Into the Forest Shadows

by J. A. Marlow

  A sharp cry came from the direction of the bunt congregation. Bunbun sat on his hind legs staring off into the trees. The other bunts went to attention on their hind legs, balancing with their tails, staring in the same direction. Ears rotated back and forth.

  Bunbun turned and awkwardly hopped back to Ayden as fast as he could. Ayden grabbed his staff and reached down with one hand to scoop Bunbun up, hissing "The shadows."

  Kate tensed, her eyes seeking out the shadows.

  In the exact location the bunts stared she caught sight of a shadow moving. Two bunts ducked down into their holes, but the rest stayed at attention.

  The shape moved forward, breaking away from the shadows of the trees. Kate rose up to her feet at the sight of the creature.

  It wasn't a razor wolf. Wide ears arced around the side of its wide flat face. A long sinewy tail moved behind it as it moved forward on wide feet with big pads. It didn't make a sound as it moved forward. The dark fur was sleek when the sunlight hit it, showing a mottled black and brown coat.

  Wide black eyes studied them as it crept forward, moving with the main part of its body close to the ground. A few more bunts disappeared down the holes.

  One brave bunt hopped forward, sniffing at the creature. The creature turned its attention from Kate and Ayden to look at the bunt. It lowered its body even more, bringing both ears forward, lowering its head until its snout touched the ground.

  Ayden put a hand out, pushing Kate backwards. They could make the tree line easily enough, but what then? They were both exhausted. No way could they outrun a Shadow Creature. They would have to depend on the trees for protection.

  Kate looked back. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The creature and the bunt were nosing each other!

  The creature looked up from nosing the bunt, sitting down on its haunches with its head held high. All the bunts disappeared down their holes. The creature cocked his head at them. A deep thrumming came from its throat and then a curious bark.

  "Do you know what sort of creature that is?" Kate whispered to Ayden. The Watcher on Kate's back plucked at her cape.

  "One of the Shadow Creatures. Wait, is it trying to talk to us?"

  The creature made a few more odd sounds. It got up and padded a few more paces closer to them. It stopped and sat down again, cocking its head at them.

  Ayden reached into his coat and pulled out Bunbun, bringing him to his forehead. He handed Bunbun back to her and Kate nuzzled the furry little head. The rush that followed hurt her spore-filled mind.

  "The Watcher you carry is not compatible with your species. You will not be able to understand it, even with the help of the bunts."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Kate's eyes popped open. She turned her attention back to the creature. The tail twitched back and forth. She handed Bunbun back, who disappeared down Ayden's coat.

  "Who are you?" Ayden asked.

  "You may call me Vistus. And yes, I am what is sometimes referred to as a Shadow Creature." Vistus looked around the area, "Humans are not permitted on this side."

  "We know that. It wasn't our choice or our doing," Kate said quickly. "May I ask your intentions towards us?"

  "Intentions?" Vistus repeated. He turned his full attention back to them. "I am here to protect the Watcher. I heard rumors of an attack. I have searched for him ever since."

  "To finish off what other Shadow Creatures did not finish?" Ayden challenged. He held his staff in front of him. "The Watcher is under our protection. We will not permit you to harm it."

  "I do not wish to harm the Watcher, nor those the Watcher seems to trust," Vistus said.

  Ayden pushed Kate back. "We're leaving."

  Kate found her way around the log and moved towards the trees. The safety of the trees, the same types of trees that had protected them from Diasis and his pack. The moment they moved under their protective shade Kate felt much more secure. The trees around them rustled but made no move at the shadow tailing them.

  "Let us be, Shadow Creature!" Ayden shouted at it.

  "My name is Vistus," he reminded them, slinking from one shadow to the next. "I promised to watch over and protect the Watcher once I found him. I will keep my promise."

  "Ayden, the Watcher isn't reacting badly to him," Kate said.

  "The Watcher is probably asleep, trying to recover from his injuries," Ayden reminded her.

  "The Watcher needs to be returned to his own kind for true healing," Vistus said from the shadow of a nearby tree, "But not on this side of the river. It is too dangerous."

  Kate put a hand on Ayden's arm to stop him for a moment. He scowled down at her impatiently while she asked, "Too dangerous? Are we being followed? Are we in danger?"

  "Of course you are. A group of Shadow Creature mean the Watcher death. All intelligent creatures know the Watcher's presence instinctively, can sense when one is near." Vistus cocked his head at them, "I hear other shadows nearby. We must leave this area as fast as possible. We must cross the river. None of the shadows on this side will be able to easily follow. The river is too wide. Well, except the flying wolves."

  Ayden looked at Kate, "That's the kind of Shadow Creature that carried off your Grandmother."

  The image of the creature carrying her away against the backdrop of the moon sent a shiver through Kate. Another vision came to mind, accompanied by the vigorous rustling of the trees. Shapes moving, hunting.

  "We're being followed," Kate whispered.

  "Don't get paranoid," Ayden said.

  "I'm not. The trees see them."

  "We should hurry. We don't have much time," Vistus said, slinking into the next shadow to move ahead of them. "Unless you wish to fight off the pack of razor wolves."

  Kate pushed Ayden forward. He shook his head at her, "I can't believe this. You want to trust a Shadow Creature?"

  "For now, yes. We have to trust the Watcher and the trees. The trees picture Shadow Creature behind us, but they aren't worried about Vistus. There have to be some good Shadow Creature somewhere."

  "Oh, thank you for the vote of confidence," Vistus mocked. "In return I will assume not all humans are murderers."

  "Murderers? I am not a murderer!" Ayden yelled at him.

  Kate shushed at him, glancing nervously at the shadows behind them.

  "Someone killed more than one of the sacred trees. All of us felt it. The image of the humans who did it have echoed through the forest. The forest itself still mourns their passing." Vistus continued moving ahead of them, occasionally glancing back at them. "Come on, keep up!"

  "First I get tormented by you, and now a Shadow Creature. This isn't my day," Ayden said with a scowl.

  Kate grinned at his back.

  The hike quickly wiped the smile off her face. Her lower back hurt and it made the tug of the spores even stronger. The urge to find a corner, curl up and sleep, was becoming a wonderful daydream almost painful in pleasure.

  A sharp hill descended to a body of water so large she could barely see across to the other side. Kate stared at it in horror.

  "We're here!" Vistus announced, bounding down the hill.

  "That's a river? It looks like a lake!" Kate said.

  No way were they going to be able to cross that by cutting down a tree. And no way was she going to be able to swim across with the heavy Watcher clinging to her back.

  "We're trapped against the water," Ayden noted.

  Kate pointed across the water, "And there's the mountain. We have to find a way across."

  Kate picked her way down the hill towards the water. Ayden followed her, muttering under his breath the entire time. Vistus waited for them at the bottom of the hill, leading the way to a rocky shore.

  Kate took one look at the swirling muddy water and shook her head, "I learned how to swim, but I don't think I can swim against that strong of a current."

  "To attempt to swim across would be suicide," Vistus said.

  He sat down on his haunches. Putting his head up into the sky
he let out with a howl that echoed across the water.

  "Oh, that's good! Any Shadow Creature who want us dead are sure to have heard that!" Ayden said.

  The edges of Vistus's long mouth twitched upwards, his tongue licking his front teeth. "By then we will be long gone."

  A circle of ripples appeared on the surface of the water, followed by streams of bubbles breaking.

  The gray-green head of what looked like a giant slug popped up out of the water, complete with upright stalks off the top of the head. Ribbons of green vines trailed out of its mouth, which it continued to chew. A long body and tail snaked out behind it, whipping up the water as it snaked its way towards them.

  "Not one of the most intelligent of creatures, but smart enough to know the Watchers and want to help," Vistus said, making his way over the rocky shore to the very edge of the water.

  "We're going to cross on that?" Kate asked, the creature towering over them.

  Vistus smirked back at her, "Unless you have a better idea?

  The monster wriggled its way up the rocks towards the shore, water dripping off its massive head. Vistus jumped into the water, wading up to its shoulder. With a bound he started climbing the bulges and bumps of the giant slug to the top of its back.

  Once there, Vistus regarded them, "I suggest you come quickly. The narboa doesn't like to be this far out of water."

  The Watcher on Kate's back moved, pulling on the shoulder facing the creature. Kate rolled her eyes, "The Watcher approves, I think."

  "I don't like this. It submerges, and we drown," Ayden said.

  "Then I drown with you," Vistus called out.

  Ayden winced, "Good hearing."

  The narboa munched on a mouthful of green water plants, putting its head down, almost touching Kate in its inspection. Gill slits fluttered on the side of the neck, and yet it blew air around her. It lifted its massive head, looking back out over the water. With a ripple of muscles, it started pushing off the rocky shallows.

  The Watcher pulled at her shoulder more frantically. Kate took a deep breath, and with a glance at Ayden said, "Our ride is leaving!"

  She plowed into the water, the moisture quickly inundating her shoes and lower pants. She reached the shoulder. The skin felt rubbery, making it easy to get a grip. She worked her way up the rippling muscles, pulling herself up to where Vistus waited.

  Kate heard a large splash behind her. She crawled up onto the top of the shoulder, working her way towards the center of the back. Ayden appeared from over the side.

  "You can be mad at me while you are drowning!" Kate said to him with a smile. "The spores won't be controlling you then."

  "Dead is dead!" Adyen said right back.

  The narboa moved off the rocks, settling down deeper into the water. With a gentle side to side motion it slipped farther out into the water, picking up speed.

  "Spores?" Vistus asked. "Of what do you refer?"

  "The Newcomers have something they call spores that take control of a person. Actually, it's taken control of some trees, too. The trees around the camp can't move and protect themselves," Kate said, "They used it on the humans, including us."

  "The same humans you saw cutting down the trees. They have no mind of their own anymore," Ayden said to Vistus.

  Vistus sniffed the air. "So, that's why you smell strange. Keep them to yourself."

  "We'll do our best," Ayden said sarcastically.

  Vistus studied Kate, "You aren't mindless. The Watcher trusts you."

  "We've been able to resist so far. I don't know how long we'll be able to continue to do so, though." Kate said.

  The water flowed by, barely below the level where they rode. One little wave and they could be washed off. Kate turned away, leaning forward with her hands hugging her knees. The sun warmed her wet pants, but her feet still felt like blocks of ice. No point in taking her shoes off yet, though. She would surely get wet again once they reached the other side.

  A howl echoed out across the water. Kate turned to look behind them. Shadows moved along the shore they'd just left. The narboa ignored the howls, continuing to slide through the water.

  "They were close," Ayden said.

  "Diasis is among them," Vistus said. He gave a curious bark of laughter, "And Diasis does not like to be thwarted. Hope that he does not catch up with us."

  "Or finds another narboa to ride across on." Kate shivered, turning away from the sight of the shore. She positioned herself so the sun hit her wet clothes as much as possible.

  The narboa reached the fast flowing middle of the river, turning towards the mountains. Its strong tail pushed against the strong current. Small waves crashed up against the lower part of the back.

  The mountain grew in size, pleasing Kate. It would mean less walking later. In fact, sitting in the sun with the gentle lapping of waves against the narboa was almost hypnotic. Enough to put a person to sleep.

  Her head snapped up. She saw Ayden's head nod and she elbowed him. He started, turning a glare towards her.

  She glared back. "I saw your eyes starting to close."

  "Does this mean you are going to start insulting me to keep me awake? I'm not sure how much more of that my ego can take," Ayden complained.

  Vistus squinted his eyes, "Afraid to sleep?"

  "The spores would take us over. I'm sure of it," Kate said. She adjusted the cape ties at her throat. "So, tell me. What are shadow creatures all about? What do you do for the forest?"

  "You mean other than weeding out the weak among the creatures of the forest?" Vistus asked, amused. "In the summer times we aid the Ancients. We travel far and wide with messages, partake in projects, watch out for infractions. Some would work with the individual Watchers in our area."

  "But it is summer time," Kate said, noting the slowly approaching the green shore. "So, why would some of the shadow creatures be acting in such a murderous way?"

  "This is not summer. Not the summer we await."

  The vision of the colorful quality of the forest popped into her head. Lush, active, pulsing with life. So different from what she'd seen so far.

  "This planet has cycles of a yearly summer and winter, like most planets do," Ayden said. "This certainly looks like summer to me. Winter is much colder."

  "And the summer we await is much warmer." Vistus gazed up into the sky. Kate looked up, but the only thing she could see in that area of sky were a few clouds and the small second sun of the solar system. "The second sun. When the second sun glows bright, then will be our true summer. Most of the forest sleeps, awaiting that time."

  "It must have something to do with the orbit," Ayden said. He suddenly grinned at Kate, "The second sun is in a two hundred year elliptical orbit. Its just now starting to swing to a closer position."

  "So there are two summers? The yearly one, and then another on a two hundred year cycle?" Kate asked.

  "Sounds like it. And the humans crash landed on this planet in the middle of the long winter season," Ayden said. He fingered his retracted staff, "That explains things I've seen in the forest. Some of the trees and large bulbs show no sign of growth or activity. They might be in hibernation."

  Kate found herself smiling, "I wonder what it's like in the true summer."

  "It's beautiful. I will be dead and gone by the time it comes around again, but I have the legacy memories of my kind to remember it with," Vistus said. He laid down, his eyes taking on a far-off look.

  "Describe it," Kate prodded. The wind in her face changed as the narboa took a turn towards a section of shore.

  "The forest comes alive. Some of the trees can move now but it's nothing compared to what will come. Trees and plants moving from place to place, all in full bloom. Colors everywhere. The forest animals buzz with activity. So much to eat. So much to see and explore." Vistus turned his attention to her, "My kind love to explore. Even now, in the winter, we roam far and wide in our explorations."

  "I saw a lot of new colors in the tree canopy and birds I didn't recogniz
e," Kate said.

  "There are many birds asleep. Many creatures, as well, including some of the Shadow Creature."

  "When we get out of this I'm going to have to take a look at the sun orbit. See if I can figure out when the summer might begin," Ayden said. "There has to be a tipping point to the level of solar radiation reaching this world at some point."

  "There is a way we know. The tall spikes of the black bulb tree. Each year another ring of flowers appears on the spike. When the rings reach the top then winter will be over," Vistus said.

  Ayden smiled, "I've seen those trees. I wonder if your Grandma has found it?"

  "If she even knows about this," Kate reminded him.

  "Oh, she'll know. Your Grandma is a genius," Ayden said.

  "You keep saying that."

  "Because it's true. No human knows more about this planet and its forests than her. She has an instinct on how things work," Ayden said. "That's why I didn't like the idea of her going into the city. She belongs to the forest and I think the forest likes having her around. She could get trees to do things I've never seen anyone manage. Like let them tap them."

  "There is a human, different from all the rest, spoken among us. Who lives in the middle of a vast orchard of trees that do her bidding," Vistus said.

  "That sounds like Grandma," Kate said. "She's always working with the trees, finding things to help people."

  "Then the trust of the Watcher comes to you naturally. A cousin took her one of the sick trees we found near the Newcomers camp. We could not heal it. We hoped the human might have knowledge we did not."

  Ayden motioned towards Vistus, "See, even they think she is a genius."

  "I think Vistus means something else," Kate said, thinking about past dropped fragments from her mother. "You say different. In what way? Acts different, like me?"

  Vistus shook out his fur. "No, not like you. She is of your kind, and yet is not. We know of no others like her."

  Kate didn't know what to think of that. Grandma was just... Grandma. Sure, she acted differently, but then so did Kate. Yet, something deep inside knew.

  "You said legacy memories," Ayden said into the silence. "Does that mean you know where we can speak with the Ancients."