“Thanks FDR. Let’s find us a rock.”
Freddy nodded and gave me a big smile. Traffic on the BW Parkway was terrible this time a day, so Freddy was sneaking up there via back roads. I won’t bore you by citing every turn and naming every road we had to take. For simplicities sake, we headed up into Bowie Maryland, onto Laurel Bowie Road and then down to Red Cedar Lane. Red Cedar is a restricted road and the least used of the park entrances. There’s a locked gate covered in no trespassing signs, making it very clear this is not a public road. Due to the low profile nature of the park, there were no guards or cameras, just a lock that didn’t seem to be opened very often. As it happened I had a key…or more accurately a katana. A quick slice and the gate was unlocked, letting us be on our way. Had we been on official GHOST business, I could have done this through the proper channels and that poor little lock would have been spared. But, we weren’t and it wasn’t, so we drove through and secured the gate behind us as best we could. I figured I’d mail the park service a new lock and an apology once this was all over.
We drove up Red Cedar until it became River Road and continued on away from the main facility and deeper into the refuge. Once Freddy found the spot he was looking for, he pulled the car off to the side and we got out. Obviously, in order to keep the entrance hidden, it was a fair distance away from the road. We’d have to continue our journey on foot.
Between the three of us, we distributed the gear somewhat evenly, although I was pretty sure my pack was the heaviest. We had all of the specialized weapons with us and I slid the Tri-Charred Blade, which I assumed I’d need first, into my back sheath. The woods were thick and the Patuxent River ran right through them. That meant we were constantly crossing creeks and tributaries as we made our way. Our path zigged and zagged so much it took us half an hour before we finally made out a small clearing ahead. Somehow, in a way I cannot explain, we couldn’t even see hints of the giant rock or the pond until we were at the clearings edge.
The words clearing and pond might be giving you a false picture. This was a wetland of sorts, with trees growing right up to its edge. It was a bit over a hundred feet in diameter and in some spots the water might have been a foot deep. In reality it was more like a swamp or marshland than a pond. But sitting right there in the center, larger than life, was a rock last seen in the Lion King.
If you are familiar with the Disney cartoon, I’m betting your first thought would have been the same as mine; this was a mini Pride Rock. It was a large piece of granite, light grey and ancient. The rock jutted out of the ground as if it were a prehistoric monster breaking the surface in order to snag something in its mighty jaws. It stood easily twenty-five feet high curving down to a base that was at least twice as wide. About ten feet up the rock, the portion that resembled a lower jaw, shot out to the left. The top of this lower jaw looked unnaturally smooth and flat, the perfect platform for one to stand on and address their flock. It was huge and massive and exactly the kind of rock every kid would love to play on. I guess now I know why FDR had to hide it. But the truly amazing thing was that something so massive and imposing could be invisible until we were right on top of it. I wasn’t sure how the trees and brush did such a good job of hiding it, and since we were on a time crunch, I wasn’t going to sit around and try to figure it out. What we cared about lay underneath of that giant stone platform.
Around the base of the rock, covering the ground below the ledge, grew an abundance of small pine trees. All of them in the five to eight foot range, thick and so close together they looked as if they might be one continuous tree. They were strong and healthy and an unnaturally vibrant shade of green. A neat trick considering they spent their days living in the shade of the enormous rock. They were so thick in fact that I couldn’t make out what was below the stone platform from here. It was time for a closer look.
We made our way through the marsh, finding as many patches of dry ground as we could. Freddy was in the lead and doing a decent job of keeping our socks dry. Once he got to the pines, he stopped and turned back to us and smiled.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I checked a few weapons and Vix did the same. Then we both gave a nod and watched as Freddy slipped in-between the small trees, stepping underneath of the stone. Vix and I followed into what was a truly surreal experience. The parting of the trees seemed to never end. Every time you stepped around one there was another in your path, each tree slightly bigger than the one before. A couple of times the smell of pine crashed down upon us, so strong as to almost assault our senses. And since I love the scent of pine, that was saying something. After what seemed an eternity, the lower branches finally started to vanish and the trees became taller and further apart. Then, almost before we knew it, we were in a huge clearing and the trees were towering above us. We were in the Veil.
To call this forest big would be a tremendous understatement. Ewoks could definitely built villages in the tops of these trees. Streaks of sunlight struggled to break through the thick canopy a hundred feet above us. Pine needles covered the ground, our feet crunching with each step. There were no bushes or shrubs, just a blanket of needles as far as the eye could see. We could hear birds singing and chirping happily as the smell of pine enveloped us. But the most interesting feature of this forest revealed itself when the wind blew.
As Freddy mentioned, this place was known as the Whispering Pines Forest. Honestly, I thought that was going to have something to do with the treefolk talking to each other or something. But as the wind danced through the pine needles, I found out where it got its name. The first sounds we heard were just the swaying and creaking of the tree branches. But then, as the pine needles danced about, we heard the whistle. It was soft at first and gradually increased in volume. The sounds started and stopped at different times, each playing a slightly different note and turning the whole forest into some massive orchestra. Like nature’s biggest wind chime, the forest sang out to us. It was astonishingly beautiful. We just stood there, transfixed, watching the branches sway and dance with the music. It was mesmerizing in its beauty. A part of me almost forgot why we were there and desperately wanted to lie down and just listen to the music all day. I met Vix’s eyes and smiled. She blushed and smiled before looking back at the trees. After a bit the breeze subsided and the sound stopped.
It might seem strange that we could appreciate something like that considering our current mission. But even though my life has been filled with darkness and regret, I’ve learned something very important. No matter your situation or circumstance, if you are presented with one of the many beautiful wonders the world has to offer, you should take a moment and appreciate it. Otherwise, what are we fighting for? That might sound a bit sappy, but that’s because we’re in the middle of a pine forest. Get it? Sappy? I crack me up.
Somehow the forest seemed dense and sparse at the same time. The skinny trunks of the pine trees were well spaced apart. Between that and the lack of other vegetation, we had decent sight lines. Visibility stretched for quite a distance in every direction. But even so, there was a huge sense of cover and intimacy to the forest. The treetops banded together, blocking out a great deal of the sunlight and giving the whole thing an enclosed feeling. It was as if we stood in a cathedral of trees. While I was appreciating its beauty, I was also scanning our surroundings for any potential threats. I didn’t see any sign of our soon to be tree friends, so I turned to Freddy.
“Okay pal, what’s your best guess on a direction?”
“To be honest BD, this is probably a great place to start. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say watching this entrance is definitely a priority for the tree folk,” he replied.
“Got it.”
I gave Vix and Freddy a look to let them know to get ready as I approached the closest pine. I reached over my shoulder and drew the ceramic blade. As you remember, it was a solid ceramic piece, with a nine-inch blade painted red, sharpened on each side, with nice finger grooves in the handle. It felt very
comfortable in my hands and I swung it about a bit to get a true feel for its balance. A question occurred to me, so I looked back at Freddy.
“Hey, the tree guy is going to heal from this right?”
“Of course. They are quite a resilience species. I’ve heard rumors of their kind regrowing their entire bodies from even the smallest living branch,” Freddy assured me.
I nodded and walked up to the nearest pine and lightly tapped my blade against its bark. Freddy had assured me the blade would be strong enough to battle the elemental, but I was to be cautious with it until that moment. And because I’m tired of feeling like the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on, I nodded and pretended that made sense to me. Which it didn’t, but I was trusting Freddy knew what he was talking about. Luckily there was no reason to risk damaging my blade yet anyway. I was about to use what most people would call my greatest gift, my mouth. So while I lightly tapped the blade against the tree, I called out into the forest.
“Hey Tree Beard, where ya hiding?”
What? Don’t look at me like that. We’ve all seen Lord of The Rings. I waited a few moments and continued to tap my blade on the tree. Just then the wind picked up, causing the beautiful sound of natures chimes to return. A moment later, my nose was assaulted by the scent of pine.
Again I remind you, pine is my favorite scent. But this was on a different level. I was almost choking on it. The same sensation assailed us when we first started into the Veil, but this was much stronger. Then, the sound of loud creaking branches and roots breaking free from the ground preceded a fifty-foot tall pine tree walking our way. I stepped away from the tree next to me and centered myself in the clearing. Obviously the tactically smart move would be to use the surrounding trees to hinder the elementals maneuverability. But, I was still keeping a slim hope that I might be able to reason with this thing, so I figured not threatening its flock when it arrived was a good start. I looked up at the tree and started to smile when I realized I was hearing the same sounds on my right and my left.
It turns out Freddy was absolutely right. They definitely wanted to watch this Veil entrance. They wanted to watch it so bad they actually stationed three of their kind here. How wonderful. They all stopped at the edge of the clearing, peering down at me. I managed to catch my breath through the thick pine in the air and whisper back to my companions.
“Be ready to run in case this goes sour.”
They both nodded and I turned my attention to the pine tree in the middle. The three trees looked almost identical, which I know is probably me being a tree racist or something. They were each thirty to forty feet tall, the perfect height to maneuver under the lowest tree branches of the forest. As you might expect from a pine tree, they each had a pointy cone head and a clearing where a face grew out of their trunk. Very narrow faces, thin hooked noses and long saggy mouths. Their arms reached down to the ground and ended in giant claw like hands. Pine needles stuck out of their shoulders and forearms almost like quills on a porcupine. They each had long pinecone beards of varying thickness, dropping down to their bellies. Unlike the stubby legs in the picture Freddy showed us, these creatures had long thin legs that comprised almost half of their bodies. They were definitely long striders. I decided the beard on the middle tree was slightly thicker than the other two, so I dubbed him the leader. I took a small step forward and he tilted his head to stare at me. I know Freddy said it was unlikely, but I was going to give diplomacy a shot.
“My forest friends, we mean you no harm. We are on a mission to save a friend and we require your help. If one of you could be so kind as to share your essence with us, we’ll be on our way,” I smiled.
Freddy told me sharing their essence just meant they had to breathe into the key. It didn’t seem like a very big deal to me, so why wouldn’t they just say yes. I waited as an eerie quiet came over the forest and they stood there perfectly still and facing me. Everything was so calm and quiet I suddenly realized the tri-charred blade was vibrating in my hand. It was a very subtle vibration, barely noticeable, but I realized it had been doing that since the tree folk approached us. I hoped that meant the magic was working its mojo.
Both Freddy and Baxter had referred to the blade as tuned, so I assumed that accounted for the sensation I was feeling. It’s reassuring when you find out the frail ceramic blade in your hand is actually magically tuned to deal with the creatures you’re facing. Three angry tree folk against one badass ninja with a working magical weapon. I was feeling better about my odds.
Piney the Elder took a small step forward and started leaning down towards me. His face stopped about ten feet from my own and he paused as if he was going to say something. I was feeling a bit hopeful that diplomacy might work and this would be easier than Freddy thought. But then, just as I was feeling like we didn’t have to fight, Piney swung his claw-like hand right at me. It was faster than you’d expect from a tree, but still fairly slow in the grand scheme of things. I dove forward and allowed it to harmlessly pass by. As I got back to my feet, I had to hop back as a pineapple sized pinecone smashed into the ground right next to me.
“Come on. We don’t have to do this,” I tried.
All three started to come at me, clearly not listening to my plea for non-violence. There was something beautiful and majestic about them. I knew I could win this fight and I felt kind of bad about it. Like I was picking on my elders. So, in the hope of calming things down, I dashed around all three of their legs and smacked each of them with the flat of my blade. You know, like a warning shot. Just enough to let them know they were outmatched and maybe make them realize they should talk. Remember that bit about them feeling old and majestic and all that jazz, well, now they just seemed pissed.
They started to move faster, but not so fast that I would have been in trouble in a one on one encounter. What made this difficult however was their extreme coordination. I can’t explain it, but it seemed the second I avoided one attack another was right behind or next to it. I couldn’t tell you how, but they had to be communicating in some fashion to be moving with such coordination. How they could move around each other with such fluidity and never get in each other’s way was astounding. I actually got knocked back when I thought one of them was blocking the other. That was the moment I knew I couldn’t goof off anymore. I had to hurt them. As the next hand swung at me, I swung back.
The sound of a blade biting into wood echoed around me. The magical blade made good on Freddy’s promise and cleaved clean through Right Pine’s hand, sending two fingers to the ground. Left Pine stepped closer then and I managed to chop a chunk of wood off of his leg. Elder Piney reached for me and I sidestepped his hand and wacked several branches off of his arm. At that point I heard Vix trying to get my attention.
“Bruce,” she yelled.
“I’m in the middle of something dear.”
Then I leaped up onto the wrist of Right Pine just as he swung and used the momentum to hurl myself onto Elder Piney’s shoulder. I was hoping to get close enough to his face to hold a knife at his throat so to speak.
“Bruce, throw me the sword,” Vix yelled.
“I kinda need it right now.”
I was right next to his beard when both of his hands shot up and knocked me off. I managed to break my fall with a roll across the soft pine needles. But before I’d even managed to catch my breath, Right Pine was swinging at me.
“Bruce, trust me. Throw me the sword,” Vix tried.
I really didn’t like the idea of disarming myself. I liked the idea of making Vix the target of their attacks even less. But, I was going to trust that she saw something I didn’t. So, after slipping through Right Pine’s legs, I had an open shot and I hurled the ceramic sword in Vix’s direction. The blade was so well balanced it travelled straight and true. Vix easily snagged it out of the air, catching it by the handle. She was so badass. Did I mention how sexy I found that? Just as I was enjoying the show my left forearm erupted in pain. A spray of pine needles rained down f
rom Left Pine and several imbedded themselves in my arm. They weren’t super deep, but stung enough to get my attention. I looked up to see all three trees preparing to spray me with needles. This was not going to feel good.
“Stop,” Vix hollered.
All three trees instantly froze. I had no idea why, until I looked back in her direction. She was standing next to a seven-foot tall pine tree holding the ceramic blade to its throat. When I squinted, I could just make out a tiny face on its trunk. She’d managed to find a young one. Normally I’m anti using kids as pawns, but since I really didn’t want to be impaled by a million pine needles, I was going to allow it. Plus, I was pretty sure we’d be able to use the threat of harm instead of actually having to do harm. While the trees stood still, I made my way back over to my friends.
“Nice gamble.”
“I told you to give me the sword,” she smiled.
“I know, but I was kinda using it at the time.”
“Then I guess you should have gotten me one too.”
“Hey, I thought you were going to be waiting at home. Plus, those things are expensive.”
“Or maybe you just didn’t want me showing you up,” she smirked.
I couldn’t help but laugh. I looked back over at the trees and figured I’d try one more time to plead my case.
“We really don’t want to hurt any of you. Can we please just talk?”
The three trees slowly turned to face us. Piney the Elder taking the lead and making eye contact with me.
“Release…the…young…one…,” he said slowly.
His voice was a little raspy and his mouth creaked as he talked. But, I didn’t have any trouble understanding him. I took a few steps closer to him in order to keep Vix and Freddy out of the line of fire if they attacked.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 3) Spirits Page 10
