Into the Forest Shadows (12 page)

Kate did her best to hang on, swaying first
one direction and then the next. They crashed into a circle of
trees, the center filled with bushes reaching nearly to her waist.
The steer suddenly slowed, its noises relaxing into sharp puffs.
The rest of the herd bunched around them.

Their mad race ended when the steer abruptly
stopped to stick its head into one of the bushes.The sudden stop
threw her into Ayden's backpack. The lack of movement and relative
silence made her wonder if she was in another waking dream.

The herd broke up to start feeding on the
surrounding bushes. Ayden sat up straight, swinging a leg over the
neck. "Quick, while they're distracted."

Kate scrambled to follow, not wanting to be
on top of the steer if it decided to stampede again. Her feet
touched the ground.

And her knees gave out.

Ayden reached down and helped her up. It took
a few steps before her legs started working properly.

"Don't worry. That's normal if you don't ride
often," Ayden said.

"I am not riding those things again."

"It wasn't their fault. They were
startled."

Both looked up at the canopy of the trees
surrounding the clearing at the same time. Seeing no activity, Kate
sat down on a log to wait for the shaking to stop.

"We stopped in a good spot."

Kate rubbed her ankles. "Oh? Is the torture
over for the day?"

Ayden reached into a bush to pull off a bunch
of berries and handed them to her, "I mean lunch. Eat up, these are
really good!"

Kate stretched her legs out in front of her
eating slowly while Ayden picked and ate one clump of berries after
another. She reached up over her head and picked another clump. At
least they quenched her thirst. No need to find a stream anytime
soon.

"What memory did they bring up for you?"
Ayden asked as he sat down next to her.

Kate stopped eating, her face guarded.
"Memories? How did you know I had a flashback?"

He motioned the direction they'd come, "The
trees next to the stream, they feed on emotions. That means really
powerful memories. It's why we call them Memory Trees."

Kate muttered, "They could have brought up
nicer ones."

"Painful memories have a more emotional
power."

"My father. We were better off without him."
She scowled, "Are there any other trees around like those?"

"They are unique."

"Grandma and Mom have shown me pictures of
the trees we shouldn't touch but no one showed me those," Kate
said, recalling the cream colored trunks and broad leaves.

"Technically speaking you can touch them. You
just don't want to. And the more there are together the stronger
the effect and the further their range. I think the grove we went
through was pretty small, which is why the stampede carried us
right through to the other side."

A low moan drifted through the forest. The
creatures munching on the bushes paused, looking up. A few trotted
away, skittish, to other nearby bushes.

The trees above them shuddered, joining in
the moan. The sound rippled through their little grotto, moving
past them with shudderings and shakings of the trunks and limbs.
Kate couldn't help but shiver along with them.

Something felt wrong. Painful mourning and
sadness spread through the trees. A few vibrated with anger. The
overwhelming despair reached right through to her bones.

She jumped up, her eyes searching for what
could be the cause of it.

Ayden watched the trees carefully. The
shuddering movements and noises ended. He shook his head,
"Something has happened."

Kate cleared her voice. "Now you're saying
the trees have brains?"

"How do you know they don't? Didn't they just
protect us twice? Oh wait, to you they are just trees," Ayden
responded with a grimace that made Kate want to grab a bundle of
berries and throw them at him. "City dwellers have such closed
minds."

Kate scowled at him. "I didn't mean it like
that."

"Fine. We should get going. The steers are
skittish and we don't want to be in the way if they start running."
Ayden grabbed a large bunch of berries and started walking away,
"We have a long ways to go before camping for the night."

Kate snapped off a bunch of berries. She
rationed them out over the next few hours. She didn't talk much. It
felt wrong to disturb the forest silence.

Only the creaks and pops of the trees moving
disturbed the unnatural silence. But, she could feel plenty from
them. Every so often she saw something moving around up in the
trees, or in the bushes. A bunt or two appeared. But all of them
went about their business without a sound.

As they continued the hike she noticed more.
Flowers fell out of the trees in full bloom. Limbs drooped even on
trees that typically had upright limbs. Even the bushes drooped. No
matter how far they hiked the response remained the same.

Kate shook herself, eating the last of the
berries. Ayden was right. Something had happened.

"Want something different to eat?" He
suddenly asked.

Kate turned from her study of the trees.
"Food?"

Ayden pointed up into a nearby tree. "Egg
nuts. They're really good and filling."

"I could do with filling. The berries aren't
going to last long."

Ayden took off the backpack and set it at her
feet. He fished Bunbun out of his coat and handed him over. Kate
petted Bunbun while Ayden approached the tree.

"Be careful," Kate called out.

The nuts hung high up in the tree, high
enough she wouldn't have bothered trying to get to them. Ayden
climbing up after them worried her. If he fell how could she help
him? Her mind reviewed the basics of first-aid she'd learned in
school.

"Don't worry. I'm well practiced."

Bunbun nuzzled her hand as she watched Ayden
climb up the trunk. He reached up for the first branch.

The trunk shuddered. She felt a wave of fury
go through the forest. Kate's eyes flew up to the canopy to find
the leaves and other branches starting to move. Before Kate could
give a warning a branch from the other side of the trunk swung down
and around, scraping Ayden right off the side of the trunk.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ayden landed hard on the ground, rolling to
his back.

"Look out!" Kate managed before another limb
came flying down.

Ayden rolled out of the way before it hit
him. However, a few smaller limbs found their mark. He flung his
arms over his head to protect himself from the onslaught.

"Get over to me!" Kate called out, wanting to
go to him but not wanting to be attacked as well. Bunbun squirmed
in her hands.

"I'm trying!"

But every time he wove his way towards her
there was another flurry of battering limbs. The other trees around
them shuddered. Their limbs started coming alive.

She stuffed Bunbun down the front of her
shirt, the furry little body slipping down next to her stomach, and
made a run for Ayden. A small limb snapped at her arm hard enough
to cause a sharp sting.

The limbs hesitated. Kate took the
opportunity to move forward. Ayden fell to the ground, knocked off
his feet by a thick limb. She dropped down next to him, helping him
to his feet. The large limb swung back around.

And hesitated.

It shivered. With a snap it retreated to its
usual place in the canopy high above them.

Ayden rubbed his middle, "What was that
about?"

"They thought you were a threat," Kate said,
not knowing if she were right or not. But it felt right.

"I've been in the forest for years and never
been attacked by a tree."

"Have you ever seen the Shadow Creatures on
the hunt like now?"

"Okay, point." He reached out and grabbed one
of the large nuts that had fallen, handing it to her. He stood up
and grimaced. "At least we have a few. Can you grab that other one
over there?"

Kate walked towards the tree. The tree behind
Ayden shuddered. She immediately stopped and retreated back to him.
"Uh, I think we should stay together right now."

"I think you're right," Ayden said
quietly.

They inched towards a different nut. Kate
reached down and snagged it, handing it to Ayden. She spotted
another further away. By the time they reached where they'd left
the backpack Ayden had his ams full.

"The attack dropped a lot of nuts." He knelt
down and put all but one of them in the backpack, cringing as he
did so, "Oh, this is really going to hurt later on."

"Nothing is broken, is it?"

"I don't think so. I'll know more later." She
found herself the subject of Ayden's intense gaze. "This doesn't
make sense. You are the city dweller, not me. If the forest should
know either of us, it should be me. So, why attack me but protect
you?"

"The cape?" She looked up at the trees and
then back down at him, "Maybe the real question is why are the
trees suddenly so angry?"

Ayden grinned. He closed the bulging
backpack. With a laser knife he sliced open the hard outer shell of
the nut he held. He handed her one half of it, "Very good question.
So, we're agreed? The trees are intelligent?"

"Okay, fine. Some of them are intelligent,"
Kate said impatiently, taking the shell.

"Eat the pulpy center," he advised, taking a
bite of it himself.

Kate nibbled at a bit that stood up out of
the shell, finding texture like that of a firm pudding. And the
flavor...

"Wow! Why don't they serve this in the city?"
Kate exclaimed. "It's like a light chocolate mousse."

"Because the Gatherers love them so much
there usually isn't enough to make it to the city." He pulled the
backpack over one shoulder, "You have Bunbun? Good. Stay close. I
don't want to get beaten up again today."

Kate happily followed, nibbling on the
contents of the nut. Bunbun climbed up her shirt and poked his head
out at her collar. He sniffed at the nut, giving a soft squeak.

She pinched off a little bit and let him lick
it off her fingers.

Kate asked softly, "Ayden, you said something
bad must have happened. I mean, when the trees, uh, acted
strangely. Do you know what that might mean?"

"No. We've heard the trees react before, like
a wave going out through the entire forest. But nothing that bad.
We have no idea what causes it. And I have definitely never been
attacked right after, either."

Her arm ached from the hit by the tree-limb.
She shifted the nut to the other hand. "Too bad they can't just
talk to us and tell us what's wrong."

Ayden laughed, cringing when he did so, "If
you find a way to do that, let me know."

She finished eating the nut pulp, feeling
much better. Bunbun climbed out onto the nut shell and stuck his
nose into it, working on the bits clinging to the shell. With her
stomach satisfied multiple aches and pains became evident. If she
hurt like this, she imagined Ayden was in agony.

When Ayden moved off the trail to sit down on
a rock Kate knew he was hurting a lot more than he admitted. Bunbun
emerged out of the nut and hopped over to his lap, licking his
nose. Ayden absently stroked his head.

"Still think nothing is broken?" Kate asked
quietly.

"No, not broken, but I think it was close,"
Ayden said, rubbing his lower ribs.

Kate threw the empty nut husk away and wiped
her hands on her pants. She pulled out her phone, flipping it open.
She hadn't really expected to find a signal, but it would have been
a nice surprise. She closed it and stuffed it back into her
pocket.

And her fingers brushed against something
else in the big pocket. She pulled out the small bottle, scowling
at the source of the last argument with Grandma. But the
instruction on it intrigued her.

"Take at first sign of pain," Kate read.

Ayden looked over at her, "What?"

"This was for Grandma, to help with the pains
she gets in her legs at the end of a day." Kate twisted the
top.

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking someone
else's prescription."

"We still have a long hike ahead of us and
you're in how much pain?" Kate gesturing to where he rubbed his
ribs.

Ayden grimaced. "Okay, I'll try just
one."

The top of the bottle clicked off. She tipped
the bottle in her hand.

A small branch whipped out, knocking the
bottle out of her hand. The movement was so precise that she still
had her hands in the place, with only the bottle missing.

"What just happened?" Kate demanded.

Ayden stopped rubbing his ribs, staring at
her hand. "That was weird."

Kate searched for the bottle. Maybe she could
find a few of the pills still intact.

She found the white bottle in a small pool of
water at the base of a nearby tree. Kate groaned. She reached down
for it, but a twig snapped at her hand. Kate snatched her hand back
and took a step back.

"Great, now the trees are going after you. If
this keeps up, we're doomed," Ayden said.

"Well, there go all the pills. They're
dissolving in the water," Kate said with a sigh. She rubbed her
hand where the limb had snapped at her.

The tree shuddered. With a small shake a rain
of leaves started fluttering down to the forest floor. Limbs
twisted, growing white and stiff.

Kate found Ayden's hand around her upper arm,
pulling her slowly back. He whispered in her ear, "Look at the bark
near the roots."

Streamers of ash white moved up from the
roots to coil through the bark of the tree. Small roots flailed out
of the soil, as if trying to get away. The trunk shuddered
again.

The trees around it leaned away from it. One
of the smaller bushes shook and suddenly rolled away, coming
upright and re-rooting a distance away. Pain reached out to her.
Kate took another step back.