The Huldra Hostility

by Michael Almich

  Daniel had continued to talk in a low, angry whisper as he wrenched on the creatures arm.

  “Tell me,” he whispered harshly, “who took our box? Can you lead us to it?”

  For the first time since Shy had returned to the scene, the creature spoke. Its voice was high pitched and scratchy. A combination that Shy found very difficult to listen to.

  “Nay, t’is not your box. It b’longs ta m’lady.”

  Shy watched Claire and the others reading further, and a thought occurred to him.

  “Sam, where is the bag of supplies?”

  The red-headed boy nodded a few feet away where the pillow case with rope, bread, snacks, flashlights and other supplies were stashed, lay on the ground. Shy dropped to his knees yet again, and began to rummage through the sack.

  Daniel, intrigued, spoke up, “Shy what are you looking for?”

  “I remember that I grabbed something from the shed by the Lodge… We need to tie it up.” Shy replied nodding at the bysen.

  “The rope is right there.” Daniel said.

  “Not the rope… a chain… an iron chain!”

  Claire stopped reading and walked over. The bysen, however, began to thrash even more violently than before. Kennedi jumped on its left leg that had broken free from Sawyer’s grip.

  “Yeah, iron. In general, the fey hate iron. It burns them. Shy wants to put the chain on it so it will lead us to the box…. It could probably even lead us to Gust.” Claire said

  “Not the chain!” The creature actually squealed!

  “Here it is!” Shy shouted and triumphantly held up a length of old chain, about four feet long.

  “Nay! The old white-hair… I can lead you t’him! The box is lost, but I can lead you to the old white-hair!”

  Claire took over the questioning and knelt by the creatures head. Shy walked over with the chain. He dangled it, and played with it ominously just behind where Claire knelt. His anger and frustration over having the box taken away overrode the sympathy he may have normally felt for this creature.

  “You mean you can lead us to the old white-haired man that was captured in our campground last year?”

  “Ya, ya I can take you to him.” The creature said as he stopped struggling again.

  Shy could see he stole glances at the chain.

  “Claire, it says here that bysen are known to lie. Their sole goal, according to this book is to lead people astray.” Penelope had taken up reading the book.

  “This is wrong, wrong, wrong I tell you!” The creature sensed the most sympathy from Claire, and focused now on her. “Your book is wrong. I will lead you there. This is right, right, right. I will lead you to the old man. He has not been here long. Last summer, you say? That is wrong, wrong, wrong. He has not been here more than a fortnight.”

  “If what he is saying is true, then time does pass differently here…” Daniel thought out loud.

  Claire reached out behind her and said, “Give me the chain Shy. I do not believe it. It is tricking us somehow. It will lead us into danger.”

  Shy handed her the chain.

  “We need to chain him up…” She said as she brought the chain to the wrist Daniel now held up.

  She began to wrap the chain around the creature’s bark-like wrist. A searing sound emanated from its wrist and the creature let out a scream so high-pitched and horrible that Shy had to actually cover his ears.

  Claire jerked the chain away.

  The creature now half sobbed, “This is wrong, wrong, wrong. I will not lead them astray. Into danger perhaps… but not astray. The forest where the white-hair is held is inherently dangerous. To the fey also, not only humans. So, into danger we go… this is true, true, true. But I will lead you to him…” It stared at the chain as it finished its sobbing.

  Shy felt bad now, but he also believed the creature. He could see that Claire also felt bad for basically torturing the bysen. She handed the chain back to Shy, and walked a ways away and threw up. Arya put her arm around her to comfort her.

  “Take the rope and tie around its neck.” Daniel instructed. Ralph and Henry, who had been surprisingly silent up until now, grabbed the rope from the pillow case and as Daniel and Finn held the bysen by the shoulders, they bound it tightly.

  “Stand up.” Daniel commanded.

  The bysen first went to its knees, and looked so much like a tree stump that Shy couldn’t help but have a bead of panic work its way into his head, thinking for a second that he had disappeared. Then it stood.

  Shy gave the chain to Sam. The tall, beefy red-head looked the most imposing of all of them, and after seeing what the iron did to the creature, Shy could no longer stomach carrying it.

  “Can you guys guard him?” Daniel asked Sam, Finn, Sawyer, Henry, Ralph, Penelope, and Kennedi. They all nodded and stood in a circle around the prisoner. Henry began to do what he did best… talk.

  “So, you made us relax and fall asleep with the scent from those flowers, and then waited for your chance to steal the box? Pretty sneaky…” Henry began as the creature watched him carefully. The bysen alternated glances between Henry and Sam’s chain, with half-lidded eyes.

  Daniel pulled Shy away, and they watched Claire continue to retch. Portia had walked over to Arya, who was rubbing Claire’s back.

  “OK, obviously we need to get that box back, but we should do what we came here to do also.” Daniel began.

  “I’m sorry about the box. I was just not thinking clearly…” Shy felt that it was a lame excuse.

  “It’s OK dude. We’ll get it back, but like I say, we should take this opportunity to free Gust. Then maybe he can help us find the box. In the meantime, we should let Henry, there, continue to work his mouth and see what he can find out about those other two that stole the box… where they were taking it. We also need to find out more about this forest,” he said as he pointed off to the west.

  Shy glanced in the direction of the dark, forbidding forest. It almost seemed like light disappeared when it came close to the green and brown mass of foliage. Shy remembered how the branches seemed to part as the two carrying the box entered, and then closed behind them, like a mouth biting off its food.

  Shy was depressed. He felt guilty for letting the book get stolen. He felt like he had been paying too much attention to the beautiful girl that now was walking up to him.

  “We’ll get it back… don’t worry.” Portia said reassuringly.

  Shy didn’t answer beyond a shrug.

  They turned as a group, now thirteen with their captive. They maintained a close watch on the bysen as they began to walk towards the thick edge of the forest. Sam rattled the old iron chain ominously to remind the creature of consequences.

  They had covered so much ground in chasing down the fey thieves, that they had a very short walk to the true edge of the forest. As they reached it, Shy could smell mold and mildew. It smelled like the basement of his great-grandmother’s house. The sense of evil was even stronger here. He wasn’t sure how they would even penetrate the mass of branches. Yet when he reached his arm toward them, they shuddered and pulled back, revealing a dark tunnel of a passageway.

  Shy shuddered and turned back to the others. He looked directly at the bysen. It looked small and vulnerable with its arms tied behind its back. The creature kept one eye on the chain in Sam’s hand.

  Shy gave his head a small shake. He couldn’t afford to think like that. They had to do whatever was necessary to rescue Gust and get that box back. They simply couldn’t afford sympathy…

  “OK,” he addressed the creature, “How do we get to… the white-hair?”

  The creature, assuming Shy wanted him to lead, began to step into the spooky depths of the forest.

  At once all the boys jumped to intercept him.

  “Whooaaa, little fella!” Henry yelped.

  Sam had flung the chain out across the bysen’s route, hitting Finn below the belt. The dark-skinned boy doubled up in pain and glared at Sam. Sam simply shrugged. Sawye
r chuckled, for which Daniel gave him a backhanded slap on the chest.

  “Guys, this is serious.” Daniel said. “Were you going to lead us there?” He subsequently asked the bysen.

  “Ya. I will lead.”

  “How do we know we can believe him?” Henry blurted from the rear. Penelope looked at him severely and then nodded in agreement.

  At this the bysen became touchy. He puffed up his chest and said, “If I say I will, then I will. This is right, right, right. A bysen does not lie.”

  He clamped his short branch-like arms across his chest in a defiant manner, to which Sam simply jangled his chain. The bysen jumped and began to cower again, naturally gravitating towards Shy.

  “OK, let’s say you don’t lie… does that mean you always tell the truth?” Daniel pressed.

  In answer, the bysen moved slightly behind Shy, and simply peeked around his legs. Shy lifted his hands in a ‘how-did-I-become-your-protector’ shrug. Portia moved closer to Shy.

  “I thought so!” Daniel said, and then paused. “So, if we let you lead, will you stop before we get caught in a trap?”

  The bysen nodded.

  Daniel, with Henry, Ralph, and Sam’s input, proceeded to ask the little creature every specific question they could think of related to their search. Once satisfied that they had left him no room to weasel out, the boys motioned him on ahead, into the dark tunnel that they all seemed reluctant to enter, including the bysen!

  Sam followed immediately behind it, with his chain in his right hand. Shy came next, followed closely by Portia, Daniel, Claire and the rest of the thirteen. Shy had given some thought to that number. He hoped it wasn’t an unlucky omen.

  Dark, dank, and dangerous. Those three words rattled around in Shy’s brain as he focused on roots and rocks, so as not to trip. When he would get glimpses of the bysen, past Sam’s big body, the creature appeared very nervous. It was constantly turning to look for its followers, and then surveying the darkness around them.

  The trees were so tall and thick that the branches intertwined. There was no glimpse of the sunny sky they had left behind. Shy imagined noises off in the distance. Watching the bysen, it seemed the creature also heard noises, or faint, faint echoes of some ancient evil.

  Only where the branches withdrew, were they able to pass. Shy felt like he was being herded in a specific direction. He was becoming increasingly jittery. He called ahead for the group to stop, and pushed past Sam to the bysen. He heard Daniel also pushing his way up.

  “Are you choosing our path, or is the forest choosing it for you?” Shy demanded of the creature leading them.

  “You choose with your mind. Think where you want to move, and force the trees to allow it.”

  Shy looked at the creature skeptically. He then turned and looked slightly off to the left in front of them. He thought hard, and sure enough, the trees parted. They seemed to do so very grudgingly, however. Daniel tried it, and the trees started to shudder, but did not move. He furrowed his dark eyebrows, but then shrugged and gave up.

  Just as Shy motioned for the bysen to continue, the creature held its finger to its mouth. It shushed them, and motioned for them to pass it on down the line. Shy moved to Portia and whispered in her ear. He saw her smile slightly, but then she immediately turned and passed it on.

  Shy and Daniel looked back to the creature, who now had one ear pushed forward, straining to hear. Silence ensued, and nothing moved. Still the creature didn’t move. Shy began to get impatient, and he wondered if this was a stalling tactic of the creature. He moved up next to it, to voice his opinion, when the bysen turned abruptly and whispered to Shy.

  “An evil thing wafts though these woods. It draws the fear from you and makes it a reality. We do not want it to find us.”

  Shy read true fear in the creature’s eyes. He looked at Daniel who had also seen the bysen’s reaction. Daniel motioned to Sam and Portia to squat down, and to get the rest to do so also. He then looked blindly into the darkness of the woods, swiveling his head back and forth.

  Shy had known Daniel for two years now. For a kid, that was a pretty long time. They had been through some intense things. Events that they couldn’t share with others back home because no one would believe them… not even their parents! However, Shy had not ever seen the look of fear that Daniel now had. The tall brave leader hadn’t even looked like this when he had been captured by trolls!

  Shy turned to look into the darkness also. The feeling of evil was palatable. It was like the air itself held the hint of wrongness. Tension was high, and Shy found that his muscles were taut.

  Minutes passed. Nothing seemed to be happening. Shy looked at Daniel. The impatience of twelve year olds was beginning to get the best of them, scared or not. He looked down the line and could see others beginning to squirm. They would need to make a decision to move ahead soon. As he stared down the line of kids, their squirming began to get worse.

  He felt roots under his own knees. They almost seemed to be poking at him.

  Ralph jumped up with a yelp! Arya also stood quickly and was looking around the ground where she had been sitting. Shy went to raise his hands, to motion for them to sit down, when he found himself restricted! He couldn’t raise his hands! Looking down, he saw that vine-like branches had coiled around his wrists. Surprised fear and panic gripped him and he tried to jump up, he needed to shake these binding branches. He could hear yelling all around him now. They were under attack!

  Shy spied the bysen. The little creature was running amongst them trying to yell out instructions, but Shy couldn’t make out the words. A thick root burst from the ground in front of Shy, pelting him with soil, and began to snake its way around Shy’s waist. He screamed.

  Daniel was being raised into the air by a branch. All twelve campers were now battling for their lives. Shy felt himself being pulled toward the hole that the root had burst from. He fought and struggled harder than he ever had before, but to no avail. As he struggled, he saw the bysen making its way to him. The creature ducked and moved, bobbed and weaved to avoid grasping branches. Then the bysen was there, yelling into his ear.

  “It is your fears! Control your fear… don’t give into it! Believe that this is not happening, and it will be so. You can stop this!”

  Shy heard the words, but couldn’t process them as he saw the hole in the loamy soil coming closer.

  “Stop fighting and think!” The stumpy creature yelled.

  Shy calmed himself. Withdrawing into his brain, he thought to himself, this is not real. The pull of the branches faltered for a second, but then quickly redoubled their pull. One of Shy’s legs was now gripped and being pulled into the ground! He was going to be buried alive. The words of the bysen now fell on deaf ears as Shy struggled to save himself.

  Chapter Twelve

  A glare of glory in his eyes

  Eddie was tired. He wasn’t used to being up this late. Of course, now it seemed like the middle of the day. The sun was shining! It had felt like a knife in the eyes when he came out of that tunnel, past the waterfall. He had followed the troublemakers across the pool at the bottom of the waterfall, but then had run into a dead end. He hadn’t wanted to get too close because he didn’t want them to see him, and then he had gone and lost the trail. By the time he had used his newfound vision to find the hidden path, they were way ahead of him.

  Once his eyesight, and his brain, had adjusted to the fact that it appeared to be midday on this side of the waterfall, he had spotted the group in a mad dash across the rolling plains to the edge of a spooky looking forest. The plains looked as if they had seen a recent fire. They were ashy and dusty, with crumbly, dried plants here and there. It was nothing like the lush bed of grasses and purple flowers he was laying in. He smelled one of the purple flowers as he watched the now far off group. It smelled slightly bitter, yet faintly, wafting on the air, he could smell a wonderful fragrance. It kind of made him sleepy. In fact, he considered just lying there and waiting for the kids to retu
rn. It was peaceful and quiet, and he was so tired.

  A quick shake of his head brought him back from his daydreams. He wanted in on whatever adventure they were off on now. That was why he had followed Shy from the Raven cabin. He wanted to be a part of things, regardless of how scared he felt. He wanted to be part of this tight knit group of adventurers. He was just too embarrassed to apologize for the way he had acted towards all of them. So, he followed hoping to be able to join in.

  The group had finally stopped, and there seemed to be some sort of a scuffle going on. He was just too far away to see well. It appeared that Shy had just rejoined the group. Was that another one of those nisse creatures with them? Something small moved amongst them, but again, he couldn’t quite see.

  Eddie decided it was time to try to get closer. As he rose from the purple flowers, he saw the group begin to move again. It looked like they were moving toward that dark tangled mess of a forest. He overrode his fear, hefted his axe to his shoulder, and forced himself to play catch up.

  ***

  Shy had begun to tire. His entire left leg was now under the ground, and although he had braced his other foot on a rock, the branches had simply tightened on his arm and begun to pull that into the ground. He looked around frantically for a solution. Daniel appeared to have been knocked out. He hung limply from a branch, twenty feet in the air. Shy heard Henry screaming curse words from behind him. Screams and panic echoed on all sides.

  He could just turn his head far enough to catch a glimpse of Portia. She was being pulled in two directions! Though she bravely did not call out, tears leaked from her eyes as two trees used her in a vicious tug-of-war.

  He shuddered and anger bloomed again in his limbs. He flailed and squirmed with a new rush of adrenaline. It was no use. Slowly he was being pulled into the ground. At least half of his body was now buried. He quit inside. His mind went blank. This is how it was going to end, he thought. He thought about his mom and dad. How would they react? They wouldn’t know what even happened. He would be another missing kid. He thought about Shep… what would happen now to the pooka? His mind wandered to thoughts of Tom T. The nisse had really grown on him over the past two years. Too bad all fey weren’t wired like that, Shy thought as his chest was pulled under. Not like that stupid bysen that had led them into this, his mind continued. The creature had left them. Why hadn’t he been captured? He tried to recall what the bysen had said.