by Mac Flynn
The short distance to a real road was soon covered. I stopped and looked up and down the street. The streetlights shone brightly on the newly fallen snow that lay at the bases of their posts. The area was quiet.
I glanced up the street at the hill. The discarded sleds sat as silent testament to past fun. I knew I needed to investigate the diner, but a little voice inside me told me to go up there. Try as I might, my sensible, reporter mind couldn't argue against the voice. I walked up the street to the pile of sleds and shone my flashlight on them. Most of them were the old-fashioned runners, the ones with lots of speed but no brakes.
A noise behind me caught my attention. I spun around. My flashlight beam fell on nothing but empty street. I breathed out.
"Easy there, Trixie. Just your imagination. . ." I murmured.
My imagination made another noise. Again it was behind me. I spun on my heels and slipped on the icy road. My feet flew out from under me and I landed with a hard plop onto the ground. The landing jarred my flashlight from my hand. Pain reverberated from my tail bone and up my spine. I winced and carefully stood so I could rub my bruised bottom.
"Great job. . ." I muttered. I looked around for my flashlight. That's when things got weird.
I found where it landed. There was a neat little indent in the snow in the shape of its smooth, cylindrical body. The only problem was there was no flashlight. I turned left and right, though careful this time not to slip. I only saw the footprints left by the dozens of kids and a few cat tracks.
"Damn it. . ." I hissed.
I got on my hands and knees, and scoured the area. The last thing I needed was for some kid to find it, tell their parents, who would tell the cops and then they'd trace the flashlight to an outside, namely me. Then my whole cover about going to bed would be blown, and I'd lose the story. Maybe even my life.
A light caught my attention. It was a small beam that was three feet wide and had the intensity of a full moon. I looked up the hill in the direction of the soft glow. The light crested the top and flowed over me like a warm, intangible spring. I sat up straight and stretched my neck upward. This is going to sound unbelievable, but I swore the light moved with me. It rose higher and retreated up the hill. I stood, and the light disappeared over the top.
My curiosity was piqued. I stumbled up the hill to the top. Before me was a less severe incline. The road passed through the half of the residential blocks that occupied the north side of the main street and stretched into the country.
The light was a thin band that followed the road until the way bent to my right. The paved road went east, but the light created a trail that led along a snow-covered dirt road, and that went into the trees that stretched into the hills and mountains beyond the town.
I should've gone back to my room, or at least gone for my car, but my common sense flew out the window before the bright, mysterious light. All I could focus on was following it to its conclusion. Heck, maybe this was the big break I was looking for, anyway.
I trudged up the road. The light stayed ever at a ten-foot distance in front of me. The houses on either side of me were lit, but their lights held no allure for me. There was only me and the white beam that led me onward.
I don't know how long I walked. Maybe it was a couple of minutes, or maybe a couple of hours. Nobody disturbed my solitary march, and I reached the end of the paved road. Here I hesitated. The dirt road was plowed and led into the tall, dark forest. The road, and the light, entered the forest disappeared around a bend a few miles into the trees.
I glanced over my shoulder. The lights from the town twinkled back. I could just make out the west wall of the motel. I'd probably gone five miles without noticing. It was a long trudge, but a shorter way back downhill. All I had to do was turn around and change my fate.
Fate, however, had other plans.
The light from the beam strengthened. I looked back at it and blinked against the dazzling light. The brilliance lasted only for a moment and then died down, but I was hooked. I stepped onto the dirt road and hurried up the slope. It was the same tune. The light retreated, and I advanced.
I entered the thick trees. The shadows of their long, skeletal arms stretched out as though to grab me, but the light held the darkness at bay. I wrapped my coat closer to me as the chill of the winter night began to sink into my bones. My feet were cold and wet, but still I continued onward like a woman possessed. I wasn't far off on that guess.
The walk through the woods last for two miles before I rounded the bend. The trees broke open to create a large, sloped meadow some fifty yards square. The trees formed pockets that were scattered here and there, and the road wound between them until it ended in a loop at the bottom of a small hill of earth at the rear of the meadow. A path of stones climbed the small, round hill and stopped at the flat top. There also wasn't a speck of snow on the hill. On the top stood a large, magnificent apple tree.
Normally in the winter I wouldn't know an apple from a peach tree, but this one was evidently special. The leaves were not only all there and green as gourds, but the limbs were loaded with red, shiny apples. Their round, full bodies invited man and beast to taste their sweet juice.
The size of the apple tree was also extraordinary. The ancient plant rose up some fifty feet into the sky and its branches on either side shaped itself into a giant mushroom.
The light I followed stretched back into the tree and disappeared into the leaves. All except one spot. A soft glow emanated from one of the apples on a lower branch. The light pulsed with life and surrounded the tempting red fruit. Its smooth, clean skin shimmered in the unnatural glow.
My eyes were stuck on the apple. I stumbled up the slope and stone steps to the top. The apple hung five yards to my left. I stepped over the many thick roots of the tree and stopped below the apple. The fruit hung low on its branch, but when I stood on my tiptoes I couldn't quite brush the tips of my fingers against its pristine bottom. I tried a small hop. The high jump wasn't my specialty, but my fingers touched one corner of the bottom.
The stem of the apple broke from its branch. I caught the apple in my cupped hands and looked down at my prize. Its shiny surface begged me to take a bite, but the skin was blemished. A tiny drop of water fell onto its smooth surface and slipped over the side onto my hands. The water was warm.
I looked up. A tiny drop of water glistened where the apple stem had connected to the apple. The droplet quivered and stretched downward. A sensation of sadness swept over me.
The second drop fell into my hand and forced me to look down again. The apple tempted me. This time no amount of water would lead me away from my purpose in coming to this strange place. I raised it to my lips and opened my mouth.
"Stop!" a voice shouted.
I whipped my head up and saw Orion rush towards me from a clump of trees on my right. He covered the ground like a rabbit and raced up the hill to where I stood. Orion snatched the apple from me and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me towards the path.
"We have to get you out of here," he insisted.
His strength was great enough that I couldn't stop him from pulling me down the path, but my mouth still worked.
"What the hell are you doing? Left go of me!" I demanded.
"No time! Just run!" he persisted.
We made it five yards down the dirt road when a shadow stepped from a clump of bushes and stepped into our path. The darkness didn't let me get a clear view of him, but it was a large man with glowing dark eyes. He wore a heavy brown fur coat that covered him from his neck to the tops of his thick black shoes. The man held up his palm towards us. Orion skidded to a stop.
The man took a step towards us. "What do you think you're doing, Orion?" the stranger asked my companion.
Orion pulled us back a step and pressed his lips together. "Damn it. . ." I heard him mutter under his breath.
The man stretched out his hand towards me. "You know the
rules. Anyone who has tasted an apple must come with me," the man reminded him.
Orion held up the apple. "She hasn't tasted the apple, and she's not from here. That means she can go free."
The man's glowing eyes flickered to me for a moment before they returned to Orion. "No, that means the mayor and Librarian need to be consulted. They're at city hall right now for the meeting."
"Come on, Armel. Just this once let one through," Orion pleaded.
The man dropped his arm and took another step towards us. His eyes narrowed. "Don't make me use force. You know you won't win, and the woman might get hurt."
Orion turned to me and pursed his lips. He let out a great sigh and his shoulders sagged. "We need to go with him," he told me.
I wrenched myself from his distracted grasp and glared at both men. "I'm not going anywhere until somebody tells me what's going on." I half-turned towards the hill and waved my hand at the tree. "What the hell is that thing? How come there's no snow on it? How's its leaves still on in the middle of winter?"
Armel stalked towards me, but Orion stepped in front of him. He looked at the great sentinel and shook his head. "Let me handle this."
Armel pursed his lips, but nodded. "Sure, but hurry. I don't know when the meeting's breaking up."
Orion returned his attention to me. He stretched out his hands and took a step towards me. "I'll explain everything later, but right now you need to trust me."
I snorted. "I don't even know you."
He stopped and smiled. "You know I love dogs and am looking for an assistant."
My eyes narrowed and I took a step away from him. "I don't think I'd be right for the job. Too many trust issues."
Orion sighed and pulled out a vial from inside his coat. The white, mist-like contents were sealed by a cork. "Sorry about this, but I did try to get you to come."
He popped the cork and jumped at me. I twisted around to run away, but his arm wrapped around my waist. He pinned me against his chest and stuffed the mouth of the vial into my nostrils. I squirmed in his arms, but accidentally took a deep breath of the pungent-odored mist.
I was out in a flash.
CHAPTER 6
