Chapter 7: Forest Nights

Through the long ride home, Stewart was ranting to me about how he hated that I was getting random bits of amnesia, and he was afraid that it may end up happening again soon. He finished his rant by turning to me and stating that I needed to tell someone about what I had discovered before I got amnesia again.

“If you're supposing that you know where that letter was that you got, that is great, John, but, next time, at least tell us about what you've found out so we don't go on a wild goose chase!” Stewart sighed, staring out at the beams of light coming from the headlights of his car.

“I'm... sorry.” I didn't quite know what to say. With the memories I had of not saying anything to my friends gone, I didn't quite know what to feel other than confusion.

“John, I don't know if you'll remember me saying this, but you have to remember that you're not alone! You are not a super hero, so you can't take the responsibility of keeping every innocent person out there safe on your own. The four of us in this car are together on this. We've all got a secret to hide, and we all have the same desire.” He continued driving, not taking his eyes off the road.

I looked back behind myself to see that both Brian and Mike were fast asleep. They probably weren't listening to our conversation.

“Then... what do you suppose I... we... do?” I returned my gaze to Stewart, trying to make it obvious that I hadn't the slightest idea what was going on.

“Well, you said you have a letter somewhere. According to what you said, that letter is very important to finding out the weird mystery up in that forest we were in. I can only assume that the mystery had to do with the strange creature sightings... and the thing that had attacked Brian.”

“That thing was so silent, I didn't even notice it!” I sighed, slumping back in my seat and remembering the experience.

“Up until you attacked it. Brian said it made a loud squawking noise.” Stewart looked over at me. “Sounds kinda like a bird.”

“That's what I was thinking, actually. It was like a humanoid bird.”

Stewart gave a nod. “A good bit of speculation there.” He then looked down at my lap, which was holding the first shoe that I had picked up earlier. “Then, there was the shoe that you had found. Correct?”

“The scent of the shoe led us to a tree, but the scent disappeared... and then the thing...”

“Yeah, I got that much from Brian.” Stewart picked up the shoe, giving it a whiff himself. “Smells like feet. Disgusting!” He recoiled a bit, throwing the shoe back onto my lap.

“You're telling me.” I wrinkled my nose a little, still remembering how the shoe had smelled.

“So, back to the letter, where do you think you might have hidden it?” Stewart rubbed his nose a little, looking back at me. “Oh, also, you can change back now. I don't think anyone's gonna see you.”

“Oh, right....” I concentrated for a moment on shifting back to being human. It finished quickly. “As for the letter, I'm not all too certain as to where I hid it, but I have an idea, and I think it's in my room.”

“Well, that's not something we can go do just now, then. You parents aren't expecting you back until tomorrow. Even then, your amnesia may clue them in on something.” He pulled off of the road onto a dirt path that was very unfamiliar to me.

“Uh, Stewart? Where are we going?” I asked, trying to see past the beams of light coming from the headlights.

“Well, Mister Amnesiac, we are going back to our campsite. You may not remember that we had to tell our parents we were going on an overnight camping trip in order to be able to get up here.”

“Oh. Is the tent set-up?”

“Everything's set up down to the sleeping bag you brought! We can sleep all we want, so long as we are home by dinner tomorrow.” He continued driving on the bumpy dirt road.

“You mean today?” I pointed at the clock. “It's two in the morning.”

“Okay, fine, Mister Technical!” Stewart gave a laugh. “I don't know about you, but I'm definitely going to sleep like a log!”

I gave the idea of sleeping some thought, then I frowned. “Stewart... I'm kinda scared to go to sleep.”

“What? Why's that?” He turned the car to the left while looking at me.

“The last I remember, the two times I had gotten amnesia, I had woken up  from something, both of which were outside.” I tried to put into words what I was thinking, but it didn't translate well.

“I'm... sorry? Are you saying that what ever causes you to sleep is what triggers the amnesia?”

“I think so.”

“So, being tired and falling asleep would, too?”

“That's what happened when I napped after eating that large burrito, and what happened when I was... urgh... something before the tree! But, in any case, both times  I woke up outside with no memory of how I got there! The one that happened tonight was when I fell on the ground, I think... and possibly got knocked out.”

“You don't know that though, do you? From how it sounds, you're saying that falling asleep now would cause the amnesia thing to happen again?” He stopped the car and took the key out of the ignition, letting it sit there while he looked at me.

“That's what  I fear, anyway.”

“How much thought did you put into this? Was it just a last minute thing, or has this been bothering you all night?”

“Last minute. It's an assumption, I know, but I'm scared of it happening again!” I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. “It scares me to think that there were four days of my life that I can't remember because of amnesia. I can't imagine anything that happened in those days, nor what would've happened. I can't reme-”

“Settle down, John. It's... no big deal.” It sounded like it took a bit of effort for him to say that.

“Says the guy who almost jumped me because of it.” I said those words bitterly. He clearly didn't mean it was “no big deal.”

“I'm... sorry... John.” He rested his forehead on the steering wheel. “This cheetah thing I have... it's new to me, and it's making me act more aggressive. I despise it.” He stayed silent for a bit. “I'm doing my best to not get angry, honestly.” He took his head off the steering wheel, rubbing it a bit. “So, as a fail safe, why don't I stay with you 24/7? That way, we can figure things out together, and, if you do get amnesia again, we can at least be sure that I've remembered what happened.”

“Honestly, Stewart, that doesn't sound too reassuring.... I'd still be forgetting something!” I groaned, leaning back in my seat. “I'm still scared of... not being able to remember.”

“I would be, too.... Yet, I'm still confused as to why you are saying this like it's going to happen. How sure are you that you'll get amnesia again?”

“I'm very unsure.”

“Well, since there's obviously nothing we can do about it, we shouldn't worry.” I felt Stewart put one of his hands on my shoulder. “Don't worry, John, we'll get to the bottom of this.... All of this.”

“I still feel scared.” I didn't want to shrug Stewart's hand of attempted comfort off of me, but it had been making me feel uncomfortable that I actually felt I needed comfort.

“If you can't get rid of your fear,” Stewart took his hand off of me, “then don't get rid of it. Just don't let it conquer you.” He opened the car door and got out. “Come on, it's late, and these two need to get some actual sleep. They've had a long day.”

“Long day? Why was their day long?” I got out of the car as well, looking back at the two figures in the back seat, seeming to stir.

“Well, Brian got attacked, as you should remember, and Mike had a bit of a meltdown. Good thing it happened when nothing serious was going on.”

“A meltdown? You mean to say he freaked out about being a... what was it... werelion?” I opened the door nearest to Brian to find that both he and Mike were staring at me.

Brian spoke with a drowsy voice as he tried to get out of the car. “Kinda. It was scary to see... I almost wanted to break down myself.”

“It's a long story, John. I can probably tell you tomorrow.” Stewart held the door open for Mike to get out of the car. When mike had exited, Stewart closed his door and locked the car. He then turned around and walked over to a nearby tent that was barely visible in the dark. “In any case, we'll head to bed now. John, you and Brian are sleeping in the tent over there while Mike and I sleep in this one.” Stewart pointed over at another tent near the other one. “Good night!”

I watched the two of them enter the tent before turning to see Brian walking over to our tent. “Good night, John! Hopefully your amnesia doesn't hit you tonight, haha!”

I turned my head away from the dark hole that Brian had entered, moving my eyes to the sky above us. “Yeah.... Right.”