The sun is high in the sky when they finally arrive at the cabin.

Hubert rushes in and backs up quickly. He sees Tim, sitting on the bed, half of his head covered in the rot. Clara stands above Tim, dumping water on to his head. It drips down the side of his face onto his neck and his chest.

"Tabernac, what happened?" Hubert asks.

Maverick walks over to Tim, inspecting the side of his head. He doesn't dare get close enough to breathe it in. "What do we do?"

"You know, I surprisingly don't live for drama," Tim rolls his eyes. He swallows the frog in his throat, but his foot taps against the ground with a shaking knee. "Really, it's only a bit of dirt."

"Fuck," Mickey says. He looks up at Hubert. "What do we do?"

"We need to go down to the water."

Beverly rushes to Tim, because she is already contaminated. She grabs his clean hand and drags him towards the doorway. The others duck out of the way.

"What's going on?" he demands.

"I don't mean to freak you out, but that rot is going to kill you if we don't get it off." Beverly insists, her voice a quiet whisper.

The others still hear her. Clara grips the hand where she touched the rot and rubbed it between her two fingers. Surely, that is not enough to do her in. To her, Beverly doesn't seem to be panicking, and she put her whole hand through it.

Though Tim and Beverly run to the water, the others walk towards the beach. The journey is too long, and the sun too warm for a needless sprint. There is, seemingly, no one else around despite the bright midday light. While the grass still tickles their ankles, no one dares laugh.

Alvaro manages to squeeze his way up to Hubert. While they walk, he whispers. "I've met your priest."

"You went into town?" Hubert sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Alvaro smirks. He puts a hand over Hubert's shoulder, bringing him in closer. "I've managed to secure us an ally. He actually likes me."

"He should be able to convince the others that you aren't from Hell," Hubert rolls his eyes but leans into the touch. It has been so long since he has felt the comfort of another human. There is none of the trepidation he felt when his fingers grazed Clara's. No, this is a calm like Élise.

"Well," Flo would never admit she was eavesdropping, but she was, "I managed to give a pie to that lady who hated me. So it seems we are even."

Hubert chuckles but cuts himself off. Though he likes these people, he knows better than to get attached. Especially if they are so content to disregard rules. They remind him of himself just a bit too much.

"I thought we weren't supposed to go into town," Maverick cautions, looking to Hubert for the nod of his head.

"There is nothing else to do," Flo sighs, bringing a hand up to her hair and fluffing it. "Honestly, what do you expect me to do? Invent the telephone?"

"Absolutely do not invent the telephone." Adwin cuts her off.

"Absolutely do not speak of the future," Hubert corrects, finally shrugging out of Alvaro's embrace.

Mickey stays silent.

Mickey.

He stops walking for a second. The numbness returns, but this time he pushes back. Physically, he must stand still as the others leave. He tightens all of his muscles, forcing the blood to pump through him whether the world likes it or not. It's as if something shoves him though, and he trips and falls on to his knees.

"Watch it, klutz," Alvaro turns around and winks at Mickey.

Mickey pulls himself up and brushes off his shoulders. "Please, Costa. We both know that I could kick your ass."

"Probably not, but my money is on you for everyone else," Alvaro chuckles, turning back around.

While they make their way down to the water, Maverick begins to tell them all what Hubert explained in the woods. He tells them about the rot, and the grip, and the deaths. Which is all he knows, but it feels like a lot. Somehow, they are supposed to solve it. Adwin adds that it is probably the key to going home.

Down in the bay, Beverly and Tim stand at the edge of the water.

He wants to walk in, but he hears the forest calling his name. It beckons him from behind, trying to pull him away from the shores. It howls, whistling in the wind. For a second, he can't move. He doesn't trust the forest for a second, but the confusion he would expect from hearing the ocean doesn't come. He accepts that what he is about to do is not according to the forest's plan.

He just doesn't know who to trust. The forest which is trying to kill him, or the water, which dragged him from the present to the past.

Beverly holds his hand and steps forward. He jerks with her off the sandy shore and into the water. The world goes quiet.

Beverly doesn't notice the change in his behaviour. Instead, she feels the cool touch of water drenching her dress. It weighs her down. She doesn't dare go in further, for she is reminded of the day the water took her and brought her here.

Tim takes off his shirt but keeps his pants on. When he is knee-deep in the water, he drops down inside. His fingers run through his hair, trying desperately to comb out the rot.

He is caught by an undertow and dragged down deep inside.

However, he doesn't feel scared. He can't breathe, but his lungs seem to pause.

The water caresses Tim and offers him a deal. He listens, intently. There, he realizes that his options are to agree or to die. It would be the forest that would kill him now, or the water that would take him later. The water freezes his fingers until they can't move, showing them his power.

Tim cannot handle dying now, so he has to agree.

Beverly looks out in the water. She sees Tim's body suspended just below the surface, the tip of his nose bobbing in and out of the water. She takes a step closer but stops when she notices the black bile is leeching off of him into the water. She lifts up her heavy skirt and pulls herself a few steps backwards.

"Tim?" she calls. "Tim?"

The others get to the shore. Mickey rushes up to Beverly. He tries to jump in the water, but Hubert grabs on to his shoulders from behind and pulls him backwards.

"No," Hubert yells.

Mickey hears gunshots. He turns around and punches Hubert in the face.

Tim bursts to the surface of the water.

Hubert stumbles backwards, landing on the rocks. He puts a hand up to his lip, pulling back and revealing blood.

"What the Hell, Mickey!" Clara exclaims. She runs up to him and slaps him in the face.

Adwin grabs Clara and pulls her away from Mickey. She pulls her hands from Adwin's grip and raises her fist to strike him, but she doesn't. Instead, her palm stays raised, waiting to hit him. It hovers in the air, before she shoves it down. Then, she runs down the beach.

"Clara!" Mickey shouts.

He goes to chase after her, but Maverick stands in front of her. "Give Miss Bennet her space."

"I need to explain," Mickey shouts back, pushing through Maverick and chasing after Clara down the beach.

Tim makes his way to the shore.

"Well, you certainly missed all the excitement," Alvaro says in a low voice. He is careful not to touch Tim.

Normally, Tim would respond with some joke about how he is the excitement. Still, his hands are heavy. He simply collapses on the shore and puts his head in his hand. He won't let anyone else see him weep. The whole point of this was to prove he is brave.

"Are you alright?" Maverick asks, offering Hubert a hand up.

Hubert doesn't take it. Instead, he sits on the ground, a grin spread across his face. This is something new, which surprises him. He didn't think anything would be new ever again (which might make others who knew him very sad). "Never better."

"Most people don't take kindly to being punched in the face." Maverick notes, looking up at Flo for support.

"He should be glad that Mickey struck him, and not Clara," Flo adds, trying desperately to hide her smile. "She has a wicked backhand."

Maverick doesn't necessarily appreciate the comment. Finally, Hubert accepts his still waiting hand and stands up. "You got the rot off you, Mr.... uhhh... Mr. Tim."

"It's Penworth," Tim finally admits. He doesn't look over at Maverick. Instead, he still has his head buried in his lap. He expects himself to shiver, but the water seems only to warm him in the sunlight. "And I am fine."

Flo kneels down next to Tim and rests her head on his shoulder. Tim's body is too stiff to wrap an arm around her, his lips too tight to flirt. Instead, he tries to become smaller and smaller. He is going to prove himself, and soon, before he is forgotten forever.

Adwin finally returns in a huff. He straightens out his back, exhaling heavily. The run has pulled everything out within him.

Alvaro puts a hand over Adwin's shoulder. "You good?"

Though he is barely breathing, Adwin nods. "I couldn't stop them."

He gestures up the shore, where Mickey is still running after Clara.

"Clara, wait, Jesus Christ," Mickey calls to her. He could easily catch up to her if he wanted, but she would rather she just stop running down the rocks before she twists an ankle of her own accord.

"What?" she demands, spinning around to stare at Mickey. Her face burns bright pink. "What could you possibly have to say?"

"I have a condition," Mickey tells her. He hates to admit it, but it is easier to explain to her than to explain to himself. "It's hard to explain, but I have an extreme response to violence. I promise you that I'm not like that."

Clara can tell that he is not lying, but she doesn't understand. She stares at him, her eyes narrowed, and her head pulled back towards her neck.

"I promise, Clara," he tells her. Then, he shrugs. "Besides, you kind of slapped me in the face. I feel like we are even."

Clara doesn't appreciate that he decides for her that they are even, even if he is correct. She has always been one to hold a grudge. "Mr. Gallego, I'm not sure that I should even believe you."

"Please, just call me Mickey," he tells her. "And no, I'm not coming on to you."

Clara looks at Mickey. She stiffens her body, turning her nose skyward. "Fine, Mickey. Only time will tell if I am going to forgive you."

With that, she walks past him.

Unbeknownst to each other, they both smile.

~~~~~

So, this is fun. I quite like this chapter. I'm struggling to get everyone to know each other and to do things, when there isn't really much to do. All of your characters are so unique and highly stylized, so it takes a lot of work to do them justice.

Also, check out my new book: Degrade. I'm really excited to get it started, and I hope some of you will join me on that journey!