Living Forest (17 page)

“Calm your soul Amanda Mason, I mean you no harm. I’m your fiftieth great grandfather, Johnathan Mason. We’ve waited thousands of years for the first female of our blood to be born. Follow me and I’ll crown you as our new Queen.”

Still in shock, I no longer fear as my heart feels he speaks the truth. For a moment I’d not realized exactly what he said. Speaking boldly,

“Hold on a second here gramps. Did you say crown and Queen?”

A tone of disgust flows from the spirit,

“What did that witch of a sister do to you? Matters none as the staff of truth will reveal all. My sister did make you a bitter girl, I can see it.”

Floating past me, into the hidden room, his aura lights up the room like blue fluorescent floating lantern. Mundanely standing back up to look at the room, my arms fling high in the air. Excitement races through me,

“Oh my God, Yes! Whoo hoo, I’m rich. No... I’m wealthy.”

Gold bricks pile high in the air containing the brand of an equal armed cross. Bouillon, necklaces, gems, and paper scrolls clutter the floor of all I can see in front of me. The spirit continues to move ahead, taking away my light. Sudden fear overwhelms me,

“Hey, wait up. I can’t see anything, and I think there’s a sword over here somewhere.”

He continues moving as if he doesn’t hear me. Scampering past this pile of treasure, I continue to trip through other piles. Finally catching up to his light, this room is completely filled with treasure. The light continues to uncover mound after mound of ancient history. The spirit finally stops at a small set of wide steps leading up to a throne made from gold, silver, and gems.

Sitting in the throne is a skeleton holding a wooden staff and a crown. The spirit looks at the skeletal structure and says,

“It’s time Patricia. Amanda’s here to renew our power. She’s the only one who can command us and give us our freedom.”

Hearing his words, the bones of Patricia Mason disintegrates to fine dust and blows away from the throne. The spirit of my way great grandfather speaks to me,

“You must hurry or we’ll be lost forever, and so will all mankind left living on this world.”

Hearing the graveness of his tone I ask,

“What do I need to do?”

He answers,

“Sit in the throne, hold the Staff of Truth, then all will be revealed to you.”

Sitting down in the throne, I grab the long wood and gold stick. A soothing voice speaks to me softly in my ear, comforting my soul.

“My name’s not important, but what’s important is that you have control of my staff. You have control of my power, but great responsibility follows to protect innocence. I’ll show you your life, your crimes, and who you truly are. You’re chosen for greatness, it’s up to you on which path of greatness to follow.”

Glowing lights surge from the staff and pulsates through my fingertips, flowing up my arm and then my body. My mind begins to drift away from this reality into my childhood. The visions begin on a special day, the day of my birth. My mother, wow... she actually looks happy. She’s a big beautiful woman, and my father is very young. Looking like he’s a young teenager.

A woman creeps in the room wearing a purplish-blue cloak, covering her face. Her hands look like wrinkles covering bones. My father says nothing. He walks out of the room and never comes back. Cradled in my mother’s arms, the hidden woman speaks. Her voice cracks and creaks as if her vocal chords are already dust.

“It’s time Elizabeth. Have you made your decision?”

A sweet soft tone flows from my mother, though sounding confused.

“What is it exactly you want from me?”

The creaky voice once again replies,

“My dear, all I want from you is your kindness and beauty. In return your daughter will receive it in your place. She’ll no longer be ridiculed like yourself. Amanda will not only stay beautiful and thin, but she will be crowned a Queen. Is that not ultimately what any mother wants for her daughter?”

My mother’s voice quivers in tears as she replies,

“That’s what I want if you can truly do that.”

A clanking sound echoes from the concrete floor. From the witch’s fingertips, sparks of lightning flow shocking my mother. A light shines from within me. I watch as my mother becomes physically hideous. I see all the love in her heart be drained from her. I feel the very moment it comes into me. This is the moment I become changed. That’s the moment I became physically thin.

Visions flash through my childhood showing me exactly how shallow I’d been towards many girls and boys, becoming the person my mother gave herself to save me from. My vision moves forward in time to when I first got to see my father again and he told me about our families secret. He shown me things that no person has ever seen in their life.

We talk about the plan to get Hollister Wolf. Hollister... I’m so sorry. Now I see the first moment I met Hollister. I fell in love with him the moment I touched his hand. I didn’t want to go with father’s plan any more, but I had to or father would’ve killed me. I hate him for that and it even hurts to see and speak of him again.

I really wanted that moment we shared on the ship. I was nowhere prepared for what happened thereafter. The plan was supposed to have turned out much different. But now... I can sense Hollister’s spirit, just like my fears came true. Hollister did die by that cruel and inhumane being who calls himself a God. I’ll avenge my love.

A voice echoes in my mind while vibrations shimmer throughout the staff.

“It’s your choice on which path to follow. Will you accept your fate as our new Queen, or will you cast us back into Hell.”

Feeling scarred pain in my heart, revenge burning my soul, in sureness I answer.

“I’ll be your new Queen. I accept my fate.”

Bright silver light encapsulates Amanda, cleansing her body and changing her back to her true form. Amanda now looks exactly like her younger big beautiful mother. A royal blue and gold cloak drapes over her body, and a crown hugging her head is nearly covered completely by the hood
.

The floor beneath my feet trembles causing a small portion of it to fall through. Bright yellowish flames begin to flow from the hole. Spirits looking like full bodied people covered in fire begins to walk out. They walk up to me and kneel, then vaporize into a cloud like smoke. The last to walk out is a horse. It’s not just any horse either, this one is a ghost.

With piercing red eyes, snout snorting with intense grunts, you can see it’s breath as this room is much colder than the Hell it climbs out from. The Hell horse bows down to me, approving his allegiance. It vanishes. I begin to rise from the ground, and the horse reappears with me now riding on top of it. There are no reigns to hold on to, and I can’t jump off. Feeling like the horse has me bound holding me on him.

The flames in the hole turn black. The horse begins to trot towards the mirrored wall. Me, the Hell horse, and the massive cloud of spirits start to lift from the ground. For a second I’m reminded of our childhood hero Santa Clause and his flying reign deer. Quaking pounds of force echo from the hole below. Screeching growling roars, the worst noise I’ve ever heard, bellows from tar encrusted Hell Hounds.

Deep dark grey smoke flows off of them like steam, covering the floor in a black fog. Their eyes in the distance glow a creepy white color that looks to be in flames. Turning my head, the mirrored wall is about to hit me. No time to react, I close my eyes just before impact. I’m... I’m... I’m still breathing. I mass-appear somehow through to the other side without breaking the mirrored wall. The clouded spirits had pushed open the top of the temple, and begun pouring out during the time my eyes were closed.

Chapter Sixteen

The final shocking chapter in the first book of this series will begin with the reuniting of Hollister and his father. Even though we will begin here, this chapter will also bring you to the Queen of North America Amanda Mason, the armies of trees, the colonies living in safe havens, the violent wildlife competing with survivors for territory, the Natives who roam freely, and finally Sleeping Star the one who began it all. We will now begin this last chapter as Hollister Wolf, now known as Goliath.

I hear my father’s voice speak urgently to me,

“Behind you!”

My head turns completely around, before the rest of my body is given any time to react. Thousands of tar coated beasts, standing waist high to me, trample me over. I’m merely a speed bump to these rampaging monsters. Even the trees are plowed through, but remain mostly unharmed. These things stampede south. Silence monitors our time as we recuperate from this collision. My father’s voice speaks to me once more,

“My son, what’s happened to you I know is unspeakable. You’re the only one who could’ve fulfilled this prophecy. This is a prophecy that has been engraved in our history since the beginning of time.”

The other spirits quickly reply to my father,

“Then you know what we must do and who we’re looking for.”

My father speaks once more, not directly to me, but to them.

“Yes, my brothers say that the Soul Queen is chasing Sleeping Star towards the South border. They say she’s winning. You can catch them if you hurry. Keep heading south. Once you see the trees, they’ll clear a path showing you the way through. I don’t think she needs any help, but if you make haste you can see that for yourselves.”

Before my legs have time to move I rapidly ask father,

“What will you do? I want to see you again. Where’s mom?”

He responds to me this time,

“You’ll get to see me again son. I have to plant saplings and calm the wildlife. Your mother is with a different band of trees doing the same. You must hurry if you’re to help.”

Racing with all my might, I rush towards the battle.

We’ll now break free from Hollister Wolf and return as Captain Mitchel or Mitch as he’s called. He‘s with a surviving promising colony fighting for existence against the animals of the land.

An estranged male voice speaks with much fear,

“Mitch we’re being overrun and I don’t think we can last much longer.”

Wanting to slap him I reply harshly,

“Pull your shit together Scott, You’ve been screaming this crap since yesterday. We’re still here and alive. Now get your ass up there and help hold that line against those cougar’s.”

Screeching growls and hissing mixes with the screams from people resonating from all directions. The cougar’s begin to tear through the people fighting for survival. Using make shift spears and the last of the ammunition hidden here, I see us fleeing soon. In the distant, sounds of rolling thunder vibrate the ground I stand upon. Trees approach from the south and horses speed this direction from the north.

The predators and prey stop attacking and run for the trees. The approaching horses from the north contain riders. Scott races past the blockade towards the riders as if celebrating victory. I yell out,

“Scott, Nooo!”

I can see a vine as thick as my arm whip through the air grabbing Scott. A voice echoes loudly like a megaphone hooked up to concert speakers,

“Scott Jones you don’t belong on this land. Your sentence is death.”

I watch helplessly as Scott is slowly being shoved through a branch on the tree. Scott’s intestine’s dangle on the tree limb like garland on a decorated fir at Christmas time. Screams of pain and agony bellow from the dying man, but quickly turns to silence as he bears his death. Screaming out in rage to the trees,

“What do you demons want from us?”

A response quickly follows before the horse riders approach.

“Your deaths!”

The trees anchor themselves in the ground with their roots, keeping little distance from the barrier. They wait to kill us off one by one. The people on horses ride up to the trees as if suicidal. Sounds of intimidation echoes from the riders, trying to scare the trees or us. The trees do nothing to the riders, but even so I’ll not risk anyone else stepping foot out of here.

A few of the riders leave their horses and walk up to the trees hugging them as if they’re family, because that’s exactly who they are. I stand there watching this in confusion. A dark red skinned man walks through the barrier up to me. He speaks to me confidently as a leader or chief would,

“What you have here is a choice that involves the lives of everyone left on this continent seeking shelter from my kin. You already know they can’t hurt you while inside this barrier, but without going outside of it you will not be able to survive. That leaves one other option, my people.”

Still in shock, three words are all I can say.

“Who are you?”

Replying in the same confident tone,

“Who I am doesn’t matter at this time. What does matter is if you want to live, so listen up. Two days everyone in this haven can’t seek shelter from the weather. In fact you all must sit here in the open and not move.”

A strong female voice speaks from behind me,

“What if we need to go to the bathroom?”

A deep toned tree voice echoes through the barrier,