As I wrote, I could hear murmurings from the other cavern and decided to stop writing at a convenient place so I could listen.
Kris and Perceval were talking. I could not make out all they were saying, but it sounded like they were old friends catching up. I smiled to myself as I pictured them in a bar somewhere, sharing a jug of ale. Then I began to imagine the reaction of all of the other patrons at seeing a real life ogre and banished the image from my mind before I burst out laughing.
It did not take long for the smell of something cooking to rouse me from my thoughts and I decided it was time I got up. My stomach was telling me that I was long overdue a meal.
Robert was sitting alone on a rock far from the others when I left my sleeping chamber and he jumped up to greet me the moment he noticed me approaching.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, causing Kris and Perceval to stop their conversation and look over to us.
“Not great,” I said truthfully, “but I will live.”
I watched him look at my cheek and wince. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “I’m sure it isn’t as bad as it looks.” My hand moved of its own free will to cover up my wound. “What’s cooking?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Deer,” Kris replied. “Perceval will not eat meat, but other ogres do and the pelt will be useful to him. He has graciously allowed us to use his cooking facilities on the condition we leave whatever we don’t eat for him to share with his friends.” That probably explained the pile of bones. I had been wondering about those.
Kris then put his hand beside his mouth as though he was whispering, but continued in a loud enough voice for the ogre to hear. “Personally I think he just wants to impress the nice young female that lives in the next cave.”
Perceval punched him gently on the arm and blushed bright red. I say gently, but I bet it still hurt.
“It will not be ready for a while,” Kris said. “Why don’t you go and bathe? The steam will help speed your recovery.” I have no idea how steam would help, but it sounded like a nice idea anyway, so I willingly accepted his suggestion. Robert said he should come with me, for protection, though I have no idea what from. I politely but firmly declined his offer. If I was going to bathe, I most definitely was going to do it alone.
“I’ll show you the way,” Kris said and before I could explain that I already knew it he had headed off, grabbing a lighted candle on the way.
I walked after him, using the cave walls for support as my legs still felt a little weak, and soon caught up.
“I can find my own way,” I said and made to grab the candle, but Kris moved it out of my reach.
“I know, but I want to remove the stitches and the bathing pool will be a good place to do it.”
Already? How long had I been asleep? Days?
Kris laughed when I voiced my question. “No, only a few hours. You will find you heal fast down here.”
Heal fast in Hell? That sounded completely wrong, but I didn’t comment.
We walked to the bathing cavern in silence and when we arrived he made me sit on a rock and hold the candle above me so that it didn’t cast any shadows on my face. Using a small pair of scissors that I presume came from his ‘magic’ bag, he carefully cut each stitch, using the blades to remove the cotton. It felt odd as he tugged, but it didn’t hurt.
“All done,” he said in a surprisingly short space of time. “It looks to have healed well.” He took hold of my chin and moved my head from side to side as he inspected his work. I remained silent as he placed his hand over the wound once more.
“Don’t be too long,” he said when he removed it. “If you’re not back by the time the food is ready, I will send Perceval to get you.”
“Alright,” I said, wondering why he would send the ogre. Then I realised that whoever was sent stood the risk of seeing me naked and he must have thought I would be less uncomfortable if it was a non-human. He was trying to be a gentleman. Probably.
Before leaving, Kris placed the candle on a rock beside the pool.
“Don’t you need it to get back?” I asked
“No. I can find my way in the dark.” With that, he left me.
Before undressing I risked looking at my reflection in the water. I leaned over the pool with my eyes closed and willed myself to open them. When I did I stared down at myself in confusion. I looked no different. Both cheeks were still intact. There was no sign of a scar, let alone a wound. Tentatively I reached up and stroked my cheek. It fell smooth. How the hell?
I looked at myself for what felt like hours until I managed to convince myself that what I was seeing was real. Finally I managed to pull myself away and undress. The water was just as soothing as last time and I would have stayed there for a lot longer if my stomach had not kept growling.
Kris was carving the meat when I entered the main cave and smiled at me as I approached. “Perceval was just about to go and get you.”
“Then I have saved him a trip.”
There were three plates in front of Kris and what appeared to be a loaf of bread. “Venison sandwiches,” he said. “No butter, I’m afraid.”
“What? You couldn’t get any out of your bag?” I asked sarcastically.
“Sorry, didn’t think of it. Probably tastes better without anyway.”
Perceval made his excuses and left before we began our meal. Before leaving, he hauled the deer carcass, minus one leg, onto his shoulders and said he was going to visit some friends. He said warm goodbyes to Kris and me and made us promise to clean up after ourselves before we departed. Robert he completely ignored.
As we ate, Kris regaled us with tales of some of the things he and Perceval had gotten up to as he grew up. He grew up in Hell? I didn’t realise you aged once you ended up down here. It’s amazing the things you can learn when you least expect it.
Robert appeared to be sulking. He remained silent throughout the whole meal and even refused to sit with us. The only words he spoke were ones of astonishment and relief when he noticed my face.
Finally I could not take it any longer and confronted him.
“Just what the hell is wrong with you?”
“You have got to be kidding. First I thought you were kidnapped and I had to rescue you from a vicious monster. Then I thought you were dead. The next thing I know I am hearing that it is all some stupid test designed to amuse Hades and our guide over there. To make matters worse, I accidently hurt you. Badly. What do you think is wrong?”
I took his hand in mine and stroked it gently as I spoke to him. “I cannot begin to understand how you feel, but please realise that this is not all some big joke. Nobody is laughing at you or being entertained. Kris is only doing what he has been instructed to do. There may be many other tests we will need to face; hopefully together next time. This could end up being a long and tiring journey and it will be a lot less unpleasant if we can all get along. Holding a grudge against Kris is not going to help matters.”
Robert grunted and pulled his hand away. “All I will say is that it is going to take a lot on his part for me to trust him.”
He glanced over to where Kris was tidying up our plates. “Can we go now?” he called out.
‘Sure,” Kris said. “Just let me get my bag.” Robert was already wearing his, so I retrieved mine from the sleeping cavern and we all left together.
The sun had passed its zenith and was beginning its slow descent when we walked out into the fresh air. There was no trace of Perceval as we departed his cave, Robert leading us in the direction we had been heading before my ‘kidnapping’. He set a fast pace, but I was well rested so had no trouble keeping up.
We saw no sign of any other ogres as we travelled and the day passed uneventfully. As the afternoon wore on, we headed away from the mountains and toward a large forest. Robert kept ahead of us the whole time, only allowing us to get close when he needed instructions from Kris as to whether to enter the forest or not.
Kris indicated
that we should walk around it for a while and Robert headed off again without speaking.
The sun was beginning to set by the time Kris called out to Robert that we should make camp for the night. I was expecting Robert to protest that we could continue on for a few more hours, but he didn’t. Whether this was because he was tired and hungry or he just didn’t want to speak to Kris I don’t know and I didn’t bother asking.
Robert put up the tents while I hunted for firewood and Kris started preparing food. As we were next to a forest, finding wood should have been easy, but Kris warned me not to enter it.
“There are dangerous things in there,” he said. “It is best to only enter during the day. This is the reason we are stopping early. Tomorrow we will go through it. Hopefully we will be out the other side before the sun sets.”
Great. Like I am going to be able to get any sleep tonight knowing I am lying next to a forest full of who knows what creatures.
At the edge of the forest I managed to find enough wood for a small fire and Kris soon had water boiling and added ingredients for some kind of vegetable soup. I was going to spend a little time alone in my tent, updating my diary, when Robert way-laid me, taking me to his own tent.
Once we were inside, he suddenly put his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “I am so sorry,” he said and I could hear tears in his voice. “For hurting you and for the way I have been behaving. I was just so scared when you disappeared and I cannot describe what thinking you were dead did to me.”
He released his hold on me and pulled away enough to look me in the eye. “I....I cannot lose you,” he stammered, trying his best to hold back his sobs.
“It’s OK,” I said, taking his hand in mine. “I’m fine. Nothing is going to happen to me. Stop worrying. We are going to get through this and rescue Tammara and return to our old lives. Soon this will all be nothing more than an unpleasant memory.”
“I hope you are right,” he said and kissed my cheek. Whether it was coincidence or on purpose I don’t know, but he chose the one that he had slashed. I felt no pain or discomfort at all. It was as if the injury had never happened.
“Now go apologise to Kris,” I ordered. “This is not his fault.”
“I know,” Robert said and, somewhat reluctantly, left the tent.
So here I sit in my own tent, writing about the day’s events. I can hear the boys talking, but cannot make out what they are saying. At least there are no raised voices. I really hope they will be on speaking terms by the time the soup is ready. I don’t think I could take another day with Robert sulking and refusing to speak to anyone. Hopefully we will make it through the forest tomorrow while there is still daylight and will soon be speaking with Pestilence.
Day 4
What a truly horrible day. Have you ever walked through a forest, been completely surrounded by trees, listening to birds singing while the sun shines down through the leaves? Well this was nothing like that.
Firstly, let’s talk about the trees. Were they tall with thick branches and wide trunks? Yes. Were they covered in leaves of varying shades of green that invited you to climb up and reach them? No. The ones on the outside were, making it look like any wood or forest I have ever visited, but once you got inside the trees changed. They must have been a different species as the wood was much darker and the leaves were black. I’m not kidding. It was not shadows causing them to look black; they were really and truly black. The trees were spread wide apart (almost as if they didn’t like being near each other), which allowed plenty of sunlight to filter through so there were very few shadows.
All of the leaves which had fallen on the ground were a dull grey colour and one fell apart in my hand when I picked it up.
“Why are these a different colour?” I asked Kris.
“They’re dead,” he replied, as though that explained it. Seeing the confused look on my face, he continued. “What colour would your hand go, eventually, if you cut it off?”
“Grey I suppose,” I said, unsure where this was leading.
“Why? Why does it change colour?”
“Because there is no longer any blood circulating through it,” Robert said before I had chance to.
“Exactly.” I still didn’t understand. “OK,” Kris continued. “Let’s try something else. Why are leaves usually green?”
“Chlorophyll?” I said.
“Correct. So, leaves are green when full of chlorophyll, your hand is sort of pink when full of blood and goes grey when it has none and the leaves go grey when they are not attached to the trees. What does that tell you?”
“Are you trying to tell us that these trees have the equivalent of black blood flowing through them?” Robert asked in astonishment.
“Yes,” Kris replied as though it was a completely reasonable suggestion.
“No way,” Robert said. “This I must see for myself.” He began to walk closer to one of the trees, but Kris called him back, knowing full well that he was going to pull a leaf off to see if it ‘bled’.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“And why not?”
“What would you do if someone cut off one of your fingers to see what colour your blood was?”
“I would hit the bastard,” Robert replied.
“What makes you think that tree you were about to vandalise would react any differently?” Huh? What the hell was Kris talking about?
“Because it’s a tree,” I said. “Trees are inanimate.”
“Not these ones.”
Was Kris trying to be funny? Apparently not.
“Have you seen the Harry Potter films?” he continued. Robert and I both nodded. “Then you have heard of the Whomping Willow.”
“But that’s fictional,” I protested.
“Of course it is. There is no such thing as a Whomping Willow. But that doesn’t mean that there is no such thing as a tree that can move.”
“You mean move its branches, right?” I asked, unsure if I believed a word Kris was telling me.
“Among other things.” What other things? Was Kris really trying to say that these black trees were capable of walking around? Yes, that is exactly what he was telling us.
“But don’t worry; they only walk at night, when it’s dark.” Like that was going to reassure us.
“Is that why you said we needed to get through this forest in one day?” I asked. “If we have to make camp, will they walk all over us?”
Kris suddenly seemed unsure of himself. “Not exactly.”
“Then what ‘exactly’?” Robert asked. The almost friendly tone with which he had been conversing with Kris since last night had gone. Now there was a threatening undertone to his words.
“They tend to eat people who get caught in here after dark.”
This statement was met by a stunned silence.
That’s enough about the trees for now. I think you get the picture. Now let’s talk about the noises. Was the air filled with bird song as they called to each other? No. Was it filled with the screeching of birds telling us to get out of their forest? Yes. Were there occasional howls emanating from who knows what sort of animal? Yes. Was I constantly having to wave my hand in front of my face to keep the insects away? Yes. Did I want to get out of there as soon as I could? You bet your ass I did.
“This place is really creepy,” I said. “Please can we leave?”
“It is the quickest way to get to Pestilence’s lands,” Kris said. “It will save us days of travel.”
“I don’t care,” I snapped. “If I stay here much longer I am going to be eaten by insects, the beasts that are howling or the god damn trees. Get me the hell out of here.”
Kris winced at my words, though whether it was because I was shouting at him or my use of the word ‘hell’ again he didn’t say.
Robert was calmer. “Can we get through this entire forest before nightfall?” he asked.
“Maybe,” was Kris’s unwanted reply.
Robert nodded as though he had been e
xpecting this answer. “Can we make our way through while staying closer to the edge so that we can head out of the side as soon as the sun begins to set?”
“It will not save us as much time as if we went through the heart,” Kris said.
“But at least we would live through it,” Robert countered.
“Then let’s get going.”
Excuse me! Do I get a say in this? Apparently not. They both ignored my protests and told me to stop behaving like a girl. I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to strangle first. I liked it better when they were not talking. At least then they were not making stupid decisions like staying in a forest full of man eating trees!
We kept walking for most of the day without stopping for lunch. I felt like the trees were watching me. It was horrible. It must have been mid-afternoon when Kris announced that it was time to start heading out and changed direction.
As we continued, the number of insects increased and the buzzing noises they made began to grate on my nerves.
“We are heading toward swampland,” Kris said. “I was hoping to bypass this area by staying in the forest, but I suppose it would have been a bit of a risk.”
The sun was still in the sky when we eventually left the forest and found ourselves in a meadow.
“I thought you said this was a swamp,” I said as I breathed in the fresh air. I forgot to mention the smell of the forest. My nostrils were constantly being assaulted by aromas that could only be associated with rotting vegetation. Out in the meadow the air was clean and cool and surprisingly free of insects.
“Take ten paces to your left and you will find that the ground is not quite as solid as it looks. Another ten and you will be swimming, well trying to at any rate.”
Wonderful. Had we just come out of the frying pan and into the fire? When I looked carefully I could see thousands of insects flying above the area he had indicated.
“We camp here tonight,” Kris said
Diary of a journey through Hell Page 6
