by V F Sharp
“What do I do!?” said Ithron, as he started to slowly back up again. “Give me my knife, Meldon! Quick!”
Meldon and Jezreel looked at one another in fear and confusion.
“He can’t see the flowers,” said Meldon, “and we can’t see that.”
Ithron let out another horrific scream and fell backward.
Meldon and Jezreel jumped off their rabbits again and rushed toward him.
Ithron was lying on his back, his eyes wide open.
“He’s… dead!” screamed Jezreel. “He’s dead!”
Meldon leaned down with urgency and grabbed Ithron’s wrist. He let out a huge sigh of relief. “He’s not dead, Jez. Don’t worry. He’s just in shock.”
“Ithron, what’s wrong!?” said Jezreel, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. “Talk to us,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Meldon gazed around at the surrounding trees and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“I’m thinking that maybe at some point during the time we’ve been in this forest, he was poisoned by something he touched. It has to be poison.”
Jezreel examined Ithron’s skin.
“I don’t see any redness on his skin,” she said.
“Neither do I,” said Meldon. He was stumped. “There has to be a logical explanation,” he said, waving his hands in front of Ithron’s eyes, to no avail.
Jezreel was crying.
“It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll figure all of this out.”
He looked down at Ithron and slapped his face slightly, to try to wake him. Then, in desperation, he slapped him harder.
“You’re going to hurt him,” said Jezreel.
“I’m trying to help him.” He had to admit, part of him was enjoying the opportunity to slap Ithron around a little. But still, he didn’t want any harm to come to him.
“Wake up!” he yelled. He could hear his voice echoing. “Come on, you’re making Jezreel cry. You don’t want that, do you?”
It dawned on him that Ezstasia might be sprawled out somewhere in the exact same state that Ithron was in.
He took a deep breath, pushed his eyeglasses higher on the bridge of his nose, and yelled at the top of his lungs as he shook Ithron by the shoulders. “W-a-k-e… U-u-u-p!”
“Ithron, it’s Jez,” said Jezreel, softly. “Please wake up.”
Ithron let out a long gasp, reaching for his knife instinctually.
Jezreel grabbed Ithron’s wrist and held it. “It’s okay, she said. “You’re okay.”
Ithron looked around half-dazed and terrified. Jezreel gently rubbed his arm to calm him.
“It was horrible,” he said.
“What was it?” said Meldon. “Jez and I couldn’t see it.”
“How could you not see it? It was taller than the trees!”
Jezreel brought her hand up to Ithron’s shoulder, where she rested it. “Can you tell us what you saw?”
Ithron closed his eyes as if he was envisioning the whole scene. Jezreel sure had a calming effect on him. She was about the only one who did.
“It started out low to the ground. A thick, black smoke. Then it came rolling down the hill—right toward me—and after stopping only meters away, it rose up until it was practically right on top of me.” His voice trailed off as he remembered it.
“Then what?” said Meldon. “Tell us.”
Ithron cleared his throat.
“The smoke… it formed into the shape of a giant figure, but it was different than the last time. The shape kept shifting every time it moved, so it was hard to make out at first. But it was definitely a figure, like a black skeleton, except with a giant, oversized skull. It looked like it took up the whole forest! The whole thing was made of black smoke—and it smelled just like the sulfur pits back home. The skull kept coming toward me, as if it was separate from its body. I could see it grinning, like it was mocking me. Every time I looked at it, I felt it sucking the life and joy out of me.”
Ithron’s voice was cracking, so Jezreel ran her fingers through his hair to relax him. Meldon saw a single tear running down his face.
“You should have seen its eyes,” said Ithron. “Giant, dark sockets, full of emptiness and evil, staring right down at me. Then it…”
Ithron paused, as if he was afraid to speak aloud the horrors he had seen.
“What?” said Jezreel into his ear. “It’s okay. You can tell us. What did it do?”
Ithron had a pained look on his face and tightly closed his eyes.
“It swooped its head down toward me,” he said. “Roaring and screaming like nothing I’ve ever heard in my life. It pierced my ears and I could feel its horrible scream rush right through me. I could feel its darkness creep all the way into my bones, and it hurt. It was like ice and fire were entering my body, burning, freezing and destroying it, one limb at a time. Then I fell backward, and… well, I don’t remember any more.”
He began to shiver, and Jezreel put her arm around his shoulder.
“It’s over Ithron,” said Jezreel. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Jez,” said Ithron as he looked down at the ground. “I remember something else.”
Ithron glanced up at Jezreel and then at Meldon for a second, but he quickly looked down again as his face grew flush. It was the first time Meldon had ever seen Ithron act shyly. After a few seconds, Ithron looked up at Jezreel.
“I heard Meldon saying your name, Jez. And I heard your voice. I heard you speaking, and that’s what I focused on. That’s how I got out of that nightmare.”
There was an uncomfortable silence and even Meldon wasn’t sure how to formulate a response at this moment. He noticed the embarrassed look on both of their faces and he suddenly felt out of place.
“Uh… okay, Ithron,” said Meldon, taking hold of Ithron’s arm. “Let’s get you up.”
Jezreel grabbed the other arm and they both helped him to his feet.
“We need to get out of here,” said Ithron, his head darting around like a raven as he looked around for the smoke creature.
“I think Ithron’s right,” said Meldon. “Even if this was just in his head—”
“It’s not in my head!” said Ithron.
“Well, it is possible that you may have touched a poison plant or that you were bitten by something. Either way, I agree, we need to get out of this forest.”
“I feel so bad for Ezstasia,” said Jezreel. “What if the same thing happened to her?”
“For her sake, let’s hope it didn’t,” said Ithron.
“Well, the good news,” said Meldon, “is that it seems you can recover from it. Maybe the others found her.”
They made their way to their rabbits, who were fortunately still where they had left them.
“Before we go,” said Meldon, “I need to go behind that tree, just really quick.” He pointed to a tree a few feet away from their rabbits.
“No, we need to go now,” said Ithron, scowling at him.
“What do you think you’ll find back there?” said Jezreel.
“Nothing, I hope,” said Meldon. “I need to… well, I drank a lot of water earlier and… I’m sorry, I really cannot wait.”
Jezreel’s face turned bright red. “Okay, go do your… thing,” she said. “We’ll be right here.”
“Hurry,” said Ithron, as he took out a carrot from the side of his saddle bag and ripped off the greens, throwing them onto the ground.
* * * *
Meldon quickly finished his business behind the tree and walked back to the others. But when he returned to the spot, his friends weren’t there. He looked around the clearing, but there was no sign of anyone, not even the rabbits.
He checked for footprints, but only saw his own against the soft dirt. Even the carrot greens that Ithron threw to the ground weren’t there.
“Guys?!” he yelled. “Jez?! Ithron?!”
He wouldn’t put it past Ithron to leave him there, but he knew Jezreel would never do that. Even i
f they were playing a quick joke on him for some awful reason, he didn’t think that they would have taken his rabbit and the carrot stems.
“Guys, seriously. If this is a joke…” His heart started to quicken as he realized that he was alone in this forest, and without Mr. Feet.
“Guys!” he yelled in desperation one more time. Now panic began to set in. He frantically ran around the area, but nothing looked familiar. Now he couldn’t even find the tree that he ‘went’ behind. Had he lost his path? Or did they wander off? Could something have happened to them? He began to feel dizzy when he heard the faint sound of laughter coming from behind him.
He immediately ran toward it and finally recognized the clearing. But where before there was no one to be found, now he saw Jezreel and Ithron laughing and surrounded by their rabbits.
“Is this some kind of joke!?” said Meldon, startling them.
“Why did you come out from over there?” said Jezreel, with a perplexed look on her face.
“Took you long enough,” said Ithron.
“Enough with the jokes already,” said Meldon angrily.
“Meldon, what happened?” said Jezreel. “Why are you so upset?”
“Did things not run smoothly?” said Ithron, smirking.
“Like you both didn’t know that I was over there,” said Meldon, pointing back to where he had just come from. “I came right back, and you guys weren’t here. And neither were the rabbits. Not funny, with everything we’re going through right now.”
Jezreel and Ithron looked at each other. Meldon recognized that look. It was the same look he and Jezreel gave each other when Ithron had his encounter.
“Meldon,” said Jezreel. “We never left this spot. We would never joke around like that.”
Meldon’s mind was racing. He knew for sure he had checked this very spot, which reminded him of this same situation that had happened the previous day with his arrow.
His eyes scanned the area and he spotted the carrot greens that Ithron had thrown to the ground in the same spot. He knew for a fact that it wasn’t in his head. It was this forest; he was now completely sure of it. He was sure of something else, too. Now that they were all together, they needed to stay together until they were out of this creepy place.
“Hey look,” said Ithron, interrupting his thoughts. He watched as Ithron picked a yellow flower off a bush and handed it to Jezreel. “They really do have flowers here.”
“Wait a minute,” said Meldon. “You saw a flower?”
“Don’t you see it?” said Ithron.
“Yes, of course. But is this the first one you’ve seen?”
“Yes,” said Ithron.
“Interesting. This means something,” said Meldon.
“What are you talking about?” said Jezreel.
“I’m not sure yet, but I know it seems—”
He stopped when he noticed Ithron staring at something and backing up.
“Oh please tell me you can see this,” said Ithron, horrified.
“Oh, no, not again,” said Meldon.
“Ithron,” said Jezreel. “Stay with us. Don’t give it any attention.”
“It’s not real,” said Ithron, closing his eyes, his legs trembling. “It’s not real.” He kept repeating it, but his face was growing paler by the second. Meldon tried grabbing his arm to pull him toward the rabbits, but without warning, Ithron began gasping for air. As soon as his hands went to his throat, he fell backward, slipping out of Meldon’s grasp and hitting the ground hard.
Jezreel screamed and her eyes flooded with tears. Meldon rushed to help Ithron, who was sprawled out on his back with his arms to his sides.
He knelt down and checked Ithron’s pulse.
“He’s alive,” he said. A minute later, he could see Ithron’s skin turning a pale grey, his lips drying up and cracking before his very eyes.
“What’s happening?!” screamed Jezreel. “What can we do?!”
“I don’t know.” He ran to his saddle bag and started rooting through it.
“Hurry!” she yelled.
“I’m trying, I’m trying. I don’t know what he needs. I don’t know what's wrong with him.”
Meldon realized there was nothing in his saddle bag that could help, but he did recall that some plants he had studied about did have healing properties. He searched his mind trying to recall which plants were the correct ones and began pulling leaves from certain bushes and trees. He realized that it was a desperate move that probably wouldn’t work.
He heard shouts coming from behind him. He turned just in time to see Fin and Lanzzie galloping toward them on their rabbits.
“Lanz!” yelled Jezreel. “You have to help us. It’s Ithron!”
As they got closer, Fin and Lanzzie jumped off their rabbits before they had even come to a halt and rushed toward the fallen Ithron.
“I think it’s possible that it’s a toxin from a plant or insect,” said Meldon. “So I took these leaves and figured—” He noticed they were both bruised and bloody. “Are you guys okay?”
“It’s no toxin,” said Fin. He lifted up Ithron’s shirt.
Meldon gasped.
Ithron’s chest under his shirt was grey and cracked, with portions of his skin completely burnt and black. As Meldon stared in disbelief, he saw something so faint that he wasn’t sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. On Ithron’s ribs, the cracks in his skin had formed the faint outline of a skull. Horrified, he closed his eyes, shook his head and opened them again. He watched in confusion as the skull slowly faded away. The cracks began to intensify and spread throughout Ithron’s entire body.
Jezreel jumped back and hid behind Lanzzie.
“Take those leaves and mix them with water,” said Fin.
Meldon looked at him. “But if it’s not a toxin, what good will they do?”
“Just do it!” said Fin. “I’ll explain later.”
Meldon ran to his saddle bag and grabbed a stone bowl. He filled it with water from his canister and mixed the leaves in.
“Hurry,” yelled Fin. Meldon quickly brought the mixture to Fin and watched as Fin laid one wet leaf at a time along Ithron’s mouth.
“The key is familiarity,” said Fin. “Anything that can bring his mind back to us and away from what he saw. Awakening his senses can help him fight it.”
“How can you possibly know that?” said Jezreel.
“Long story,” said Fin. “No time to explain.”
“If you’re trying to alert his senses,” said Meldon, “then put these dry leaves under his nose. We taste more through smell than we do through our taste buds.”
Fin looked up at him. “That doesn’t sound—”
“Just do it!” said Lanzzie.
Fin quickly put a leaf under Ithron’s nose, while leaving the others on his mouth.
After what felt like forever, Ithron still wasn’t responding.
“It’s not working,” said Jezreel.
Fin shook his head. “We need to get him out of the forest now.” He looked up at Meldon. “Help me lift him onto Zon.”
Fin grabbed Ithron under the shoulders while Meldon took hold of his feet.
As he helped Fin position Ithron across Zon’s back, Meldon checked his surroundings. He was anxious to get out of the forest before anything else happened.
* * * *
Meldon rode alongside Fin, holding Strike’s reins as the rabbit rode close behind him. Lanzzie and Jezreel lagged slightly behind. Finally, he could see the sunset over the open field just ahead. They quickened their pace until they emerged out of the forest’s brush. He breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed out at the expanse of the field. He was overjoyed to finally be out of the forest, though he was still worried for Ezstasia and Ithron.
“Let’s get him down,” said Fin.
They all dismounted their rabbits. Meldon and Lanzzie assisted him in delicately lifting Ithron off of Zon and onto the soft grass. Jezreel was anxiously observing. Meldon suspected she was growing q
uite fond of Ithron, though she was a caregiver at heart, regardless.
Lanzzie and Fin crouched down by Ithron, who still looked grey. “You need to fight this!” yelled Lanzzie to Ithron.
“Come on, wake up!” shouted Fin.
Meldon checked Ithron’s pulse once more. His heart was still beating, though it didn’t seem as strong as before. He was about to start slapping him again when he heard shouts coming from the other end of the field. He looked up to see Randin, Zander, and Pallu galloping toward them on their rabbits.
“Look,” yelled Pallu. “They have Ezstasia!”
Meldon could hear their voices echoing across the entire field.
“No we don’t!” Meldon yelled back. “It’s Ithron!”
Meldon glanced over at Lanzzie, who was visibly heartbroken to see they didn’t have Ezstasia. The hopelessness in her eyes was palpable and the frown forming on her quivering lips spoke volumes.
Jezreel knelt down behind Ithron and began whispering to him when Zander, Randin and Pallu arrived, clumsily climbing off their rabbits.
“What happened?” said Pallu.
“A giant, black fog skeleton attacked him,” said Meldon, suddenly realizing how ridiculous that sounded.
“Oh,” said Pallu. “Zander’s was a spider.”
Meldon looked at Zander. “A spider?”
“A really big one,” said Zander.
As Meldon joined the others in trying to revive Ithron, Pallu hovered overhead.
“Come on, buddy,” said Pallu. “You need to snap out of it. And besides, grey is so not your color.”
Zander elbowed Pallu. “He looks like a dead fish and you’re making jokes? This is serious.”
“No, it’s fine,” said Fin, glancing up. “He needs positive encouragement, and anything familiar.” He focused his gaze on Ithron again. “Come on, lad, we’re all here with you. Fight this! I know you can hear me.”
“I know what he needs,” said Pallu. “And I’m going to go get it. Ithron, don’t go anywhere.” He ran toward his rabbit.
“Meldon,” said Fin, “do you still have those leaves?”
Just as Meldon was about to hand him the bowl, Pallu returned, carrying a large jug with an oversized wooden spoon.
