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Willow shut her eyes against the fizz of the portal, feeling its tingle creep across her skin until the sensation faded away completely. Gus’s hand was still clasped in her own as he pulled her forward to make room for Amity’s entrance back into the Boiling Isles.
“It feels weird to be home,” Gus said quietly. “It doesn’t feel as…different as I expected it to.”
“I wouldn’t say this feels like home anymore,” Amity replied.
The trio remained in a somewhat shocked silence, staring at the landscape ahead of them. The Isles seemed completely barren, the foliage ahead of them browning and crunchy. It almost reminded Willow of an autumn in the human realm, although this autumn radiated a sort of sickness, as if the land itself was infected by a virus.
“This doesn’t feel different to you?” Willow asked, amazed.
“Of course it’s different, but this is still home. Isn’t it?” There was a bravery in his voice that Willow felt surge gently through her own veins. They walked together, giving Amity space to reunite with Luz and Camilla once they finally followed through the door.
The ground crunched unhealthily beneath their weight, the soil itself hard and bulging in certain places. It reminded Willow of how the mud in the human realm would sometimes freeze suddenly at the beginning of winter. As they picked their way over knotted tree roots, Willow stopped suddenly in her tracks. “Hunter.”
Gus froze beside her and with barely a look they broke into a sprint deeper into the trees. Why wasn’t he at the other side of the portal? They’d been only seconds behind him, did time pass differently in the Boiling Isles than the human realm? They’d had no reason previously to even consider such a thing, but what else could Hunter’s absence be caused by?
Gus and Willow nodded at one another in silent agreement before breaking apart and searching in opposite directions. Gus’s voice in the distance shouted Hunter’s name, Willow’s own voice acting as an echo.
Behind a gnarled tree sat Hunter, knees pressed into his chest. Willow slowed, panting slightly from a mix of exertion and panic. “Are you okay?” She wheezed.
He sat, silent and staring ahead. “Sure.” was the quiet and monotone response.
Catching her breath, she stood slightly behind the tree, scared to interrupt whatever focus held him. “You don’t have to lie to me.” She inched forward and moved to sit next to him, several inches separating them. She mimicked his posture, avoiding even looking at him. “Do you…want to go back to everyone?”
“Not yet. I, uh. Need to be alone for a while.”
“Oh,” she blushed, beginning to scramble to her feet. “S-sorry. I’ll just wait over there? And we can go back together. Just so…you know. Uh. T-take your time, though!” With how flustered she was, her words came out more as a ramble than anything else. Hunter reached out gently but quickly, holding her wrist as she rose. “You don’t have to go,” he said softly.
“You said you needed to be alone.”
“Yeah.”
Willow slowly nodded and sat again, still keeping the slight distance between them.
“I killed him. Flapjack. It’s my fault.”
Willow turned toward him suddenly, aghast. She opened her mouth to protest, but Hunter continued before she could.
“I thought things would finally be different. I was happy in the human realm, for the first time. We were all together and happy and we still would be if I hadn’t let this happen. I put you all in danger and I killed my friend.”
“Hunter,” Willow said slowly, her eyes piercing into him even though he still stared straight ahead. “That’s not fair.”
“No, it’s not, and–”
“No,” she said firmly. “You didn’t put anyone in danger. You didn’t hurt Flapjack. Belos did. And he hurt you, too. Hunter, you’re a victim. What did you do wrong?”
His brow furrowed as if he didn’t understand the question.
“I’m serious,” she pressed. “Tell me what you did.”
“He…” Hunter seemed to be chewing on the words, tasting each syllable before speaking them. “He used me. He couldn’t have hurt anyone if he didn’t have me.”
“He used you.”
“That’s what I said.”
“He used you.” She repeated. “But what did you do?”
Hunter’s face contorted in frustration, tears welling in his eyes. He pressed his palms to his eyes, his elbows propped up on his knees. “Nothing!” He shouted. “I didn’t do anything!”
Willow bit her lip, the pressure grounding her and helping her prevent her own tears from escaping as Hunter sobbed in front of her. She didn’t dare close the gap between them, realizing any kind of contact might be more than he could take at that moment.
They stayed that way for several moments, the only noise around them being Hunter’s sobs. His entire body continued to shake, despite his breathing slowly steadying. Hesitantly, she reached a hand out to rub his back. The shaking lessened slightly. “Hunter,” she said softly. “We will fix this. Somehow. We will avenge Flapjack. But we can’t do that if we aren’t blaming the right person, and I’m afraid to say it isn’t you.” He chuckled softly at that, despite himself. He slowly removed his hands from his face, revealing red eyes and wet cheeks.
“Do you still need a few minutes?”
He swallowed hard. He nodded, although the focus on his face now felt more centered, more aimed. For the first time, Hunter looked over to her. “Thank you.” His voice was hoarse, quiet. She stood then, before he could stop her a second time. “Take your time. Really. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
She stepped to the other side of the tree, leaving him as alone as she felt comfortable doing. It killed her to step away, especially knowing he didn’t want her to, but they both knew he needed it. After several silent moments, there was rustling as he stood and came to her. He almost seemed surprised to find her waiting right where she promised.
“Ready?” She asked.
“Trying to be.”
As they walked back toward the portal, Willow linked their arms together, pulling him closer. He exhaled shakily and perked almost immediately at the sight of Gus running toward them, having heard Willow’s shouts for him. Gus almost tackled Hunter in a hug, saying, “We were so worried! Where were you? Are you okay? Did something happen? Did someone hurt you? I’ll kill them!” Hunter couldn’t help but laugh at the rapid fire questions, returning Gus’s embrace. The trio returned to the portal, arms all looped into one another.