The night continues as they follow Muffey and Dilon. They ambled through the night road, familiarizing the path that's surrounded by trees, bushes and flowers, streetlights, and some benches. It's a neat and cozy road with leaves laying around on the ground wherever the wind carries them.
William, Clarence, and Juno walk together again. They walk with ease following Muffey and Dilon in front of them.
"What the hell happened back there?" Muffey asked in a slightly high-pitched whispering voice.
"What can I do? I just asked them if they could go back to their cabin since it's passed the curfew, and they blew it." Dilon answered in a quite annoyed tone, remembering how rude Stelia and Arthur were.
"She told me that I'm just a janitor. Judgements, really. Then, the guy – Arthur – also said things that weren't really nice. You know...I can't be kind all the time." He explains to Muffey, waving his right hand out of disappointment.
Muffey chuckled a little bit. "Well, she now knows. You're definitely NOT a janitor."
"Definitely not." Dilon smirked as they both sniggered.
They continue walking straight on the cozy road. However, Muffey had a question in mind that she wanted to ask, and so she did.
"So, it seems that the 'Arthur' guy knows you. I heard him speak your name." Muffey asked without hesitation.
It took a minute for Dilon to decide if he would answer Muffey's question honestly. But he did anyways.
"Uhh, he's actually my... My ex." Dilon answered, almost shrinking. Thinking if Muffey would accept his words or not.
"Oh, that's a surprise." Muffey glances at him as she smiles.
"Weeelll we only dated for a few months. And that's where Stelia came in. I actually didn't know her name until I saw her write in the logbook.... And of course, that's when she stole – I think four packs of cigarettes – then they ran like a bunch of kids clicking random doorbells." Dilon, with his usual frisky voice, began to openly express his side of the story to his trusted worker. The way he expresses his side made Muffey feel lighthearted and trusted.
"Why didn't you stop them then?" Muffey asked with wrinkled eyebrows.
"Girl, they were drunk, okay? They were acting extremely weird. Like really weird. And I don't want to deal with 'that' kind of mess." Dilon visibly dislikes Stelia and Arthur because of their uncivilized behavior. Muffey fully understands the situation and did not question it furthermore. Dilon glanced behind him and realized that Juno, William, and Clarence could also hear their conversation, and so he apologized again.
Not long enough until they had reached the street of ten large cottages paralleled to each other by five. Juno noticed the street sign that seems to be old but newly repaired, it says "Estevan St." on it.
~~~~~
Time had passed, and they found themselves getting closer to their rented houses. The large cottages are interesting and comfortable to look at; built with beautiful structures and filled with warm yellow lights on the outside, with elegant style windows that's perfectly displayed - and beds of vibrant flowers planted in front of every cabins. No wonder the cost is quite expensive.
William and Clarence seem to be getting along while talking about the appearance of each house. Every cottage is large, but they're not built of the same structure. Every cottage has the same vibes but structured differently. And that's what makes William and Clarence amazed, same as Juno – she kept on gazing quietly at every house. Until they passed on a particular one, the 6th cottage.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN STOOD UP FOR ME, ARTHUR!" Stelia yells, and it's so loud that her voice blasted in the distance. It's clear that she's having a quarrel with Arthur.
"Geez, these two can't calm down, can they?" Said Muffey, feeling so irritated.
"Guess they're having a 'lovers quarrel' ~ Goodluck with that. ~" Dilon teased with almost a melody on his tone that made Muffey laugh a little bit.
"Aren't they with the others?" Clarence asks out of curiosity; he's thinking that the other friends of Stelia and Arthur are witnessing the quarrel now.
"Apparently, Stelia and Arthur rented a different cottage since they want it 'solo'. Their friends are at the 4th house surely." Dilon shares with a sarcastic expression on his face.
"I just hope they don't hurt each other." William blurted; feeling unsure of Stelia and Arthur.
They were all disturbed by all the loud arguments while Juno, on the other hand, was distracted by something else. A bright and deep blue glowing butterfly (a Mariposa) is flying around her as she walks behind Clarence and William. It leaves tracks of bright blue lights that fades when it touches the ground.
Juno stood still, gazing upon the beautiful butterfly that's attracting her. Soon enough, the butterfly flew away. They say that curiosity kills the cat, but Juno is different.
She loves discovering knowledge, and so, followed it without a doubt. It's not even a problem for her since she knows where the street is. Juno couldn't resist her curiosity; she kept wondering if a glowing Mariposa exists? If it does, then it's odd she hasn't read or heard anything about it. Glowing butterflies and frogs do exist, but only in fantasies and fictions. She kept wondering if she's dreaming or just hallucinating?
Too many questions run in Juno's mind. She'll definitely get pissed if she won't find any answers to her questions. Therefore, she followed it into the woods.
Meanwhile, William and Clarence are still in shock from all the yelling and swearing from Stelia and Arthur's cabin. Muffey and Dilon kept on laughing, just being silly about everything that they heard. They're used of Juno being silent, so they went on without realizing that they're missing one person.
~~~~~
Juno found herself inside the woods behind the 4th cabin. It seems that people who rent there are having a small party. However, no one noticed that Juno passed through their gate. Went inside and stopped at the backyard. She saw the butterfly resting on a tree, like someone is waiting for her.
She dropped her bags unconsciously, as if nature's playing a puppet on her. Then, she ventured in. Not too deep in the woods, but just the right distance from the outside road.
She wanders around as she looks for the insect that vanished a few seconds ago. The beautiful butterfly disappeared from Juno's sight. Behind the thick trees, it flew away and was never seen again.
Juno wrinkled her eyebrows as she witnessed the butterfly disappear in the wind like an insect made from pure ash. At this moment, she repeatedly closes her eyes, thinking to herself that it is all just a dream.
As she paced through the woods, she noticed the night sky turns unrealistic. It became blurry and way too dark, like a dream. Thunder strikes randomly, glowing Mariposa's flew around the woods, the glowing butterflies are the only light that serves. The scene didn't make any sense to Juno. So, she ran off as fast as she can, trying to get back to the main road where the cabins are located.
But only to find out that the road is nowhere to be found. She constantly questions reality as she keeps on remembering that she didn't even went too deep inside the forest, and now the road is gone from her sight.
She sprinted anywhere that she could, her face has prints of fear and terror; not knowing how to get back to her friends and the real world that she knew. Her body bumps on trees because she can only see a little light from the glowing butterflies and whenever the thunder strikes. She breathes heavily as her body gets tired of the constant running without any direction – only woods of infinity.
The wind started to howl. The rain started to fall. And the butterflies are suddenly gone, making it more difficult for Juno to see.
Her body is soaking wet. She removed her black coat as it becomes wet and heavy. The wind took her coat away, and the rain made her sight blurry. Her feet continues to run as far as it could, but the heavy rain made Juno run slower and slower, and slower. Until the ground turns into mud.
She didn't even try to speak as she ran out of breath from exhaustion. She looks down at her tired feet swallowed by mud. She breathes heavily trying to gasp for air. She tries to take a step, but her feet are stuck.
It's dark and cold. Her knees fell down on the muddy ground, still shaking of tiredness. And her bob hair is sopping wet, it spreads all over her face. She didn't tear up, all she felt was exhaustion and hopelessness.
She's silent and numb from fear. Her chest pumps heavily. The thunderstorm drenched her shirt that now sinks into her skin. Only the thunder's noise can be heard as it roars through the dark sky, and the wind howls pains her ears. She's feeling a little dizzy, falling into her silence. Her eyes are nearly shutting. She felt nothing, until a sound whispers in her ears.
"Juno...Heathcliff... Wake up." A calming voice whispers in the wind.
Meanwhile, Dilon's company are now heading to Clarence, William, and Juno's cabin. The 7th cabin. However, they are not too far away from the previous cabins. They're in the middle of the road at the present moment, not too far from the 6th cabin and not too close to the 7th cabin.
"Oh, I just remembered." Dilon suddenly stopped his steps.
Everyone paused as well, paying attention to Dilon.
"Your cabin is already taken. I think the name's George Heath - something like that. Can't remember the logbook, but he's with company. He reminded that they're waiting for someone. Do you guys happen to stay with them?" Dilon asked, wiggling his pointy finger.
"Yes - we are with them. George Heathcliff is Juno's brothe-" Clarence looked behind his back as well as William, but Juno is not there.
"B-brother. Where on Earth is Juno?" William asked with his eyes looking around, his body started to move in shock.
"I... I don't know. She was just behind us." Clarence's feet immediately moved. His eyeglasses slips down his nose as soon as he started to walk, but Muffey wanted to make an appropriate conversation.
"Hold on there, blurry eyes. Let's talk about this. When and where's the last time you saw her?" Muffey asked so they could search around properly.
Clarence stopped pacing. Realizing that he's panicking at the present situation.
"The last time was... It was when Stelia and Arthur fought. I remember she was behind us, just following."
"Is 'Juno' had always been like this? Is that one of - you know... her behavior? 'Cause she seems to be slightly off... and way more introverted than the both of you." Dilon asked in sudden curiosity.
"No, not really. Well, actually..." William answered hesitantly.
"Actually, sometimes she is. When she's curious about something." Clarence spoke, glancing at William.
"Yeah right. Back then, we thought we lost her at a night park. Turns out she just found an old book laying around somewhere, it gained her interest. We had to find her for literal 30 minutes!" William slightly exclaimed.
"Enough chit chats. It seems to me that we lost her back in 6th cabin?" Muffey spoke directly to where the conversation needs to flow.
"Yeah, the lovers cabin. If she's not somewhere around that area, then we'll go down with each cabin that we passed. First, the 6th – Stelia and Arthur's cabin –where you lost your gal. Muffey, you'll search around that area since they've got a problem seeing me." Dilon wittedly commanded and immediately got the attention of everyone.
"Second, is the 5th cabin. You tally, and the glasses guy should go there. It's perfect for both of you to search there, so that no one would think or suspect that you're some sort of 'criminals' or bad guys roaming around houses late at night. Nobody rents there yet; you won't be seen there."
Dilon advice both William and Clarence to navigate the 5th cabin's area. Since they're the new faces in Sacred Greens, they should search somewhere without anyone suspecting them.
"Lastly, myself. Of course, I'll be at 4th cabin's area – the cabin of Stelia's friends, right? They seem to be terrified by me so, I think I can pretty much handle it." Dilon said, slightly raising his shoulders. Giving a confident stance.
"Sure, I'll be at 6th cabin. You guys will be at 5th, and Dilon will be at 4th. If she's not on either house, we'll keep searching – and by that time, Dilon will let Herman know what's happening." Muffey obeyed Dilon and let everyone go to their assigned plans.
"Oh, and one thing." Dilon interrupted.
"Make sure to look around the house, the front, the back of it, anywhere. But, behind these cabins are guarded with fences. They are heavily and properly fenced, because beyond that is a wide forest. Don't force yourselves to trespass there, we don't want to lose sight of any tourist." Dilon added seriously.
As soon as everyone's ready, William and Clarence sprinted off first. Dilon and Muffey followed.
~~~~~
Juno tried to get a glimpse of someone. Thinking that someone might rescue her. She tried her best to collect her consciousness and open her eyes.
She lifts up her head. Her eyelashes are dripping wet that makes her eyes blurry. She kept hearing the echoing voice that calls her name. She gained a little consciousness, and that's the moment when she finally saw the image of where the voice came from.
It's a person that stands still in a distance but began to move closer when Juno finally stared.
She now sees the person behind the voice, walking calmly towards her as if there's no thunderstorm and chaos.
Juno recognizes that it's a woman, based on the calming but low feminine voice and her swift movements. Juno can't vividly see the woman's face as she wears an extremely long dark coat with a hood that covers half of her face with darkness. Her cloak is visibly torn by the ends of it. The torn ends of the coat floats around as the woman walks.
"Juno Heathcliff...Wake up and hear my voice." The woman chants to the wind.
"Who are you..." Juno asked in a very low voice.
The thunderstorm never calmed down. It even got worse, but the mysterious woman seems to be serene - just untroubled. The roaring wind didn't bother her too much. Unlike Juno who's nearly been taken away by the wind – kept her knees intact on the mudded ground and hugged herself tightly.
Juno's eyes are blinded by the heavy rain. Every time her eyes flicker, the woman comes closer. Closer, and closer.
The mysterious woman touches Juno's cold cheeks. It's a lady of age, with thin body and fingers similar to a corpse. Her eyes are still covered by her hood, but her lips are seductively thin – and has the color of deep purple. However, her skin is pale as gray; like an awakened corpse.
"Listen to me young soul." The woman commanded. Her lips are nearly touching Juno's left ear – she could feel the woman's breathing.
Juno froze in fear and confusion as the woman's voice rang in her ears. She whispers so close to her ear, but the voice sounds like a dream that only echoes inside her mind.
"Remember this moment. The future lies in your hands, and tonight... it will knock behind your darken eyes. You will witness, the future of your reality."
The woman expressed her meanings. She raised her hands and suddenly pressed Juno's forehead with her thin and long pale fingers.
Juno's eyes turned pitch black. Her face became emotionless. The nerves in her forehead became visibly stressed, as her mind become possessed.