A Lonely Hell Tree (Old Version) *2.0 title will be "Crosswalk to Panic"

Chapter 6 - Wrong Brick Road

       A/N: Y'all, I'm literally drawing a version of what I think the map would look like, just so y'all could have a nice visual. My arms and back are all broken, but it's worth it! I think. It's very detailed so it may take me longer than I'd like it to. I don't believe y'all particularly need the map to understand this chapter but if you want to wait to read it, it's fine. -4/11/22

       Although the strawberry lad had turned the stationery around, it clearly wasn't the same map. "Curious..."

       This map wasn't the first one track, one path, children's make. It seemed that overnight, it grew up into a surprisingly detailed and complex map. This caused the assumption that this 'LaLa Land' was just as complex. Not only was this chart less simple than before, but it had also grown much longer and larger. Was this really the same map? Did something switch the original out? If so, who, what, when?.. Kaden flipped back on top of the thick tree branch and sat upright.

       As Kaden studied the chart, something dawned on him. He lifted it up to the sunlight and a new path was revealed. The right path. When put against a light source, a faded blue line appeared, stretching through the maze of passages that were supposedly around Kaden and Akari. "Hahe–There really is something wrong with this map, Nightlight.", Kaden chuckled as he was right. Nightlight was a pet name Kaden would occasionally call the maiden, as one meaning of the name Akari is 'lights'.

       Kaden carefully jumped down to the grassy field to walk to his dear Nightlight. "What do you mean?", the long-maned girl asked? As he stepped closer to Akari, Kaden held the page with his arms outstretched and slipped them over Akari. One limb hung above her shoulder, and the pair were pulled closer together. Again, Akari's big, lush, ginger hair was stuffed in her partner's face. He didn't mind much of course, it was more that he enjoyed being able to smell it. 'This same fragrance never gets boring, the smell of sunshine with a tint of orange', Kaden commented to himself.

       Placing her right hand on the strawberry boy's forearm for support, she scrutinized the sheet. "That's not it either.", Kaden reminded her. Raising it up, he explained his theory on the map switch and the 'blue brick road'. "Mn,"

       "Move a bit, will you?", Akari said as politely as possible. "Yes, ma'am.", Kaden unlinked his firm arms, and stepped aside. Our lass took the space to sift through her satchel, searching for something to formulate her ideas on. In short, a pen and paper. Sadly, she couldn't find any paper or a card to write on, then she realized there was another option as she wasn't to dirty her own arm.

       Stepping toward the young man, she left her hand hanging in front of him, clearly demanding something. "Could I borrow your arm, dear?", Akari said with a tint of sarcasm.

       "All my appendages and everything connected are yours, gladly Love," Kaden took the maiden's hand and spun her around, ending with her back to him. Kaden slightly bent closer to Akari's ear and whispered, "How about yours to me?" with a sneer on his handsome face.

       Akari could have exploded with Valentine's themed lava, drying into hearts. With a flushed face, and warm tickles in her stomach, she held her breath, again. "Am I really so seductive that you forget to breathe, or am I just stinky?", Kaden suddenly backed away jokingly. 'No..you smell too nice for someone who's been out in the wild with me for a week.', Akari internally replied. "I still need your arm. Oh, and can you keep that map lit?", Akari stated bluntly. She gently lifted his forearm and started scribbling out a plan. "Relative to our map, we're in this spot, point A. The blue line began right here, Point B. We're clearly past point B by a mile or so according to the key. But, if we move forward, there's an area where our path and the blue road intersect. That's clearly where we'll go."

       "Mhm.", Kaden mumbled. He obviously knew this already.

       Akari glanced up at strawberry boy, "I'm not done." Kaden wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger as he played with it. "The fact that you're a ginger reminds me of gingerbread cookies, Love.", he spouted, afterwards a chuckle. 'That's right, Kaden loves those. Perhaps I'll get him some when we find..'

       "Our way back...", Akari thought the rest of her sentence aloud. It finally hit them. They were practically lost. They weren't home, the time was always churned around, the plants and atmosphere here hadn't matched their home. Have we gone mad..was the only question left. Are we so clueless that we hadn't realized this before? We've been camping out in a cave and hunting for food!

       Akari snapped the rails of her train of thought. "Never mind. Anyway, look at the surrounding terrain in this area compared to where we are now, which is safe."

       "Haah..you're right, it seems too rocky and dry by the color, and there aren't any ponds or significant bodies of water nearby. I don't think we'll be able to support ourselves there. Back on your original thought, do you think we could take a similar course?", Kaden rolled out another portion of the map, further ahead with the Blue Brick Road. He was a bit stunned. Let me explain, past the mountainous areas, there was no forest, no coast lines, no ocean, no land. There was nothing but an empty cliff, and a void after that path. "Fine then, it's our only chance Kaden. Maybe there's a reason there's a plain void there, it could still be a chance to go back. We'll turn back if it's truly empty, okay?

       "Capisce.", he replied with a regretful smirk. 

       Seeming as the pair was located in Nisani Forest, the paper had names for areas. If they have names, someone branded these oceans, borders, and gaps. Civilization. In a staggeringly empty taste of sand, a grain of morally conscious characters existed in that deprived land called Talboris.