The Redwoods Rise and Fall

by Ross Turner

  But then the terrible emptiness and the dreadful longing washed over her once again, as her coursing adrenaline faded and dwindled. She dropped to her knees, knocking them heavily into the cold, harsh stone.

  Feeling yet again incomplete and unfulfilled, Vivian sobbed and screamed in the dark of the night, horrified at her own actions.

  Yet, even still, though now it was over, and the wonderful feeling had come and gone, passing by in barely an instant, she wanted nothing more than to do it all over again.

  9

  Luckily the morning was still dark, and the streets desolate, allowing Vivian to race back through the ice cold alleyways without being seen. Her underclothes having been ripped to shreds by her attacker, she sprinted naked along the streets, covered from head to toe in slowly drying and flaking blood.

  Her feet ached from running barefoot on stone and cobble, but as much as they hurt, even catching a few times and bleeding fresh, she did not stop. She couldn’t risk it. She absolutely had to get back without being seen, and the first rays of sunlight were already peeking their way over the far eastern horizon.

  Thankfully, mercy seemingly on her side, Vivian crept back into the inn, managing to climb up the uneven stonework and sidle in through her room’s single open window.

  Perhaps she had crept out this way in the night?

  In her sleep…?

  She had no idea, and at that point it really didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she’d made it back without being seen, she hoped. Kael had proved to her of late however that she wasn’t always as inconspicuous as she’d thought, or perhaps it was simply that he was just very observant and keen eyed.

  Vivian stopped for a moment, ceasing all movement, her mind wandering.

  Kael.

  Suddenly, from her spreading thoughts, Vivian felt a huge wave of guilt that filled her with a dreadful sense of completion.

  He could never know.

  He would be ashamed of her.

  Everybody would.

  Pushing the thoughts from her mind, trying desperately to focus, Vivian proceeded immediately to scrub every inch of her body, splashing and soaking herself with water from a bowl in the washroom. The bowl had been stood there all night, and she shivered and gritted her teeth as the ice cold liquid ran down her face and front.

  It took a long time to wash her entire body clean, removing all evidence and disposing of the water so that no one would ever know. By that time the sun had already risen, and the scurrying noise of people outside and in the rooms next door to hers could be heard.

  She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, reluctantly running over that night’s events in her mind. Clearly her nightmares were getting worse.

  But why?

  How?

  She had no idea.

  Turning then and glancing in the full length mirror on the wall, Vivian looked her naked body up and down, sighing as she did so.

  Obviously she was young, and without a shadow of a doubt would have been very attractive to any young man, for her body had grown and formed in a very womanly way, and it was most pleasing to the eye.

  Her gaze however, did not see those things, but instead came to rest upon the scars that marked her body, forming and capturing both the worst and best memories of her life.

  The silvery scar on her chest, angled between her ribs, was from when she had faced the Greystones upon her return to Virtus. She remembered with a chill the feel of the sword sliding and grating between her ribcage.

  She had removed it, she recalled the events of that day, casting her eyes down to her hands now, and her palms were still scarred from dragging the great blade from within her. Those ones were faded and barely even visible, but she could still just about make them out.

  And then of course there were the burns on her back. She turned, looking over her shoulder, and examined her back in the mirror, seeing the mottled skin warped and gruesome looking in a perfectly rounded circle on her upper back, directly between her shoulder blades.

  That, of course, was from when she had attempted to go to Red’s aid during their final battle together, just before he had been killed…

  Vivian looked over all her scars, sorrowfully at first, but then also with a smile, the glimmer of contented memories coming to her mind.

  She had healed those grave wounds before killing the Grey, leaving only these comparatively small scars, and Vivian was certain she could have even healed those completely too. It would have been a simple thing to do, to return her skin to its original, flawless complexion, but even so, she never had done.

  She simply couldn’t.

  They reminded her too much of Red.

  The morning air was fresh and clear and it filled Vivian’s lungs with its cool, revitalising hands. Above the great city the clouds drifted by lazily, relaxed and calm, not too great in number, wandering now and then in front of the sun and blocking its rays, but never for more than a minute or two.

  After recovering her composure and redressing, Vivian bade the innkeeper farewell, and headed southwards once more. She pushed the incidents of that night from her thoughts as best she could, forgetting them, at least for now, and wondered what in the world was happening to her.

  Vivian thought then of Red, and what in the world he would think if he knew what had become of her. It didn’t matter. There was nothing she could do about it. She just had to keep going, and nobody could ever know, especially Kael.

  Bizarrely then, as she thought of the stranger from the north that she had pursued through the Redwoods, she felt oddly guilty, for her thoughts of him had interrupted her thoughts of Red.

  She knew of course that her guilt was ridiculous, for such a thing was not a crime, but nonetheless, she couldn’t help but feel as though things were changing.

  Yes, it seemed that change was definitely upon her.

  And people do so fear change, often for good reason, though it is never without purpose.

  The people greeted her pleasantly as she headed towards Jared’s farm, occasionally approaching her to ask how she was, and Vivian enquired about their lives in turn. That was something she always tried her utmost to do: to show an interest in each and every one of those she cared and looked out for. Though, naturally, she knew that was impossible. There were simply too many people for her to know so much about all of them, but still she tried her hardest.

  Jared too, unsurprisingly, was delighted to see Vivian enter the front gates of his humble farmstead, and the wearied look about his eyes told Vivian all that she needed to know.

  Clearly the attacks had not ceased.

  “Miss Featherstone!” He greeted Vivian, walking towards her with his arms outstretched welcomingly. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you!” He continued.

  “Likewise.” Vivian replied with a smile and a nod of her head. “How are you faring?” She asked then, quite seriously, glancing around briefly at the farmstead.

  From what she could see everything looked, for the most part, very normal. There was, however, an unmistakeable look about the faces of all who lived and worked there. A deep, underlying fear of the unknown plagued them all, and though their spirits soared at the sight of their saviour, even that was not enough to suppress the terror that gripped them.

  “Not too well…” Jared replied honestly, sighing deeply and allowing his shoulders to slump slightly.

  He too glanced around then. He saw the small thatched homes of his people, the mills and storage barns dotted here and there, seemingly without order, but with an organisation that suited the needs of his farmstead ideally. And then too his eyes fell to the barn in the distance, set back a little ways from everything else, and much closer to the tree line of the Redwoods, only just beyond it.

  Around the barn grazed cattle, though with every other step each of them looked up and surveyed the forest edge nervously, as if waiting for the inevitable.

  “There haven’t been attacks every night.” Jared continued to explain. “But on the night
s that there have…” He shuddered at the thought, as if there was no need for further explanation.

  “Ok.” Vivian concluded, gathering that this wasn’t the sort of thing he wished to discuss so publically. “I hope the messenger I sent arrived in good time?” She asked Jared then.

  She knew of course that her message had been received, for Jared had sent one in return to her abode, but for some reason, a reason that eluded her even as she spoke her words, Vivian felt the need to ask.

  “Yes, thank you.” He replied pleasantly. “I received them both. I was very glad to hear from you if I’m honest.”

  Vivian started for a moment, confusion crossing her face.

  “Both?” Vivian questioned. “What do you mean, both?”

  “The elderly gentleman you sent…” Jared explained first, a little confused. “He came saying he had spoken with you, purely by chance, and had offered to carry your message here himself. He told me that you were coming to our aid…”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Vivian confirmed. “What of the second?”

  “The younger gentleman.” Jared began. “Nice fellow, strange name though, I can’t quite remember it now; he told me that he was here to help my watchmen, and that when you came along he would be helping you search for the monster, or whatever it is that’s doing this…”

  His voice dropped low with that sentence; though of course it was no secret, it was not the sort of thing Jared enjoyed making public conversation about.

  “I think he works for my cousin, Linton…” Jared continued. “On the west side of the city…”

  “Kael!?” Vivian exclaimed, shocked and surprised and pleased all at once, her heart racing and jumping into her mouth with excitement at the thought that he was here.

  “That’s his name!” Jared replied, gesturing expansively with his hands.

  And then, before either of them could say another word, a voice sounded beside them, approaching from the direction of the barn in the distance, his approach up until that point inconspicuous and unnoticed, as it always was.

  Vivian turned as Kael spoke, the sound of his voice music to her ears, lifting her spirits enormously.

  She forgot the darkness of the recent past almost instantly, and her renewed blue eyes came to rest on his face adoringly.

  “Hello stranger.”

  10

  Perhaps there was only one word to describe how Vivian felt at that moment. She was entirely, completely and utterly, speechless. Her mouth opened and closed and then opened again uselessly, unable to make even the hint of a sound.

  The tugging pain in her heart, the one that had taken up residence there ever since Kael’s absence, now subsided, and she felt almost wholly recovered, somehow fulfilled, and she could see by the look on his face and the adoration in his eyes that he felt the same way.

  Jared didn’t quite know what was happening, but as he stood there for a moment, awed by the connection so clear between the great Vivian Featherstone and this stranger, Kael, he couldn’t help but smile, for he was old enough to know the beginnings of love when he saw it.

  Eventually, after a few minutes, still neither of them having spoken, Jared coughed lightly, bringing his hand up to his mouth in a fist, breaking the silence, filled so fully with everything except words.

  “Kael…” Vivian eventually managed, stirred by Jared’s action, glancing between the two of them.

  Amidst all the trouble and anguish that Jared had surely been undergoing, he threw Vivian a knowing smile, and politely excused himself.

  “I’m afraid I have matters to attend to…” He lied pleasantly. “Kael, you’ve been here a good few days now, do you think you could show Miss Featherstone around the farmstead and explain to her exactly what’s been happening. I’m sure you’ve heard all the stories by now…”

  “Of course sir.” Kael replied casually. “It would be my pleasure.”

  Vivian remained dumbfounded.

  “Excellent.” Jared concluded then, clapping his hands together. “I shall meet you both over by the barn an hour before sundown.” He told them, before bidding them both a good day and turning immediately on his heel, leaving the two of them standing alone.

  Silence ensued again then for a few more moments before Vivian eventually found her tongue.

  “What are you doing here?” She asked Kael, still unable to take her eyes from him. Of course Jared had already told her why Kael had come, but then, that hadn’t been the real reason.

  “I had to see you again.” He replied immediately, without even a trace of embarrassment in his voice with his admission. “This was my only chance.”

  “You volunteered to watch the cattle?” Vivian questioned, and Kael nodded in response. “But you’ve been here almost a week!” She exclaimed then, for some reason upset by the fact, and, perhaps more so, by his reckless foolishness. “You know what’s been happening!!” She pressed. “You could have been killed!!”

  “I wasn’t though.” He replied calmly. “There haven’t been any attacks since I arrived.”

  “You didn’t know there wouldn’t be any attacks!” Vivian snapped back then, her heart fluttering with worry at the thought that he might have been harmed.

  Kael only shrugged.

  “Must be fate then.” He concluded simply, somehow calming all of Vivian’s worries in an instant. “It worked, you’re here, and I’m still alive.”

  Again, Vivian was thunderstruck, with absolutely no idea how to respond. That word fate rang true with her, and Red’s face flashed momentarily before her eyes, and in that fleeting glance, the great red bear’s expression bore the resemblances of content upon in, pleased with what he saw.

  Saying not another word, not even sure that she could, Vivian raced forward and caught Kael up in a crushing embrace. He squeezed her back and held her tightly, knowing now that he’d done the right thing by risking his life here, without a shadow of a doubt.

  “No one has heard them during the day yet.” Kael explained to Vivian as they walked, exploring and examining the boundaries of Jared’s farmstead. “But it’s true what everyone’s been saying about the howls at night. Even though there haven’t been any attacks, I’ve heard them myself. There are many different ones, but they all come together, and sometimes there’s even a great roaring and shrieking too. The howls are probably wolves…” Kael reasoned. But I have absolutely no idea what else it could be…”

  “Are they as bad as people have been saying?” Vivian asked.

  “Probably worse.” Kael admitted. “They’re coming from a long way off south, towards the mountains, that much I can tell. But it sounds as though they’re right there.” He explained, emphasising his point by simply holding his hand out a foot from his face.

  They reached the barn then, as they had been following the line of red trunks round in a vast arc. Even from a distance Vivian had been able to see the damage the building had suffered, and great chunks were missing from its sides, and the doors were practically hanging off their hinges.

  What little of the barn that was still left intact, barely keeping the flimsy structure standing, was smeared with thick lashes of blood and other substances, most of which Vivian didn’t wish to even try to name.

  “Oh dear.” Vivian commented, in something of a drastic understatement, coming to a halt before the pitiful looking assembly of broken planks and shattered walls.

  “Hmm…” Kael replied, admitting with that simple sound that he had indeed been terrified the past few nights, waiting eagerly for Vivian’s arrival.

  They continued on and Kael showed Vivian the farmstead in its entirety. It was a humble and clearly hard earned establishment, and the people toiled away in the fields, forever glancing nervously over their shoulders, all too aware of the seemingly great danger they were in.

  “So that’s pretty much it.” Kael eventually concluded, as they once again reached the main gate of the farm, the sun dipping quite low in the sky by now. Vivian looked up and over to the hor
izon to their west, over the tops of the vast sea of Redwoods.

  “It’s almost an hour until sunset. Let’s go and meet Jared.” She decided, and Kael nodded in agreement, leading the way back off towards the barn.

  Only ten minutes later they reached their destination, arriving at virtually the same time as Jared and two other men, much bigger and burlier than the rest Vivian had seen here.

  “Ah! Excellent!” Jared the farmstead owner exclaimed as he approached Vivian and Kael. “My friends, please may I introduce you to Heath, and Kandor.” He introduced the two men in his company, gesturing to each of them in turn. “Gentlemen.” He continued, looking to the two muscular men then. “This is Miss Vivian Featherstone, and her splendid and generous companion, Kael.”

  “Pleasure.” Heath greeted them in a deep, gruff voice, shaking each of their hands in turn, dwarfing them with his massive hands like shovels. Kandor did the same and nodded in acknowledgement, smiling at Vivian and Kael with crooked teeth but kind eyes.

  They both wore thick hides that covered their massive shoulders and torsos, and each looked to be padded with tough leather. Strapped to their waists were large swords that looked too heavy to lift, though Vivian imagined the two men before her wielded them as easily as she would have a feather.

  Their hair was cut short, almost to stubble, and they both wore the makings of beards, though they were cropped at least weekly. Clearly they had both spent much of their lives outdoors, and their skin was worn like rough leather.

  “Heath and Kandor have kindly volunteered to assist you on the night watches.” Jared explained. “I’ve heard they have some experience in this field…” He added evasively, looking over the enormous bulks of his two hired guards. “I can imagine they make rather formidable allies.” He finished, smiling with hope that was at least half false.

  “Excellent. Thank you.” Vivian said, smiling at the two men in turn. “We’ll be leaving the cattle in the fields.” She told Jared then.