by Tara Maya, Elle Casey, J L Bryan, Anthea Sharp, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Alexia Purdy (epub)
My thoughts were interrupted when Chase stopped and pulled out his map. Tony, Finn, and Spike joined him, looking over his shoulders.
I sank to the ground, staring off into space. I could feel the hum of The Green below me, reaching up through the earth to connect. It was as if it could feel my sorrow and was trying to heal my heart. But there was no way to do that. I cut off the link so I could be alone.
Tony came back and sat down next to me, drawing his knees up to his chest. "Hey," he said, searching my face.
"Hey."
"How're you doing?"
"Not good."
He reached out and stroked my arm. "I know. Do you want to stop?"
"I really don't care anymore," I said. And I really didn't. Go, stop, sleep ... it didn't make any difference.
Tony got up and went back to the others. They conferred for a little while and then went around, gathering bits of wood. After a few minutes, Tony came back and explained.
"We're going to stay here for the night and then head out really early in the morning to reach the last waypoint. That okay with you?"
I shrugged. I couldn't care less.
"Do you think you can get the trees to protect us tonight so we can all sleep? I think Finn especially needs it."
"Probably."
"If you can't do it, no one will mind. We understand, just tell us if you can't."
I got angry with his patience and unspoken forgiveness that I didn't feel I deserved. "Fine! I can do it! Just leave me the hell alone!"
"Uh, that'll be a no on that," said Tony, sitting down next to me again.
"I'm serious, Tony, get the fuck away from me." I wasn't in the mood for his niceness or his easy acceptance of me right now.
"So you can sit here all alone and feel sorry for yourself? Nope, I don't think so."
I caught Spike and Chase stealing glances over at us, which only made me madder. Angry tears welled up in my eyes. "Screw you, Tony. I'm not feeling sorry for myself."
"What do you call it then?"
I shoved him away.
He tipped over on his side but then sat back up. "You're gonna have to do better than that," he said boldly.
I started to boil up inside and a message of bad intent formed in my mind. I could picture The Green tying Tony up and hanging him upside down from a tree branch.
"Ah, ah, ahhhh," Tony scolded me, wagging his finger back and forth like a mother to a child. "No fair using your powers for evil. Superheroes can only use their powers for good; you know that. It's Good Guy Rule Number One."
The evil image dissipated out of my mind as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm not a fucking superhero, you a-hole."
"I beg to differ," said Tony softly. "Without you, we would all be dead right now."
The tears came down my cheeks then and my throat closed up, making it hard to talk or even breathe. "What about Becky?" I said hoarsely. "I didn't save her, and I could have. I could have, Tony, but I didn't!"
Tony threw his arms around me, pulling me close, and I let him do it because I just didn't have the strength to fight him off anymore. The leaves were raining down again.
"Shhhh, shhhhh ... I know you're upset ... devastated. But you have to know this was not your fault. You did not put Becky in that water, and you did not make her walk in too deep. That was the Lady in the Lake and no one else. You may have a connection to the green things in this forest, but you cannot read minds and you cannot tell the future. Stop blaming yourself. It's actually kind of arrogant, if you think about it."
I pulled back away from him, looking at him fiercely. "Arrogant? Are you fucking kidding me?"
"No, I'm serious. Do you really think you're so amazing that you can save everyone from everything? Please. None of us can do that. We have to work together as a team. We knew that on day one. It was your dumb idea in the first place, remember?"
I huffed out a pissed-off breath of air, but he did have a point. I was awesome, but on the other hand, I did suck at lots of things - shooting a bow and arrow for one. That brought my mind around to the guy who could shoot a bow and arrow, Robin Hood or whoever that guy was who had materialized out of nowhere and sank that soggy bitch in the lake. And Finn ... he was also a good shot.
I wiped my face off with my sleeve for the umpteenth time and tried to clear my gooey throat. "A-hem ... so, what? ... Is this your tough love speech?"
"Yeah. How am I doing?"
"Too fucking good," I said, letting out a half laugh, half sob.
Tony put his arms around me again, squeezing really hard. "We're gonna get through this, you'll see. Just hold it together for a little while longer."
I nodded my head into his shoulder. I was going to hold it together for just a while longer, alright - until I saw Dardennes again. Then I was going to unleash on his sorry ass. He was never going to know what hit him.
***
We went to sleep that night with a powerful, and I hoped, very clear request for protection sent out to The Green. My dreams were filled with Becky looking at me, her face crazy with desperation as the water rose up over her head. I must have called out to her in my sleep because at some point in the night Tony shushed me and then laid down to sleep right next to me.
I woke up the next morning once again covered in leaves. I was super warm because I had not only Tony next to me, but also at some point Spike had come and joined the party. I was sandwiched between the two of them. On another day in another place, this might have been very, very interesting, but not today.
Once I realized where I was, I sat up quickly. I couldn't help but let a tiny piece of me wish Becky would be there in a pile of wet clothes sleeping at my feet. But she wasn't. I didn't even want to think of her spending the rest of eternity in the depths of that miserable lake.
I stood up and did some jumping jacks to clear my mind of those horrible images. Then I searched around desperately for a semi-private spot to do my business.
"Hey, guys, I'll be right back ... gotta go pee."
I disappeared around some trees, going as fast as I could. I got back in time to see zippers going up. Apparently, the guys didn't worry about hiding to do their thing. Lucky jerks.
I pulled out and ate the remaining food from my pack and swallowed the last of my water. "Well, we'd better find this last waypoint today, because I'm outta grub." I stuffed the wrappers back in my bag and then tried to work my fingers through my tangled hair. I gave up and put it back into a ponytail with my rubber band.
Finn had been carrying Becky's bag along with his. He took the time to go through it, moving its contents into his. "Becky didn't have much left herself. We can share it later."
The thought of eating her food depressed the shit out of me. And the day had started out so well ...
Chase walked to the base of a tree, looking up its trunk to the branches above.
"What's up, Chase?" asked Spike.
He responded, giving one of the longest replies I'd heard from him so far. "I'm not sure which direction to go."
I stood up. Might as well make myself useful. "I'll go up and see."
Chase backed away from the tree, while Finn and Spike watched with rapt attention. This was new for them. They knew I was going to do something with the tree, but they didn't understand exactly what. Tony realized what was coming, so he backed up even farther.
I rested my hand on the trunk and made my connection, sending my images out to The Green. The branches moved in response to my requests. I stepped onto the nearest one, steadying myself before reaching for the next. The only sounds I heard were the swishing of the branches and the creaks and groans of the wood as the tree strained to do my bidding. The guys were totally silent, watching in awe as I was hoisted up to the higher levels.
I soon reached the top and was happy to see that the last waypoint appeared to be less than a day's travel from here, heading due south. I tried to get a feel for the forest in between here and there, but it was impossible. The only thing I could see was th
at it was dark. Very dark. The trees were denser there, tighter together. They appeared almost black. The waypoint was in the dead center. I almost turned to go down, but then I looked again. Something wasn't right, but what was it? I looked at the forest around the waypoint. Nothing was happening. It was totally still.
Wait a minute ... That is the problem. The forest around us and the sections farther away from the fourth waypoint moved ever so slightly with the wind, an occasional bird bursting in flight through the canopy only to glide and float back down into it somewhere else. Not so, for the section of forest we would be entering soon. I looked for a while longer, but nothing changed. That forest was utterly still, frozen in place but without ice. I got a really bad feeling about it. I climbed down carefully, putting together in my mind how I could relate what I'd seen to the guys.
I explained my concerns to them as best I could, and could see from their expressions that they were as worried as I was. "We need to go in ready for anything," I said. "I have a feeling that whatever's in there will make the whore in the lake look like our fairy friggin godmother." Using the W-word to describe the thing that killed Becky made me feel just a tiny bit better. I only used that word when it was absolutely necessary, and this was one of those times. I looked out in the direction of the water. Lake whore, lake whore, lake whore!
We walked due south, and it wasn't long before we were in the darker forest. We could tell the difference just by looking around us. The forest wasn't green anymore. The tree trunks looked black and gray instead of brown. The leaves were faded out husks, none of them fully green. The ground beneath our feet crunched, being dry and brittle instead of spongy like we were used to from the other parts of the forest. There were no normal sounds here. The birds, if they were here at all, were sleeping. Or dead.
I moved closer to Tony who was already walking next to me. I took his hand, and he didn't even blink. He was probably as freaked out as I was.
We made our way slowly through the forest, trying to make as little noise as possible. Occasionally, one of our steps would snap a twig, and there was always a bit of crunching as the dry, dead leaves crumbled beneath our feet. I was constantly on edge.
After a few hours of trekking, we heard another distinct sound - my stomach, growling loudly. Spike turned around and smiled at me. "Anyone up for some lunch, by any chance?"
I smiled, embarrassed. Stupid stomach. I didn't have any food left.
Finn dropped back to walk next to me, pulling some crackers out of his bag and handing them to me wordlessly. One of Becky's flags fell out and onto the ground. The food was Becky's, I could tell from the look on his face and how he was trying to act all casual. I bent down and took her flag, shoving it in my pocket.
Part of me wanted to refuse the food, but I was so hungry, I couldn't. And I knew that if it were me in the lake, I wouldn't want Becky to starve when she could eat my food. I took them and tore open the wrapper. They were dry but did the trick. I shoved the wrapper in my bag and kept on walking.
The others took things out of their bags and ate as we walked. A bottle of water got passed around and I took a sip. It tasted stale. I couldn't wait to have a nice, ice-cold soda when we got back. I was never much of a soda drinker before, but I would have killed for one right then, especially if it was Dardennes or Ivar standing between me and the bubbly beverage.
I grinned evilly as I thought about that - stabbing one of them with my stick and then causally walking over and taking a nice, long drink from an ice-cold glass. This hunt was making me a little more primal than I used to be. I wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing. My thoughts were interrupted by Chase stopping up ahead. We gathered around him to see what was going on.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I think we need another bird's-eye view," said Chase, looking around the forest. He didn't look happy.
"Okay, no problem. You look worried about something," I said, searching his face for clues about what he was thinking. I had to do that a lot with Chase because he so rarely expressed himself. But looking at him now I got nothing, other than concern. He didn't respond to my comment.
I walked over to a tree that looked like a good candidate, placing my hands on the trunk to make a connection. I inhaled sharply at the unpleasant sensation, causing the others to look over, and jerked my hands away, shaking them off and rubbing them on my jeans.
Tony came over. "What's up?"
"I'm not sure. I was going to talk to this tree, but something weird's going on."
"Here, let me do it with you," said Tony, putting his hands on the tree. He didn't pull his hands away, he just waited for me to start hugging.
I stepped over, putting my hands on his and the trunk. I immediately felt the same feeling - a sharp, tingling, coldness ... an emptiness. After the joy and positive energy that had come from The Green, this feeling was especially unwelcome. It was like an abomination of the beautiful tree communication that I had quickly grown to love and expect from the forest.
Tony pulled his hands away, a stricken look on his face. "That was awful."
"I know," I whispered. "I don't know what's happening. I don't think I can communicate with this tree." I looked around. "Any of them."
The others walked over. "Something wrong?" asked Finn.
"Yeah, the trees here are messed up," said Tony.
I shook my head, very sad for some reason. My despondency reminded me of Becky. Why did everything have to suck so much right now? "I can't talk to them. There's something wrong with this part of the forest. It's not dead, it's ... hurt. It's been blackened. Something ... or someone, has nearly killed it."
"How can you kill a forest?" asked Spike.
"I have no idea. I just know that when I put my hands on that tree, I got some very unhappy vibes. The trees aren't the source of it. They're merely communicating what is all over this area ... in the ground, in the living things ... maybe even in the things that aren't quite living."
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" asked Spike, looking a little nervous.
"I don't know. Really, I don't. I just get sensations and feelings from the trees, and that's the only way I can describe what was there in my mind. There are things here, I think, that aren't quite alive and aren't quite dead. And they are not nice things, if the pain I'm getting from the trees is any indication."
Tony had been quiet, thinking to himself. He glanced up at all of us and then around at the nearby trees. I saw a momentary look of panic spread across his face.
"Out with it, Tones; what's on your mind?"
He reached up and scratched his head - a dead giveaway that he's trying to avoid saying something.
"Say whatever it is that you're thinking or I'll make you touch that tree again." We didn't have time to mess around with hurt feelings. I was prepared for Tony to say something I wasn't going to like.
"It's just ... I'm worried that your tree whispering isn't working. The last few confrontations we've had - all of them, actually - kind of went our way because of your help from the trees and stuff. Without them, I'm not sure we would have made it this far."
"Hey, we helped with the werewolves. Don't forget my awesome slingshot skills," said Spike, feigning offense.
"Yeah, but all of us would be with ... well, in that lake right now, if it wasn't for the vines from the forest."
All of the guys nodded. He was right.
Tony got a pensive look on his face. "Jayne, you said that you were feeling things all around us, not just in that tree, right?"
"Yeah ... "
"So how far does that communication link go, anyway?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea. Far maybe ... not far ... I don't know."
"Do you think it's possible that you could connect and reach out past this darker forest and into the green one around it?"
Tony was onto something. This felt right on so many levels. First, the selfish girl in me wanted to connect back up with my peeps in The Green, just so I cou
ld feel good again. This dark forest was seriously bringing me down. Also, I'd seen the trees heal two seriously wounded people. Maybe they could do it for trees too.
If it was possible to help this place cast off its dark mantle of ugliness and evil to be green again, I had to try. It must have been green at one time. I didn't see how else any plant could survive here. Mushrooms and moss maybe, but that's about it.
The last reason for trying this little experiment was probably the biggest priority in my mind. We needed to figure out where we were so that we could get the hell out of here and head back home, hopefully five hundred bucks richer, although the money had kind of ceased to matter so much. My life was worth much more than that. I shook my head thinking of all that I'd risked for a mere five hundred bucks. Ridiculous. It made me hate Dardennes all over again. I'd like to tie him up to one of these trees and unleash that hag on him ...
Tony cut into my thoughts, being all practical and shit. "Come on, Jayne, let's get this done. We're all going to help, aren't we guys?"
They looked at each other, faces revealing their unspoken doubt that they could be of any assistance.
"It might help to have more hands in the mix. Let's go see," I said.
I picked the biggest tree in the area - an Ancient that towered above the other trees around it. Its body was heavily ridged. I could fit my entire hand sideways between cracks in the scabby-looking bark. I debated between a big tree like this and a smaller one, thinking maybe the younger energy would be better, but then I decided to go with the Ancient. Surely this thing had seen some crazy shit. Maybe it had a deeper connection to The Green. That was my hope, anyway.
"You guys go hug that tree."
They all just stood there staring at me.
I shooed them away. "Go on! Go hug the tree! After you get set up, I'll come over and find a good spot."
They all moved to obey, but I could tell they thought I was nuts. Finn had felt the power before, more than any of them, but even he was a little skeptical.
I stood there, arms crossed, tapping my foot. "I don't have all day ... "
