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Adam growled, but caught himself and lowered his volume, a frown on his face.
Although the light was dim, his left eye seemed extra vibrant, and as he perched himself on a nearby branch under the thick canopy above, he clutched his bag even tighter, absently playing with the zipper. "...but I'll go along with whatever you all think."
Adam crouches silently by everyone else, breathing heavily. He cocks his head to the side at Paul's words. Mumbling something under his breath, he clutches his backpack close to his chest.
Adam glanced over at Phillip, but quickly looked away. He wanted to talk about it. He desperately wanted to bare his soul to his friends, especially in light of their new situation, but he couldn't. He looked over at the group, focusing on their faces so he didn't have to meet their gaze. He felt tiny all of the sudden, very small. Like a mouse, running from some great big beast, his heart beating ever so rapidly in his tiny chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. When he finally snapped his mouth shut, embarrassed (he use to make fun of "mouth breathers") he bit his lip. He winced, and a single bead of blood made it's way to the corner of his mouth, then rolled down his chin. It was quite apparent to anyone looking in his direction that his top left canine was quite enlarged. And now, in the soft gleam of the embers of the fire, with whispy smoke only barley coming up, one of his eyes was strange. The pupil sharper, the iris more defined. Like a hawk's. Finally, pulling the shoulder of his shirt to his face and wiping it, he spoke. "I wish I could, guys. I really do. It's so hard to explain, but... well. I seemed like some kind of dragon was shouting. It was hard to see things...like through a gas cloud, or under water. But I could hear clearly. It had 3 voices and it talked about 6 keys. It wanted me to collect them...it also wanted me to hurt people." His voice trailed off. "If it's true that my...problems...were really visions of this place..." He shuddered. "I don't want to see that thing again."
Adam responded to Miya's question slowly. He stared over at Lydia, cocking his head to the side, almost mimicking the posture of the nearby black bird. His lip curled up slightly, looking her in the eyes, and for a moment he seemed almost predatory. It passed quickly though, and the other girl's voice seemed to bring him back. He turned to Miya. "Looking? I...I guess I'm still just taking all this in. I feel kinda woozy. Groggy like. A bit like some of the meds they tried on me at the hospital to make the voices go." He got a panicked look on his face. "My meds..." and began scrambling around on the ground going through the backpack he had with him. It was clearly almost empty, but sagged in the middle as if there were one or two things in it that were very heavy.
"Right. My pocket." he said, clutching the bag to his chest. There in the dirt he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a crumple ziplock bag, folded over several times, containing about dozen green and blue capsules. He fished one out and swallowed it dry. "Just in case this is all in my head, and that takes us home. Can't hurt, right?" he said with a crooked smile.
Adam seems to calm somewhat, although he is definitely taken suprize by Lydia's closeness. He is still tense, as is evident in his posture, and his muscles are tight. His eyes dark back and forth, as if looking for something.
Looking up to Lucian, annoyance fading to acceptance; "Well, either we got taken like chumps, or they're magic, maybe?"
"What the?... Adam says, annoyance clear in his voice. He scratches at his leg, wincing again slightly in pain. Then rubbing his eyes,
He sits down on the ground, pulling his knees to his chest and is quiet for some time.
Adam frowns at the creature, but he can't suppress the curiosity he has about the creature. He watches it carefully, watching its wings, noting how fast they beat, taking note of each movement, as if analyzing an slide of a cadaver. He flexes his fingers, and holds his left wrist with his hand, squeezing it slightly and holding back a slight twinge of pain. Then for no apparent reason, closes one eye and looks at Miya and Lucian. "Can we spare anything for the... fairy? Sheesh. Fairy." He sighs.
Following for a few moments, Adam picks up his pace and begins to walk ahead. As the three companions enter the forest, he pauses and looks up at the trees.
"Strange. Like it's a hybrid of a few different species. Never seen anything like this back home." he comments. Although he is apparently trying to conceal it, Adam shakes slightly as you all walk. Perhaps he is nervous? He slaps the back of his neck reflexively.
After what seems like about a half an hour of walking deeper into the forest, as the trees get thicker. Adam finally seems to see some sort of tracks. "Look here", he says almost too quietly. Pointing just a few feet ahead of him, there are a number of shuffled marks in the ground. He stares at them for a few moments.
"Dammnit!" He says, slapping his arm and scratching at it vigorously.
Adam nods to Miya. "Yes, whatever Josh did, I do feel much better...though..." and his voice trails off. "Nevermind. I think I'm just still a bit shocked by all of this. I mean, really? Are we all really here? It's still alot to take in." he sighs, "But I suppose we should make the best of it. The plantlife and few animals I've seen seem normal enough. I think I could probably help." "I just can't seem to shake this feeling..." he shakes his head. "It's probably just shock. We should get going."
Adam finally gets to the rest of the group, a bit out of breath. He is flushed, and dirty, apparently having rolled quite a way down the hill. His jeans are torn, and he favors his left leg quite a bit, walking slow now, as if he has twisted his ankle. His right arm is rather bruised as well and several small cuts are across his forearm. "I'm ok, I just need a minute." as he catches his breath and rights himself, wiping some of the dirt from his face and brushing back his scraggly hair. "What the hell happened? I saw some, what? Midgets? And then heard a loud crack, and barking and...sh*t, I don't know." He looks at the group and then to the farmer, seeing him for the first time. "Who's this?"
Adam collapsed to the ground as the "curtain" was pulled away and their surroundings changed once again. Looking down at the grass he dug his hand into the earth, pushing his fingers into the soft dirt and grasping a handful of the soil. He sat for a minute or so watching the grains and leaves of grass fall from his hand, then standing, he wiped his hand on his jeans and looked to his friends. There didn't seem to be any use to denying it anymore. There was something going on now, and it wasn't only in his head. Back at the hospital, he had learned that when others couldn't see what he could, he should just not talk about. His friends could see all this though, so he seemed a bit more comfortable. Nudging Philip with his elbow, he nodded to the cabin.
Then to the others, "I think you're right, Miya, Luc. We might as well ask down there. Looks safe enough...though I'm guessing all bets are off."
Even though the others seem to be affected in beneficial (yet strange) ways, Adam still appears rather nervous as he stands before his own pedestal, looking into the murky water below. He catches a glint of something there and his eyes narrow, a front coming to his already worried face. Looking up and holding his breath, he can see the image above him come into focus.
Looking to his friends, he can see their faces. Confusion, excitement, anticipation. It is almost as if they are meeting again. As if the brief time in the library was the dream. He blinks hard and takes a deep breath again. "F... it!", he says, thrusting his hand in the basin and grabbing what is there...
Adam took a moment to look around,frowning as he did. Suppressing a shiver, he took several deep breaths. He wrinkled his nose at the damp air, and looked back and forth at his friends. He looked down at the now mostly crumpled cardboard box that had contained his dvds. Taking a few steps, he stood over a copy of "Hot Fuzz", and stared at it for a moment. Remembering his own phone, he pulled it from his pocket, wincing a bit at a bruise on his hip he hadn't noticed before. He powered it on with no difficulty, and held it around. "I've got no signal either." He looked around again. "What is this? A cave?..."and trailed off. "Anyone seen my hat?"
Adam stood still for a moment, looking around with a confused expression on his face. He carefully put the dvd back in the box and set it on the table in front of him. Looking back and forth between Lucian, Jonas and Miya, be began to fidget, chewing nervously on his lip.
Adam grinned back at Lucian almost as though he knew what he was thinking. He cocked his head to the side, almost canine in his response. Pondering something or other. Adam often did that. He wondered how the military had changed his friend. If what he went through was maybe a dark mirror of that. Although it had been years, it seems almost as though it had only been days ago that they "went their separate ways" Adam wondered if that feeling was good or bad. He sat down in one of the newly upholstered chairs. Miya, Phillip, Jonas and Lydia knew that the previous year the majority of the chairs had been on their last legs, and they, along with most of the furniture had had a major overhaul. The had even added several vending machines with "healthy" snacks and drinks, not to mention better lighting. Adam dug through the old cardboard box, and as he rustled around, pushing worn dvd cases to the side he let out a quick deep "ha!" and then sighed, leaning back and holding his prize against his chest. "Well, since we're all finally back together...what about this one?" Enter the Dragon.
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