The further Rick and the others walked from the clearing the bus had crash-landed into, the darker things had become. The sounds of people had been replaced with silence one voice at a time until there was nothing to even hint of the existence of the survivors at all. There was a loud absence of noise that stretched out around them. The trees were so large tunnels could’ve been made through them, and in their massiveness, their very presence appeared to scare sound into muteness. Despite the suffocating size of the wooden giants, they all walked quite aware that the most dangerous thing they could find in the woods was right next to them.

The feline woman had initially followed in curiosity, approaching Rick from time to time and bumping against him before moving away. But that had turned into boredom soon enough, her attention moving away from the humans and to everything around them. There was always something that would make her ears twitch and head turn to focus on seemingly random spots in the gloom under the trees.

Heading Northward had not quite been a simple a task as they’d thought. There was nothing but forest and barely any shrubbery or thickets. The only obstacles in their way were the trees themselves and their massive roots, that were sometimes thicker than entire vehicles. They were wooden webs that snaked across the ground like a tangled mess of worms. More than once they’d seen the many holes and empty spaces underneath some of the roots, tiny caverns Monica was more than eager to sniff at from time to time to confirm there was nothing within.

Several times they had to detour around a web of roots they did not trust to hold them from whatever hole nature held beneath. Only Tomas’ phone dared peer into the blackness under the trees, only ever finding dirt and moss. Still, to the young teacher, those shadows always left an eerie sense of being watched from the shadows.

“Can you hear that?” Tomas said in a hushed whisper.

Everyone stopped, looking around, tense. No sooner had they halted than Rick realized the forest had not been quiet- far from it. The branches groaned with the breeze that blew above, the columns of wood swaying a little nearer to the top. There were cracks and groans, splintering sounds that rumbled deep.

It took a second for Rick to realize what they were hearing. A deep sigh left him and he nodded, relaxing his shoulders. “It’s normal.”

“Fucking creepy is what it is.” Kat hissed.

“It’s the sound of the forest,” the teacher spoke, shaking his head. “Is this your first time hearing them?”

“Like, where the fuck could I have heard ‘the sound’ of a forest with trees taller than… than… do you figure these suckers are taller than a sky-scrapper?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” Mr. Gabriel glanced up for a moment.

“Forests are like that. I’m more concerned that I’ve barely heard any birds,” Rick pointed out.

“Mrow?” the feline’s voice rang out as she stopped, her eyes hanging on them as the conversation unfolded.

“The cat’s calm,” Mr. Gabriel pointed out. “If there’s a threat somewhere, you can bet she’ll see it coming before any of us.”

The proclamation made Rick want to point out there could be many things that could be dangerous to them, but not to Monica. But he kept the words to himself. There was little sense in making them needlessly nervous. Instead, he glanced at the feline woman, and she looked back at him with those wide, curious eyes that focused on him like a laser. The human found himself unable to look away. Only a cough from Mr. Gabriel broke him out of the spell. “Let’s get moving, we can’t waste time here.”

With little commentary to be added, the four went back to their hike.

The young teacher tried to distract himself by paying closer attention to his surroundings. Perhaps he’d be able to notice something that might be of help.

The smell of crushed pine and dirt had a staleness to it that came tinged with touches of something that Rick couldn’t quite put into words. It tickled the back of his throat and nudged the front of his mind towards images of the spider and Charlie. But he pushed it away, focusing on the here and now. He would not let himself become lost in thought.

The intent to focus lasted a whole ten seconds before Monica bolted forward without apparent reason.

Everyone froze as the feline woman jumped onto the nearby tree and, with her claws scratching at the bark, clawed her way upwards with such ease it almost appeared gravity did not exist for her. In seconds, she’d risen at least a dozen meters or so and was still going.

“What the…?”

All eyes turned to the treetops, entranced by the ease with which she moved, and following her climb up and up and up. When she’d reached the first branches, she used them to sprint towards the next tree over. She was moving even faster now, her speed allowing her to jump farther, vanishing out of sight.

“The fuck was that about?”

“Keep moving,” Rick said, his voice was strained, a barked-out command.

“I mean, if…”

“No. Move,” the teacher pressured, meeting Tomas’ eyes without hesitation. “If she went up there because there’s some other monster, the last thing we need is to be nearby if things go south.”

“Do you reckon there might be something out here that can kill her?” Mr. Gabriel rubbed his chin in apparent amusement.

“Do any of us want to stay and find out?”

That did the trick. The others shared grim nods of determination and sped up as best they could. Everyone kept an eye up above, eyes darting between the branches and trying to spot Monica or anything else that might be there. Whatever the case may be, only the groaning trees and ruffling branches met them.

Their insistence to speed up made it all the clearer Mr. Gabriel was not going to be able to keep up for long. The man’s steps were weathered, steady, and slow. He’d yet to start breathing hard, but he would have lagged behind if not because Tomas and Rick were matching his pace. The consideration pressed teacher into a narrowing scowl and thinning lips. He wouldn’t want to have to leave anyone behind if it could be avoided…

“Tomas, if things get rough, do you think you can carry Mr. Gabriel?”

“I mean, I-”

“Over my dead body.” The growl escaped the older man as he glared at Rick.

“Sorry to pop the bubble, gramps, but if we need to run, I will drag you myself.”

“Then I’m better-”

“I will, like, stay right next to you. Whether you move or not.” This time the words came with crossed arms and a complete stop of her steps.

Mr. Gabriel met his granddaughter’s gaze in full. The entire group stopped as they looked at one another in silence. Kat’s dirty blond hair moved almost as if it had a breeze of its own as she met the older man’s eyes. She was the first one to hesitate and look away. They might have impressed Rick had he not been considering how to push them both to keep moving.

“Um… everyone?”

Tomas’ tone drew the others to follow his finger up above. A shadow was moving through the forest, bouncing its way from one tree to the next. It was tumbling its way down from, slowing its descent with every branch it touched in its trajectory towards the ground. Rick recognized the snowy hair and white fur and relaxed ever so slightly, watching Monica roll, claw, and hop from branch to branch, from tree to tree. She would’ve put acrobats to shame.

With an impossible grace, she landed on the forest floor, not making so much as a sound.

In her right hand was… a bird, or the feathery remains of one. Blood was splattered all around her paws, and the avian’s head was missing. It looked a surprisingly normal bird, if slightly larger than Rick would’ve expected it to be. The feline was smiling from ear to ear as she bit down on a part of the animal’s exposed neck and ripped out a chunk for her to chew on. The crunch of bone made them wince. She appeared to be enjoying it.

That explained the silence of the birds, at least.

Make a sound and Monica will find you.

The feline glanced at them, pausing as her eyes lingered on each of them in turn. Those same blue-green eyes paused on Rick’s own.

They must have met some criteria she had in mind, because she called out to them. “Mrow,” she spoke with a simple sound, moving ahead of the group, stopping, and then walking to some spot slightly to the right of the direction they’d been taking. Her eyes remained fixed on them.

The four humans shared glances.

“I think she wants us to follow,” Rick muttered.