The Bath

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"The Bath" is the twenty-third chapter of Into the Forest. It is the second chapter to be narrated by Cas "The Wizard" Stern.

## Chapter Quote

"Why can't I just roll back the time?" - Jim Sullivan

## Summary

The chapter opens up on May 26, 2014 at 00:09:19 in Dayton, Ohio. Cas, Bobby, and Marnie are all still hiding in Sorcerer's apartment. Cas' paranoia has subsided over the last few days, though she still uses the Orb as often as she can to track Recluse's activities. She is still unsure of where Deakin is. Bobby is still missing parts he needs to repair the Airstream and the truck. Nobody has heard from Sorcerer in some time either. As the hours pass and Cas continues to use the Orb, she accidentally ends up smudging it, which prompts her to restart it. After restarting it, she immediately continues using the Orb again to watch Recluse.

Cas thinks back to a time a long time ago when she and the others were still friends with Recluse. Before he started going by that name, Cas only knew him as Alv. He is the youngest and most social one among them. The memory Cas thinks about is one in which she, Bobby, Recluse, and a fourth person (whose name is omitted in the text) were all together in New Hampshire on a snowy night. They had just exited a pub and were walking around outside while drunk. Recluse had slipped and fallen on ice. He laughed and dared the rest of them to try and walk on it as well. The others did and they ended up slipping as well. Before that, while still in the pub, they seemed to be discussing something.

Bobby claims that he was never part of that circle of friends. There were not four of them, but only three, as Bobby says he was only there for Cas. On Tuesday, May 27, Bobby takes Cas and Marnie out to a Chinese restaurant. Marnie is sad because of the news regarding the Isla Vista shootings. She reads parts of "My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger" aloud to Cas and Bobby. Cas thinks about Zeke Rilvergaile (his real name is omitted, but the Narcons explain that this name is a pseudonym given to him by Realic S. Tarnen in his "Cip 4" paper). Cas and the others buried Zeke in 1966.

The three of them return to Sorcerer's apartment. Cas finds it odd how Marnie never talks about Sorcerer or the Orb. The next morning, Cas watches Clip #6 again. She is still perplexed by the altering visions, and neither she nor Bobby are able to figure it out. Bobby finally gives up and says Sorcerer will likely be able to figure it out. Both of them are still becoming increasingly worried as they still receive no word from Deakin. Cas begins to wonder if Deakin had gotten arrested. Those among them who get arrested are about the same as those who have been killed, as they seem to completely vanish. Cas speaks the code name of each of their allies, along with their real names, but the real names are omitted: Circe, Artemis, Thanatos, Treebeard, Merlin (who we at least know is Deakin), Pythia, Lilith, and Endoria.

On Thursday morning, Bobby leaves and does not return until after lunch. He places an order for all of the parts needed to repair the Airstream and the truck, and the parts are supposed to arrive on Friday. However, on Friday, the parts do not arrive. Cas, Bobby, and Marnie stay inside of the apartment all through Friday, with Cas lying in the empty bathtub with the Orb. Later on, she takes a break and all three of them watch videos on Marnie's laptop.

Most of the parts arrive on Saturday morning, though some are still missing. Bobby says he can get the Airstream fixed by Monday, and the truck should be fixed by Tuesday. That night, Marnie asks Cas about her heritage. She successfully guesses that Cas is a descendant of the Native Americans, which surprises Cas. Cas descends from the Hopi tribe. On Sunday, the three of them are alerted when they hear a sudden banging on the apartment door. When the banging becomes more aggressive, they decide to take the Orb and try to sneak away by using the fire escape. During their escape attempt, they are pursued by strangers. One stranger grabs Cas by the shoulder from behind, which causes her to panic and drop the Orb. The Orb rolls along the floor and the stranger tries to chase after it, but it ends up detonating.

The chapter ends on June 1, 2014 at 22:06:06.