Cabin in the Woods

T"Well, we can't split up to search, because someone will just get lost again. Why don't we stick around here for a while and try to figure out what they did?"

R"This isn't where they stopped marking the trees. Nero was marking with an 'N,' remember?"
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N"And what about you?"

*He shines the light in Euryale's direction. They've now zig-zagged a few times, and still can't see any tree marks.*

E"Yes. I gave you my 2 most likely explanations for the strange talking fire. What more do you want from me?"

*Cameron shines his flashlight at tree trunks, trying to find marks*

Monu:<Let's calm down guys, no need to get heated.>

Azuma: "And I made lightning bolts. I continued where Nero left off and explained my reasons for stopping. Pretty poor reasoning, but it's what happened."

*And so they head back to the last mark that Nero has made. Thiera looks around, seeing the trampled brush in 2 directions.*

T"I don't see any sign of what might have made them abandon the path."

*They hear a crash.*
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*Something large and heavy drops from the trees & lands beside Taiyo with a crash. Nero turns & waves the torch about, trying to figure out what it is. Euryale leans to the side when it comes close to her face.*

E"Careful! Are you trying to start another forest fire?! Look, it was a tree branch."

*She points down to a branch, with some of the leaves still swaying gently from the fall.*

E"Are you all right, Taiyo?"

Azuma: "Some spooky shit. We saw a light and heard some chatter, thinking it was them. Mimiru went on ahead as we were falling behind with the marking then some more spooky shit got us lost."

Mimiru: "What was that?"

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Taiyo: "Y...yeah."

Hector shined his own light towards where he thought he had heard the crash come from, "I don't know, it sounded like something falling."

Stefan looked upwards, searching for something that might have caused a fall.

*All he can see is darkness.*
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R"We could go check it out. Maybe it was Nero."

Azuma: "Or more bullshit, but why not?"

"Okay," Hector said, beginning to move in that direction. "Is anybody going to mark trees?"

Stefan furrowed his brow and looked back at the others.

*After some walking, both groups see light.*

Azuma: "Could be them. Or some other nonsense. Let's check it out."

Hector was already heading towards the light.

Stefan pointed to the light, "Hey, look, do you think it is another... thing?"

Monu:<Let's find out, and hopefully solve this mystery once and for all.>

N"I'd really rather not get horribly lost again."

E"HEEEEY! IS ANYONE THERE?!"

N"Would you please stop doing that?"
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E"HEEEEY! IS ANYONE THERE?!"

R"Hey, that sounded a lot like that girl. The one with the big...height."

*Monu and Cameron join in*

Monu&Cameron:<HELLO?!?>

Azuma & Mimiru: "Hey!"

Azuma: "Sounds like a good sign."

*And so the 2 groups are reunited.*

R"Why did you guys just start running off into the woods? And why are you carrying a torch?"

E"Nero saw--we saw a light and heard voices, so we started after them. And we were worried about the batteries in our flashlights running out."

R"Oh yeah, I guess it HAS been a few hours...."

T"Fortunately, my lantern is rechargeable."

Azuma & Mimiru switch off their flashlights.

Azuma: "And I bet not everyone brought fresh batteries. I don't recall if I did."

Taiyo: "Can we go back to the cabin?"

Monu:<I hope you did a better job of marking the way back than we did.>

*Cameron switches off his flashlight*

N"Hey, if I'd stopped to mark every tree, I would have lost sight of them. God damn, you people are like broken records."

E"We have a trail, now, let's just go back."
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*Back at the cabin, it has been nearly all night.*

"So, these lights and voices," Hector said, beginning to head back. "What happened to them?"

Astarte continued to be asleep on the couch, while Eduj had retired to his bed.

Azuma: "Losing them might have stopped you from getting lost."

N"Shut up, I was trying to find a way out of this goddamned forest."

E"They just vanished when we started getting close to them."

Azuma: "How'd that go?"

"Strange," Hector glanced into the darkness. "I think we can be sure that nobody was living in the cabin before we arrived. And our missing people wouldn't just run away."