Into the Forest Shadows (28 page)

Travis quickly turned, heading straight to
the building he'd been confined to. He needed to keep his nose
clean if he wanted to succeed in court.

He continued to berate himself. Achieving the
building that housed both his apartment and the company offices he
slowed his steps. The shops on the lower levels were filled as the
confined denizens milled around while waiting for the city to be
unsealed.

While a long meal in the restaurant sounded
like a nice diversion he wasn't in the mood to deal with the
crowds.

As he rode the elevator up the lights
blinked. Travis looked up just in time for the lights to go out
completely. The elevator abruptly stopped.

Red emergency lights switched on to
illuminate the interior. The elevator began moving again, to stop a
moment later.

The doors opened and a computer voice
announced, "Main city power is out. All elevators are now shut down
at the nearest floor. Please use the emergency stairs until power
is restored."

Travis stalked out. A sign on the wall
identified the same level as the company offices. Several levels
above him his apartment waited but access would only be by the
stairs.

With a scowl he retreated to the company
offices. Several workers waved at him, complaining about the lack
of computer systems caused by the loss of power in the
building.

"Repair is working on it, but they think the
problem might be with the main distribution system," his assistant
said.

"Do they have an estimate?" he asked.

The blond shrugged, "Could be several
hours.

Several hours for unproductive workers to
continue earning a paycheck. He announced in a loud voice, "We
cannot work while the power is out. Go home. We'll start over
tomorrow."

He ignored the mutters about the cut in
weekly hours. They might complain, but they would be foolish to
quit with the lack of good paying jobs on the planet, even with a
few hours cut from the coming paycheck. Unless they wanted to head
into the forest as Gatherers.

His mouth quirked at the thought of some of
his secretaries donning the rough clothing of a Gatherer to go live
in the forest.

He opened the door into his office. The light
coming in through the window meant he didn't need to rely on the
overhead lights. He sat down at his desk, pulling out the mobile
computer, running off the internal battery.

Time to put together a solid plan for leaving
the planet.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Ayden wrestled with the ears. The steer shook
its head, nearly knocking them off its back. The head went down to
continue munching on the grass growing in the small forest
glade.

Ayden let the ears go, sitting up straight.
"Our free ride just came to an end."

Not something Kate wanted to hear. Sure,
they'd traveled a fair distance, but they still hadn't found the
mesa. She carefully swung a leg around, sliding off the back. "Then
we walk again."

She stepped back as Ayden hopped off. He fell
to the ground, a look of confusion spreading across his face. The
steer sidestepped away from them while continuing to graze. Kate
reached down to help him get back to his feet.

"Sorry about that. My balance must be a
little off," Ayden said quickly.

"It's from the long ride." She didn't tell
him his skin had taken on a deathly pale shade. She tugged towards
the direction they'd been heading, "We still have daylight."

Ayden let her lead him, "Not for long. How
much further is it?"

"Not far. You saw how big the mountain looked
in the last clearing."

"You've been saying that for a while
now."

Kate continued urging him forward. She didn't
mind the vocal complaints that became more frequent as the ground
sharply rose. It meant he was awake and fending off the spores.
Plus it kept him from noticing something he might have otherwise
noted.

Her terrifying secret: she no longer knew
where the city sat. Just before the steer decided to stop for
dinner, the tree whispers ceased.

Kate climbed higher, studying the trees along
the steep incline. She couldn't think of why they'd gone silent
when all this time they had been so helpful.

She retracted the walking staff and hung it
on her belt as the ground rose sharply. The spacing between the
trees grew, allowing regular breaks in the canopy. She bent close
to the ground, using her hands to keep climbing.

"I need a rest."

Kate looked down the hill to find Ayden on
his hands and knees trying to follow her. "We're almost there. We
can't stop now."

"Maybe I don't care!" Ayden suddenly raged.
He sat down and crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe I'll take a
nap right here and be done with it."

Kate pulled a tall flower out of the ground
and threw it at him. The imprecise arrow hit his leg. "I'm going to
get up to the top first if you don't pick it up. You can't let that
happen. Gatherer pride is at stake."

Ayden scowled at her, but he continued
climbing. Kate slowed down so he could keep up, alternating between
taunts and encouragement.

She stopped near a huge mushroom to take a
short breather while Ayden climbed up after her. Gently rolling
hills spread out before her through a break in the trees. In the
distance glittered a large body of water stretching halfway across
the panorama. She wondered if it could be a part of the one they'd
crossed on the narboa.

The scene felt so familiar, and yet she knew
she'd never seen it before.

Never with her own eyes, but through others.
Kate's eyes went wide.

"Ayden, this is it! We're here!" Kate whirled
around, climbing higher.

"We're where? I don't see a city."

"Trust me. We need to go up," Kate said with
even more conviction. The more she looked at the trees clinging to
the side of the steep hill above her, the more certain she
felt.

And suddenly she was on the top. The ground
evened out, the forest canopy solidifying into a solid green second
sky.

She turned around, pulling Ayden up the last
little bit. "We did it! We're on the mesa!"

Ayden collapsed on the ground. "Yeah, until
the next hill or mesa. I'm not kidding, Kate. I'm at the end."

Kate grinned down at him, "No, this is where
we need to be. This is where the city is. I'm sure of it."

Ayden rolled over and pushed himself to his
feet. Bunbun squeaked in protest, his head coming out at the collar
of Ayden's coat. "Not the mountain?"

Kate grabbed his hand and pulled him into the
forest. "The mountain is a landmark. The Ancients don't live
there."

He let her drag him into the new forest. She
didn't complain at his slower pace. Her steps had slowed from
exhaustion, too.

The mesa forest radiated energy, yet it was
different from the other forests she'd traveled through. It took
time for her to realize why.

The silence.

The trees barely moved and yet she felt no
pain, so she knew the silence couldn't be coming from an infection
of spores. The few animals moving about went about their business
as quietly as the trees.

She didn't talk, despite her excitement at
finding the place. For some reason it felt wrong to disturb the
peace.

A green leafy wall of intertwined trees
appeared in front of them. Kate changed direction, trying to find a
way around the barrier. After a while she stopped and contemplated
the wall. It didn't seem to end.

She pushed closer, searching for some small
hole to squeeze through. She found the tightly entwined trees and
branches extending right down to the forest floor. No air or light
passed through the woven wall.

Ayden pushed at the springy limbs, shaking
his head, "I've never seen anything like this."

He knelt down and put Bunbun on the ground,
pushing him forward. "See a place through?"

Bunbun scratched vigorously behind one ear
with his good hind paw. A bunt ran past him to graze on a patch of
grass. Bunbun nosed the next bunt that went past but made no move
to follow them.

Finally Ayden picked him up, cradling him
against his chest. "So much for that. Sometimes it's hard to get
across what I want him to do."

Kate reached out and scratched the bunt
behind the ears. "We'll keep looking. There has to be a break
somewhere."

A harsh squaw reverberated through the silent
forest. She ducked at the movement of a dark shadow. She heard the
flap of wings pass over her head.

The shape landed on the lower branches of a
tree not far away. The lizard head with a wide sharp beak stared
straight at them, the gold and brown feathers ruffling as it
settled. The squaws continued, the odd bird hopping along the
limb.

She didn't like the sounds it was making, nor
the active movements. The thing looked ready to launch itself at
them at any moment.

Ayden nuzzled Bunbun to his forehead. His
face cleared, but he said as he handed him to her, "You aren't
going to like what it's saying."

Her tired head pulsed with the painful buzz.
Perhaps because of her exhaustion it felt more powerful than
before. And fuller.

The noises above them eventually settled into
words and phrases. "Humans are not welcome here! Turn and leave or
you will die!"

Kate's jaw tensed as she handed Bunbun to
Ayden. She squared her shoulders. "I have a message to deliver to
the Ancients."

The creature above them laughed. "You will
not see the Ancients. They will not speak to ones such as you. Go
back your way, murderers."

"We did not come all this way to go back. I
am a Helper. See? The red cape?" She lifted a corner of it.

"And I am a Watcher," the creature said,
bowing low on the branch so she could see the stain of yellow on
the scales of its back. "I care not of your imitator clothing,
faking a sacred connection to what we hold sacred. You will remove
yourself from this place."

"This isn't fake. My Grandma made it. She was
a Helper, too," Kate said, shaking a fold of it at the
creature.

The creature huffed at her. She glared at
it.

"Can you take the message?" Ayden called
out.

"I will not speak with murderers. You will
leave."

She shook her head and with Ayden's hand
firmly in her own she backed away into the thickening woods.

She reminded herself that finding a Watcher
was a good development. That the Ancients must be close, must be
what it protected.

Unfortunately it didn't tell her where on the
mesa to look for them. It didn't help that she didn't know what the
Ancients looked like. She'd hoped to find someone who could tell
her where she needed to go.

"He's coming again," Ayden warned.

She pushed at a stiff branch at head level,
bending it out of the way. The moment Ayden passed she let it go.
It snapped back at the same time the Watcher arrowed down through
the trees.

She couldn't help but imagine the branch
snapping back and nailing the babbling creature right in the beak.
No such luck, though. It averted its flight at the last moment, the
claws scraping the branch.

She pushed her way through the trees, hiking
parallel to the tree wall. A small group of bunts took off into the
dense barrier trees.

She stopped, staring down at the small
opening the bunts disappeared into. Good, one break in the barrier,
but far too small for a human.

"Leave now!"

Kate pushed at the branches, "Why can't you
stop threatening and help us deliver our message? You have no idea
who we are. We are not murderers. We must speak to the
Ancients!"

And they didn't have long to find them. The
sunlight streamed through the canopy at an alarming angle. She
needed to find the Ancients and stop the bloodbath that would occur
once night fell.

The wall of trees rippled. Ayden grabbed her
and pulled her away from the barrier and put himself between her
and the moving trees.

The Watcher cackled loudly. "You were warned!
Now the trees themselves will deal with you."

Ayden's hand gripped his staff tight. The
branches before them wove in and out among each other. She grasped
the hand he was pushing her backwards with, whispering, "Don't use
your blade."

"I'm not about to. Some of these are
untouchables. What will be will be."

Kate squeezed his arm, not liking the sense
of weariness and defeat in his voice. Maybe she could circle the
mesa and find a forest creature who would help them.

In a rush, the trees parted. Trunks bowed out
from each other. The tangle of branches moved to form a low arch
leading through the barrier. The movements settled, the silence
returning to the forest. Not even the Watcher disturbed it.

On the other side she saw a forest of green,
brown and reds waiting. She glanced up at the trees forming the
tunnel. They were of a type she hadn't seen before. Would it be
safe to pass through?

Bunbun squirmed out of Ayden's hand. He hit
the ground at an odd angle, causing him to roll several times
before finding his feet.

Bunbun squealed at them, and then at bunt
burrows. A few bunts popped up. The small group raced along the
ground, running to the arched pathway. They bounced and hopped the
way, stopping now and again to nose each other.

"Bunts have great survival instincts," Kate
murmured.

Ayden nodded, "Then in we go."

Kate spotted the Watcher watching them
carefully from a nearby branch. She resisted sticking her tongue
out at him.

With Ayden's hand in her own, they entered
the tunnel. The tangle of branches forming the arch nearly brushed
the top of their heads. As they walked the trees behind them
shivered, closing up the path. Kate kept her eyes forward. So far,
so good.