Entry 22: UNKNOWN, Still Inside the Tree? / Cave? – August 19th, 2023 – 8:22 PM
Okay, so at this point, I had been down in the cave for maybe five minutes. There didn’t appear to be any clear way up to the hole I fell through.
I was exhausted and covered in dirt from the fall, so I knelt beside the pond and splashed water on my face. The crisp sharpness of the water was refreshing.
As I sat there, gathering my bearings and trying not to think about what would become of Maisel and Murlocke if I didn’t find a way out of that cave, I noticed a bubble rise from the middle of the pond and burst upon reaching the surface. Another one followed shortly afterwards.
Despite how dangerous it would be, an idea clawed into my brain. It dug in and refused to let go. If bubbles were rising from the pond’s depths, this pond may connect to an exit or the tree itself…
I stood up, not exactly confident in this plan, but not sure what other options existed.
I took a step into the shallow portion of the water.
The cold ran through my body like an electric shock. I was still adjusting to the freezing sensation when— CRASH! Something lurched out of the water and tackled me to the ground. I struggled against it, but was pinned to the ground.
Sasheen!
I stopped squirming and saw that it was Maisel. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug.
Sasheen, you’re awake! I was worried that the angler had taken your mind away.
She pulled me closer. I was too stunned to speak, so in typical Maisel fashion, she kept talking.
I thought that maybe an underwater tunnel connected this cave to the inside of the red cedar tree. I needed to find a way out before I could help you. It took a couple of tries, but I eventually found a path through and guess what?
…You’re okay.
Of course I’m okay. It’s going to take more than some tree to keep Maisel down.
She flexed her arms.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Relief was still flooding through my body.
How could I have ever thought otherwise?
Beats me. So, are you going to guess or not?
The underwater tunnel connects this cave to the inside of the tree?
You bet.
She helped me to my feet, and I couldn’t help but notice that she was shivering. I took off my jacket and extended it to her. She quickly put it on.
Have you seen…
I started, but couldn’t seem to say his name.
She glanced down at her feet, uncharacteristically sombre.
No, Murlocke must still be inside the angler…
Unless it accidentally dropped him into another cavern like this one.
Maybe it dropped us on purpose and kept him.
Uncertain where she was going with this train of thought, I waited for her to continue.
What do we actually know about anglers? We know that they take the form of whatever will be an appealing haven for their prey. A cave for a bear, a burrow for a rabbit, or, it seems, a replica of a town within a tree for humans. We also know that they feed on the minds of their prey, eating every last thought until their prey is a sorta zombie.
Right, so it trapped us. Why, then, would it ‘spit us out’?
Maybe it didn’t like how we tasted.
That’s ridiculous—
I know, it sounds crazy, especially because yours and my thoughts obviously taste better than Murlocke’s.
No, that’s not what I was thinking. It’s just that, as far as I know, not many people are climbing into holes in trees. Does it really have the luxury not to eat our minds?
Apparently.
It was clearly consuming our thoughts for a while… By the time it spit us out, we could barely string two sentences together.
Speak for yourself. I hardly noticed it.
I playfully shoved Maisel.
Maybe it just knew there wasn’t much going on up there and didn’t want to consume you too quickly.
She shoved me back.
Good try, but the doctor once told me I have an unusually large brain.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Maisel’s always so confident in her own abilities. It drives me crazy sometimes.
Hold on, I think I know why the angler spat us out. The brain fog only became severe when we started to get along after meeting in the jail, right? What if the angler doesn’t like the ‘taste’ of angry or upset thoughts?
Maisel shook her head.
But that doesn’t make sense. Murlocke was scared right from the beginning. If it doesn’t like upset thoughts, Murlocke would be the last person it would want to feast on.
Okay, maybe it’s more specific than that. Maybe it just doesn’t like anger. Murlocke was never ‘angry,’ he was just scared. You and I, on the other hand—
Maisel nodded, picking up what I was saying.
Are always fighting.
– Sasheen
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