Michael's Journey is a the final book in a trilogy series (unnamed story, Old Feuds, Michael's Journey). It is a story about the main character, Michael, tracking down the last part of his family... his missing older sister. It was written by Puddlewish as a private project.
Summary
Michael is still on his own after leaving in the last book.
Mike ends up deciding to track down Harriet Figg, the alias Raven is using to hide herself from her family.
He turns up in the London suburb she is hiding in, being around the area at the time (the group lives in Northern England Forest area somewhere, but heβs been wandering for about 6 months, being around the London area at the time). He scouts around town for a while, deciding to camp out in the forest nearby due to his knowledge of living outdoors.
On his third day in town while in the local library, he spots a woman with long black hair neatly tied in a bun and green eyes working at the local library. Mike decides to go over and ask her for directions to find a book about computers.
Upon coming up to the desk and asking about the book the woman freezes as she stares at Mike, clearly recognizing his appearance. As he leaves, he calls back saying βThank you, Harrietβ without her even having a nametag.
This terrified Harriet, who was really Raven using an alias, who thought that Mike look like her father and almost believed him to be the reincarnation of William, not realising Mike look practically identical to William.
Raven then stalks Mike, which admittedly freaks him out.
After Michael catches Raven stalking him back to the forest he confronts her, leaping out of a tree and surprising her. When she demands to know who he is, he asks whether she remembers. Raven, hearing this, realises that the person she was following was her younger brother Michael, who looked practically identical to William in his older age.
Ravenβs demeaner then changes, with her becoming more friendly. This makes Mike think about his father and half-brother's conditions and how Raven probably inherited them.
The two talk for a while, with Mike catching Raven up on the events of the past many years she missed. Raven then apologizes for abandoning Michael with their father, but he tells her that itβs no problem, and that he was treated well by his father and got to care for his half-brother.
Mike continues to hang around town, helping Raven with little tasks she needed to get done.
During this time, he notices the ghost of his long-dead sister Daisy following him around. He tries to speak to her, but she just disappears when he gets too close to her. Michael is confused.
Mike ends up going through his bag after getting a cut on his leg, finding that he had a lot more medical supplies than he first thought. In there he finds two needles of something and is confused, although unable to run any medical tests on the solution to find out what it was.
Mike later asks Raven about the substance, and she offers him a book on different types of medicines. In this book he finds the section for tranquilizers and realises that the two needles he had are tranquilizers, but he knew that he didnβt put them in there himself. Mike questions Raven, but she says she doesnβt own any tranquilizers.
While lying down the next night he thinks he hears something in the woods and, going in that direction, finds Daisyβs ghost standing over the dead body of a young woman. Mike goes to check on her and concludes sheβs dead, burying her where her body now lay.
This freak Mike out and he goes to Ravenβs place, where she lets him stay for as long as he wishes. He thanks her.
Mike goes into the forest the next morning to investigate further and heads back to where the body was buried, freaked out when he finds that the hole is empty, and the body is missing. Next to the pile of dirt he finds an empty syringe that looks like the tranquilizers he has in his bag. Mike goes back to Ravenβs place and tells her this.
Raven doesnβt seem fazed, saying that people disappear in the forest all the time. Mike is scared by her lack of care.
While out thinking while sitting in a tree he is startled when someone grabs him by the ankle and yanks him out of the tree and onto the ground. Mike isnβt very pleased and tells the person, who reveals his name to be Jacob, not to do that to the wrong person. Jacob seems to take an interest in Mike, which creeps him out. Jacob offers to walk Mike back home, which creeps him out more.
They end up stopping under a tree and sitting down. While here Mike learns more about Jacob, the town and even his sister. Jacob asks Mike whether he is married to which Mike replies that heβs not married but engaged to his boyfriend Zen. Jacob is intrigued, mentioning that heβs dated guys in the past.
Jacob continues to get closer to Mike, even going as far as hugging him. This scares Mike, who is deeply confused. Jacob then seems to take it further, with Mike only making it out of the uncomfortable situation when his sister rings him. He then heads back to her place.
Raven does get home till much later. Mike goes to talk to her about the dayβs events and is horrified when he sees sheβs covered in blood. Raven is equally shocked, not realising Mike was home. When questioned by Mike, she tells him the truth. She tells him that she is a serial killer and had been ever since she had left their mother and moved far away. She then tells him that, while she was a serial killer, she only killed those who deserved to die.
Mike helps Raven clean up, knowing how to cover up blood.
While cleaning up, Raven mentions that there is another serial killer somewhere in town, but they kill senselessly, and Raven has seen them on a few occasions. She lies about not knowing their name.
Later that night Mike (later admitting it was a stupid idea) goes out for a walk on his own and is nearly killed when someone leaps at him and slits his throat, although they donβt cut through his artery, sparing him.
He, after being discovered by someone lying in a pool of blood, was rushed to hospital and he recovered. His sister scolds him and angrily tells him not to scare her like that again.
Mike is discharged and Raven looks after him, with him being surprisingly mobile and Raven constantly telling him to rest.
The person who attacked him comes back the following night and attempt to kidnap Mike, but he was rescued by Raven.
Mike rests for a couple days under to close eye of Raven and he eventually is able to take the bandage off his wound and just leave the stitches in.
Mike goes out a few mornings later (itβs foggy) for some fresh air and somehow encounters Jacob again. Mike is startled to see him after he hadnβt seen him for about a week, knowing now that Jacob is following him because βWho in their right mind would be up at this hour of the morning and on the same path as me?β. After Mike makes it clear that he knows Jacob is there, he hides himself.
Mike calls Raven to let her know that heβs freaked out and that heβs coming back to the house. Raven stops him, telling him to stay put and that sheβs coming out to find him.
After about half an hour of her not showing up he goes to look for her. While searching through the fog, he spots Jacob standing there ominously with someone in his grasp. Mike, recognizing the person is Raven, chases after Jacob and ends up cornering him in a hollow. Jacob says that he wouldnβt hurt Raven if Mike injected himself with something in his hand. It turns out to be one of the tranquilizer needles that he found in his bag, but he knows that the one Jacob has didnβt come from his bag.
After making Jacob promise not to hurt Raven, he injects himself and falls unconscious. Jacob then injects Raven with a spare tranquilizer he had to make sure she didnβt follow him before picking up Mikeβs unconscious body.
It turns out that Jacob is also a serial killer and is trying to keep Raven in check, as he was a serial killer before her and even mentored her. He thinks that by killing her brother, it will break her, and sheβll move town. Jacob clearly has some trouble, being in love with Mike.
Jacob brings the unconscious Mike to a clearing in the forest and arranges his body in a ritualistic way, with him lying flat on his back with his head facing the sky. When Raven interrupts him just before he kills Mike, Jacob says it was all for her, since he had a fondness (not crush β he just found her interesting) for the past and taught her all she knows. Raven, enraged, tells him to step away from her brother just as Mike regains consciousness.
Mike almost gets away but is tackled by Jacob after he incapacitates Raven by stabbing her. He tells Mike that he was in love with him while holding Mikeβs right arm behind his back. Jacob thinks that he can take Mike back to the clearing before injecting him again but Mike fights back, almost escaping again. Jacob manages to inject him with a tranquilizer. Mike falls unconscious and is dragged back to the clearing by Jacob.
Jacob tries to stab Mike but is stopped by an injured Raven, who grabs the knife heβs holding and stabs it into Jacobβs own chest. He falls to the ground, dead. Raven manages to wake Mike and embraces him, knowing that she almost lost her younger brother. She wraps his injured arm up in a sling, as Jacob injured it when he held it behind Mikeβs back.
The two end up setting the scene to make it look like Jacob killed himself. Mike can be seen with a blank expression, indicating that, perhaps, he liked Jacob back in some way. Mike expresses his sadness at not being able to lay Jacob to rest in a grave, but itβs important that it looks like he killed himself as not to draw suspicion.
After walking away, Raven startles Mike by demanding he shoot her. He asks her if sheβs crazy, saying that there isnβt a reason why he needs to shoot her other than her injuries, which could be healed. She screams that she is a serial killer and should be made to pay for her crimes. After she convinces him, he shoots her in the heart, killing her instantly. Mike buries her body in the clearing he originally stayed in. Ravenβs ghost followed him around after this, knowing he could see and speak to her.
Jacobβs ghost briefly appears to Mike, mocking him before Mike threatens to banish his ghost to the afterlife. He ends up moving on willingly, watching Mike with wistful eyes.
He leaves town, setting Ravenβs house on fire before he leaves as per her request.
Bonus scene
Mike returns to the group. As the group welcomes him back, Raven and Daisyβs ghosts stand at the back of the crowd, watching him.
Unknown to any of them he is dealing with the trauma of killing his sister.
Mike is sad after finding out that Alda died of her illness shortly after he left and that her brother, Aziel, died of infection just before Mike returned.
Mike is very excited to see Zen again and the two expressed their love for each other, with Mike clearly moving on from his thoughts about Jacob. The two then talk about getting married.
Mikeβs note
Mike explains that his father has passed on and that the ghosts of his family follow him around.
He is now married to Zen, with Zen taking on his last name.
He leaves the letter for Charlie to find and read if Mike were to suddenly die.
Major Characters
Michael Blaze: The main character
Raven Blaze: Mike's older sister and a minor antagonist to other characters
Jacob: Story's villain and serial killer
Daisy Blaze: Mike and Raven's deceased sister. She follows Mike around for the whole book
Minor Characters
William Blaze: Mike and Raven's father. Only mentioned
Isla Blaze: Mike and Raven's mother. Only mentioned
Charlie Blaze: Mike's half brother. Only mentioned
Zen Martin: Mike's boyfriend who he's engaged to. Only mentioned
Eli Hanover: Mike's mentor and group's doctor. Only mentioned
Other Titles
Preceded by: Old Feuds
Succeeded by: Secrets and Weddings
List of all titles in Forest of Secrets Series:
- Town Secrets
- A Family Affair
- Charlie's Story
- Unnamed Story
- Old Feuds
- Michael's Journey
List of all novellas in Forest of Secrets Series:
- All in a Day's Work
- Final Battles
- Secrets and Weddings
- Bittersweet Goodbye's
- New Horizons
Character reappearances:
- Evil Within