Nate packed up his leather bag filled with camera parts before leaving the front door. Nallie is still eating her breakfast consisting of brown sausages with buttered toast, along with a glass of orange juice.
"Make sure not to break my camera, or I'll make you pay for it," Nallie threatened with a venomous tone.
"Yeah, I know, see you later, Nallie."
Nate then took a peek outside, noting that the fresh air felt great on his skin. The sun itself was not so hot as to be unbearable, even when outside the house, and various people walking along the sidewalk experienced this gentle day.
A buzz rang in the pocket, making Nate try to reach for it, revealing it to be a cellphone. He clicked the button to receive the call; the caller was from Lucia Morgans.
"Nate! You there, Nate!? Listen, I just got word from the streets that someone that a highly valued gem is apparently hidden somewhere in Standart. I'll let you know about the details later!"
"Wait, what? Lucia, did you say something about a gem?"
"Look, if you find anything like that, I know a guy who would sell it, like a crazy amount of dough."
"Are you not smart, Lucia? It's me who will find it," said a new voice at Lucia's end.
"Dawson! You're not supposed to be here in my house. Who even let you in!?" Lucia sparsely said.
"Uh, your Mom - duh. Who else would let me in?"
Nate could only look at the time, which slightly worried him. "Lucia, I'm gonna go now, call me if you need to talk, or... something."
Lucia and Dawson continued to argue with each other like crazed chickens before Nate ended the call himself, not wanting to be in the situation more than he needed to.
Nate walks around the streets of his small neighborhood, and there he finds family friend Ollie Lisjurbule walking on the sidewalk. He briefly walks up to her.
"Miss Lisjurbule, good morning!" Nate joyfully expressed.
"Oh, dear Nate. Out taking a stroll this Saturday morning?" Ollie asked.
"Yep, I'm just going to Vivid Forest with my friends. It's for a science project at school."
"Oh? Is that so - only for homework. Well, be careful around Vivid Forest. I've heard about the haunted things about the place."
Nate and Ollie exchanged their farewells with each other, and Nate continued to walk over to the entrance to Vivid Forest.
Vivid Forest... a lush land of trees right beside the city and the coastlines, condensed enough to easily get lost in. Fortunately, though, some spots are not used by anyone, so Green Country could use any spot there to find a topic. Nate heard from last year that the city wanted to clear out some trees to build a road, but a noble family named the Nistrals opposed their plan and claimed Vivid Forest as part of their grounds.
The Nistral Family, however, went missing after an overseas trip a few months ago. However, since the land is still owned by the landowner, the city cannot take any action at the moment.
Nowadays, the forest can only be accessed by the people within the outskirts, where Quad Four is trying to search.
Nearing the front of one of the entrances to the forest are Manson and Sheila, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.
Nate approaches them from the side. "Hey guys, where are Sam and Cloey? Aren't they going to the forest too?"
"Yeah, I was trying to get them out of their houses, but both of them wanted me to go ahead. But it's not like I care or anything," Manson begrudgingly said.
"We were waiting for about thirty minutes," Sheila stated. "Perhaps we can go another time..."
"Oh no, not this time! The number of times I had to cover those two in class while keeping my grades to the bare minimum. The least they could do is show up for something to find for our science project," said Manson, while gritting his teeth.
Nate is perplexed by Manson's aggressive attitude at that moment. Maybe it's because of waking up in the morning. Nate wished that Cloey and Manson would hurry before they lose interest.
"Guys, wait up! We're not late, are we?"
Nate immediately turns back to see two people running behind them. Manson sighed in relief as both of them drew closer.
Cloey finally stopped and caught her breath. "Sorry about the lateness, everyone. I had to find my camera; I somehow lost it last night and needed Sam's help."
"It's about time - come on, we gotta go before anyone else gets the same idea as us," Manson said.
Sheila approached the latecomers with a worried expression. "I'm glad that you two arrived, but are you sure this is a good idea?"
"I know what you mean, Sheila, I do, but trust me on this one. I got a good feeling that we are going to find a great topic for the class," Cloey said.
"We don't have to worry, I'll make sure nothing goes past us," Sam said.
"With my camera, I'll make sure to get proof for the class to see."
Nate looks at the silver chrome-like camera Cloey has in her hands. He thinks it's funny that he also brought a camera with them.
"Oh - uh, by the way, I also brought a camera with us. I should have brought something else to help with the group," Nate said.
"You had a camera too? Maybe we can be camera buddy duo, like in those movies."
"I'm not sure there are any movies with a premise of only two people using cameras," said Sheila in a low tone.
"Moving on, let's just go inside and hope we find anything before it's too late," Manson cautiously said.
Quad Four slowly entered the Vivid Forest entrance, reaching the tall shrubbery that marks the true outskirts of the forest itself. But good things sometimes happen around bad things.
A trail left by many visitors remained unchanged even after some time. They followed soon after discovering the most visible trail from a distance.
Quad Four walked together as they journeyed deeper into the forest. Nate and Manson looked to be the most composed. Cloey huddled near Sam for support. Sheila's expression was that of uncertainty, something noticed by Nate.
They all noticed Vivid Forest appeared to be darker compared to the start of their path. The noises of the community animals seem to diminish as one strays further away from the entrance. Even the breezing winds that occasionally appear from time to time have seemingly vanished, as all five of them had stumbled into a zone that they should not be in.
"You know, this whole forest gives me the creeps even though 'Vivid Forest' sounds like a calm place to be in," Cloey said.
"Yeah, I thought about it, and this place is starting to make me feel a vibe," Sam said.
"Uuuuggh, Sam, you always feel a vibe. Whether it's at home, school, or anywhere else, really; it's all just the same feeling to you," Manson groaned.
"No, this time is more 'vibey' than the last few vibes, I'm sure of it this time."
"I don't even know what that means!"
Cloey briefly rushed forward and picked up something from the ground.
"Hey, guys! Look here, I found something."
The rest of the group came to see what Cloey had found. Inside the palm of her hand is a small, black clump of a hardened substance.
"Is that some sort of rock?" Nate questioned, his face a puzzled look.
"It doesn't look like any rock to me. It looks so refined, as if it were made by a person's hand," Manson stated.
Sheila took a closer look at the thing on Cloey's palm.
"This thing... There is a possibility that this is a part of some armor, like what they wore in the past," Sheila inferred.
"An armor piece. What's this doing here in the forest?" Nate asked.
"Maybe we could use it for our biology class," Sam said.
Manson stared at Sam as if he had done something that he wasn't supposed to. "I don't think this is worth anything in biology. It's probably some useless junk someone dropped before us."
"This is so sad... and here I thought we finally had something important for our topic," Cloey sadly muttered.
"Let's not give up hope yet. We still have more time to explore the place," Nate said.
"I guess you're right..."
Quad Four continued on its path despite the slight changes in scenery. Nate chose to stay close to Sam and Cloey.
"Cloey, if you don't mind me asking, why do you always wear pink clothes?" Nate asked.
"Pink clothes? Me? I mean, I'm obviously not that obsessed with pink. I sometimes change into dull colors too, kinda like what Manson is."
"Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult? I can't tell," Manson snarked.
"Cloey, isn't your room covered in every shade of pink possible?" Sam questioned.
"And don't forget how you always write on paper with only pink gel pens, or even pink colored pencils."
"Oh, you're right. Wait, don't tell me... am I really that crazy about the color pink!?" Cloey spouted. "Guys? Please tell me that's not the case?"
Silence surrounded the entire group, making Cloey view her obsession with pink with horror.
"No worries, it can't be that bad, and even if that's the case, I could probably control myself. Yeah, that's got to be it."
Nate and the others could only smile in approval while he doubts in his mind about Cloey.
"Hey, Nate, I saw your sister yesterday..." Sam said.
"Yeah? Where at?"
"Hattie Hummer's Ice Cream Shop. Didn't know she went there."
"Hattie's!? I go to that place too. Like I usually order strawberry, especially with the pink frosting on the top. Oh, I wish that there would be pink whipped cream to top it all off," Cloey quickly spouted.
"Do you think Nallie likes strawberry flavor too, Nate?"
"I'm sure she doesn't like strawberry flavor as much as you do, Cloey."
Sam tapped on Manson's shoulder. "Manson, what about you? What's your favorite type of flavor? Come on, tell us."
"Not interested."
"Please tell us, at least give us a hint," said Cloey with her eyes so emotional that it gave someone a severe case of heartbreak.
"Guys? Do you feel something weird?"
Sheila stopped dead in her tracks upon saying that. She seemed more pale than usual, along with her hands shivering.
The rest of the group goes to the front to see what's going on.
"What's wrong? Why did we stop suddenly?" Cloey asked.
Nate approaches Sheila. "You said you felt something. What do you mean by that?"
"I don't... I don't know exactly what it is, but it's I'm just getting a strange feeling about this place."
"A strange feeling, so like a vibe? Is it a bad vibe or a good one, because I can only handle good vibes," Sam stammered.
"Sheila, you always worry about everything. Sure, the forest is kinda scary, but it's just a place with all kinds of rumors," Manson reassured. Sam closed the distance between him and Cloey.
"You mean the stories from Lucia and Marlene? I thought they were true," Cloey said, with a shocked face.
Manson rolled his eyes at what she said. "Wasn't it obvious that Vivid Forest is just a normal forest? Nothing happens here, and I doubt anything will happen now."
"But the name 'Vivid Forest' sounded so magical; I thought for a minute that it was real."
"You know how both Lucia and Marlene are. Lucia's always doing those shady deals with dangerous people, and with how Marlene would especially lie about something like this," Nate told her. "But, Cloey, don't feel bad, though. I almost fell for it."
"I guess so..."
As soon as Cloey and the others continued forward, Nate's mind suddenly lapsed into a mix of feelings. He had to take a few steps back before someone held his shoulders as support. Sheila stood behind Nate, her face expressing the same feeling as his.
"Nate, you felt it too, didn't you. You stumbled the same way that I did..."
"Hey, this feeling," Nate mumbled, before witnessing Sheila's face become stiffer as she looked around. "Sheila... You are much more serious about this right now. Is there something here with us, or someone...?"
"I know that something's here; it's like I can sense it somewhere around the forest."
Nate frantically looked at the area around them, noting the trees becoming closer in proximity with one another, basically offering almost a tiny space to get through that a person would need to wiggle their way to get to the other side of the trees. His heart rate is becoming more wild in its rhythm, making his chest vibrate almost like it is about to collapse into ruin.
Cloey, Sam, and Manson are ahead of both of them by a few meters. As Nate tried to focus more on the rest of the group, his vision started to blur more. Black spots appear to dance in his vision, hitting the outer tips of his perspective like ping pong balls bouncing against walls. Nate can only look at Sheila, who appears to be still standing straight with no harmful side effects whatsoever.
Sheila... What's happening? Wh-Why are you-... why is everything so dark now? I feel like I'm gonna pass out. What's even happening to me? Where are the others? Are they okay?
Nate could only stand there while pondering what Sheila and he were feeling. He now knows that something's wrong with this section of the forest, that they strayed further than they were supposed to. If only Nate and the others had listened to Sheila in the first place, they would have been able to avoid this.
Sheila shook Nate barely back into consciousness, his head in particular still swirling.
"Sheila, we need to leave right now. I can feel something's here."
"What about the others, Nate? We can't just leave them, we need to get them back before something happens," Sheila worryingly said.
"What!?" Nate looked around the forest to try to trace a single view of their friends, but no one except him and Sheila was present.
Sheila holds her arms tightly to her chest. Her breathing became more erratic as she looked to be incredibly aware of the things around her.
"Nate, this feeling is getting stronger."
"I know," Nate replied. "Just stay close, and we'll look around for the others."
Nate looked back at what Lucia had said. Something she mentioned was something valuable around here. Also, he remembers distinctly what she said about Vivid Forest as a whole, as well as what Marlene mentioned, even though Nate thought they were lies. The story around Nistrals: did Nate and his friends go too far, and were they on the grounds of that family on the coast?
Vivid Forest. I thought it was a place with nothing going on despite the name. Maybe a gas leak from the sky before is also here right now. To think that something unusual like this place had existed for a long time, huh?
Nate and Sheila began their search for their friends. Even though light shines through the canopies of the trees' leaves, Nate's vision is still hindering his senses, but even with that in his way, he still had to find his friends before something bad happens.
Nate had to think of why, now of all times, that they had this feeling in the forest. He noted that Sheila had a feeling even before entering the front of Vivid Forest. Why were there no other cases of this from years before?
With all the questions in Nate's head, he is focused on the path straight through the forest with Sheila, desperately wishing for this to be a normal day without anything bad happening, but even Nate couldn't brush off the fact that something's wrong in Vivid Forest, and they might be near the source of it.