was one of those mischievous forest Chias. They always speak in weird voices from up in trees to scare people and pets that walk by."

"I've heard of those before. Yeah, that's it."

We walked on, both convinced that there was a forest Chia in our midst. We didn't hear any voices for another half hour, just rustling, which we both ignored. Finally, I spotted an opening in the woods with my flashlight. Was that the end?

"Hey, Shanter!" I shouted. "Look! That must be the end of the woods!"

"Wow, this was way easier than I expected!"

"C'mon!"

We both began running, excited that we were finally out of this strange forest. I was first to reach the end. But I looked around. The "end" was a circle of flat ground surrounded by thick brush and huge trees, completely unpassable.

"Whah-?! It's a dead end!"

Shanter reached me and looked around. "Awwww!"

"This is weird. This couldn't have happened naturally."

"It's completely flat..."

To be continued...