A harsh, unrelenting pounding hit Geisinger’s head with full force every second. Everything around him was blended together into a blur. He couldn’t make out anything, not with his eyes, nor with his ears.

He tried to move his head and look down at himself but he couldn’t. He was paralyzed. Nothing would move, not his head, arms, or legs.

Where was he? What was he doing?

He thought he heard someone shouting at him, but he couldn’t make out their voice or what they were saying. Whatever was coming out of their mouth went in one ear and out the other. After a while, it started to get annoying.

He heard the shouting get louder. Thankfully, the one thing he appeared able to move was his eyes, and he used them to squint and try to focus on the figure above him.

They were shouting, and with each word he could make it out more clearly. Much more clearly actually, it was becoming more like recognizable speech very fast.

“Captain!” The person above shouted.

Geisinger suddenly lifted his head up, startled and breathing heavily.

“Are you awake?”

Geisinger looked at his surroundings and saw he was in a hospital room, laying on a bed. He sighed.

“Not even in the hospital am I safe from that fucking name.”

“Sorry.” The nurse said. “I was told it would get you up.”

Geisinger reached behind with his arm and scratched the back of his head. “How long have I been in here?”

“Four hours.” She answered.

“Four hours?” Geisinger questioned. “My god, what did I… wait, my voice-”

He frantically checked his arm, feeling the metal armband wrapped around it with confusion.

“How did it…” He paused.

“Sir? Are you okay?”

“…Yeah, sorry. I just… I don’t know, I’m trying to think about what happened when I passed out.”

“You’re the head of the S.I.D. aren’t you?” She asked him. “Sorry, when I first saw your name I thought ‘that sounds very familiar’.”

“Yes, that’s me.” Geisinger replied. “What are you trying to say?”

“The doctors said your employees found you passed out on the floor in your office. They also said you had a shock cannon beside you. Does that help?”

“Shock cannon…” Geisinger repeated to himself, trying to remember. Getting stunned with a shock cannon often resulted in a foggy memory upon waking up, so he was struggling to-

Wait, shock cannon.

He turned back to the metal armband, trying to figure out how it could have possibly gotten there. No doctor would ever operate on someone under an illusion, so there was no chance they’d put it back on. Besides, the only other person that even knew his secret was-

Geisinger’s eyes went wide with horror as he turned to the hospital window.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Oh my god, Ben!”

***

In the middle of the woods, concealed under a tree, stood a collection of roses colored in blue, white, and gold. To those that have seen them, they appeared to dance in the sunlight. And as Ben watched them ever so subtly twirl around each other, she could affirm that they were right.

The roses were also deadly. Getting up close and sniffing their petals was an almost certain death sentence. Long had that been a source of many children’s tales and fables throughout history, all ending with the same message. Listen to your parents and keep away from dancing flowers.

Ben laughed as she took her third sniff of a golden rose.

Death sentence for a human, that is.

She lifted her head and smiled down at the roses. They had a very nice scent, sweet like fruit and nectar. It was a shame it wasn’t until now that she could finally appreciate it.

Though in the back of her mind, she thought that may have been for the best. Wasn’t part of the beauty in nature how brutal it was?

Turning her head, Ben took in the seemingly endless woods around her. The roses were just at the border of where the Woods of Sin began, and she knew that moving straight away from where they were facing would take her out of them, which was where she wanted to be.

The thrill seekers were right, where was the fun in being in the Woods of Sin during the daytime?

So Ben made a dash through the trees, turning this way and that, gallivanting in her newfound speed and agility. Sometimes she even jumped in the air to grab a branch, swinging herself forward with her momentum.

She loved the forest. She loved life in the forest. Civilization could never compare to this.

Ben caught her first sight of the trees ending after exactly four minutes and eighteen seconds of running. She was approaching the road that cut it very close to the dangerous forest, a little over two miles out from the roses.

She continued running toward it, wanting to get to an area with a more plentiful animal population, before she saw her wish had already been granted before she got there.

Off to the side of the road, laid a stray cat. It wandered a bit, but mostly stuck close to the road. Most animals seemed to know to stay away from the Woods of Sin. However, aside from that, it had no owner, was without any other cat to accompany it, and was all alone.

It had no way to protect itself. It was completely helpless by all means.

Ben grinned at the thought.

Her mouth began to salivate as she approached the cat. Staying low to the ground, she made sure not to make any noise and alert it, lest her prey be lost. She saw it take a few steps closer to the woods and licked her lips. It was only wandering closer into her trap. She could only imagine how juicy the meat would taste…

…

Ben stopped in her tracks, her feral look slowly being replaced with uncertainty.

The cat turned around, finally seeing her and locking eyes. It stared as if it was gazing directly into Ben’s soul.

Then it turned back to the road and continued walking along the side, not giving her any more thought.

All of a sudden, Ben heard a car coming in the distance and she quickly ran to hide behind a tree. Since the ground of the forest was a little lower than the road, there was a chance her hiding spot could work.

Ben heard the car stop and the front door open. Someone ran out and stopped a few steps away.

“Got it.” A male voice called out. “It looks young.”

“Is it sick?” A female voice asked.

“I don’t think so, they’re not biting.”

“We should probably take them to a vet just to be sure. They might have rabies or something.”

“Yeah, good point.” The male voice said.

Ben heard the man run back to the car and shut the door. Soon after, the two she assumed to be a couple took off and left without noticing her. Ben peered at them from the tree to look as they drove away.

It was a good thing they came when they did, otherwise she might have…

Ben stared down at her hands, her skin growing cold and her heart stopping.

“Oh my god.” She tried to say, but she was so quiet she could barely hear herself.

Ben’s eyes darted across the forest, hoping that there were no other animals around. Thankfully, the coast was clear, at least from what she could tell. No other animal was going to-

Ben cringed, forcing that thought out of her head as soon as it got there. She crossed the road and started running again. She needed to get out of there.

Geisinger was right.

Tears began forming in her eyes as she picked up speed.

Jacqueline was right.

***

When Jacqueline left her workplace late afternoon, she had a blank expression on her face. She was too tired, too frustrated, too… afraid to have any coherent thoughts. She just wanted to get back home and in bed. She didn’t want to think about anything.

So she drove on in silence, not even bothering to turn on the radio.

She made no hesitation as she parked her car and walked to the front door, hoping to find herself in an empty house.

Sadly, fate was not on her side that day, as she soon heard footsteps running toward her

She turned her head and froze instantly.

It was Ben.

Jacqueline jumped, shocked to see her.

“I’m sorry.” Ben told her. “Please help me.”