Hearing the crash of the tree and seeing the birds fly away Andre decided he would slowly approach it. If things went wrong then all he could do was run as fast as possible and hope he didn't get caught or anything of the sort.
Putting one foot forward he disappeared into the woods, what else could he do. Could be the chance to find what he'd been searching for this entire time, all he could do was see for himself.
The forest was like a thousand giants were above him, the sun blocked from the all the leaves of the trees. One thing he had noticed was the abundance of animals, little critters skittering across the ground dragging mud around.
He felt a sense of comfort and stability, which was something unusual to him anyway. His life was never the embodiment of stability but he always js went with the waves and didn't push back like he probably should have in hindsight.
He didn't really dwell on those thoughts though. they were what ifs, would have, should have, could haves and maybes, he wasn't going to rethink his whole life cause of it.
Following what he would call a path Andre kept note of all the different plants he could see. From hollies, thistles and even different types of flowers. It was just a layer of green, it was more like a rainbow and he wouldn't complain.
As kept walking he spotted the water again, it's red bouncing at him instantly. He had no way of making it there from where he was to his knowledge, but finding somewhere he could have a better look would be preferable to him especially considering where he was currently.
"Birds chipring, leaves rustling, wind blowing" Andre said to entertain himself, dodnt think much of poems and such but he thought to try his hand at some. "Out here on a cold day, watching the water-" he cut himself off, he felt what ever he was going to say was bollocks and not worth the air he'd waste anyway.
As he continued he saw someone from the corner of his eye, going up towards them he noticed it was a women. She had brown bob hair and was holding a small child close to her. Something within forced him to take a step closer, he done his best to not startle the women.
He took a second before he said "Hello?" His words went right through her and she did not turn at all. Thinking something was wrong he spoke again "excuse me, are you there?" And again nothing, not even a twich from the women. He went closer and tried to tap the women on the shoulder but his hand went right through her and she vanished I front of his eyes into nothingness.
He couldn't believe what he just saw. In everytime he's been here nothing of the sort has happened, it took him a minute to even process it. Many questions circled his mind but none had any answer he would accept fully.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the noise of the wind and waves had stopped and when he opened his eyes he sees the sky. Rubbing his eyes Andre noticed that he was back in Arcangel, dumped in some side street right next to a dumpster.
In a moment Andre lifts himself up and dusts off for a second and picks up his hat and puts it on. Just before he leaves Andre notices a body just down the alley, their eyes covered with a bandana, hands tied behind their back and a hole between in between the eyes.
Andre couldn't help but feel remorse for the poor sod, probably got mixed up in something they didn't mean to. He had taken many a life before but never had he seen something so planned with his own eyes.
He couldn't think on it too much for now, he had to know where and when he was at. Pulling up the calender on his phone he had been "dead" for almost a week. So much could have happened in that time he didn't know what to do.
Suddenly he noticed all the messages from that women.
"Is it done?" -8:39pm
"Did you stop them?" -9:13pm
"Let me know right now" -9:32pm
"Are you there?" -9:59pm
"Useless" - 10:09pm
He didn't know what to say, would anything actually make sense or help. He felt an explanation was in order, so he sent a message to them.
"Starlight bar as soon as"
It was a good neutral location he felt, was somewhere he'd been before at least. There he would explain all and make up for his mistake. He needed the knowledge she knew and would do almost anything for it.
Without missing a beat Andre made his way towards the bar. He went the most direct way and tried his best to avoid any gang members as he couldn't disappoint her again.
Andre made his way down the streets, keeping to himself and budging past people to get there faster. He didn't want to show up to his own meeting late of course, it was common courtesy.
Reaching the bar he walked inside. There was an array of different people but he didn't take much note of it, he was just trying to find the women. He walked up to the bartender and asked "have you seen a women come in? She was about this big" he said while gesturing to around his own height "I see a lot of people man, maybe I have. Memory is a fickle thing y'know" he responded "I'm not doing this bribery shit, don't got cash on me" Andre said, his tone more direct and serious.
"When did i say about bribery? I don't need that stuff plus I'm not selling out potential customers randomly" he said with snarck "have it your way then, just forget it" he replied.
"You have some explaining to do Mr Andre" a womens voice said...