Role

Chapter 2

We remember little from before the Forest. We were young. We had Mommy. We had Daddy.

We had each other. We lost our way. Lost our way into the darkness. The forest was big,
twisty. There were dark things there. Beasts and worse. We could hear them crunching,
munching. We hid. Scurried. Hid more. In the forest, in the muck. The pools were
safe sometimes. Sometimes not. Sometimes they hid worse things.

We nearly were eaten many times. Eaten and worse. But we lived. We ate our meaties.
We did not waste. The forest provides. The muck provides.

We learned to hide, Brother. We were there long. The forest provides. The trees, they
were a comfort over time. Their branches high and safe enough. The muck, safe too, when
we learned to be safe there.

There was lots there, and we were meaties too. Long and lean and wild, but still meaties.
Liky Mommy said, we do not waste. We did on little, and the marsh provided. There was no
waste there.

It caught us one day. We were careless, not safe. We should have known better. This thing.
Its eyes glowed like embers, lighting up the darkness. We could not see it well, did not want
to see it. We put brother behind us, stood before it. We thought we were meaties then, we
thought it would gnaw on our bones. We do not waste.

It spoke, a soft rumble. We were scared. Of course we were scared. We did not think it could
speak. We begged. Oh how we begged.

We were offered a bargain, a deal. We could leave, go free. If we could find two others
to take our place. We leaped at the chance. Daddy always told us to measure twice cut once,
but there was no measuring done. We did not have a choice.

The next we knew we were in a dark void between worlds. The Holy Grove we later learned.
We knew what we had to do. Brother knows. We know. We look forward to it. Finding
someones else for it to devour. We will wait, plan, but we will find someones else.

We have no choice.