The music had stopped. The wind had died. The trees were still. Stumbling forward still through the woods, pushing past bushes and trees as he struggled to maintain his course, Jake''s hands absentmindedly gripped at his hair. He had to find her soon if he kept following the absent song. Had to. He had no other choice.


    Struggling forward against the wild of the forest, he stopped, hands dropping to cover his nose as he nearly gagged. An unexpectedly disgusting smell interrupted the tranquil scents of the trees and leaves around him. A scent of burnt hair and seared flesh, strong and unique enough against its surroundings to stand out even in the absence of the wind.


    He stood for a moment, desperately resistant to the smell, before something seemed to click in his brain, his thoughts catching up to his senses. He turned toward the faint source of the scent, straight ahead a little to his right…


    He picked up the pace again, wrestled his way through greenery and wiggled past oddly grown trunks, till finally he found it. Nestled in a small clearing lay a creature, collapsed on its side and in pain. Its body was covered in burns, matted bits of charred fur and flesh clinging to its frame as it limply rubbed its body against the dirt. Pathetic mewls escaped its throat as it hadn’t seemed to notice Jake yet, still too distracted trying to treat its pain.


    Stepping forward a bit, Jake finally caught the attention of the creature. It raised its head in his direction and barred its fangs, low growls escaping its throat. Yet it made no move to slink closer to him or rise from its limped position on the ground at all. Looking down at the injured beast, meeting its eyes, Jake saw no desire to hunt. No desire to kill. It simply looked scared and confused. Yet at the same time, as its growl grew sharper, and its barred fangs seemed to extend further from its mouth, Jake saw something else behind its eyes.


    Desperation. A clear desperation to survive, he didn’t want to test. He saw no need to test the animal''s will to survive. At the edge of the clearing, he backed away slowly. The smell of burned flesh and fur hung heavily in the air as the creature continued to grow, its eyes never leaving Jake as its injured and burned muscles tensed and readied to move the creature’s dilapidated frame forward.


    Jake moved fast as he saw the creature grow more and more antsy the longer he stayed. Quickly, he slipped away into the grass of the forest, the leaves and ivy blanketing him as he disappeared from the creature’s view. What the creature did next he couldn’t say for certain, but that wasn’t his concern anymore. The stench of burnt hair still heavy in the air, Jake had found his next clue.


    Bits of charred pelt were released by the creature and littered the forest floor. Accompanied by this were charred bits of grass and leaves, a clear trail to follow. He sprinted again, quickly putting distance between himself and the injured beast behind him as he moved forward. Following the trail to what he hoped must be the source of the fire.


    He didn’t have to run for long. The creature was injured when he found it, seemingly barely clinging to life. Its desperation must have driven it far and fast as it sprinted through the woods, but there was only so far it could go in its current condition. Pushing through a cluster of singed bushes, the trail went cold, stopped dead in his tracks as he’d found her.


    She sat there, curled tight amongst the various bits of luggage scattered from her bag. She was shivering slightly, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the rustling leaves of the canopy above.


    “Alice!” He cried, rushing forward towards her, relief at finally being able to find her overwhelming the panic and need he felt to apologize and repair the damage done to their relationship. She turned toward him, clearly surprised to see him, before a look of anguished fury overtook her face.


    “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!” She screamed out, a violent cough escaping her as her ribs screamed in agony at her sudden outburst of rage. Falling back, she struggled to stand and try and distance herself again, only to fail, her back screaming in protest.


    Curled on the floor now her tears fell uncontrolled, rolling down the side of her face as she stared into the dirt, unwilling to even look in his direction. It hurt too much to see him. Especially now she realized how lonely she felt venturing on her own, how empty her exploration seemed to be. How lifeless.


    She didn’t want him to see her like this, see how he’d won. She didn’t know why he was back here, why he’d bother chasing her. If it was just to laugh at her weakness, or maybe to try and drag her around a bit longer till he ditched her on his own terms. She wouldn’t allow it. Much as it hurt to realize she didn’t want to do this on her own. Much as it hurt to realize she missed him. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her struggle, of seeing her despair.


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    “Alice, please!” Jake called desperately as he ran towards her, kneeling beside the crouched girl.


    “Get off me!” She cried, shoving him away, a shower of dirt flew from her clenched hand as she worked to force him away from her.


    “Alice, please… I never meant to hurt you like this. I promise. I just…”


    “STOP LYING TO ME!” Alice screamed, wheeling around to face him now, another shower of dirt flying through the air. She couldn’t help herself anymore, couldn’t keep it bottled away. She didn’t care if he got some satisfaction from seeing her rage or despair. Didn''t care if he won some sick game he was playing. She just wanted him to stop.


    “You promised me! Remember? No matter what, you’d keep me safe, keep me with you! It was just a lie! Was everything you told me a lie? Some sick game you played, all planned out from the start?”


    “Alice, I…” He fell silent. She looked at him, a look of triumph forcing its way upon her sorrow-filled face as she basked in his silence. Finally, she shut him up and caught him in his lies. No more excuses. The look of triumph faltered, though, when she saw his expression. He looked utterly devastated, mouth opening and closing a few times as he struggled to find the words, struggled to find what to say. At last, with a sigh, he sat back away from her, head in his hands.


    “I wasn’t lying. I meant what I said. Really. You… You have to believe me…” He looked so desperate, unsure of what to say. Alice felt her gut twist a bit, staring at him. Uncertain what she was feeling, she pressed on.


    “Yeah, right! Sure, you meant it! Planned to keep me safe till you can get rid of me!”


    “NO!” Jake cried now, his voice cracking a bit as he screamed out. “No… I mean. I just… I kidnapped you. You had people you knew. Friends. I stole you from that, it’s my fault you’re stuck falling with me. Stuck gambling on what world you’ll fall into next, what risk you’ll face next. I just… I don’t know much about your home, but from what you’ve said, it sounds awful. Worse than hell. I just wanted to help you find a place you could be happy; a place you could call home. That’s what we talked about when I first promised you I’d keep you safe, that’s what I meant when I said you might not be with me anymore. I didn’t mean to make you think I was throwing you away, I just… I wanted you to find a place where you could be happy.”


    She sat in silence for a while, unpacking his words. She tried to remember the context of his promise. It seemed so long ago, and she’d been so distracted by the wonders of the world so new to her. Had this always been part of the deal? Had this always been something he talked about? All she could remember now was his promise to keep her safe, keep her with him. Her hands ringing under her she pressed forward, voice a bit uncertain now.


    “What’s it matter why, you still planned to get rid of me. From the start, I was just some bit of baggage you were carrying around, waiting for the perfect chance to get rid of me.”


    “I…” he hung his head low in response to this, unable to find the words to refute her.


    “I didn’t need a new home!” She continued, ignoring his stuttering attempts at arguments, tears stinging her eyes and blurring her vision. “I was happy! So happy to be free, to be falling from world to world. So happy to be free to explore. So happy to just travel with you! Even when we fell into hell itself or were left starving, I still found myself happy at the end of it! So why! Why do I have to go?” She couldn’t find the words to continue anymore, couldn’t think of anything else to say as her tears streaked down her cheeks, her insides a tangled web of emotions she struggled to fully understand.


    “I…” he began again, stuttering a moment before he said, “I don’t know. I didn’t know. I just… I wanted you to be happy. To be able to help you find a place you could stay, a place you could be happy. It was always supposed to be your choice. I’m… I’m sorry. Because you’re right. Despite myself, I’ve tried to keep my distance from you, knowing you’d leave someday. I tried to avoid getting attached to you since I figured it would help me deal with the pain of your departure.


    “But now… now I can give you the promise you always wanted. Act on it without reservation. So, I promise you this, Alice, if you want to travel with me, I’ll keep you safe. As long as you want to travel with me, I’ll keep you with me and make sure nothing happens to you. If you join me just one more time, I swear to you that it''ll be entirely up to you where your home is. Entirely up to you when you stop falling with me. So please, can we start again?”


    He looked at her hopefully for a few minutes, but she said nothing, her expression conflicted and pained. After a while, his head dropped low, a sigh escaping him as he stared into the dirt of the forest below. Perhaps it was simply too late to try again. He’d simply ruined whatever connection they had beyond repair. It was too late…


    As he sat stewing helplessly in these thoughts, he felt a sudden push against his forehead. Alice had leaned in to rest her head against his.


    “I guess I have no choice…” She said slowly, voice still sounding uncertain “We never got to go swimming.”


    “…Or try stew together,” Jake added, his tone conveying how uncertain he was if he was welcome to talk now or not.


    “…yeah…” Alice said a slight hint of joy returned to her voice, “Or listen to Green Day. Isn’t that right, greenie?”


    “Yeah…” Jake said, voice hopeful for the first time in what felt like years as the two sat, heads pressed together under the canopy of the trees.