Into the Forest Shadows (5 page)

The sudden impact with the ground threw her
forward against the safety harness.

The following silence made her ears ring.
Kate took a deep breath. She could breath. This was good.

She slowly lifted her head. No pain there,
either. In fact no pain anywhere except her shoulders from the
harness.

A familiar forest emerged from the other side
of the portal. Dirt and debris covered the forest floor up to the
nearest trees. Clods of soil hung in the fronds of giant ferns.

Ayden partially turned in his seat. "Are you
all right?"

Kate found her voice, "Yes, I'm fine."

"Good, then get up." Ayden released his
harness and stood up. He reached up to the overhead bins to grab a
dark brown backpack. He swung the backpack onto his back and
clipped it tight at his waist, causing Bunbun to appear at his neck
above the top button.

Kate unhooked the harness and let it retract
into the seat. She pulled the basket out from under the seat in
front of her. "Well, that was exciting. We should call in to tell
them we landed safely."

"No electronics on this tub are working now.
Not after the fog," Ayden said.

He went to the door and tried the panel. When
nothing happened he pulled open the manual release. The door didn't
open at his prodding. The cover to the manual release hit the other
side of the interior as he ripped it off.

Kate stood up quickly as he yanked on the
hand-release, "What's the problem?"

The door popped open. "Let's go."

Kate eyed the forest beyond the door, it no
longer appearing familiar. The trees and colors were different than
Grandma's orchard and didn't look at all friendly. "Go where?"

"We don't have time for this." Ayden took the
few steps towards her and grabbed her arm. Kate found herself
yanked down the aisle and dragged to the door.

She jerked back, yanking her arm out of his
hand. "What do you think you are doing? The safest place to be is
with the shuttle!"

"Not right now it isn't." Ayden regained
possession of her arm and dragged her out the door. The lack of a
ramp caused her to stumble several paces before regaining her
balance. He stopped, looking around. With a set expression he
turned away from the shuttle and walked quickly away, taking her
with him.

Kate struggled to get her arm out of his iron
grasp, "You've gone crazy!"

"And I'm not about to die because some city
girl doesn't know when to stop talking and to start listening!"
Ayden said, pulling her towards the trees.

"If you haven't noticed, we're on the ground,
the engines are shut down. It isn't as if they are going to
explode."

Ayden laughed, "You think I'm worried about
exploding engines? Those kind of engines don't explode, they sizzle
out. Geez, why were you let out of the city? I would have thought
there would be more forest sense for someone who visits her
grandmother all the time."

"Leave my grandmother out of this!" Kate
said, jerking back hard, worried at how far from the shuttle they
were moving.

In return, Ayden jerked her hard forward.
Kate lost her footing and found herself rolling across the ground,
right under the outer layer of drooping limbs of a large tree with
cream-colored bark. A root dug into her stomach.

Kate tried to roll to her feet, but Ayden
followed and pulled her back to the ground. Not quite balanced, she
fell right over him.

"Don't make me sit on you," Ayden said in her
ear.

Kate scrambled off his lap but the grip on
her arm kept her form moving further away from him. "Mind telling
me about your particular brand of insanity?"

"Oh, what a wonderful personality. Just what
I want to be stuck in the middle of the forest with." Ayden rolled
his eyes. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Here it comes."

Bunbun put a paw at the opening of Ayden's
coat and studied the world outside the veil of leaves. Something in
the air made Kate shiver. She looked out past the drooping leaves
and branches, her eyes going from one shadow to another, straining
to see any movement.

Nothing moved. The forest remained quiet,
waiting.

Her mind flashed on the dark shape moving
around in Grandma's orchard. The idea of getting back into the
shuttle and locking the door sounded more appealing by the
second.

The building fog made it even harder to see
into the shadows. At first light wisps curled around the trees. It
grew bolder, engulfing the shuttle and the trees behind it.
Pinpricks of color and spark played among the white of the fog. In
one instant it condensed, making it impossible to see the shuttle
any longer.

And yet, she could still see the shuttle.
Because it was arcing and sparking with energy.

Kate blinked. Nope, she wasn't imagining it.
The shuttle lit up the entire area with Red and blue energy racing
back and forth from one end to the other. In the stillness she
could hear the arcs pop and crackle.

"Still want to be in the shuttle?" Ayden
asked softly.

Kate shivered, "What kind of fog is
this?"

"It's nothing unusual, just happens to be the
type that is dangerous to us."

"Dangerous? As in, deadly?"

"It can be. The human body doesn't take a
constant electrical charge very well. We would light up like the
shuttle if we were out in it."

Kate glared at him for forgetting the
obvious. "But we are out in it."

Ayden let go of her arm. "That's why I
dragged you to a Trailing Willow. The leaves repel the fog."

Pinpricks moved over her skin, her head
itching from the inside. The white in the air glistened. A tree
across from them shuddered, the limbs came up, sticking out wide
into the fog.

Kate watched the movement nervously. She'd
heard that some of the trees could move, but she'd never seen one
do it. She reached to where her basket had fallen, snatching it
away from the fragile barrier of leaves.

An arm snaked around her middle and pulled
her up hard against the tree trunk. Kate slapped the arm,
"Hey!"

"Look what's coming," Ayden said in her ear.
She looked in the direction he pointed.

Flowers quickly closed and the trees pulled
in their limbs. A wave of fog so dense it looked like a solid
sparkling white wall moved past the shuttle towards them. The shape
of the shuttle disappeared.

A flush of heat run across her skin, and yet
she shivered. Something didn't feel right. She closed her suddenly
stinging eyes.

Kate blinked, finding the landscape tipped to
one side. Bunbun sniffed at her chin. Her eyes threatened to cross
in an effort to look at him. His ears went straight up and swiveled
towards her and he placed a soft paw on her skin.

CHAPTER FIVE

She realized her cheek lay on rough material.
She felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder. Seeing a boot just
past the bunt, she jerked upright.

Bunbun squealed and hopped off Ayden's leg,
running in the opposite direction.

"Hey, watch it! You almost hit my chin with
your head!"

Kate looked behind. Ayden had his back and
head rigid against the bark of the tree. He flexed the leg her head
had been laying on.

"What happened?"

Ayden shrugged as he rubbed his thigh, "You
keeled over. Honestly, I'm surprised. You don't strike me as the
fainting type."

"I do not faint!"

"All evidence to the contrary."

The comebacks flew through her head so fast
that she couldn't find just one.

"It was the fog," she muttered, then choosing
to ignore him. She grabbed a corner of the cape and pulled it
tighter around her.

A group of bunts raced across the ground in
front of them including Bunbun. Unlike the smooth running and
leaping gaits of the other bunts, Bunbun made do with an awkward
trot, using a malformed left rear paw only for balance.

They ran out from under the tree, racing
towards another. They circled and ran back. Energy glittered where
the fog hit the fur of the bunts, but they continued their antics.
If anything, the fog incited them to ever more energetic play.

Kate turned to glare at Ayden's back as he
rooted through his backpack, "The fog is dangerous? How come the
bunts can be out in it?"

He shrugged, not bothering to look up at her.
"They're natives to this world. There are a lot of animals and
plants here that aren't harmed by it. Some even feed off the fog.
Others have ways of hiding or protecting themselves from it, like
this tree."

"We don't have fog like this at the
city."

"That's because the city is so far away from
the mountains. It doesn't reach that far."

Kate turned back to the frolicking bunts at a
harsh squeal. One of the bigger bunts pushed at Bunbun, causing him
to lose its balance and fall over. She moved to go after him,
catching herself just as Ayden reached out to grab her arm.

"Relax, let him be. Bunbun enjoys rubbing
noses with his own kind once in a while."

Kate leaned back against the wide trunk of
the Trailing Willow, shaking her head, "Bunbun? Where did you come
up with a name like that? It's not masculine at all."

Ayden returned his attention to his backpack.
"I don't need to prove how masculine I am. By the way, you can say
thank you at any time now."

"Excuse me?"

"I just saved your life. With no help from
yourself, I might add," Ayden said with a gesture towards the
fog.

Kate gave him her best sneer .

Ayden smirked, "Yeah, that's what I thought I
would get back."

She bit her bottom lip, a little wash of
shame welling up. She really should thank him. After all, he did
save her from the fog when she didn't know any better.

He brought out a bottle of water and offered
it to her, "And yet, I'm still willing to share."

Considering how much her mouth still tasted
of Grandma's tea, Kate didn't argue. She took several sips before
handing it back.

"Thank you." There, she'd said it.

A dense patch of fog drifted by, moving in
the opposite direction as the soft air currents along the forest
floor. With the arrival of the patches more tingles ran along her
skin. Energy arced off the long leaves of the Trailing Willow.

She glared at the fog, ordering it mentally
to go away. The fog didn't pay any attention. It continued to swirl
and move with a mind of its own. Clumps of denser and lighter fog
coiled around with each other.

Bunbun climbed up on top of Ayden's lap,
pushing his way into Ayden's coat. His head popped out of the
opening at Ayden's neck.

She attempted to get as comfortable as
possible, "Grandma mentioned staying out of the forest fog, but
I've never seen it before."

"Wasn't the season? The mountains have been
clear? How long have you been here?"

Kate narrowed her eyes at him, "I was born
here."

Ayden smirked, "So? That doesn't mean you've
lived here long."

The fog retreated as quickly as it arrived.
The shuttle came into view. The trees relaxed, their limbs and
leaves falling in their normal disarray. The bunts calmed down,
settling down to munch on leaves, bushes, and short grasses.

Kate let out a relieved breath.

Ayden jumped on his feet. He climbed out from
under the tree, pushing the veil of leaves out of his way, dragging
his backpack along with him.

"Should we leave? The fog could come back!"
Kate called after him.

"The trees know. The flowers of the Red Tip
have closed up," Ayden called back to her as he walked quickly
towards the shuttle.

Kate looked around, finding only one tree
with red tips at the ends of their purple leaves. The wide pink
blossoms that had waved in the fog were tightly closed and pulled
under the large leaves.

She grabbed her basket and followed, finding
her legs shaky. She scanned the shadowed nooks and crannies around
the trees and forest plants. No white or sparkling wisps.

Kate trotted to catch up with Ayden. "Are we
going to make an emergency call?"

Ayden looked back at her, "I already told you
the electronics are fried."

"Isn't there an emergency pack? Maybe
something in that might work." Kate sucked in her breath and patted
her pockets. She brought out her small mobile phone. Flipping up
the cover didn't do anything other than show the big words "No
signal" in the middle of the screen.

If this were a normal human colony planet
there wouldn't be a problem with a signal. Ever. But thanks to the
Ancients, through the words of the Watcher, permanent human
satellites weren't allowed. The only concession had been a long
distance communication satellite orbiting the largest moon.

She closed the cover and put it back in her
pocket. Ayden was shaking his head at her. Her anger flared, "Oh
sorry. Have I bothered you by trying to find a way to let people
know where we are? At least I'm trying!"

"And I'm not? Fine. Just determined you know
better?" Ayden dropped his backpack next to the shuttle and walked
inside.

She heard several loud clicks and something
slam. A bright orange small pack flew out of the shuttle. It
bounced and slid along the ground, coming to a stop at her
feet.

Ayden climbed out of the shuttle, gesturing
towards it, "Go ahead, try it. Let me know if a miracle
happened."

Kate reached down to pick up the bag, the
phrase "Emergency Pack" emblazoned in bright yellow letters on both
sides of it. Ayden stalked off to the rear of the shuttle and
climbed up on top of the one of the lower engines.

She turned her full attention to the pack. It
contained the standard stuff she expected, like packs of dehydrated
food, a water purifier and a few space blankets. It was the small
red object she wanted.