Soft shuffling broke the gloomy silence of the jungle, and once in a while, a startled shout was cut short.

"Glad they know where we are going because I am completely lost," Mason muttered.

Jake grunted and wished Mason would stop talking. How could that knucklehead forget so quickly? They had been warned twice already to stop talking. However, his friend seemed to be in one of his rebellious moods. Even after being scolded by Bolyr twice, he had mostly ignored all advice. Then again, Bolyr had been almost continually whispering to Emma, so his warnings didn't seem very grounded.

Realizing he would get no response from Jake, Mason sniffed once before trudging along silently.

Jake sighed in relief. He had a good idea of the reason why his friend was getting anxious. They had been traveling through the gloomy jungle for the better part of a day, and there seemed no end to it. If everything in the world had changed this much, how were they going to find their parents?

Thinking about his parents for the first time in what seemed like forever, Jake wondered if he would ever see them again. If he was on an island now, that meant he probably wasn't on earth anymore, but instead had somehow crossed over to the central dimension or whatever it was.

A loud burst of animal screams alarmed him, and he looked around in fear expecting something to jump out of the jungle. After a moment he realized, nothing was happening. Besides Bolyr and Emma in front of him, there was nothing moving. Seeing the yellow Kobold walk onward as if nothing was wrong, at the same time chatting with Emma, Jake shook his head. He needed to stop letting his mind wander, or he would end up having a heart attack for no good reason.

From the corner of his eye, Jake saw something flash, and his enhanced reflexes proved themselves again. Jerking his head backward, he swung an arm in front of Mason, stopping him in his tracks. In front of their faces, one of the branch monsters passed through the air. Jake saw it disappear in the jungle at the other side of the path.

"Incoming!" Sandra's voice echoed through the jungle, quickly followed by a hiss from Bolyr who gestured them to be quiet.

He was too late. The leaves all around them began rustling like crazy, and moments later living branches of different sizes jumped them.

More feeling than seeing something attack him from above, Jake dodge forward, hearing something drop on the ground behind. He turned around and saw four small and one giant branch monster, moving around jittery as if searching for something. They had multiple limbs all across their body, and a large slit in the center that loomed dark and foreboding sucking in all the light. Behind them stood Mason, looking at him in dismay. Taking a small step to the side, Jake tried to move around them, but as soon as he made a sound, the monsters turned and jumped towards him.

"Jake, stay with Bolyr and Emma!" Mason called, immediately drawing the attention of more sticks and branches.

After shouting, the large golden-red Kobold backed up until he stood back to back with Sandra and her soldiers. Seeing them fend off the living wood with their talons and claws, Jake tried to spot the archers. He just saw them disappear from view into the tree canopy.

Growling, Jake was going to rush to Mason when he heard a soft scream behind him. Turning around, he saw Bolyr wrestling with the most massive branch monster he had seen so far. It was at least three meters tall and almost as thick as the Kobold. Emma was standing next to him, using her small claws to try and get the thing off, but the sturdy wood barely showed any scratches.

Rushing forward, Jake heard something from the side and dodged forward, making a judo roll. Feeling small branches snap under him, he got up on a knee and saw two little branch monsters rushing him. Growling, he stepped into their path, and without any care for his safety, grabbed them just below their mouth slits. Before he had time to do anything further, he felt something gnaw on his hand, and in pain, he hurtled the small branches to the ground. A few limbs snapped, but the two monsters didn't seem to mind, clambering back up ready to jump him again.

An angry red haze began spreading across Jake's vision, and without another thought, he jumped forward grabbing one of the small monsters on either end. Not bothering with the other one he broke the first one across his leg. A sharp pain came from his leg, but he ignored it. The second branch grabbed his arm, ready to bite him, and he slashed it with his other hand. His nails that had he paid attention seemed more extended than before, sheered the top of the branch off at the spot its mouth slit was.

Breathing raggedly, Jake scanned the ground around him. The first branch monsters parts were writhing around seeming to look for each other, but the other one didn't move, its two halves laying motionless. A soft voice inside him tried to gain his attention, but the red haze spread again when Emma screamed.

Swirling around, his claws slashing through the plants around him, Jake saw that Bolyr was on the ground the plant underneath him. He seemed to have the upper hand, but behind him, multiple small branches were stalking toward him. Emma was holding them off, scratching and hitting them, but it wouldn't help much longer.

Leaping twice, Jake blocked their way, and immediately grabbed one of the branches. Throwing the wriggling snake-like thing on the ground, he held it there with his feet and began slashing at the trunk. His nails carved out long traces in the wood. As soon as he cut across the mouth area, the tree started wriggling louder, some of its limbs retracing back in the main branch. Two more slices split the wood, and it stopped moving. Through the red haze, Jake felt a dull pain come from his arm and looking he saw one of the branches had latched on. It seemed to be drinking his blood and rapidly growing longer.

Ripping it off cost him a chunk of his flesh, and the pain snapped him awake. Looking at the horrible thing strung tight in his hands, Jake felt waves off pain from different parts of his body. At the same time, he noticed cold, soothing sensations from other areas. Feeling his hold on the thing slip, he felt fear overtake him. Not wanting to be drained of blood by a monster plant, Jake growled before biting down on the middle of the branch. He felt wood splinter inside between his jaws, then a pungent aroma filled his mouth, and he almost gagged. Trying to resist the urge to spit the thing out, Jake began mauling with his teeth, feeling something like uncooked pasta inside the outer shell give way.

Feeling the two sides loosen and stop moving, he spat out the wood, almost vomiting. Looking around in a rush he saw the two Kobold archers look at him in awe. They were standing at the side, their bows gone, exchanged for small vicious looking daggers. Around them were unmoving branches.

"Spit everything out, quickly."

Bolyr moved next to him and began patting him on the back, a concerned look on his face. Getting the feeling he should listen, Jake complied and began rinsing his mouth and tongue with his fingers. A yellow hand handed him some green leaves, and he quickly used those. They tasted bitter, like fresh coffee beans, but they seemed to remove the horrid taste from his mouth. As soon as he finished, Jake breathed in some fresh air and looked at the archer who had handed him the leaves.

"Thank you."

The archer nodded, still eyeing him with a weird look. Then he turned around following the other archer, disappearing inside the foliage.

"If you feel dizzy, sleepy or anything else tell me right away."

Jake looked at Bolyr, who was standing beside Emma. They were both looking at him, and when Jake raised an eyebrow, Emma answered him.

"Those branches are poisonous. It is one of the things Boloyr told me. He said you should never fight them barehanded."

Sighing, Jake shook his head. Then he remembered Mason, and he turned around. Behind him Mason was talking with Sandra, seeming impressed by something. Around them, wood fragments littered the ground where they stood.

"I guess fighting a common enemy helps to bond. " Jake murmured as a smile crept on his face when he saw Mason talk to Sandra.