V.I.R.A.L

"Keep going!"

"Have we lost them?"

"I don't see any more of them!"

"Wait where's Alton?"

Team Rhapsody stopped looking around the forest now looking paranoid. "Shit! We were too fixated with getting away I didn't even see Alton." Emil ranted.

"Well, what are we doing? We need to go and find him."

"Zinnia, I do agree, but it's too dangerous. He could be anywhere."

"So what? We just leave him."

"Whoa!" Alton yelled, jumping out from the bushes panting. "You guys agreed to ditch me? That's cold." He flicked small traces of ice from his wrist. "I was just holding them back."

"We thought you died!" Percy argued.

"Me? Dead. Please it's going to take a lot more than some mossy boys to kill me."

"Speaking of which, what were those things? They all just came out of nowhere."

"Growing from the ground and the trees. With how dense this forest is, we could have a whole army on our asses before we even knew what hit us." Gale said now even more paranoid. "We need to get to the village."

"What about those lumberjacks?"

"If we got caught off guard, I can only expect the worst for them." He responded, turning back around. "Come on; the village isn't too far away."

Everyone kept on the task at hand all be it with a lot more caution and care. No one's eyes left the trees or the ground for the entire journey. Luckily for them, it was now a lot quieter, although none of them was sure if that was a blessing or curse at the moment. Passing through the last set of trees, a small village on the river was spotted. Serval buildings had plummeted into the river while another one had collapsed into a sinkhole. Gale gave a look of devastation at his former home as he began the long march of defeat.

The houses still up looked damage and some ready to collapse of the long stilts holding them up. The only house on the land was a small blacksmith who had its roof caved in. The villagers were in the middle of clearing out the rubble. One by one, they began to notice the new visitors and especially Gale. "Is it him?"

"It is, it's Gale!"

"Gale has come home to protect us!"

"Thank the lord!"

An elderly woman limped over, holding a walking stick. Her eyes met with Gale as she hugged him. He, on the other hand, stood there not returning the hug looking uncomfortable. "I'm so glad you've come home to us Gale. Your mother will be so happy to see you. Are these your friends?"

"It's nice to meet you, mam. When we heard his family were in trouble, we knew we had to help."

"That's very sweet of you all."

"What happened here?" Gale asked.

The woman looked around, shaking her head. "For the past few weeks now we've been constantly attacked by creatures."

"Those moss things? Yeah, we were attacked by them too."

"The Moss takes our own. Dozens missing and there is no sign of them stopping."

"When did this start happening?"

"About a month ago, two of our bravest and strongest men went to investigate an anomaly. They never returned, and then the Moss started appearing."

"What sort of anomaly?"

"We had a violent earthquake, and a ravine appeared. We tried fighting back, but we stand no chance against the endless numbers. We even hired some streamers to aid us not wanting to disturb you, Gale. Two days in and they too vanished."

"You think the Moss got to them?" Percy questioned.

Alton was left unsure. "They could have taken the money and run. Or the Moss could have gotten them. Has there be any bodies left when the Moss attack?"

"Bodies?"

"No. They all just disappear."

"This is strange…"

"Oh, I'll tell your mother and brother, you are here. They will be pleased." The woman croaked, walking away.

Everyone else was left now even more confused. Moss creatures suddenly appearing after an earthquake, people going missing with no signs and hired streamers vanishing. "Any thoughts on the matter?"

"I think we should check out this ravine she mentioned. Could lead to some clues on our new enemy."

"I don't think any sort of streamer or Anti-human is behind this attack." Alton put forward having a theory at the ready.

Zinnia folded her arms also on the fence about the situation. "There would be a reason if a streamer was behind this."

"I think this has something to do with the garden…"

Everyone's heart skipped a beat as the tension already building up kicked into motion. "The Garden of Grief? What makes you say that?" Scarlett questions.

"Wait, wasn't that the Garden you guys took care of when you fought Vanguard? The same Garden which caused the mental overloads."

"Indeed. This fits the same sort of description which the Garden falls under. Not only that but when I was fighting the Moss, the forest spoke to me again."

"What did it say?"

"The Garden forever grows." Saying this made the forest pick up as the wind grew stronger.

"That's what the streamers who were cursed by the garden said before they were killed." Zinnia grumbled. "But we took care of the Garden. The entrance was destroyed."

"I remember something Rodger said about the Garden. That was the first entrance to be discovered in hundreds of years. It was bold of us to assume it would be the only one. It wouldn't be too farfetched to assume this remote island could host one. It would explain the voices and the Moss. Maybe even the missing people."

"You think the Garden took them?"

"I don't know enough about this Garden to be sure. But if it is then this might be a bigger problem than I first thought."

"I'll say. We only stopped it the first time because we had Iris' help."

Alton pointed to the end of the river. "Those are the first things I noticed when I got there. It may not be ideal, but we could always get them all on the boat and back to safety."

"I'm not opposed to the idea. If the entrance to the Garden is here then maybe it's just better off staying here."

"That won't work." A little girl whispered.

Alton glared at her smirking. "Yeah and why not?"

The little girl handed him a rock pointing to the coast. "Throw the rock there."

Playing her game, he threw the rock as it hit a wall falling back down. "What the hell?"

"We tried leaving a few weeks ago. The first boat came into that wall and sunk."

"This doesn't make any sense."

"The whole island is blocked off. We can't escape. My mummy says we are all going to die." The little girl whispered, walking off.

"This doesn't make any sense. We got here fine. The boat captain left as well. This is getting worse and worse by the minute."

"This is the Garden we are talking about. Nothing makes sense."

"I think I could set up some defensives. Use the river to make barricades and traps. It isn't much, but it would stop us being ambushed."

"We should probably chop the nearby trees down around us so we can see if any of the Moss try and ambush us. "Scarlett offered.

"Then we can focus on this greenhouse we're trapped in. Once the village is fortified, we can worry about the source. Remember, these villagers can't protect themselves. They are the priority. Percy can you go and look around, see how many villagers are left. Zinnia I need you to keep everyone's spirits in tack. We need everyone to be as calm as possible. Emil checks the stock. We need to know how much food we have, the last thing we need is a food shortage. I'll get to talk with the villagers about the defences."

Everyone got to work as Gale was left confused. "You're taking a huge risk doing all of this."

"Maybe we are, can't do much about it now we're in this situation whether we liked it or not. Good thing we didn't let you go alone. We are going to need all the help we can get to save your village."

"What do you want me to do?" Gale asks looking disjointed and out of touch.

Alton smiles softly shaking his head. "Do what you came here for. Make sure your family is alright. Can't run away from it anymore."

Gale sighed, accepting that reality as well. "It's for the best, yeah?"

"Indeed. Go get them, tiger."

Gale left Alton to the defences as he already saw Zinnia helping the children out, keeping them distracted and entertained while Emil was carrying stock further back into the village. Heading to the small hut at the back of the village, Gale noticed many of the windows smashed. The door was hanging onto its hinges while the sign to the house he remembered making with his Dad was broken poorly put back together. Gale stood at the door, taking one long breath preparing himself. As he opened the door, the sign fell apart. He quickly picked it up, holding it close to him as he entered the house. A woman with a striking resemblance to Gale turned around as a little boy came into view. Both of them looked overwhelmed. Gale held the sign up trying to give his best smile. "I'm sorry I broke the sign again…" They all remained silent as Gale's mother ran over to him, holding him close. His little brother did the same as Gale slowly placed his arms around as well muttering. "I'm home."