Charlie couldn't be sure how long she'd been kneeling in front of her tent, but when she did start to move, her knees were complaining about the rocks that had been poking into them. Something that felt like it was more affirmation that she was still alive and going to remain that way rather than something she really shouldn't do in the future.
Charlie searched her pack for any remaining food to cook. She wanted something special for her friends to eat as they could celebrate all of them surviving being so ill that the idea some of them would die was a very real possibility.
She didn't find much at first, but continued looking. Yet, what she finally came on that sounded good to her, even though it really wasn't that special in and of itself, was oatmeal. Charlie couldn't remember having oatmeal since they started on the expedition, so she thought it probably could be considered something special at the moment.
Then as she pulled that out of her tent, she looked around and saw that all the firewood had been used up, save for a few small pieces. However, Charlie was determined to not let that deter her cooking the oatmeal.
So, she went to the stream and filled a pot before heading back to the camp, Then she used her magic to create a flame to start getting the water to boil. Being able to do that sent a thrill of elation through her body. She could finally use her magic again without being worn out from the effort alone.
It was enough to make her start giggling to herself, though she tried not to wake any of her friends while doing that. While she couldn't help it, she still didn't want to be seen giggling like an idiot.
However, for the first time that morning, her luck failed her. Shortly after she'd started giggling about being able to use her magic again as she pleased, Ralph came out of his tent.
"What's so funny?" he asked as he got out of his tent.
Charlie merely glanced at Ralph but couldn't stop giggling and wasn't sure how to explain why she was giggling so much. Though, she did feel her face start to warm up.
Ralph sat down near Charlie and looked at the water over the flame, apparently not as impatient for an explanation of Charlie giggling as he usually had been in the past. "So, what're you making for breakfast?" he asked instead.
Charlie didn't say anything. She merely held up the container of oatmeal. Ralph merely sighed, though Charlie couldn't really blame him. As far as breakfast items went, plain oatmeal was rather bland. Especially since they didn't really have much else to add to it.
"Would you mind if I found something to add to it?" he asked.
–Go ahead.– Charlie replied using her magic, which only made her giggle even harder.
Ralph started chuckling as he looked at Charlie.
"Alright then," he merely said, shaking his head in amusement as he turned to his tent and started going through his pack.
Charlie didn't wait for Ralph to find whatever it was he had in mind. As soon as the water started boiling, she then measured the amount of oatmeal to add to the water, not that she was exactly sure of the proportions to add. Though, she at least didn't want it especially dry.
She'd just started stirring the oatmeal when Ralph returned. He had a sealed pack of dried cherries. "I thought I had some dried strawberries, but I guess I finished them off some time ago," he said. "But I at least found these and I thought it'd at least be better than nothing."
–Thanks.– Charlie said, smiling. For the first time in who knew how long, she found that she could relax around Ralph. Maybe it would only be for this morning, but it felt nice.
Ralph then added the cherries while Charlie continued to stir the oatmeal. Partly for something to do than anything else. Although, she he did so, Charlie finally felt her giggling subside.
"So, what was so funny?" Ralph asked again as Charlie finally stopped giggling.
Charlie shook her head. "Just that I was finally able to use my magic again without wearing myself out right away," Charlie answered brightly.
Ralph merely nodded. "Yeah, it does feel nice," he agreed. Then after a minute of silence, he asked, "So, what're we going to put the oatmeal in?"
Charlie blinked. She had completely forgotten that they didn't have any bowls or other container to put it in.
When Charlie didn't say anything for a few minutes, Ralph laughed. "Here I'll make some bowls for us to use," he said moving away where he began to create bowls out of the ground.
When Charlie considered the oatmeal done, her other friends started to come out of their tents. The meal wasn't as spectacular as some other meals Charlie had eaten since they'd started on the expedition, but this one certainly was one of the more enjoyable ones. Partly because of it being so different from what she'd had up to this point as well as having overcome the illness that had nearly killed her and her friends, but also because it was a new day where they could use their magic freely again.
After breakfast, Charlie found herself crawling into her sleeping bag again for a nap. Her friends had agreed to do the dishes, including the pot that Charlie had used to boil the mushroom with blue spots to create the treatment for their disease.
Though, Charlie told herself that she needed to take care of her laundry. As not only did she use her shirt at first to wipe the solution on herself, but she also had accumulated several pieces of clothing that needed to be washed. Some smelled really bad while others were covered in dirt and dust. All of which she wanted to wash, despite not having any electrical conveniences around, like a washing machine.
At the end of the day, when Charlie came back from the stream, having just finished her laundry, she felt rather relaxed. Flare seemed happy that they were all moving around again, though Charlie couldn't recall being aware of what Flare had been up to when they were sick.
Ralph had chopped up some aging vegetables and even put in chunks of a smoked ham to create a stew for them to eat for dinner. Charlie had to admit that it smelled rather good.
When she'd finished eating a bowl of the stew, she was ready to call it a night. Her body was sore from the activities, more because her body had gotten used to the inactivity from being sick and she was interested in getting to bed early so they could continue their exploring of the forest in the morning.
However, as there was still plenty of light left, she let her friends talk her into hanging out more. Even finishing up the current book they were on. Which Charlie was willing to do, mostly from her excitement at not having to deal with still being sick.
As the light started to fade, Charlie couldn't help but notice a firelight in the distance. She looked closely at it, but it was too distant to make out anything other than the fact that it was there.
Suddenly she got a bad feeling as she turned to see the fire her friends had lit blazing brightly and large. It had been fed by the firewood that they'd gathered during the day. While Charlie wasn't opposed to celebrating, she couldn't shake the feeling that they needed to not be seen up there.
She couldn't say what the reasons were, but she just knew they needed to put out their fire. Though, she wasn't sure how to express it so her friends would understand.
"Uh, maybe we should put the fire out and call it a night?" she suggested, hoping it didn't come out as lamely as she felt it had.
"Don't be such a downer!" Wes scolded Charlie loudly, even though there were mere feet apart. "Just enjoy the night. Even if we get a late start tomorrow, we can still enjoy tonight."
"No, there's a fire in the distance and I'm getting a bad feeling about it," Charlie tried to explain.
"Come on, spore girl," Hannah said. "No need to get worked up over something you're hallucinating about."
"Spore girl?" Charlie echoed. She wasn't sure she liked where this was clearly heading. She already was starting to feel a coldness spread over her body, like a metaphorical frost covering the ground.
"Yeah, you not only get high from the fungaloid's spores, but now you save us with the spores of the blue mushrooms on this world," Tim said.
Charlie wasn't sure she trusted her voice at the moment, though she did hear her heart beating faster, to the point it felt like it was right next to her ears. She also could feel her hands starting to shake as the air around her started to heat up.
"Yeah, spore girl," Amelia chimed in. "Don't get so worked up over whatever hallucinations you're having now from all the spores you're coming in contact with."
Charlie felt herself go still at that last remark. She had been debating about leaving the group for a while, but now she was certain she was going to do that. Not only just because of what they'd said to her, but also because this was the world that the griffin canyon was on. She wouldn't need to worry about missing this world through not being with her friends, so that wasn't an issue anymore.
Whatever problem might come from her friends keeping this bonfire going, she would ensure that they were kept safe through the crest that Heathcliff had stitched on their tents that would allow them to become invisible if they pulled their magic through it. So, Charlie knew that she wouldn't have to feel guilty about her friends being in trouble from just being reckless.
Or at least that was her plan. However, Beth seemed to catch on that Charlie's mood was taking a nosedive. Charlie could only guess this because she suddenly found herself with Beth's arm around her shoulders. She hadn't even heard Beth approach.
Was it because she'd been getting so worked up by her new nickname? she wondered.
"Come on guys!" Beth reprimanded their friends. "You know Charlie doesn't like to be reminded of that time. If Charlie really feels like there's someone out there, then while we sleep, we should use the invisibility feature Heathcliff gave our tents. Each of us will use our magic to keep it active while we sleep and let it protect us just in case Charlie's right."
Charlie pulled away from Beth and went to their tent. While she was willing to accept Beth's support, she wanted to go to sleep at the moment. If nothing else, she was going to leave before any of her friends woke up.
She'd probably have to use her magic to let her see in the dark, since when the sun went down in this world, there didn't seem to really be any light that came through that mist, so it could get rather dark.
Charlie had changed into her nightgown and slid into her sleeping bag when Beth entered the tent, Flare sleepily following her.
"Charlie, you asleep?" she asked quietly.
"Not yet," Charlie replied, settling into her sleeping bag, hoping whatever Beth wanted to talk about wouldn't take long.
"Before you do anything rash, would you be willing to talk with me in the morning?" she asked.
Charlie turned to look at Beth. Her best friend had a worried expression on her face and Charlie felt guilty for even thinking of leaving them as a result. Yet, at the same time, she knew she had to do that.
It wasn't anything that she could explain, just that it was necessary. While on the other hand, she really didn't want Beth trying to stop her either, so she knew that she'd need to answer Beth's question carefully. Largely because she didn't want to promise anything that she didn't plan on delivering and she didn't want to tell Beth what her plans were. Primarily because she knew that Beth would find a way to get her to change her mind.
Charlie was quiet so long that Beth's expression just got more worried. Eventually Charlie sighed. "Look, I can't say I'll listen to what you have to say in the morning, but when I'm ready, I'll be sure to hear what you have to say about it, okay?" she asked, feeling good that she was able to come up with a way to put it that wouldn't promise anything she really wouldn't be able to keep.
Beth didn't seem to guess Charlie's thoughts, so she smiled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to get them to understand your feelings about it, okay?"
"Okay," she replied, feeling bad at Beth's response. Yet, she accepted that this was needed. If Beth was to live, she needed to find a way to get away from Beth and hopefully Beth would decide to return to Earth and leave this world.
If she could get that to happen, then she wouldn't have to worry about her dream coming true. Not that she could be sure that it would occur on this world. Although, as that doubt emerged, she suddenly wondered if she could ever have contact with Beth again or if doing that would put Beth in danger somehow.
However, if it kept Beth alive, she would live a solitary life and stay away from everyone else. At least, after she'd gotten the crystal back and Petals' memories restored. She had to do that no matter what anyway. She'd already promised herself that she'd do that, but that was the only weakness in her plan. Or at least the only one that she could think of.
When she did get to sleep, she hoped that she was making the right decision. As the key point in her dream was that it depended on a choice she made. If she made the wrong choice, then she was afraid that no matter what she did, the scene would happen with all the elements needed for her to witness Beth being killed. Seeing it in a dream was more than enough for Charlie.
When she woke up, she could tell that it was the morning, although she couldn't say what time it was. It was dark out and she couldn't even see her own nose on her face. Or at least she couldn't until she pulled on her magic and could feel her eyes start to adjust with the help of her magic.
Carefully, she got dressed and left the tent, carefully closing it behind her. She had removed all the things out of her pack and stored them in Beth's that had been brought as a group activity, like the reading had been.
If she wasn't going to be with them anymore, she thought she might as well let them have those. She wouldn't need them now. Besides, she was sure that they'd be more relaxed without her. As at the very least, she wouldn't disrupt their 'fun' by not understanding things that the others did already.
As she looked at the camp one last time, she was surprised to feel her heart demanding that she stay. Even though she had already decided that she needed to leave her friends, she could feel her heart breaking as she started to actually leave.
Pushing away all of her feelings, she took a deep breath and started walking. She had no idea which way she was going. Only that she needed to move or she would still be there when her friends got up. At which point it would be too late for her to leave.
She didn't know what was going to happen, only that it had to start somewhere.