The Second Moonrise Part 1: Lost Hope

Screams crawl from the burning remains of the Lostling's Hope treehouse. The purple moon watches from above the treeline, painting the outskirts around the settlement in the macabre shades of the newly slain. As I watched, the home that I had known half of my life crumbled behind me. I was bawling my eyes out. I remember Karen yanking on my hands, and Ron pulling my unwilling feet deeper into the Forest. I remember the salamander token in my pocket, warmed by the fire we'd just run from.   I remembered the eyes of my mother and father as the Ashvine insidiously wormed it way into their bodies. They were still alive. Still conscious. Telling me it was alright. That if I just joined them we could be safe forever. Karen said it was a lie. How could it be a lie? Our parents were there, in front of us, awake. I wanted to join them. But the ants saved me. They came in a great swarm, pulling me away from the creature and its victims on a tide of chitin.   I should have been there with them. I know how to save them. But that's a story for another time.   Karen and Ron were the only survivors, other than me. They pulled me deeper into the Forest, and for a moment I thought they too had been taken over. All around us were the ants. They scuttled and swarmed across the undergrowth. Twigs and moss and lichen were ferried along with them.   "What are you doing?! We have to go back! Mom and dad are still in there!" But even as I watched, more of the infernal plant's tendrils wove around the bridges and platforms of Lostling's Hope. The smoke filled the air, eventually blotting out the moonlight. The town fell into darkness.   I felt my sister's arms around me. I remember crying into her. This was the second time we'd lost our old life.   After a few minutes, Ron got our attention. Patting my back, he pointed towards the ground. Looking down, I saw the stream of Ants surrounding us. "What do they want? You're the one they talked to."   There wasn't much for me to say. My mind was still on the horrible sight of my parents being slowly assimilated into the Ashvine. But something caught my eye. "Ron! What are those?" I pointed at a pair of lumps that weren't moving like the rest of the swarm. They broke the surface and washed up from the ocean of ants. Recognition hit me, and I dug into my pocket. When my hand came back, up, it held the lizard statue the creatures had given me before. I looked back at the two objects that lay at our feet. It was a pair of exact duplicates.   The swarm dissipated after that. Karen and Ron both took a statue, since I already had mine. We began to move. Mostly me and my sister were following Ron. He was the only adult we knew who had survived the attack. Eventually, after wandering for what felt like days, we found something new.   We found the Campgrounds.