In the Forest

Like the other AMU agents, I had been equipped with an anomalous gas mask, specially designed to counteract the effects of the Forest and its spores. However, those spores clouded the lenses, and when I cleaned them off, it became apparent that the AMU group had been split up, though I hadn't heard the sounds of footsteps going in any direction but my own. I'm going to have to chalk that up to the Forest's anomalous geometry.

I was left with Jenn, Leo, and Robin as the three of us made our way into the depths of the Forest. It was equal parts horrifying and heartbreaking- crumbling, abandoned homes overrun with mushrooms and vines, deer with hundreds of eyes and sharp teeth, people with ragged clothing and green-glowing scars all over their bodies.

That was when I caught sight of a man with long brown hair and a cane.

"Huh," he said. "You're the ARC agents who joined AMU instead, right?"
"Right," Jenn said. "And you are…?"
"Dr. Ferris. Not. Mr. Ferris."
"…Okay," Jenn said. "And Dr. Ferris is?"
"A friend of Malkator's," he said. "I research the Fears."
"Oh, I've read all about you," I said. "You built the Extractor that lets you harness the Fears' powers, right?"
"Wait, you can do that?" Robin asked. "I feel like that would've helped a lot of problems in the past…"
"It's not as easy as it seems. That kind of power attracts much stronger enemies, people with powers of their own."
"What, like a guy with birds inside him that can rip your friend's eye out?" Jenn said, her arms crossed.
Dr. Ferris scoffed. "I'm not talking about Nests."
Jenn glared.
"So, how does it work?" Leo asked, though I got the feeling it was at least partly to change the subject. "The Extractor, I mean."

"It's really pretty simple- well, in principle, anyway. It drains eldritch energy from a given sample, like, say, an Intrusion spider, then it amplifies it, then it compresses it into what I call a Cell, basically an eldritch battery. Then I have to get it back out, which-"

 

And that's when the tank showed up.

The tank's hatch opened, and a teenage girl popped her head out.

"Need a ride?"
I blinked. "What."
"I'm Kareena," she said.
"Huh," I said, squinting in confusion.

"You're with Kai, right?" Dr. Ferris said.
She gave a thumbs-up. "Well, was. We got separated from him while we were entering the Forest."
"We?" I asked.
"Me and Royce. Come on, you need to get to the center of the Forest, right?"
I glanced at Leo, who shrugged.
"Fuck it," Jenn said. "Why not."
"Is there even enough seating in here for all of us?" Robin asked.
"I'd say a lack of elbow room is preferable to dying," I said as I climbed into the tank.

"Well, I've got work to do," Dr. Ferris said. "See you around."

 

And then he vanished. Because, yes, he can do that.

With that, we drove to the heart of the Forest- the tower where KRAKEN had summoned the Manufactured Newborn.