Intervention Upon a String

Chapter Three

Angelina didn't really expect to sleep that night. As a matter of fact, she was almost frightened at her ability to doze off so easily given their circumstance. They were lost in a very deep and odd forest where anything could possibly happen. When she opened her eyes and shivered as the morning dew settled on her eyelashes, she realized that they hadn't been eaten by werewolves in the middle of the night. Well, that's good.

Sitting up and stretching her arms above her head, she looked around her in a satisfied manner. She slept well but still managed to yawn. Angelina eyed the dying embers of the fire from the night before. The sound of birds occupied the canopy once again.

Nope. Wasn't dreaming it all. It's all still here. The trees. The fire. The...hey where's Flint? Angelina became alert instantly. She looked around worriedly for her obnoxious partner but he was nowhere to be seen. Oh no! Did he leave me here? Did he get eaten? Angelina sighed in frustration. She tried to think positively. She couldn't be alone! Not yet! Not to mention she owed Marcus one for pulling her out of the quicksand. Angelina's shoulders slumped as she looked around sadly. Was he really gone?

Marcus kept watch for most of the night. The deafening sound of crickets and bumps in the night combined with his own concern for their whereabouts were enough to keep him alert. Lazily, he stared at the fire and poked it with a stick and watched it burn to keep entertained. Occasionally, his eyes would flicker to Angelina's sleeping form. Her ribs expanded with even breaths as she slumbered on her side.

The light of the sun began peaking over the horizons just as Marcus felt like he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. Feeling it was light enough to get onto his feet and shake off his exhaustion, he decided to venture into the woods a bit to find food. He was no expert on forest survival, but knew better than to let his grumbling stomach lead him to something he knew would be quite painful on the digestive system later. Seeing as he didn't know what was safe and what wasn't, he had to ignore just about everything his stomach insisted.

Finally, after an hour, he returned to the campsite to see Angelina sitting up. Her back was to him as she slouched on her log. "Damn. You woke up," he said.

Angelina's head spun around in surprise. She did her best not to smile. "You're alive!"

He scoffed. "No thanks to you. Get up. I was just about to leave you behind."

Angelina scrambled up with new energy. Even though she despised Marcus, it was good to know he wasn't some carcass somewhere she'd stumble upon on her way out of the woods. Perhaps they were both just crabby last night. However, she felt pretty damn good and ready to handle anything he threw at her for the day.

Marcus had already started walking and Angelina hopped after him. She paused and looked around. "Hey, we should go this way. Look, there's more light coming from over there. That means the forest is less dense and maybe it'll eventually end," Angelina said and pointed.

"Then hell no," Marcus said. "I'm not following you. Remember the last time you had a brilliant notion to go off in a different direction? I'm not saving your ass again." Marcus stomped off. He was cranky, tired, and hungry.

"Stop being such a wanker," Angelina said and rolled her eyes. "This route makes more sense now. Come on! There's more light."

"No! The light is fucking disgusting! I'm going this way."

He kept walking in the same direction. Both of them sighed in frustration. Was this going to be a repeat of last night? Were they doomed to this until they made it out or died? Marcus groaned and shook his approaching headache away.

Behind him, he could hear Angelina sigh and follow him silently. Obviously, she knew a lost battle when she saw one. There was no way she could get Marcus to follow her; he was too proud. They trudged on for about a mile and Angelina took in the scenery of their atmosphere. Everything was green and blue and hazy with fog. It was a beautiful morning. The ground was wet with dew and dripped off the mushrooms and ivy. The trees occasionally swayed in the breeze and let in faint rays of sunshine that warmed their faces. Though Marcus would never admit it, it was rather nice to feel the sun seeing as Angelina had his jumper all night and he was a bit cold.

They kept walking; the ground crunching beneath their feet. There was another noise, however. One more recognizable and closer to home. Angelina held her growling stomach. "I'm hungry," she said after an hour of silence.

"Eat shit," Marcus replied without even looking back.

Angelina scowled at him and muttered, "Asshole."

She followed behind him but instead of taking in the scenery, she focused her attention on finding food. She, too, wasn't skilled in the art of survival; even less so than Flint. Angelina caught site of something and jogged over to it. "Look," she called to Marcus, who turned curiously. She was standing by an ordinary bush they would have passed many times in the forest. The bushes, however, were covered in tiny purple berries. They were clustered in two and seemed to form the shape of hearts. Angelina held up a berry expectantly for Flint to see.

"Wow," he deadpanned. "It's a national treasure. Can we move, please?"

"Eat them," Angelina said and shoved the berry in her mouth carelessly.

"What are you doing? Have you gone mad? Those could be poisonous, woman!" Marcus shouted, marching over to her and smacking a freshly picked berry out of her hand.

"They're just berries, Flint," she retorted and picked a few more off and shoved them in her mouth before he could smack them away.

"To hell with following you!" Marcus said and walked away. "If you die, I'm leaving you here."

Angelina ignored him and wiped her hands on her pants before following him again. The berries were hardly filling but satisfying against her tongue nonetheless. She wasn't such a fool that she'd just stick anything in her mouth, but she trusted her intuition. The berries felt harmless.

After a moment, Marcus peered curiously over his shoulder to see if Angelina was still there. He didn't know if he should have been relieved or annoyed. She was still following him and glancing around like a silly intuitive girl. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Flint finally said.

"Huh?"

"At Hogwarts. You acted like you were Queen of the Universe. Look at you now. Sinking into quicksand, eating poisonous berries, and are you enjoying my jumper?"

Angelina rolled her eyes. "They weren't poisonous. I'm not dead, am I? And what if I am enjoying your jumper? You smell good." She brought one of the oversized sleeves to her nose and inhaled.

Marcus shook his head. "Are you stoned?"

"Nope...oops!" Angelina tripped and stumbled against Flint's back. Immediately, she started to giggle. "Sorry!"

Marcus regained his balance and ground his teeth. "Why me? Why did I have to get stuck with the biggest Gryffidork bint of all time? I thought Woody was bad but damn do you steal that title. Why can't you trip into...say...I don't know: a pit of poisonous snakes?"

"Because I don't like snakes."

"You like me?"

"Yes! It's my undying lust for you, Marcus!"

Very funny, thought Marcus as he kept walking. She was getting extremely annoying now. Looking to his left to catch a glimpse of something he thought he saw, he was shocked to feel Angelina sidle up next to him and hug his arm.

"I wouldn't like the snakes. I like you. You're not such a bad guy and I don't mind being out here alone with you because...these berries...they make me happy."

Marcus stopped dead in his tracks. "You are absolutely fucking stoned off your ass. I told you not to eat those berries!"

"I love you, Marcus. There's so much love in the air. Let's share it. Make love to me," Angelina said and released his arm, giving him a pleading stare.

Perhaps it was I who ate the berries, Marcus concluded after Angelina finished her statement, for Angelina Johnson just invited me to shag her. Surely, I am delusional.

"Right here. Against this tree," Angelina continued; her eyes wide as she took in the splendor of life around her. Suddenly, she moved towards him and pinned him against a trunk, leaving him very bewildered and suddenly aroused as her eyes stared into his own and her lips hovered close to his. "I feel so good," she whispered. "Make love to me." She leaned into kiss him but before their lips connected, she collapsed at his feet.

For a moment, Marcus just stood there in complete confusion. Ok, so let's round up the facts. You're lost in the woods, you don't know how you got here, you're stuck with Angelina Johnson and she just asked you to fuck her. He paused and looked down at her sleeping form. A smirk formed on his lips. This might not be such a bad thing. She'd never know what happened to her when she wakes up...

Circling her like a predator, Marcus began to undo the button of his jeans. But just as he was about to thrust them down his hips and comply with Angelina's request, he felt a sudden jolt in his chest and stopped. Heart attack? Marcus waited for pain. There wasn't any. What was wrong? He shrugged it off and undid his zipper. Another pang of...guilt? Suddenly, an angel and devil were fighting on his shoulder. The battle was fierce and all Marcus could do was stand there and groan in frustration. Oh, it was bloody. Just when it looked like the devil won, the angel got in a cheap shot and they both vanished in a puff of smoke. Come on! What was that! Was that...WAS THAT MY HEART? NO! I GOT RID OF THAT YEARS AGO! DAMNIT! Marcus let out a growl of frustration and did up his pants. Grumbling obscenities, he bent down to lift Angelina up into his arms and continued to tromp through the forest very stiffly and angrily.

Angelina sighed in contentment and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling his chin with her face. Marcus scowled. This is completely not fair.

He continued to carry her through the woods, though his path wasn't traveled as quickly with the extra weight in his arms. Finally, after about an hour, Angelina stirred and opened her eyes. Everything was blurry at first as she tried to figure out where she was. Something was warm against her and she was moving. Letting her vision clear, she saw Marcus and realized she was in his arms. "Marcus?" she said quietly. "Put me down."

He was startled a bit to hear her voice. Complying, he set her down onto the ground. "You're awake. Good. You were drooling on my shirt."

Angelina held herself against a tree and gave her head a moment to stop swimming. She felt a bit tired and nauseous. Closing her eyes, she took in several deep breaths and placed a hand on her forehead to wipe away a hint of sweat. "What happened?"

"I believe the last time you were sane, I was calling you a stupid bitch and you were proving my statement right by eating poisonous berries and then offering yourself to me."

Angelina's eyes widened as she looked up him. "Did we...?"

"Do you see a big fucking smile on my face?"

Angelina relaxed. They didn't have sex. But she knew exactly what happened. "They were euphoric berries," she said, swallowing and getting her bearings. "They're used in love potions. I should have known..."

"I don't give a shit what they were," Marcus snapped. "Can you walk now, princess?" He turned and began to head off again. Angelina, though she felt dizzy, had no choice but to follow. Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment and fever. Did she really offer herself to Marcus? And more importantly, did he really refuse? She didn't feel sore or abused at all and Marcus did seem rather bitter. A kind of reaction she'd expect from him after denying himself sex and then carrying her ass all over the forest. But why?

"Why didn't you do it?" Angelina asked.

"Do what?"

She blushed. "You know. When I...."

Marcus didn't know why. Guilt? Kill me now. He came up with the best obnoxious remark he could think of. "And catch one of your nasty sexually transmitted diseases? No, thanks."

Angelina gave a little huff of offense. "I do not have any diseases. And even if I did, that didn't stop you before I ate those stupid berries." She grinned. "My, my. Avoiding sex and carrying me too? I do believe you are going soft."

Angelina was startled when Marcus stopped walking. She expected him to turn around and threaten her life somehow but instead he only looked at the nearest tree, grabbed a nearby vine, and wrapped it around his neck before trying to figure out a high distance to jump from and hang himself. "What are you doing?" Angelina asked and then laughed when she realized Marcus was making an attempt at suicide. He was obviously embarrassed at his chivalrous actions. "Stop it."

Just as Marcus started climbing the tree and Angelina went to urge him down, they heard something not too far ahead of them. They both froze and looked in the same direction. It went silent for a while...then again. A cry of distress. It certainly wasn't human by the way it let out an echoing moan that sounded a lot like a whale in the middle of the ocean.

The trees ahead were thick and Angelina and Marcus couldn't see through them to assess the situation. His entire attention focused on what lied ahead, Marcus stopped fooling around and took his vine-noose off his neck. He stood next to Angelina and waited. Another cry permeated the air. "Something's hurt," Angelina whispered.

"And it's probably alerting every vicious predator of that convenient situation from miles around," Marcus said. "We're going this way."

He began to walk away from the crying. Angelina tugged on his arm. "No! Something's hurt. What if we can help it?"

"What if no?"

Angelina ignored him and moved ahead towards the moans; transfixed by the distant and beautiful, though sad, sound it made. It took several paces for Marcus to look back and realize Angelina wasn't following him anymore. "Damnit!" he spat and jogged after her. "How many times are you going to make me save your ass?"

Angelina continued to ignore him as her caring instincts and Gryffindor bravery overpowered her. She pushed past several vines and trees and climbed a small embankment until she stopped and gasped at what she saw. Marcus climbed up next to her breathlessly seconds later. He followed her line of site until he saw it too. For the next five minutes, all they both could do was stare.

One thing was for sure so far. They were in the Forbidden Forest.