by Penn Fawn
“I do,” Keita replied. His body began to shake.
“What else do you remember?” Ossouna asked.
“Being attacked,” Keita replied. “Mauled by savannah cats, and I would swear they belonged to Nyeusi. I saw him as I gasped for what I thought would be my last breath.”
“What do you recall, Aswad?” Ossouna asked.
“The same,” he replied.
“Then can you explain to me, if this is what we all remember, how then are we here?” Ossouna inquired. “And, where exactly is this place?”
“’Tis not our home,” Aswad replied. “Or, at least I don’t believe so. Any reference to it is a deception.”
Keita was visibly shaken.
Ossouna’s heart raced. He hoped to wake himself from what he thought must be a dream only to acknowledge he was very much already awake.
“Had I the courage to ever venture to the top of the lair, at this time I’d sooner have jumped off and dashed my head against the rocks below in preference to this here, you hear me?” Keita said.
“Get a hold of yourself, man!” Aswad said in a hushed tone. “Lower your voice. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves!”
“This cannot be! It must not be! What is this, and what or where are we? In a dream? I want out of it!” Keita continued.
Ossouna got hold of him. He wrestled and pinned him down onto the grass.
“What’s wrong with you? Get a hold of yourself,” Ossouna said.
“Get off of me!” Keita yelled.
Ossouna pushed his hand firmly down onto his mouth as he tried to wriggle himself free.
“Settle down, Keita!” Ossouna said in a hushed tone.
Keita moved his head, as best as he could, in an up and downward fashion.
A horrified Ossouna softened his grip as Keita opted to offer no more resistance. He removed his hand from over his mouth.
“What the hell is this place, and where are we?” Keita said under panting breath.
“Shut up! We should be dead, but we are not, and you panic? Rejoice that we’re still alive!”
“Is that what we are? How so? Are we now spirits? And, where are we? Are we safe here?” Keita said.
“I don’t know. I say we should get out of sight for a while. We should take refuge in the forest,” Ossouna said.
“You think?” Aswad replied. “And, what will we do when darkness falls, and we’re at the mercy of the beasts of the night there? Night will soon be here.”
Keita pushed Ossouna aside.
“And, what protection do we have from beasts being out here?” Ossouna asked.
“Look!” said Aswad. “On the horizon!”
They shot a glance yonder and saw the outline of three figures drawing nearer.
“If you still have a death wish, Keita. I suggest you stick around. I bet you’ll see it come true,” Ossouna said.
He darted toward the woods.
Keita and Aswad were hot on his heels.
With pounding hearts, they soon found themselves within an area with heavy overgrowth.
“Stop!” Aswad said under panting breath. “How much further?”
“As far as needs be,” Ossouna replied.
“But we don’t know where we’re going,” Aswad replied. “We are lost.”
“Did we ever know where we were going?” Ossouna remarked. “We still don’t know,” he added. “We must move on.”
“But please, not so fast,” Aswad said. “Allow me to catch my breath.”
“Very well,” Ossouna replied. “But keep walking,” he said.
“We must use our heads,” Keita remarked, a good thirty minutes further into their journey. “The canopy here is thick. Soon it will be as dark as night, and I mean long before the sun has gone down. We ought to look for a fork in a tree where we could lodge ourselves to get a night’s rest. If not one, well then two or three such trees large enough to accommodate us,” he added.
“No argument here, although I doubt I’ll be able to sleep a wink,” Ossouna said.
“The feeling is mutual,” Keita replied.
“Agreed,” Aswad added. “Never slept in a tree before.”
“We’ll need to get up into the canopy to avoid detection,” Keita said.
“We’ll need to be careful,” Aswad added, “and, I don’t mean, be on extra guard from men. I mean to be on the lookout for snakes!”
Ossouna breathed deeply then exhaled. “Provided we survive the night,” he began, “call out to me by whistling when you get up in the morning. Whistle like we did back when we hunted. Do not speak!” he added emphatically, “lest whoever that might be near hear us!”
An exhausted Keita, high up into the canopy, slept as soundly within the fork of a tree as could be.
Ossouna awoke.
Below, what appeared to be a procession of light could be seen in the distance. The bearers—he could not see who they were—appeared to draw closer and closer to him as the night went by.
His heart raced.
Aswad awoke and peered through the leaves at the goings-on. Neither could discern who the bearers were, nor what was the swishing sound they heard, followed by a dull “thud.” ’Twas like the sound low hanging fruit makes after falling from a tree to the ground.
By this time, the light drew nearer, and Ossouna, covered in sweat, feared stirring hand or foot.
Long before either of them had awoken, two-legged beasts, the likes of which they had never seen, hoisted and suspended gagged men feet first, from the sturdier branches of adjacent trees.
Before they’d suspended them, the beasts used vines to wrap their captives’ arms tightly to the sides of their torsos.
They cleaved their heads from their shoulders then quickly collected them while the restrained torsos wriggled to as much a degree as they could.
An earthen vessel shaped like a large bowl was placed under the corpses.
This process was repeated for hours on end throughout the night.
Ossouna and Aswad soon found they could no longer sleep.
The following morning Keita’s face grew long after acknowledging he had awoken not out of a dream. Instead, he arose and found himself nestled within a tree.
He made his way down, turned around, and gasped violently for a breath of air.
His heel struck a root, and he fell backward.
He shot up to a seated position and stared transfixed.
Trembling with a racing heart, he broke into a cold sweat.
His chest heaved.
For as far as he could see, decapitated bodies, bound from their torsos down to their feet, hung upside down from the tree branches. As to their heads, they were nowhere to be found.
Earthen vessels positioned below the torsos were used to collect their blood. As if by art, or necromancy, the blood, which had been out in the open air for some time now, did not congeal.
Ossouna whistled short and sharply.
Keita cast a glance up at the canopy and saw him move his index finger toward his lips.
Keita nodded, and Ossouna made his way down from his place of concealment.
Aswad immediately descended from the tree he had climbed.
They walked on the tips of their toes toward him.
“Be as quiet as you can,” Ossouna whispered. “There is no time to explain. We must move swiftly and silently.”
They proceeded to walk, hearts in mouth, in agonizing silence among the dead.
The view of hung carcasses appeared to stretch on forever. Time seemed to stand still, stiller than the corpses that did not stir as there was no wind.
Birds chirped merrily. All manner of insects were no less vocal than they usually were, yet none of the three were much aware of it. For the most part, what they heard was an eerie silence punctuated by the sound their feet made as it came into contact with the fallen dry leaves.
“We’re walking around in circles,” Aswad whispered.
“We’re not,” Ossouna said. “Or,
at least I don’t think so,” he said to himself, scrutinizing the scenery more closely.
“They could not have laid this many people out,” Aswad whispered.
“That’s the panic in you talking,” Ossouna replied. “Compose yourself. They went on with their ghastly business all night.”
Keita began to pray. “Who are they?” he whispered.
“Later, Keita. Apparently, you slept through it all,” Ossouna replied. “We ought to be silent.”
They continued to walk, and by degrees, the path ahead began to look less foreboding. Here they no longer saw any more suspended corpses.
Keita fell on his knees and wept.
Ossouna stooped before him. “There is no time for it, Keita. We are not out of harm’s way. Not yet. We don’t even know where we are.”
“Keita,” Aswad interjected. “We must press on. We must try to find a way out of here.”
“There is no way,” Keita said. “It’s all a trap. We’re doomed.”
“You don’t know that,” Ossouna said. “Come now, lest we suffer the same fate those who we passed did.”
“My legs feel weak,” Keita said. “Like I could hardly stand.”
“But you slept through the night, didn’t you?” Ossouna said. “I did not.”
“We must go,” Aswad replied, and Ossouna was in the process of helping Keita get on his feet when they simultaneously looked over their shoulder.
“Up! Now Keita!” Ossouna said. “Run!”
An arrow was dispatched and a creature that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere fell on its side, writhing in agony. The arrow had lodged deeply into its neck.
A fellow appeared out of a thicket and released two more arrows. Both lodged into the chest of the beast.
The archer came out into the open, followed by a wolf.
“Do not move,” he ordered. “And, don’t worry. I mean you no harm.”
He picked up the sword that had fallen out of the beast’s hand and was at its side.
He plunged it into its chest, turned it sharply, and watched the creature exhale its last breath.
The three came toward him.
“What is it?” Ossouna asked.
“A ghoul,” he replied.
“’Tis the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen,” Ossouna added.
“They probably feel the same about you.”
“Such a brutish looking creature with such a fine-looking weapon,” Aswad said.
“It probably did not make it. ’Twas taken from one of us, I’d bet. Taken after one of our clashes with them,” Noor said. “Although,” he added, “they are not without some sense of refinement.”
“What do you mean?” Ossouna asked.
“They’re not stupid. They’ve figured out how to use fire, how to extract and make use of ores, temper them and make their own blades, swords, axes, and so on. It takes a creature with a higher level of intelligence to do that, I’d say.”
The newcomers did not reply.
“Come. We must go. More will come. ’Tis the time when they arrive to get their wine and meat.”
“Wine?” Ossouna asked.
“Human blood,” Noor replied. “Come. We must go, and fast.”
“Should I take the blade?” Aswad asked. “We are without weapons here.”
“Fine. Take it, but we must leave now. More will come, and as stealthily as this one did. This is no place for a man to be.”
“Now!” he demanded, and they followed him into the bushes.
The three keep pace.
Their guide moved swiftly, purposefully. Here was a man who knew his way about the place, or so his movement inspired them to believe.
The forest, or so Keita, Ossouna, and Aswad thought, appeared to have no end.
“Where or what is this place?” Aswad asked.
“What?” Noor said. “Where are you from? Not from here?” he asked, feigning ignorance.
“No,” Aswad replied.
“From far off then?” Noor asked.
“Very,” Aswad replied.
“I see,” Noor said. “Yet another one. Or three.”
“What do you mean?” Aswad asked.
“No time,” Noor said. “Keep moving. You’re in the Forest of Souls.”
They proceeded with haste for over an hour before their guide and his wolf began to move at a more moderate pace.
“Were you born here?” Aswad probed.
“Hm,” Noor exhaled. “Born here? No, sir.”
“Raised then?” Aswad inquired. “You know your way around very well.”
“Hm,” Noor exhaled. “Raised?”
Aswad looked at him. He thought he appeared to be struggling with his thoughts.
“Did I say something that offended you? If so, I apologize,” Aswad said.
“You didn’t,” Noor replied and became pensive.
“You asked where this place is?” Noor began. “You can call it whatever you want. Hell, the second realm or tier, purgatory. Whatever.”
“Purgatory? The second tier?” Aswad said.
“Yes,” Noor replied.
“Why?” Aswad asked.
“Again, you can call it whatever. For now, you may just want to call it home,” Noor replied.
“Home?” Aswad said.
“Yes,” Noor replied.
They were perplexed.
“Why would we want to call it that?” A concerned Aswad asked. “Is there no way back to our real home?”
“And, just where is that?” Noor replied, feigning ignorance.
The men fell silent. Noor stopped walking and looked at them. “Where is your home?” he asked, stressing on the word ‘is.’ “Where exactly are you from? Think you can get back there?”
“We don’t know,” Ossouna said solemnly. “We’re not sure how we got here.”
“Oh yeah?” Noor said.
“Correct. We don’t know,” Aswad added.
“I bet I know how you got here,” Noor remarked.
Aswad was slow to respond. “And, what makes you think that? I wonder,” he said.
Noor looked him in the eye. “You tell me a story, my friend, and I’ll tell you one.”
Aswad said nothing.
“We don’t how or why we’re here,” Ossouna interjected.
“If you can believe it, neither do I,” Noor said.
“But you . . .” Aswad began.
“But what?” Noor said.
“You appear to know your way around so well,” Aswad continued.
“What does knowing my way around well have to do with anything?” he replied. “I learned, and in time you will too.”
They were silent.
“Any more questions?” Noor asked. “I mean ones you may really want to ask if you understand me.”
They said nothing.
“Why not just get it off your chest?” Noor said.
They were slow to respond.
“You do remember something,” Keita said. “Don’t you? About . . .”
“What do you remember?” Noor asked.
Keita did not reply.
Noor looked him in the eye, then he looked at Aswad. “You think I don’t know what you want to know?”
They listened.
“You came through the portal. All of you.”
“Portal?” said Ossouna.
“Well, maybe not,” Noor replied. “But I would bet on it.”
“Please,” Keita said. “Go on.”
“You have a perfect recollection of having a life somewhere, somewhere other than here. Consider it the first tier, but you’ve since moved on, my friend,” Noor added.
Aswad was slow to respond. “And, how would you know all this?” he asked.
“Take a wild guess,” Noor remarked.
The men said nothing.
“Could it be because I’ve been through the same thing?” Noor replied.
“How is this possible?” Ossouna asked.
“How is anything possible?” No
or returned. “I don’t know.”
“What is this portal?” Aswad asked.
“An entry to this place,” Noor replied.
The men listened.
“You know as much about it as I do,” Noor added. “Through the portal is how we got here, and that’s all I can say.”
“Is there no way to go back?” Keita interjected.
“Through the portal? Nope,” Noor replied, and he thought Keita appeared crestfallen.
“I should have said I don’t know,” he added. “Maybe you can go back through. Maybe when you die again.”
“Or, maybe then you’d move on to some other hellhole,” Aswad said in disgust.
“Maybe,” Noor replied. “Don’t kill the messenger. Come. We must press on. The woods are a world onto their own. One so vast you could be led to believe it has no end.
“Keep your voices low. The further south we travel, the safer we should be, but you never know. There can always be danger lurking in the shadows.”
They followed his lead.
“Where is it you’re going to if you don’t mind my asking?” Keita said.
“At first, to meet with some friends,” Noor said.
“Friends, eh?” Keita asked.
“Yes,” Noor replied.
“I like the sound of that,” Keita said.
“Same here,” Aswad said. “It would be nice to meet another welcoming face.”
“I understand,” Noor replied. “Considering your entrance was at the foot of the devil’s door, but a brighter world does exist beyond that.”
“Devil’s door? What do you mean this time?” Keita asked. “You mean the portal again, or the Shetani? Do you know who I mean?”
“I know who you mean,” Noor replied. “They are called by that name too where I am from.”
“And, where might that be?” Keita asked.
“Kemet,” Noor replied.
“The north,” Aswad said. “You are from the north.”
“I am,” Noor replied.
“And, I’m guessing you are southerners?” Noor added.
“Not as far south as you might believe,” Aswad replied.
“I see,” said Noor.
“And, where is home for you here?” Ossouna interjected.
“Beyond the great river,” Noor replied.
They continued to move with haste.
“Why did you ask me about the Shetani?” Noor inquired.
“They are out to get us,” Keita replied. “Well, at least three of them were. They are what drove us into the forest.”