Through the cracked tent door, the bright morning light shone into my eyes. As I groaned softly, I threw an arm over my face.
"Ugh."
Defeated, I sat up. Confusion settled over me as I looked at the tent flap.
"Why's this open...?" I murmured, glancing over at Mic's sleeping body. Suddenly, the events of last night hit me like a bullet.
Mic knew everything.
I shrugged it off and slipped out of bed. I checked my phone, it was 10 AM. At least OJ had to be up by now.
Before I left, I kissed Mic's forehead.
Similar to how Hotel OJ looked in the morning, the camp looked lively now. I smiled softly and walked to the edges of the forest. I looked into the woods, tree after tree causing me to feel overwhelmed. I sighed and decided to take a walk.
I stared into the trees as I strolled along, glad to have this time to think. Why was everyone so calm and happy? Didn't the hotel, y'know, explode because of me? Pickle's alive, I know that. We've seen him.
I wondered how they could stay so calm. Knife probably died, people were injured, and yet they're still not mad at me. I clenched and unclenched my fists to calm myself.
I heard rustling in the brush and turned around quickly, instantly alert. "Who's there?" I yelled, glaring.
I heard a groan and my defensiveness melted away to confusion.
"Is that...?"
I stepped into the bushes and there was Knife, beaten up badly. I stared in shock before saying, "Dude, what happened to you?"
He looked up and saw it was me. "Where's the camp? I... I was trying to get to him before he..."
I knelt and checked the damage. "Did he... hurt you?"
"You think?" He sighed. "He was abnormal. Like a cyborg or something. Where you stabbed him, that was all bandaged. He wasn't fully recovered. You got him good, but not good enough."
"Don't you dare say I wasn't good enough," I spat at him. "You know that if I could kill him, I would."
He shook his head. "I know, that's not what I-"
"Can you walk?" I asked, cutting him off. He fell silent and nodded.
I helped him up and we walked back to camp.

—————————————————

When I got back, I saw Mic pacing around worriedly, a small blanket hanging around her shoulders. It rose a slight bit in the warm summer breeze. I smiled and ran up behind her.
"Boo," I said, hugging her. She jolted and looked at me, her scared look fading into a smile. She hugged me back and glanced behind me, freezing when she saw Knife.
She let go of me and ran up to him, cannoning into him. "Oh my gosh, I thought you were dead!"
He smiled and rolled his eyes. "Nah."
She let him go and turned back to me. "How long have you been gone, and why didn't you tell me where you were going?"
I shrugged her off. "For one, it's been like two hours at most. And two, you were sleeping. I didn't want to wake you."
She rolled her eyes but a soft smile formed on her lips. "You should've."
I couldn't hold it. I smiled and buried my face into the soft blanket that draped around her.
"You're adorable," I whispered. She looked away, her face turning a soft red. She shook her head and turned back to me, her face fading from lovestruck to serious. She pulled me away by my shoulders.
"You should always have someone with you. Who knows what could happen when... he's out there?"
I scoffed jokingly and shrugged her off, grabbing her hand. "I'll be okay," I said. "I've held my own."
She stared at me, concern growing in her eyes. I sighed and hugged her again.
"I promise. I'm fine."
Mic nodded and smiled at me. "I trust you."
I couldn't hide a smile. "Same here."
I let go of her hand and turned to Knife. "I'm gonna go out berry picking for a bit."
"Wow, not even inviting your girlfriend along," he taunted, choking back a small laugh. "Okay."
"Mic, take him to Lightbulb. She'll be happy to know he's alive," I said, returning to her. She nodded and helped him away, leaving me alone again. I walked to our tent and picked up a basket.
I walked back into the woods, one hand clutching my knife and the other the handle to the basket.
It passes the time, I thought to myself. Why not?
I found a berry bush close to where I was. I walked over and began prying the berry clusters away from the bush with my knife, humming softly to myself. I was content, but...
Why did I feel like something bad was going to happen?
I shook my head and returned to picking the berries.
Still, the intrusive thoughts sounded like alarms in my mind. I grumbled, frustrated when I heard a noise. I jolted and looked back.
"Wh...?" I murmured to myself. The jostling in the bushes turned rhythmic, almost like they were...
Footsteps.
"Oh shi- uh..."
I stepped back, the grip on my knife growing stronger. I noticed a glow coming from my sleeve and looked down in confusion.
It was beaming a crimson light. The handle of the knife grew to be a rivet around my wrist, securing it to my hand. I stared at it in amazement before the footsteps that were shaking the brush stopped. I noticed and prepared myself to fight.
Clank. Clank.
I'd seen him in pictures, sure, but...
I didn't know he was this deformed...
And he stepped out of the bushes, his chest shining in metal appendages with the logo of none other than Meeple pasted arrogantly on his chest.