Where the Woods Grow Wild

by Nate Philbrick

  Elodie pressed her back against the wall. She was the only one without a weapon of some sort, and she didn’t like it. She scanned the room and saw the dryad spear leaning by the door. She made a dash for it.

  Fella tried to grab her arm. “Elodie, wait!”

  The window shutters splintered into a dozen pieces. Elodie pitched forward. Her knee banged against the table leg, but she dived to snatch the spear. The red trunder pushed through the broken window and crouched on the table, shaking splinters from its face and neck.

  Podgin squealed like a piglet and swung his pan wildly even though he stood a good five feet from the table. Illo loosed her arrow, but the cramped quarters thwarted her aim. Her shaft bounced off the wall.

  Above the pandemonium, the black trunder kept clawing its way through the roof. The brown trunder was nowhere in sight, but Elodie knew it was only a matter of time before all three were at their throats.

  Fella was the only one to keep her cool. She whacked at the red trunder’s paws with her poker, driving it off the table. Elodie understood what Fella wanted to do. She jumped to her side, brandishing the dryad spear with all the fury she could muster. One step at a time, she and Fella forced the beast to circle around the room.

  Then, when the path to the window was clear, Fella shouted to the others. “Stop fighting it! The window, quick. Get out!”

  Illo grabbed Podgin by the collar and heaved him over the windowsill. She climbed out after him, then pulled Elodie up while Fella and Aguilax kept the trunder away. Elodie looked around. Still no sign of the brown trunder, though it might have circled around to the other windows.

  Illo drew another arrow and spread her feet. She swiveled back and forth between the roof and the woods.

  Inside, Aguilax finally had room enough to fight. His ears lay flat, the fur on his back stood like spikes, and he held his ground despite his smaller size.

  Fella made it out, but she dropped the poker in the process. “Aguilax, come on!”

  The weakened section of roof collapsed under the black trunder. Unaware that his quarry was no longer trapped inside, the beast plunged through. The table cracked under its weight.

  Aguilax sprang out the window. “Where’s the third?”

  “Never mind that,” said Fella, breathless. “Just run. We can handle them one at a time, if we must.”

  With Fella in the lead and Illo bringing up the rear, the group hurried into the woods. Elodie didn’t think her fingers would let go of the dryad spear even if she wanted to.

  Podgin’s face regained some of its color. “Those brutes will rue the day I took up the pan if they damage my book or my baskets.”

  “Worry about your things once your life isn’t in danger,” said Illo. “They’re getting out. And the brown one’s back.”

  Elodie craned her neck without slowing down. Sure enough, the third trunder took off from the garden behind the cottage. It shook its head, swerving this way and that. Elodie guessed it had lost the fight on the roof.

  Fella led them from tree to tree, never giving the trunder a straight path. Her plan worked at first, as the beast stayed at a safe distance. Then two shadows glided over their path from the side. The red and black trunders dived, like hawks at a rodent.

  Twisting as she ran, Illo sent an arrow flying. The trunders bent out of the way. One veered to the right and the other to the left, while the third picked up speed from the rear. As the group ran, the trunders swooped closer.

  Illo shouldered her bow and caught up to Elodie. “This would be a great time for your Nayadu to show up.”

  Elodie caught the sarcasm in her voice, but she silently agreed. She would have given anything to see Nayadu charge from the trees as the great bear and chase away the trunders once again.

  Fella called from up ahead. “Almost there! Follow me.”

  All three trunders bore down on them now, kicking and slashing at each other to be the first to snag a victim.

  Podgin’s earth bank appeared up ahead. Elodie recognized the hidden mound and the chimney from her badger ride with the dryads. The little man himself ran faster at the sight of his front door. His stubby legs pumped madly. His cheeks glowed as red as his nose.

  Fella got there first. She threw the door open and shoved the others inside. Elodie, Aguilax, and Podgin fell inside in a tangled mass of legs, wings, and sneezes. Illo sped in after them. She spun around in the doorway.

  “Fella, come on!”

  Clutching her side and breathing hard, Fella stumbled forward.

  Claws yanked her back. Illo screamed. The black trunder took Fella by the arms, dragging her away from the earth bank. The red one hungrily snapped at Fella’s legs, but the brown trunder drove them both to the ground, where Fella disappeared under the snarling, scrapping frenzy.

  Illo grabbed the spear from Elodie. Before the others could stop her, she attacked the trunders with a raw shout. The red trunder knocked Illo’s legs out from under her, but she sprang back up and kept going. Aguilax streaked to her side. His claws drew stripes along the trunder’s flank. Elodie snatched Podgin’s pan and brought it down on the black trunder’s snout with all her might. The beast howled and broke away from the fight.

  Illo unleashed a hail of blows on the red trunder. Elodie dropped the pan. Now was her chance. She latched on to Fella’s kicking feet. Her back screamed at her to stop, but she shut out the pain and pulled Fella clear.

  The brown trunder dragged back its red companion by the scruff of its neck. With a final snarl at Illo and Elodie, the red trunder retreated. Beaten and battered, all three of them careened into the woods.

  Illo took her bow for a final, desperate shot. Her arrow arched into the leaves, and they lost sight of it. Three winged figures rose against the sky as the trunders flew north.

  Illo threw herself beside Fella. “I’m sorry!”

  Fella smiled weakly from the ground. “It’s not your fault.” She winced. “I’m fine. That black one just clawed up my ribs a bit.”

  Illo pried Fella’s hand from her side. A sticky, red stain the size of her palm seeped through her shirt.

  “On second thought,” said Fella. “That hurts a fair amount. Can you get me inside?”

  Podgin and Illo carried her through the door. Aguilax swept a pile of junk off Podgin’s comfortable chair, and they sat her down as gently as they could.

  “That’s better,” said Fella. “Who wants to go back for the bandages?” Her weak laugh turned into a cough.

  Illo took her hand. “I’m staying right here.”

  “I think we all are, for the time being,” said Aguilax. “One door and no roof or windows. If the trunders dare to come back after today, they won’t find it so easy to break in. You don’t mind, do you, neighbor?”

  Podgin hadn’t found the will to complain yet. He and Elodie rummaged through his trove of belongings in search of something clean enough to wrap Fella’s side. The cuts crisscrossed her side but were shallower than the ones Elodie had suffered.

  Fella pulled Elodie aside. “Thanks for the help back there. Now we know each other’s pain.”

  Elodie smiled gave her a reassuring squeeze, but a knot formed in her throat. Even the cottage, her one haven in the forest, hadn’t kept them safe from the trunders. They almost hadn’t made it. She couldn’t deny the truth any longer. Her hopes of getting Martin back were slim.

  * * *

  Podgin’s underground home underwent a grand reorganization. While Fella rested in his favorite chair, Podgin stood to the side and groaned and moaned as Elodie, Illo, and Aguilax shoved aside baskets, chests, and boxes to clear some floor space. They cleaned off a small table, arranged the cleanest chests into makeshift seats, and overhauled the contents of Podgin’s shelves to make room for useful items such as clean towels for Fella and some spare flasks Illo found.

  They would have spruced up his kitchen space as well, but Podgin planted his feet in front of his oven and waved his hands. “No, no, no! You’re not allowed. Move
things about to your heart’s content over there, but this is my sanctuary. No one touches my oven except me.”

  Only when Fella was comfortably situated and the house mildly improved did Illo let Elodie take a look at her leg. The red trunder had left an impressive array of bruises down her shin, but that was the extent of the damage. As soon as she could shake them all away from her, Illo limped out the door with her bow.

  “I’m going to take a look around,” she said.

  The rest watched her go.

  “Give her a moment,” said Fella. “She’ll be back.” She sank lower in the chair with her hands on her side. Soon her eyes shut.

  Elodie slipped out as well several minutes later. She scaled the earth bank and sat in the tall grass on top, hugging her knees to her. Hidden from everyone else, she cried out her worry and exhaustion. She felt somewhat better afterward.

  Elodie went back inside. She said nothing, and no one asked where she had gone. Fella was asleep. Podgin recovered enough of his usual self to poke around in his cupboards. His legs and feet stuck out, everything else rummaged inside. Podgin emerged with a handful of shelled walnuts.

  Elodie shook her head at him.

  He blinked. “What?”

  She felt the need to say something clever, but before anything came mind, the door burst open, waking Fella, and Illo stormed in. She held a squirming bundle against her chest.

  “You won’t believe what I found,” she said.

  Illo dropped the bundle on the table. It sprawled open into a squishy body with short legs, fingers that covered its face, a pair of floppy ears. The creature whimpered and curled itself back into a ball.

  “Now you really can’t say I was wrong,” said Illo. “I found him again, sneaking around like he always is. This time we’ll get answers.”

  The creature’s pale blue eyes peered at everyone through his fingers. “Bramble is sorry.”

  * * *

  The trunders flew all the way past the river. Martin reached the grotto before Copper and Wolf. His wings faltered and he careened down the trench without slowing down. He lacked the strength for a proper landing, so he let his body plow into the ground. He slid to a stop beside the waterfall. Sharp shale scraped through his fur, but that was nothing compared to the pain in his shoulder where Illo’s final arrow dug deep in his muscle.

  Martin shivered by the water, his wings spread out along the ground, his legs tangled under him. His nostrils flared with each breath. So close. His friends had come so close to catastrophe. One slip of the foot, and any one of them might not have survived. If he hadn’t tackled Wolf on the roof and dragged Copper away from Podgin’s door, they would have paid a steep price. And Elodie...Martin clenched his eyes shut and buried his face in shale, a pitiful whimper in his throat.

  Gusts of air pelted his prone form as Copper and Wolf landed behind him. Heavy steps loped to his side. Still panting, Wolf locked his powerful jaws behind Martin’s skull and shook him hard enough to send a message. Martin didn’t resist. As far as they knew, their hunt had failed because Martin didn’t want them to get the first bite. He couldn’t expect them to understand his true motives, but perhaps that was for the better.

  Wolf retreated to the other side of the pool, and Copper came to Martin’s side. She didn’t attack him. Instead, she lifted his wing with her paw and nudged the arrow embedded in his shoulder. Martin flinched. Moving the arrow only made it hurt more. He snarled at Copper, but she insisted. She gripped the shaft between her teeth and tugged. This time, Martin scrambled away. He splashed into the pool and stayed there, trembling. Copper left him alone.

  Martin let the waterfall beat against his spine. He hunched his back and dipped his snout into the pool, wondering how long he could hold his breath. When his back numbed under the pounding water, Martin rested in his usual spot.

  Wolf left the grotto. Enough time passed for Martin’s fur to dry before he came back with a boar—a bog boar, Martin assumed—gripped in his claws. Wolf dropped the lifeless animal on the rocks by the water, and he and Copper wasted no time. Martin watched them gorge themselves. What a simple life they lived. Hunt, fail, try again, eat. Survive. He envied them and hated them for it at the same time.

  Copper tossed a hunk of meat in Martin’s direction. He ignored it. Even Wolf came over and pushed it under his nose. Martin growled and shoved it away. The fur on Wolf’s neck bristled, and Martin thought he might attack again. He braced himself, but Wolf merely snatched up the boar meat for himself.

  Copper and Wolf offered him portions twice more. Martin didn’t know whether they did so out of pity or an instinctive sense of togetherness, but he fended them off with a growl, or a paw swat if they insisted. They gave up and stripped the boar down to its bones. A fight broke out between them over the last strips of good meat. Copper and Wolf went at each other’s throats with claw and fang. Wolf was heavier and stronger, and Martin thought he would win for sure, but Copper overwhelmed Wolf with a fury of blows and savage tenacity. She pinned his back to the ground, howling right in his face. Then she let him go. Wolf fell back and tucked his head between his paws while she finished off the boar.

  Martin turned his attention back to the arrow. He twisted and writhed in the shale, trying to reach the shaft with his paws and mouth. Nothing worked. He collapsed, panting. Copper came back to help. Martin bit her leg. Hard. She kicked him loose and retaliated, swiping her claws across his cheek. They stared each other down. Adrenaline broiled in Martin’s core. If she touched him again, arrow or no arrow, he would end her. Copper backed down. She growled one last time, then slunk to the other side of the pool.

  After that, Martin gave up on the arrow. The trunders stayed in the grotto through midday. Martin only moved to keep up with the shade as the sun climbed higher. Then he grew restless. He wandered down the trench to loosen and warm his muscles. The walk did him some good, but when he lay back down in the grotto, he couldn’t shake the desire to move.

  That desire turned into a demanding voice in his head, not just to move, but to leave. Elodie would be safer if he lost himself in the woods far away. If he left, she was free to go back home. He was a threat to her and to all of his companions.

  Martin picked at the shale with a claw. The more he mulled it over, the more convinced he became. After all, Copper and Wolf had only crossed the river to follow him. Martin ached to be with Elodie and the others, but he had to accept reality. Removing himself was the only way to ensure everyone’s safety.

  Martin acted quickly, fearing he might change his mind if he lingered. For the second time in an hour, he headed down the trench. Copper and Wolf merely watched him go. If all went well, he wouldn’t see them again. Martin drank from the water trickle at the end of the trench. Then he found north, and he didn’t look back.

  * * *

  The pendulum in Podgin’s carved clock on one of the shelves swung back and forth, back and forth. Elodie had been staring at it for the past ten minutes, counting each swing in her head. The others in the room sat motionless as well. Only a few impatient sighs from Illo interrupted the silence. She stretched her injured leg up on a stack of blankets, and every now and then she bent over to admire the purple blotches. Aguilax rested beside her in his usual curled posture. Fella and Podgin sat across the room. Fella held a fresh rag over her side, as Illo had given her strict instructions not to take the pressure off. Podgin snacked on more walnuts.

  At last, their wait ended. A box buried near the back of the room wiggled to life. Bramble climbed out of it and moseyed his way into view, his hands clasped behind his back and his ears drooping like soggy leaves.

  “Bramble is ready to honest-talk now.”

  Fella gestured with her free hand to one of Podgin’s chests by the table. Bramble hopped up and let his feet dangle over the edge. His button-brown nose sniffled and his bottom lip quivered.

  Elodie leaned closer to Illo. “I almost want to go hug the poor thing.”

  “Hold that thought. He hasn�
�t started talking yet.”

  “Now then,” said Fella. She kept her voice firm yet gentle. “You’ve been tricking and deceiving people long enough. It’s time for you to be honest with us.”

  “Where must Bramble begin? Breakfast this morning?”

  “We’re going to need you to back up more than that, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh dear.” He pinched the tips of his ears. “Bramble is very nervous.”

  “No one’s going to hurt you,” said Elodie.

  “Unless you keep hiding things from us,” said Illo. “You’ve been up to no good, haven’t you?”

  “Servants of Nayadu are right,” said Bramble with a sigh. “Bramble has caused more trouble than Bramble ever wanted to.” He looked around the room as if waiting for further instructions.

  “What happened in the dryad palace all those years ago?” asked Fella. “Start there.”

  “Oh dear. Mustn’t shake the leaves.”

  “But that’s what you did, isn’t it? You played in the branches of the king’s tree, and the leaves fell off.”

  “Sticky-majesty was very, very mad at Bramble, but Bramble didn’t mean to do it. Maybe Bramble trick-lied and ran away from sticky-majesty.”

  “And then?”

  Bramble tugged on his ears. “Sticky-majesty sent soldiers to search for Bramble, but Bramble is small and clever, and Bramble hid. But Bramble cannot hide from everyone. Nayadu found Bramble hiding in the thicket, and Nayadu made Bramble tell the truth. ‘Mustn’t tell a lie’, says Nayadu.”

  “Here we go with more of this Nayadu nonsense,” said Podgin.

  “Bramble promised to set things right, even though Bramble was ashamed. Sticky-majesty made Bramble promise to bring him a new queen, so Bramble looked and looked, under rocks and in bushes and tree hollows, but Bramble could not find any. But then Bramble found the sun-drop girl.”

  Elodie felt all eyes turn to her. “Me? So...it was you all along? You gave me to the dryads?”

  “Oh, dear. Bramble is sorry. Very sorry! But Bramble had to do it, or sticky-majesty would turn Bramble into a stump for birds to poopy-peck on!”