"What are you doing out here?" Nathaniel asked, offering a claw to help William up, which he accepted reluctantly.

"I was on my way to the Valley of Nightmares when I heard singing."

"Yeah, the mushrooms are hard to resist. You just have to learn to ignore them."

The mushrooms were still singing, though they had moved on to a different song; Rooster by Alice in Chains:

"Ain't found a way to kill me yet,

"Eyes burn with stinging sweat,

"Seems every path leads me to nowhere."

"Where do they learn these songs?" William asked.

"I don't know," Nathaniel said curiously.

"Wife and kids, household pet,

"Army green was no safe bet,

"The bullets scream to me from somewhere."

"They're strange songs, to be sure," Nathaniel continued. "Perhaps they make them up?"

"No, I've heard these songs before. They're classics where I come from."

"Hey they come to snuff the rooster, aww yeah.

"Yeah here come the rooster, yeah.

"You know he ain't gonna die."

"This is a classic song for you?" Nathaniel asked uncertainly, "snuffing a rooster?"

"Yeah," William said, then sang with them; "No, no, no yeah he ain't gonna die." and even did a little bit of air guitar which he immediately felt foolish for doing.

"Okay..." Nathaniel looked at him strangely. "But if you want some company going to the Valley of Nightmares, I'll go with you."

"Uh, sure," William said before he thought about it. Nathaniel seemed nice, and it would be good to have someone that knew the area. "How far is it?"

"Not very far," Nathaniel said excitedly; "It's just over that hill."

Standing up, he took one last longing look at the singing mushrooms. They were singing Unchained Melody now. Part of him wanted nothing more than to lie down with them and go back to sleep, even if it were forever. At least that way all of the pain would be gone.

"Okay, he said finally with a sigh, "let's go."

"Follow me!" He expected the lizard-man to go back down the path and take the turn that William hadn't when he heard the music. But instead, Nathaniel just took off through the trees, jogging faster than William could manage with the pain he was feeling.

"Slow down," he called to it's back, but it didn't seem to hear him. Within minutes, Nathaniel was completely out of sight through the trees. William kept going in the direction that he had been heading, but there were not guarantees that he hadn't taken a turn or a detour to avoid something dangerous.

Pain is exhausting. IT can be more exhausting then a good workout, That's true for any type of pain, but if the pain is in your legs and arms, it gets even worse. All of William's joints were afire with pain after chasing the elusive Nathaniel for awhile. It felt like there was a shard of glass piercing every joint down to the bone. And so he had to stop to rest for a few minutes.

Out of breath, William stopped by a nice large tree and sat down with his back against the massive bole. He might even have closed his eyes for a few minutes. It was surprisingly comfortable leaning against that giant tree, more so that he would have thought.

"William," a yell nearby made his wake with a start. Nathaniel was a little ways away apparently looking for him.

"I'm over here," he tried to say, but was interrupted by a big yawn.

"Hush, lad," an old-sounding voice said behind him, "just lie back and go back to sleep." The voice was so calm and reassuring, that William nearly did exactly that. But then he remembered the mushrooms and jerked to his feet, leaning on the tree bole for support in his half-awake condition.

"William? Oh, there you are," Nathaniel finally saw him and waddled over to where he had been napping. "I've been looking for you for over an hour!"

"Sorry, but I couldn't keep up with you and I needed a break."

"Well why didn't you say so? I would have slowed down for you. But why are you going so slow?"

"It feels like my feet are encased in cement, and that I have needles sticking into my arms and legs. Than makes it difficult to run."

"I know what you need," Nathaniel said. "I'll be right back." And off he ran.

"Lay back down," the old creaky voice said again, "you need a rest,"

HE did, in fact, feel like he still needed some rest, so he sat back down and closed his eyes.

"Hey William," Nathaniel's quiet voice and hand on his shoulder woke him up again from a dreamless sleep.

"Yeah?" he asked sleepily.

"I brought Horace to help you along."

"Okay," he said, still not awake enough to comprehend what was going on.

"Hello William," said a horse standing nearby, "I hear that you might need a ride."

"Yeah, thanks. My legs are killing me."

"Well hop on and let's go," Horace said jauntily.

"Okay," William said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "just give me a minute." He knew, instinctually, that there was something about a talking horse that should concern him, but right then it didn't seem any stranger than anything else he'd encountered recently.

So he climbed up on Horace's back, clinging to his mane to stay mounted. Then there was the sensation of being tossed up and down repeatedly as they went once more towards the hill.

"Relax," Horace told him, "I won't let you fall."

"Easier said than done," William replied, his entire body tensed against the stride of the horse and the fear of falling off.

"Look," Horace instructed him, "just hold on with your hands, and relax the rest of your body."

Try as he might, William couldn't overcome his nervous instincts and relax. So the trip was one of discomfort and fear for him as they continued on their way.