by Amy Cross
All she wanted right now was for the visitor to go away forever, which she assumed he'd do as soon as he'd healed up enough to get moving. She figured she merely had to keep out of the woods for a week or two, and eventually the soldier would leave her alone and go somewhere far away.
Chapter Five
"Don't you want to go and play in the woods?"
Looking over at her mother, Eva realized this was the question she'd been dreading. It had been almost two weeks since she'd last been out beyond the garden gate, and she'd slowly learned to have fun in the house. Well, 'fun' was a strong word, but at least she was able to amuse herself, and she'd almost managed to make herself forget about the soldier who'd been living in the tree. In the back of her mind, she'd been aware that she perhaps needed to venture back out there some time and double-check that he was gone, but she'd been putting that day off for as long as possible until...
"Did something happen out there?" her mother continued, putting some more plates in the dish-washer. It was clear that she'd noticed the change in Eva's behavior, and she was obviously curious. After seeming a little vague and zombie-like in the weeks immediately after the funeral, her mother was starting to get back to her old self.
"What do you mean?" Eva asked, worried that her mother somehow knew about the soldier.
"It's just that you always used to go out there, but these days you seem so... Well, you just seemed to stop very suddenly. I just wanted to make sure there's no problem."
"There's no problem. I just felt like sitting inside and reading."
For the next few minutes, Eva sat in silence and continued to read her book. Eventually, however, her mother sat next to her and started watching silently. Eva tried to ignore her, but she knew there'd be more questions eventually.
"Are you worried about something, sweetheart?"
Eva shook her head.
"You know you can tell me, don't you?"
Eva nodded.
"If something's bothering you, I want you to talk to me about it, okay? This is a very difficult time for both of us. I just don't want you to be scared."
"Of what?" Eva asked.
Her mother took a deep breath. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this, sweetheart. What happened to your father happened in a very particular place, at a very particular time. He was in an extremely dangerous situation, but I don't want you to think that the whole world is like that." She paused, waiting for Eva to respond. "The point is, I don't want you to shutter yourself away in the house all the time. I know I can maybe be a little over-protective sometimes, but I think it's important that we both learn to face the world again. You know Daddy wouldn't like to think of you sitting around the house, scared to go outside, right? He'd want you to go out there and have fun. Don't you remember how he'd always tell me to stop fussing so much?"
Eva nodded.
"He used to laugh at me for being worried when you went into the woods," her mother continued, with tears in her eyes. "He used to say that I was too fussy, that I wanted to seal you up in a plastic bubble and never let you really touch the world." She paused again, as if she was finding it difficult to speak. "Maybe he was right. Just... don't be scared, okay? The world really isn't that scary, sweetheart. I think it'd be good for you to get back out there once or twice and remember that. I want to see you having fun again."
Eva looked over at the back door. For a moment, it occurred to her that maybe she should tell her mother all about the soldier. After all, her mother would know what to do. Then again, Eva also felt that it was her own job to deal with her fear. She imagined her father sitting at the table, watching her and feeling disappointed that she was so scared. Even though she was worried, Eva could feel herself getting ready to go back out into the woods. She felt that she had to know if the soldier had left, or if he'd died in the tree. She'd delayed this moment long enough.
"I might go out now," she said, her voice filled with tension.
"I didn't mean you have to drop what you're doing," her mother replied. "I just meant, in general, you should do the things you like doing. Ease back into things slowly."
"I want to go out," Eva said, closing her book and standing up. "I won't be long, I just need to... I just want to go and take a look."
"Be back in an hour," her mother said. "I'm making pancakes."
Nodding, Eva leaned forward and gave her mother a hug, before turning and walking over to the back door.
"Hey, remember not to talk to strangers," her mother added suddenly. "That rule still applies, sweetheart, okay? If you see anyone out there, just come straight home. Deal?"
Eva nodded.
"And sweetheart... Can you stop unplugging the phone? I know why you do it, but there's no need. Not anymore."
Eva nodded again, before opening the back door and stepping out into the garden. Not only had she avoided the woods over the past few weeks, she'd also avoided the garden, figuring that she didn't want to be seen by the soldier. She couldn't shake the feeling that he might still be out there somewhere, keeping an eye on her house, and for that reason she'd also kept away from her bedroom window. Then again, she reminded herself, the soldier was probably all healed by now, and he'd probably moved on. Why would he stick around here, living in a tree?
Once she'd gone beyond the garden gate, Eva started walking through the woods. This place used to feel like a second home to her, and she'd once hoped to live out here forever, but now it felt strange, as if she was walking on the surface of an alien world. The dead feeling, which she'd first felt around the old oak tree, seemed to have spread a lot further, and it felt like night even though the sun was high in the afternoon sky. As she walked, Eva realized that she saw and heard no signs of life: no moths or flies in the air; no insects; no sounds up in the trees. Even the breeze seemed to be dead out here, and the whole forest was bathed in an eerie, light blue mist that hung languidly in the air. The only sound came from Eva's bare feet as she walked across the dry, brittle grass.
Finally, in the distance, she saw the old oak tree, the heart of the forest. This, at least, seemed not to have changed, and in fact its leaves looked to be bigger and more numerous than ever. As Eva emerged into the clearing, she felt as if the air itself was completely still, and she glanced to one side and saw that not only was the dead deer still on the ground, but there were a couple more nearby, all of them in an advanced state of decomposition. This made Eva feel a little better, since it appeared that the soldier was no longer feasting. In fact, as Eva looked back over at the tree, she realized that there was no sense of anyone being here at all. It was as if all life had completely left the area.
When she reached the tree, Eva stopped and looked up into the branches. Even today, when the sun was out, the tree seemed strangely dark, as if light was either being scared away, or drawn deep inside. Staring up into the darkness, Eva tried to detect any sign of life up there, but there was nothing. It was as if the tree was now, finally, completely empty.
She began to relax as she realized that the soldier was almost certainly gone. Still, there was only one way to be certain, and it required Eva to be braver than she'd ever been before. Unable to shake the image of her father from her mind, she realized that he'd be disappointed in her if she didn't go and check properly. She'd long dreamed of climbing this tree, and now she felt it was time. After all, if she didn't go up there, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering if there might still be a soldier hiding somewhere in the branches.
"Dear God," she whispered, "if I climb this tree and take a look, do you promise I won't fall, and that nothing else will happen to me?"
She waited. She knew there'd be no answer, but she still wanted to give God time to hear her message and hopefully agree. She'd never really thought much about God before, but right now she was counting on him to keep an eye on her and make sure that nothing bad happened.
Realizing that she was delaying the inevitable, she cautiously reached up and grabbed one of the lower branches. Lift
ing a leg and gaining purchase on the trunk, she summoned all the strength in her body and slowly raised herself up until she could grab hold of the lower branches properly, at which point she hauled herself up a little further and managed to wriggle onto part of the split trunk. Looking back down, she realized that she was already a couple of meters off the ground, and for a moment she felt slightly dizzy until finally she reminded herself that she needed to just get on with the climb. Besides, if she got all the way to the top, she might finally be able to look out and see the whole world, even the far-off part where the wars happened.
Holding herself steady, and still terrified of falling, she reached up and grabbed the next branch, and slowly she climbed up a little higher. She double-checked, even triple-checked every move she made. Turning and glancing over her shoulder, she saw that although it was dark up here in the tree, there didn't seem to be anyone or anything else up here. She tried to imagine what it must have been like for the soldier to have lived up here, and she figured it must have been pretty miserable. Wherever he was now, he was probably having a much better time, unless he'd been caught by whoever was after him. The weird part was that she knew she'd never find out the truth; if the soldier had left, she'd never know how he ended up in the tree or what happened to him next.
Reaching up for the next branch, Eva felt something wet against her hand. At first she assumed it was just dew or sap, but when she pulled herself up a little higher, she realized that many of the higher branches were soaked. She held her hand out to the light and saw that she had blood running down from the palm of her hand and onto her wrist. Looking down at the branch, she saw that her clothes were now smeared in even more blood. She turned and looked into the darkness, but there was no sign of anything moving.
Despite the fact that she was starting to panic, she forced herself to remember that the soldier was gone, which meant that the blood was probably just some old blood that had been left here a few days ago. That's all it was, all it could be. Eva knew better than to let superstitions take root in her imagination. It would be far too easy to imagine all sorts of things up there in the tree, but then she'd be no better than her mother. What mattered, she told herself, was that she had to stay calm and focused.
She stayed completely still for a few minutes. She wanted to keep climbing, but her heart was racing and she was worried that the blood was making the branches slippery. The more nervous she became, the more she tried to force herself to think rationally. She was still imagining her father watching her, but she was no longer sure what he'd want her to do. Would he want her to keep going and reach the top, or would he tell her to go back down? If he was in the same situation, what would he do? Would he tell her to be cautious and safe, to run and get help? Or would he tell her to be brave, like he was when he shipped off to war?
While she tried to decide, however, she slowly became aware of something moving nearby.
At first, it was just a very faint rustling sound, like the wind brushing against the tree. After a moment, however, Eva realized that the sound was much closer and much more deliberate. She turned and looked over at some other branches, but there was no sign of anyone. Still, she was suddenly filled with the feeling that she wasn't alone, that there was something watching her from the darkness, and finally she knew that she had to go back down as fast as possible.
Lowering herself back onto one of the thicker branches, she tried to stay calm as she began her descent. There was so much blood on her hands, it was hard to keep a proper grip, so she had to move much more slowly than she would have liked. She could feel her heart pounding, and there was a part of her that just wanted to jump down, but she knew she'd end up breaking her legs if she fell from such a great height. Forcing herself to stay calm, she carefully inched down the branches, all the while convinced that she was being watched and followed. As hard as she tried to stay focused, however, she couldn't help but move faster and faster, and finally her foot slipped and she dropped, landing hard on another branch before tumbling further down. She reached out, trying to hold on and at the last moment, just barely, she managed to hang on with one hand to the lowest branch.
She waited for a moment, to make sure she was secure. Looking down, she saw that she didn't have much further to go. She lowered herself as far as possible, and then finally she allowed herself to drop the final couple of meters, landing hard on the forest floor and falling forward onto her hands and knees.
Standing up immediately, she started brushing herself off. She was covered in blood from the tree, which was making dirt and soil stick to her. It was pretty obvious that her mother would be angry when she got home, and she knew that there was no way she could hide the state she was in. She figured she'd just have to be honest and tell her mother everything about the tree, and about the soldier. She hoped her mother would understand, although she knew this was unlikely. Already, she could imagine her mother shouting at her, telling her off for ruining her dress and putting herself in danger and -
Suddenly Eva realized there was a noise coming from up in the tree. She stood completely still, too scared to look. There was no way the soldier could still be up there; there was no way anything or anyone could be up there at all. She tried to tell herself that it was all in her mind, and that only an idiot would even bother to look up.
Finally, however, she turned and looked.
More blood was coming down from the tree, washing down the trunk and spilling onto the ground. Eva took a step back as she stared, unable to comprehend just how much dark red liquid was coming down. There was so much, it was even dripping from some of the branches. Within just a few seconds, the entire trunk seemed to be absolutely soaked. It was by far the most disgusting thing Eva had ever seen, and although she wanted to turn and run, she felt strangely compelled to stand here and wait to see what would happen next.
Finally, however, she realized she'd seen enough. She turned to run -
And that's when an arm reached down from the tree and grabbed her by the neck. Not just any arm, either. This arm was jet black, its skin thick and foul and crusty. It was as if it had been badly burned, and there were a few glistening cracks of bloody pulp beneath the crispy skin. Trying to get loose, Eva felt the hand tighten and tighten around her neck, the fingers almost digging through her flesh. The more she fought, however, the tighter the hand seemed to hold her.
Slowly, kicking and screaming and trying to get loose, Eva was lifted up into the dark tree.
Epilogue
"Tell me the truth," Caroline said, her eyes filled with tears. "Is she ever going to be okay again?"
"It's far too early to make a call," Dr. Webber said gravely. "Mrs. Wilson, you have to understand that we still don't know exactly what happened to Eva. The nature of her injuries, the manner in which she disappeared and was found... There are so many variables. I'm not comfortable making too many forward-looking statements right now. I know it's hard, but we just need to wait and see."
"Can I see her?" Caroline asked. "I want to see her."
"You can see her," Dr. Webber continued, "but first, I need to -"
"Let me see her first," Caroline said, standing up and walking over to the door. "She's my daughter. She needs me."
"I understand that," Dr. Webber replied, remaining seated, "but first there's something I have to tell you."
Stopping at the door, Caroline turned back to look at him.
"Eva's undergone an immense level of physical and psychological trauma," Dr. Webber continued. "We can't even begin to estimate -"
"You've already said this!" Caroline hissed, starting to lose her patience. "I want to see my daughter!"
"People in Eva's condition don't always wake up," the doctor explained. "I know that's not what you want to hear right now -"
"You're saying she's dead?"
"Not at all. I'm simply saying that we need to be realistic in terms of what we can expect from her. In terms of her waking up, there's no way to accurately predict when there might
be a breakthrough. It could be in a week, or a month, or a year, or ten years, or..." He paused for a moment. "It could be never."
"Or it could be today," Caroline firmly, fighting back her tears. "She might wake up as soon as I walk into that room and talk to her. She might hear my voice and come back to me."
"Anything's possible," Dr. Webber said diplomatically, although the look in his eyes betrayed a lack of hope.
"I want to see her," Caroline said again. "Now!"
"I'll take you to her," Dr. Webber said, getting to his feet and heading over to the door. The pair of them walked in silence along the hospital corridor and into the ward. After checking a few details on a clipboard, the doctor gestured for Caroline to follow him to the far end, and finally he stopped.
"You don't know my daughter," Caroline said, still on the edge of crying. "She's strong. She's stronger than anyone else you've ever had in here. She's been through so much since the death of her father, and she's always been able to hold up just fine. She's going to surprise you."
"I hope so," Dr. Webber said with a sigh, sliding the door open. "Spend as much time as you need with her. Talk to her. Read to her. Whatever you think might help. There's always a chance."
Without saying anything, Caroline turned and headed into the room. She immediately stopped when she saw her daughter resting on a large white bed, with all sorts of tubes and wires connecting her body to a series of machines. The whole room was humming thanks to various computers that were lined up on a nearby table, displaying various readouts.
Walking over to the bed, Caroline stared at Eva's face, which was still just about visible from beneath all the equipment. She looked so peaceful, it was hard to believe that she'd been through such a traumatic incident. Sure, there were a few cuts and bruises here and there, but for the most part she seemed to be absolutely fine. She just wouldn't wake up. It had been twenty-four hours since she'd been found out in the forest, and she'd shown no sign of responding to any kind of stimulus.