Yesterday, IGEBM went for a walk in the woods and met a hermit who had been on Shiver Island for 12 years. The Hermit explained that Mr. Shiver had essentially trapped him on the island, and when IGE went back to Shiver Mansion to bring his friends back to the Hermit so they could meet him, they all found that he was gone.

IGEBM, Si, and Storm walk through the woods in broad daylight back to the spot where the Hermit seemed to have disappeared from. In Si's hands are a pair of test tubes, and they are wearing black rubber gloves. "Why are we bringing the tubes again?" he asks. "To test and make sure that red goop is ectoplasm." Storm responds. They arrive at the spot a few moments later and find the goop is gone, as are the plate and M&M wrapper. The Hermit's wooden crook, which was previously lying in the goop, is now clean and leaning against a tree. "What the Hell?" IGE asks, surprised. "Of course it's gone. Nothing makes sense when you're dealing with ghosts."

"So, what should we do now?" Storm asks. "Maybe look for clues." Si suggests. "They couldn't have gotten rid of everything." "Good point, Si." IGE says. "Split up and search the area." The trio each go in a different direction and look around. IGE examines the dark oak trees, searching for any evidence of spirits, while Si climbs up a tree and surveys the area above the forest. No longer covered by the thick roof of the forest provided by the leaves, he is pelted with droplets of rain and quickly climbs back down. Storm walks around and finds dirt tracks of some sort. "Over here!" he says.

IGE and Si rush over and kneel to examine the tracks. They stretch for several feet before stopping abruptly. "Hmm..." IGE says, thinking. "I'm going to channel my inner IDW Prowl and Rescue Bots Academy Chase here and suggest that the Hermit was dragged away before being lifted into the air somehow." "That... actually makes sense." Si says. "The speed and strength at which he was dragged would've been strong enough to create those tracks." "Correct." IGE responds. "What now?" Storm asks. "We still don't know where the Hermit went." IGE says. "But frankly, I don't wanna know. I feel like, the deeper we go, the harder it'll be to get out, and soon, we'll meet the same fate as him... whatever that is." "We just need to follow his advice and survive." Si says. "If we can make it to the 31st, we'll be okay. Probably."

TOMORROW - "THE TORTURE CHAMBER!"

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Cast (in order of appearance)
IGEBM as IGEBM
LegendarySi as Si
Stormy as Storm

Mentioned (in order of mentioning)
The Hermit

Writing began 9-26-2023 at 7:02 AM EDT
Writing completed 9-26-2023 at 5:45 PM EDT
Published 10-9-2023 at 5:00 PM EDT
Written by IGEBM
Cover art by IGEBM

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If you’re wondering…

Yes, the ectoplasm on the cover is mistakenly colored green when it should be red.

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People I'm Tagging So They Can See This
Zibonzi, ShadowZibonzi, Firestar2477278, DarkIce8727742, Aspirin60, GhostlyBit_57, Silabear, Rob333, DarkRob333, TheMcPig, violiie, CesarCarter, Sp3nc3r_, Rakkitatoru, LeLovesJazz, CrownDeluxe, AxolotlArmy, BigFatPotat, ShadowOnTheLoose, WhisperOfTheWild, The Last Kirbalorian, Purpl3_, Elightin_elytra, GoldenScientist, Guts N Pixels, ghostoftheglade, EccentricEremite