Into the Forest Shadows

by J. A. Marlow

  And her knees gave out.

  Ayden reached down and helped her up. It took a few steps before her legs started working properly.

  "Don't worry. That's normal if you don't ride often," Ayden said.

  "I am not riding those things again."

  "It wasn't their fault. They were startled."

  Both looked up at the canopy of the trees surrounding the clearing at the same time. Seeing no activity, Kate sat down on a log to wait for the shaking to stop.

  "We stopped in a good spot."

  Kate rubbed her ankles. "Oh? Is the torture over for the day?"

  Ayden reached into a bush to pull off a bunch of berries and handed them to her, "I mean lunch. Eat up, these are really good!"

  Kate stretched her legs out in front of her eating slowly while Ayden picked and ate one clump of berries after another. She reached up over her head and picked another clump. At least they quenched her thirst. No need to find a stream anytime soon.

  "What memory did they bring up for you?" Ayden asked as he sat down next to her.

  Kate stopped eating, her face guarded. "Memories? How did you know I had a flashback?"

  He motioned the direction they'd come, "The trees next to the stream, they feed on emotions. That means really powerful memories. It's why we call them Memory Trees."

  Kate muttered, "They could have brought up nicer ones."

  "Painful memories have a more emotional power."

  "My father. We were better off without him." She scowled, "Are there any other trees around like those?"

  "They are unique."

  "Grandma and Mom have shown me pictures of the trees we shouldn't touch but no one showed me those," Kate said, recalling the cream colored trunks and broad leaves.

  "Technically speaking you can touch them. You just don't want to. And the more there are together the stronger the effect and the further their range. I think the grove we went through was pretty small, which is why the stampede carried us right through to the other side."

  A low moan drifted through the forest. The creatures munching on the bushes paused, looking up. A few trotted away, skittish, to other nearby bushes.

  The trees above them shuddered, joining in the moan. The sound rippled through their little grotto, moving past them with shudderings and shakings of the trunks and limbs. Kate couldn't help but shiver along with them.

  Something felt wrong. Painful mourning and sadness spread through the trees. A few vibrated with anger. The overwhelming despair reached right through to her bones.

  She jumped up, her eyes searching for what could be the cause of it.

  Ayden watched the trees carefully. The shuddering movements and noises ended. He shook his head, "Something has happened."

  Kate cleared her voice. "Now you're saying the trees have brains?"

  "How do you know they don't? Didn't they just protect us twice? Oh wait, to you they are just trees," Ayden responded with a grimace that made Kate want to grab a bundle of berries and throw them at him. "City dwellers have such closed minds."

  Kate scowled at him. "I didn't mean it like that."

  "Fine. We should get going. The steers are skittish and we don't want to be in the way if they start running." Ayden grabbed a large bunch of berries and started walking away, "We have a long ways to go before camping for the night."

  Kate snapped off a bunch of berries. She rationed them out over the next few hours. She didn't talk much. It felt wrong to disturb the forest silence.

  Only the creaks and pops of the trees moving disturbed the unnatural silence. But, she could feel plenty from them. Every so often she saw something moving around up in the trees, or in the bushes. A bunt or two appeared. But all of them went about their business without a sound.

  As they continued the hike she noticed more. Flowers fell out of the trees in full bloom. Limbs drooped even on trees that typically had upright limbs. Even the bushes drooped. No matter how far they hiked the response remained the same.

  Kate shook herself, eating the last of the berries. Ayden was right. Something had happened.

  "Want something different to eat?" He suddenly asked.

  Kate turned from her study of the trees. "Food?"

  Ayden pointed up into a nearby tree. "Egg nuts. They're really good and filling."

  "I could do with filling. The berries aren't going to last long."

  Ayden took off the backpack and set it at her feet. He fished Bunbun out of his coat and handed him over. Kate petted Bunbun while Ayden approached the tree.

  "Be careful," Kate called out.

  The nuts hung high up in the tree, high enough she wouldn't have bothered trying to get to them. Ayden climbing up after them worried her. If he fell how could she help him? Her mind reviewed the basics of first-aid she'd learned in school.

  "Don't worry. I'm well practiced."

  Bunbun nuzzled her hand as she watched Ayden climb up the trunk. He reached up for the first branch.

  The trunk shuddered. She felt a wave of fury go through the forest. Kate's eyes flew up to the canopy to find the leaves and other branches starting to move. Before Kate could give a warning a branch from the other side of the trunk swung down and around, scraping Ayden right off the side of the trunk.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Ayden landed hard on the ground, rolling to his back.

  "Look out!" Kate managed before another limb came flying down.

  Ayden rolled out of the way before it hit him. However, a few smaller limbs found their mark. He flung his arms over his head to protect himself from the onslaught.

  "Get over to me!" Kate called out, wanting to go to him but not wanting to be attacked as well. Bunbun squirmed in her hands.

  "I'm trying!"

  But every time he wove his way towards her there was another flurry of battering limbs. The other trees around them shuddered. Their limbs started coming alive.

  She stuffed Bunbun down the front of her shirt, the furry little body slipping down next to her stomach, and made a run for Ayden. A small limb snapped at her arm hard enough to cause a sharp sting.

  The limbs hesitated. Kate took the opportunity to move forward. Ayden fell to the ground, knocked off his feet by a thick limb. She dropped down next to him, helping him to his feet. The large limb swung back around.

  And hesitated.

  It shivered. With a snap it retreated to its usual place in the canopy high above them.

  Ayden rubbed his middle, "What was that about?"

  "They thought you were a threat," Kate said, not knowing if she were right or not. But it felt right.

  "I've been in the forest for years and never been attacked by a tree."

  "Have you ever seen the Shadow Creatures on the hunt like now?"

  "Okay, point." He reached out and grabbed one of the large nuts that had fallen, handing it to her. He stood up and grimaced. "At least we have a few. Can you grab that other one over there?"

  Kate walked towards the tree. The tree behind Ayden shuddered. She immediately stopped and retreated back to him. "Uh, I think we should stay together right now."

  "I think you're right," Ayden said quietly.

  They inched towards a different nut. Kate reached down and snagged it, handing it to Ayden. She spotted another further away. By the time they reached where they'd left the backpack Ayden had his ams full.

  "The attack dropped a lot of nuts." He knelt down and put all but one of them in the backpack, cringing as he did so, "Oh, this is really going to hurt later on."

  "Nothing is broken, is it?"

  "I don't think so. I'll know more later." She found herself the subject of Ayden's intense gaze. "This doesn't make sense. You are the city dweller, not me. If the forest should know either of us, it should be me. So, why attack me but protect you?"

  "The cape?" She looked up at the trees and then back down at him, "Maybe the real question is why are the trees suddenly so angry?"

  Ayden grinned. He closed the bulging backpack. With a
laser knife he sliced open the hard outer shell of the nut he held. He handed her one half of it, "Very good question. So, we're agreed? The trees are intelligent?"

  "Okay, fine. Some of them are intelligent," Kate said impatiently, taking the shell.

  "Eat the pulpy center," he advised, taking a bite of it himself.

  Kate nibbled at a bit that stood up out of the shell, finding texture like that of a firm pudding. And the flavor...

  "Wow! Why don't they serve this in the city?" Kate exclaimed. "It's like a light chocolate mousse."

  "Because the Gatherers love them so much there usually isn't enough to make it to the city." He pulled the backpack over one shoulder, "You have Bunbun? Good. Stay close. I don't want to get beaten up again today."

  Kate happily followed, nibbling on the contents of the nut. Bunbun climbed up her shirt and poked his head out at her collar. He sniffed at the nut, giving a soft squeak.

  She pinched off a little bit and let him lick it off her fingers.

  Kate asked softly, "Ayden, you said something bad must have happened. I mean, when the trees, uh, acted strangely. Do you know what that might mean?"

  "No. We've heard the trees react before, like a wave going out through the entire forest. But nothing that bad. We have no idea what causes it. And I have definitely never been attacked right after, either."

  Her arm ached from the hit by the tree-limb. She shifted the nut to the other hand. "Too bad they can't just talk to us and tell us what's wrong."

  Ayden laughed, cringing when he did so, "If you find a way to do that, let me know."

  She finished eating the nut pulp, feeling much better. Bunbun climbed out onto the nut shell and stuck his nose into it, working on the bits clinging to the shell. With her stomach satisfied multiple aches and pains became evident. If she hurt like this, she imagined Ayden was in agony.

  When Ayden moved off the trail to sit down on a rock Kate knew he was hurting a lot more than he admitted. Bunbun emerged out of the nut and hopped over to his lap, licking his nose. Ayden absently stroked his head.

  "Still think nothing is broken?" Kate asked quietly.

  "No, not broken, but I think it was close," Ayden said, rubbing his lower ribs.

  Kate threw the empty nut husk away and wiped her hands on her pants. She pulled out her phone, flipping it open. She hadn't really expected to find a signal, but it would have been a nice surprise. She closed it and stuffed it back into her pocket.

  And her fingers brushed against something else in the big pocket. She pulled out the small bottle, scowling at the source of the last argument with Grandma. But the instruction on it intrigued her.

  "Take at first sign of pain," Kate read.

  Ayden looked over at her, "What?"

  "This was for Grandma, to help with the pains she gets in her legs at the end of a day." Kate twisted the top.

  "I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking someone else's prescription."

  "We still have a long hike ahead of us and you're in how much pain?" Kate gesturing to where he rubbed his ribs.

  Ayden grimaced. "Okay, I'll try just one."

  The top of the bottle clicked off. She tipped the bottle in her hand.

  A small branch whipped out, knocking the bottle out of her hand. The movement was so precise that she still had her hands in the place, with only the bottle missing.

  "What just happened?" Kate demanded.

  Ayden stopped rubbing his ribs, staring at her hand. "That was weird."

  Kate searched for the bottle. Maybe she could find a few of the pills still intact.

  She found the white bottle in a small pool of water at the base of a nearby tree. Kate groaned. She reached down for it, but a twig snapped at her hand. Kate snatched her hand back and took a step back.

  "Great, now the trees are going after you. If this keeps up, we're doomed," Ayden said.

  "Well, there go all the pills. They're dissolving in the water," Kate said with a sigh. She rubbed her hand where the limb had snapped at her.

  The tree shuddered. With a small shake a rain of leaves started fluttering down to the forest floor. Limbs twisted, growing white and stiff.

  Kate found Ayden's hand around her upper arm, pulling her slowly back. He whispered in her ear, "Look at the bark near the roots."

  Streamers of ash white moved up from the roots to coil through the bark of the tree. Small roots flailed out of the soil, as if trying to get away. The trunk shuddered again.

  The trees around it leaned away from it. One of the smaller bushes shook and suddenly rolled away, coming upright and re-rooting a distance away. Pain reached out to her. Kate took another step back.

  "Something is wrong with the tree." She whispered

  "There is now. Something in the bottle is making it sick," Ayden corrected.

  The water around the bottle fizzed, bubbling up with white. "Grandma refused to take it. She insisted I take it back. Do you think she knew?"

  "I don't know. She knew something was going on in the forest, so it's possible."

  "Uncle Travis gave me the bottle," Kate said slowly.

  "A relative?"

  Kate scowled, "My father's brother. I really don't consider him a relative, but I guess he is. But to poison Grandma? Wait, the tree is starting to take on the appearance of the sick trees in Grandma's orchard. I mean, the way the smaller limbs are knotting up. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

  "No, definitely not. And I don't think we should stick around in case we catch whatever it now has." Ayden turned around and grabbed the backpack.

  "The tree just saved us," Kate murmured. She didn't like just leaving the tree. A tree getting sicker by the moment. It might even die.

  "The best we can do right now is get whatever is in your head to those who can do something about it," Ayden reminded her.

  "One of which was supposed to be the Watcher. The Watcher is now dead," Kate reminded him.

  "There are others in the forest that may be able to help. But first, we have to get to the other camp."

  Kate forced herself to turn around and purposely walk away from the tree. "Let's hurry. Before something else happens."

  Ayden nodded. He settled Bunbun in his favorite place of peeking out of the collar of his jacket. Out of all of them, Bunbun seemed the most comfortable.

  #

  "Ms. O'Hanson, does your company have any inbound ships at this time?" Ranger Tottori demanded.

  Mary looked at the Ranger, confused. When she'd been summoned to Communications, she'd expected to be informed about the status of Kate or her mother. The new subject rendered her speechless for a moment.

  The image of the company schedule board flashed through her mind. "Of course not. The next ship isn't due for another two months, in accordance to the planetary landing limitations"

  "Then explain that." Ranger Tottori pointed at the large screen on one side of the room.

  A red blip far outside the standard planetary approach corridor blinked menacingly. Mary frowned. What was a ship doing that far off course?

  A different kind of dread filled her stomach, one that went beyond her worry for her family. A worry for all the humans on the planet.

  "Call the Oburos City council," Mary said. "This is not a ship from the Blackstone Corporation. We might have an illegal landing in progress."

  "After the last fiasco instigated by your Corporate Manager, you expect me to believe that?" Ranger Totorri asked.

  Anger surged through her that he would assume the family business was at fault. The previous situation had been taken care of and would never happen again. Mary turned to him, just in time to see him rake a hand through his dark hair, his face tense.

  Her anger eased.

  He would surely be concerned about the same thing she was: the Watcher and the Ancients.

  "I'm picking up a power surge in the area!" one of the controllers shouted.

  The source of power showed up in blue on the display. Right in the general vicinity they kne
w one of the Ancient's satellites orbited.

  Mary swiftly moved behind the chair of the controller, "Warn the ship to get back to the corridor before it's fired on."

  "I've been doing that. There is no response."

  "Someone from the Directory is on the way up," Ranger Tottori said as he joined her. "We've heard reports of a rash of illegal settlement ships on other worlds."

  "Energy is building," the controller said.

  A warning siren went off in the room. Mary flinched at the sound of it. All eyes went to the large main screen. A line of energy arced from the blue dot to the pulsing red dot.

  "The ship is still there!"

  Mary turned back to the controller. She studied the display, noting the readings coming from the ship were the same as before. "A warning shot."

  "The Ancients are considerate today," Ranger Tottori said, relief coloring his voice.

  Mary knew better than to think that. She shook her head. "Don't count on it happening again."

  "They will shoot them down, just like the original colony ship."

  "You can't fire on us!" A man yelled over the main communications channel. "Alliance, we have been fired upon by Oburos City."

  "Oh look, they found their voices," Ranger Tottori said sarcastically. He reached down and switched on the microphone. "Unidentified human vessel, you are instructed to return to standard approach. Marker beacon frequency 855.9. Acknowledge."

  "The Alliance has been notified, Oburos Control. We have partial generator power and life-support. You will stand down your weapons." The ship said.

  Whoever they were, their intelligence didn't impress her. The fact Oburos was not a formal human colony could hardly be classified as a secret. Or that another sentient species controlled the planet.

  "They've sent an emergency signal to the Alliance and they invoked the Alliance human-rights charter," the controller warned. "Human vessel, identify yourself."

  "This is Alliance vessel Polaris Found. We are in the process of breaking orbit to land."

  "If you attempt to land outside the designated corridor the Ancients will shoot you down. Return to the designated approach corridor immediately!" The controller said.