The Forest of Forever (The Soren Chase Series, Book One)

by Rob Blackwell

  “Sounds like fun,” Annika said, and turned to Soren. “Want to go?”

  Kael looked back at them nervously.

  “You’re welcome to, but . . .” He didn’t finish his sentence.

  “What is it? No whites allowed or something?” Annika said, sounding simultaneously amused and offended.

  Kael looked shocked.

  “No,” he said. “Do you know how many Chickahominy are left in the entire country? We wouldn’t even be able to fill up a Disney cruise. There’s thousands of people back there from all over the state, including ‘whites.’ And we don’t refer to you that way, by the way. We also don’t call you paleface. Well, Mingan does, but he means it ironically. You need to drop your stereotypes.”

  “Sorry,” Annika said quickly.

  “You guys are more than welcome,” Kael said, this time with more enthusiasm in his voice.

  Still, his eyes darted to Soren.

  “I think I scare him,” Soren said.

  “You did run me down in the forest and threaten to break my nose,” Kael said. “Also, that dude in the office made it sound like you killed someone.”

  “Technically, he was arrested for three murders,” Annika said.

  “Thanks for that,” Soren said. “Relax, I’m not coming in. But I do want to know two things: First, what did you see on that shelf?”

  Kael looked alarmed for a moment before attempting to make himself look uninterested.

  “I just wanted to see what a guy like that reads, that’s all,” he said.

  Soren frowned.

  “You really are a terrible liar,” he said. “But if you won’t tell me that, can you at least explain why you keep going back into these woods?”

  Kael didn’t respond immediately but waited with the door half-open, the sounds of the powwow in the background. At first Soren thought he wasn’t going to answer. But after a moment Kael shook his head.

  “You want to know the strangest thing?” he asked. “I have no clue. People keep telling me to stop going, but it’s like I can’t stay away.”

  He closed the door and walked off before Soren had the chance to ask him anything else.

  Soren quietly seethed as they drove away. He kept waiting for Annika to start talking and give him an opening to unleash his anger, but she stayed resolutely silent.

  They drove two miles before Soren couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “What the fuck is going on?” he asked.

  Annika stopped the car near the sandwich shop.

  “Finally,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you to explode since Kael left. I really want to know how this is somehow all my fault.”

  Soren stared at her.

  “Well, let’s go through the list, shall we?” Soren said, barely keeping himself from yelling. “You’ve been keeping information from me. Important information. When you drove me out here, you made it sound like we were checking out the place, but you never said anything about security or the Association. I was worried about ghosts and goblins when I should have been concerned about assholes with guns.

  “I get that you hired me, but that doesn’t mean you can keep me in the fucking dark when you feel like it. What did that creep mean when he said I needed to know more about the Institute? What else aren’t you telling me?”

  “You done?” she asked.

  “No,” Soren said, and then waited a minute as he thought of what he was going to say next. “Actually, yes. I’ve got nothing else to say except for maybe two more words.”

  “‘Fuck you’?” she suggested.

  “No, I quit,” he said.

  “You can’t walk away now, not even if you wanted to,” she said. “I’ve seen your case file. You’re like a bloodhound once something gets you interested.”

  “Oh, I didn’t say I’d stop investigating the case,” Soren responded. “I’d just do it on my own terms. At least working by myself I don’t need to be worried about being stabbed in the goddamn back.”

  “Come on!” Annika said, slamming her hand down on the steering wheel. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Just tell me what the game is,” he said. “Why hire me, lead me here, and then just sit there when some paunchy fuck threatens us?”

  Annika took a deep breath.

  “I did know about the Association,” she said. “I’m sorry I kept quiet about it.”

  “Why did you?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to prejudge the situation,” she said. “We don’t know very much about them. Maybe Wallace does, but I don’t. For all I knew, they really were some conservation society trying to keep people away.”

  “Not very likely,” Soren said.

  “I know,” she responded. “But what I’m telling you is I couldn’t be sure before now. The Institute assessed their security perimeter and suggested the route I took inside. They wanted to know how the Association would react. We needed more data.”

  “And you were going to tell me about this when?”

  She gave him an exasperated look.

  “I was under strict instructions not to say anything,” she said. “We wanted you to have an open mind about what was happening. We thought it better if you reacted honestly to any event.”

  “Like men with guns?”

  “I don’t think we assumed they were that high-tech,” she said.

  “Guns actually aren’t that high-tech. They’re the opposite, really. Very basic-tech.”

  “You know what I mean,” she said. “The SWAT teams, assault rifles, cameras—we didn’t know about that. But we wanted to find out. That was half the point of the trip.”

  “What was the other half?”

  “To take a look around and see what we see,” she said. “I didn’t expect anything to jump out at us, but I’ve been researching the place for several weeks. I was curious.”

  Annika shoved the car back into drive and turned left on the road in front of them. Soren looked back.

  “Aren’t we going back to the highway?” he asked. “This isn’t the way we came.”

  “No, we’re headed to Williamsburg,” she said, “’cause I’m hungry and it’s the closest place with food. We could have eaten at the powwow, of course, and maybe picked up valuable tips from the locals, but somebody nixed that idea without thinking it through. Oh, and while I’m at it, thanks for leaving me alone in a haunted forest while you did your Jesse Owens impression.”

  “Jesse who?” Soren asked.

  Annika shook her head in exasperation.

  “Jesse Owens,” she said. “World-famous Olympic runner. It was also a Blazing Saddles reference, for your information. ‘And now for my impression of Jesse Owens.’”

  “That’s a movie, right?” Soren asked. “I thought quoting from films was more of a guy thing.”

  “I had an older brother,” Annika said. “The point is I didn’t appreciate being left in the middle of the woods.”

  “I thought Kael was a threat. You’d just mentioned people spotting Indians in the forest, and I thought maybe someone was dressing up as them, just like they might be pretending to be Coakley and his crew. If I hadn’t chased after him, I would have lost him.”

  “Yeah, but I stood there waiting like a dope until the Association goons arrived,” she said. “I didn’t know what I should do—whether I should just go back to the car or follow you into the woods. But you guys were running so fast, I had no idea where the hell you went.”

  “I’m used to working alone,” he said. “I didn’t think, I reacted. But at least I wasn’t actively hiding information from you.”

  “Sure, you’re a real open book,” she said. “‘I don’t talk about that. Not to you, not to anybody.’ Isn’t that what you said?”

  “That has nothing to do with this case.”

  “Whatever,” Annika said. “I’m just getting fed up with the . . . Holy shit!”

  Soren stopped looking out the window and turned to Annika, who was staring in horror at the rearview mirror
. He flipped around and saw a black SUV rocketing down the road toward them.

  “Floor it!” Soren yelled.

  But Annika already had her right foot jammed on the accelerator. There was a two-second delay, and the car surged forward, but not nearly fast enough. The SUV hit them at high speed.

  There was a loud crash and the sound of metal grinding against metal. The frame of the car jittered violently. Soren worried it might shake itself apart. His body snapped forward and caught against the seat belt. A second later his head slammed back against the seat. It felt like several teeth had been jarred loose.

  For a moment the SUV appeared to be pushing Annika’s car forward. Soren heard a grinding noise coming from the back as Annika fought with the steering wheel, barely keeping the car on the road.

  Soren turned around to see the SUV fall back. As it did, he caught a glimpse of their pursuer—it was Rick, one of the Association’s security guards.

  Soren knew what was coming next.

  “He’s going to make another run!” he said.

  “What the hell am I supposed to do about it?” she asked.

  Soren faced forward and looked for some kind of turnoff, but there was nowhere to go. It was just ditches and trees on both sides of the road. The SUV behind them began picking up speed again.

  “Maybe it would help if we cut holes in the floor and you and I could start running,” he said. “Can’t this car go any faster?”

  Annika cast him a dirty look.

  “It’s a good little car!” she said.

  The SUV hit them again, causing a disturbing crunching sound. The impact sent Annika’s vehicle off the road into gravel and almost into the ditch. Given the car’s relatively light frame, Soren doubted they could survive the impact if it went all the way off the road. But once again Annika managed to keep it steady and maneuvered it back onto the pavement. The SUV dropped back, but there was no doubt it was going to return soon.

  “We have a problem,” Annika said.

  Soren turned to look at her.

  “Of course we have . . .”

  That was when he noticed what was on the road in front of them. There were several construction vehicles on the right-hand side, including a giant truck that was repaving the street. A man with a stop sign was standing on their side of the highway, blocking all traffic. The only way forward was the left-hand lane, but the construction worker was still letting oncoming cars come through in that direction.

  “I’m gunning it,” Annika said.

  “What?” Soren asked. “Are you insane?”

  Soren looked behind them to see the SUV gaining speed again. If they tried to stop, the pursuing car would slam into them, likely totaling Annika’s vehicle in the process. But if there was even one car still coming through in the left-hand lane ahead of them, they would be hit head-on and then probably crushed from behind.

  “I can do this,” Annika said.

  The man with the stop sign panicked. Soren could see him shouting but couldn’t hear the words. The guy threw his sign on the ground and ran away. Cars were still streaming through on the left-hand side of the road. Annika was waiting until the last possible moment before moving over, but the SUV behind them was gaining quickly. The massive paving truck, meanwhile, loomed ever larger in front of them.

  “Annika, you need to move over,” Soren said.

  “Not yet,” she replied, her hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

  Another car came through in the left-hand lane. The SUV behind them was nearly on their bumper.

  “You need to get over!” Soren yelled as they were about to slam into the paving truck.

  “One more second!” Annika said.

  What happened next seemed to occur in slow motion. Annika jerked the steering wheel over just as another car emerged from the left-hand lane. Her small vehicle barely avoided clipping the oncoming car while simultaneously narrowly missing the bumper of the construction vehicle in front of them. As Annika deftly maneuvered into the left-hand lane, Soren heard a squeal of brakes and a crash behind them.

  He didn’t dare look back, however, and stared ahead, worried about more oncoming traffic. But the road ahead was wide open.

  Soren looked over at Annika in awe.

  “That was the best fucking driving I’ve ever seen,” he said.

  “I told you I could do it,” she replied. She threw him a quick smile but kept her eyes on the road.

  “I will never criticize this car again,” he said. “Anything bigger would have crashed.”

  “Like I said, it’s a good little car.”

  She kept nervously looking in the rearview mirror.

  “Do you think he made it through?” she asked.

  “There’s no way,” Soren responded, but he turned around to look behind them. “I heard a crash.”

  “Can you get my phone out of my bag?” Annika asked.

  Soren rooted around and handed it to her. He kept an eye on the road behind them while she called the police. Unfortunately, the road curved in a long bend, and Soren couldn’t see if anyone was pursuing them.

  He listened to Annika report what had happened but wasn’t sure how fast the police could get on the scene.

  Annika put the phone down.

  “They have units headed our way. They want us to pull over and wait for them.”

  “No fucking way we should do that,” Soren said.

  Soren looked in front of them to see a long, sloping bridge over the Chickahominy River. When he turned back around, his heart started racing.

  “We’d better hope they can get here soon,” he said.

  The black SUV had reappeared. From the looks of it, the front was somewhat mangled, but the car was still moving at a terrific rate of speed.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Annika said.

  “Whatever you do, don’t get on that bridge,” Soren said.

  But it was too late. The car had already started up the slope, and there was nowhere else to go. The bridge had two concrete guardrails and a pedestrian path protected by a barrier, but it was too narrow to maneuver very far.

  “What do I do?” Annika asked, panic in her eyes.

  Soren watched the SUV rapidly gaining on them.

  “Gun it,” Soren said.

  “I am!” Annika replied.

  It wasn’t good enough. The SUV was just a few feet away, and they were not quite at the top of the bridge. Their pursuer roared forward to just behind the car’s bumper.

  Soren expected another hit on the rear, but the SUV suddenly darted out to the left and began to pull up next to them. He knew what their attacker meant to do and realized there was only one chance to avoid it.

  “Brake!” he screamed.

  Annika appeared to have already concluded the same thing. She took her foot off the accelerator and slammed it on the brake, but the SUV swerved over. It rammed into Annika’s car, pushing it into the railing. Instead of being crushed, however, the car hit the barrier and flipped up, becoming airborne.

  For a moment Soren felt weightless as the vehicle flew through the air, his body held in place by the seat belt.

  The car turned just far enough that Soren could see the river rush to meet them.

  Part II

  September 1813

  It has been more than a year since I entered the forest, but the experience changed me forever.

  I promised to stay away after that, and I meant the words when I spoke them to my father. I could not bear the thought of seeing the Charred Man again. Yet it was as if the trees now had a strange power over me, one that I felt was impossible to resist.

  My father guarded me for the first few nights but eventually had to lead his congregation back into the forest he was protecting me from. I begged him not to go, saying that surely the Charred Man would follow him back. That was when he told me the truth.

  “No, son,” my father said. “He can only find us through you. You are my Judas.”

  He left without further ex
planation, but his words burned inside me. How could this be? I had been nothing but faithful to my father and his flock. I believed his Holy Word. More importantly, I believed in him. My father was disdainful of titles, but I recognized him as a modern prophet, meant to guide us in this Dark Age. Why would I ever betray him? I refused to accept it even as I stared out at the forest in fascination.

  I did not want to return, and I understood that doing so was a risk, not just to me but to my father’s vision. If I was the only way the Charred Man could find this village, it made sense to stay away. I tried to concentrate on my reading, to focus on anything but the sound of the swaying trees in the dark.

  Perhaps I should have taken the guidance of Odysseus and lashed myself to my bed so that I could resist the forest’s siren song. But I know now that it would not have helped. The forest had claimed me.

  I resisted for many long months, sure I had cured myself. But finally, only a few days ago, I watched from my window as my father once again disappeared inside the trees, his congregation walking silently behind him. I could not hold out any longer. This strange need to be in the forest came over me. I waited only a few minutes before I followed behind, unable to withstand the overwhelming compulsion to join him.

  I did not try to convince myself that what I was doing was right or just. I knew that if my father found me here, the punishment would be severe. He would see this violation of his trust as confirmation of his darkest fears.

  But I had to see. I did not understand what ceremony he performed in the night, but I had to know.

  I saw strange and wondrous visions as I walked. A small Indian war party passed before me, yet I knew the Indians had long ago left this part of the land. They did not see me but stalked other prey. I watched as they gestured silently to each other, carrying bows. One of them appeared to be limping. As I stared at them, they faded into the trees.

  There were others in the forest as well. I met a young Gypsy, who asked me to help him find his people. He looked desperate and sad, yet I could not assist him. I saw a man with a large gun, who stomped around, looking at the ground as if he was searching for something.