Chapter Text
If Meryl was asked back at the start of college where she saw herself in 5 years, she would probably say either working for her friend Milly's family's insurance agency, or traveling the world as a news reporter. The second one turned out to be partially correct.
If you had told her back in college, that sure she'd be traveling the world as a reporter, but not for world news, no, instead she'd be hunting down and reporting on the supernatural; well, she probably would have laughed right in your face and then sprayed you with pepper spray, because you're crazy and the supernatural isn't real! Ghosts? Probably not. Demons? Definitely not. Cryptids? Hell no!
Alas, when both Meryl and Milly saw what looked like a giant man-moth lurking outside their college campus, a few weeks before graduation no less, they decided to investigate. This thing was causing chaos on campus, and the graduation ceremony was being threatened with cancellation for the students safety, and well, the girls just couldn't let that slide.
So Meryl did what she did best: research. She researched the hell out of the giant man-moth thing, found it hated a certain frequency of sound, and blasted the invisible noise at the top of the campus building. The entire school heard its scream as it bolted out of town, Milly had recorded the entire ordeal, and they single handedly saved graduation day.
And then Milly heard a rumor about another creature causing problems the next town over, and off they went, never looking back.
Did it pay well? No, not really. They were lucky if the townsfolk they helped donated anything at all. More often than not they got free meals or a free night at the inn as thanks, which wasn't bad, but they picked up the occasional odd jobs here and there to pay for gas and other necessities.
If Meryl had told herself 5 years ago that she would be traveling Gunsmoke with her best friend hunting down monsters and documenting her adventures on the internet, she never would have believed it. But now, there's nothing else she could imagine doing.
"I'm telling ya Meryl, I think we're lost!" Milly said, leaning closer towards the windshield as if it would help her see where they were at. Dead, looming trees surrounded either side of the road, and a thick fog covered the ground after last night's rain storm, so it might've been possible they missed a road.
Meryl huffed and squinted at the map in her hands, frowning at the sticky note of directions the man at the gas station gave them. "But that can't be! The guy said it was two lefts and a right, and we made two lefts and a right! Where is this stupid city?!"
Milly pressed on the brakes and they slowed to a stop on the side of the road, peering over Meryl's shoulder at the map.
"Hmm, well, here's December," she said, pointing to the large city they were trying to make their way to, "and this was that gas station," she pointed to a nearby speck on the map, "and it looks like we're lost in some kinda woods." She pointed to a large cluster of trees on the map labeled Fallen Woods. "D'ya think the guy's directions was making us avoid the woods instead of goin' right through?"
Meryl squinted harder at the map, and sure enough, to go around the Fallen Woods was two lefts and a right. "Oh my god I'm such an idiot!" She growled and tossed the map at the dashboard, unbuckling and throwing the car door open. "Stupid map! Stupid road! Stupid woods! Ugh!" She kicked a tire on the car and started pacing across the road, mumbling to herself.
"We were supposed to make it to December before dark, apparently there are some shady bandits nearby, so we can't just turn around and head back, it'll be another like, 6 hours before we get to the city!" She started twirling and tugging on a lock of hair, a nervous habit she never kicked as a child. "We could spend the night here in the woods,but it's so creepy! And who knows what kinds of creatures are lurking in here! Supernatural or otherwise! Ugh, I don't know what to do, what other options do we have? We could just keep driving through, but who knows how long it'll take to get out of here, we're still lost…"
With a sigh Meryl stopped her pacing and looked back up at the car and to Milly, who was sitting behind the wheel and opening up one of the sandwiches they bought at the gas station. A twig snapped behind her and she whipped around, facing the woods in front of her. She could see nothing but more dead trees and the eerie fog, but for a brief second a flash of gold caught her eye.
She turned around and hurried back over to the car, crawling back into the passenger's seat and wordlessly taking the offered sandwich Milly held out.
"So," she said, taking a bite, "we can either double back and take the road avoiding the woods, which would take us another 6 hours to reach the city, and by that point it'd be well into the night, and there were those rumors about bandits. Or, we could keep going further into the woods, but I don't know when or where it'll spit us out at. Or, we can stay the night in the woods, sleep in the car, and double back in the morning."
"But this place is creepy," Milly said, nodding and finishing off her sandwich.
Meryl nodded as well. "But this place is creepy, yeah." She sighed, looking out the window. "I can't help but feel like we're being watched. They say nothing can survive in this forest, because everything's dead, it can't hold life. But the stories say that the Plants stolen by the Ark way back in the beginning of Gunsmoke fell here after the Angel defeated the Ark, and that their souls live on, guarding something precious in the heart of the forest. With everything we've seen I wouldn't be surprised if these Ghost Plants are watching us, ya know?"
Milly hummed, opening up a pudding cup. "Oh, yeah for sure! I kept seeing something watching us as I was driving! I don't know if it was a Ghost Plant, because it was kinda smaller than a Plant, but it's definitely following us! It's got these big round, gold eyes, and I think it's got wings? I don't know, I only caught a few glimpses."
Meryl slowly turned to face her, an incredulous look on her face as Milly savored every bite of her pudding, happily humming.
"You WHAT-?!" Meryl shrieked before something slammed into the side of their car, tilting it briefly onto its side wheels before it slammed back down on all fours, the girls letting out a scream as they clung to their seats. Thick vines began to wrap around the car, blocking the windshield and preventing the doors from opening as the girls felt the car lurch forwards and up off the ground.
"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD SOMETHINGS FUCKING CARRYING THE CAR WHAT THE FUCK!!!" Meryl screamed, peering between the vines to watch the ground disappear beneath them, the tops of the trees skimming the underside of the car. In the side mirror, Meryl caught a glimpse of wings and round golden eyes flashing in the moonlight before Milly grabbed her and clung to her for dear life.
"MERYL I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!" She sobbed, and Meryl clung back to her eyes fixed on the gaps in the vines. They were moving really fast, towards what looks like the city of December they were trying to get to. Suddenly, the car lurched and they started to descend, tree branches snapping under the car as they dropped back towards the ground. The car landed with a rough shake, the vines quickly receding and as soon as it was possible, Meryl flung open the door, looking around wildly for whatever it was that grabbed them.
Nothing.
The air was quiet save for the creak of the dead trees and the sobs of Milly in the car. She spun around, looking for any clues as to what the hell just happened, before Meryl heard Milly gasp.
"Meryl! Meryl look!" She turned and looked at what Milly was pointing at. A sign.
December City, 50 Iles.
She whipped around, taking in her surroundings. The dead trees of the forest were much thinner, and the road looked paved instead of just dirt. In fact, there was a gas station further ahead, and Meryl ran back to the car, grabbing the crumpled map and flinging it open. They were on the other side of the forest. That's the last gas station before December. The road they were supposed to take was parallel with where they were at. Meryl looked back at the dense forest, and saw a flash of gold, the thrum of energy beat in tandem with her racing heart.
"Meryl, what just happened?" Milly asked with a sniff.
Meryl just stared at the woods. "Whatever's in that forest is more than just ghosts. And we're going to find out what it is."