Escape The Mountains
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The next morning, the sun rose over a mountain range. It was early in the day and still dark outside when I woke up to find myself alone on my bedroll with no memory of how or why that had happened. My head felt like it weighed ten pounds more than usual as well.
After waking from such an odd dream, I decided not to dwell too much on what might have been real and instead focused on getting ready for our journey ahead. We were going back into the mountains after all so there would be plenty of time later to figure out if any part of last night’s events actually occurred at some point during this trip.
For now, though, we needed to get moving before anyone else showed up looking for us.
I got dressed quickly while trying hard not to think about anything related to yesterday evening but eventually gave up because thinking wasn’t doing me any good anyway. Instead, I tried focusing on something positive – namely breakfast which was waiting just beyond the tent flap where everyone else slept soundly under their blankets.
As soon as I stepped through the entrance, I could smell bacon cooking and hear someone singing along to one of those old country songs they always play on the radio these days. A few moments later, I found myself standing beside Daelyn who was busy frying up strips of meat using her magic.
She looked happy enough despite having lost most of her hair since she’d started traveling around with me again. Her smile seemed genuine even if it did seem forced given everything that had gone down recently between us. Maybe things weren’t quite as bad off as I thought.
Or maybe I was simply hoping against hope that they wouldn’t end up being worse than expected once we finally arrived home. Either way, I didn’t want to ruin her mood by bringing up whatever thoughts kept running through my mind right then so I took a seat across from her without saying another word until she finished cooking the food.
Then I dug in hungrily while listening to the rest of the group wake up behind me.
“Morning,” said Roxy first thing upon opening her eyes. “You’re awake already?”
Daelyn nodded happily. “Yeah! This is gonna be great!”
Roxie rolled onto her side and groaned loudly. “Great… What do you mean ‘this’?”
As far as I knew, nothing exciting ever went on inside the forest except for the occasional monster attack or another random event. That meant that today should’ve been exactly like every other day spent here. But apparently, Daelyn hadn’t gotten the memo yet. So, she explained excitedly, “We’re leaving the woods.”
That statement caught me completely off guard. And judging by the confused look on Roxie’s face, neither of them understood either. They both stared blankly at each other for several seconds before turning toward me expectantly. Finally, I asked, “What are you talking about? You know we can’t leave the forest unless we go somewhere else first, don’t you?”
She shook her head sadly. “No, I’m sorry. I guess I forgot. When I say ‘we,’ I really mean ‘you.’ I and the others will stay here forever. Forever…”
My heart sank as I realized what she must have seen in my dreams. No wonder she wanted to keep living in the forest. If I couldn’t remember anything about yesterday, then it probably never happened. At least, I hoped that was true. Otherwise, I was pretty sure I’d lose my mind entirely if I ended up spending the rest of eternity trapped within this place.
Not only that, but I also worried about how long I would live without access to fresh air or sunlight. How many years could I survive locked away in a cave full of monsters? Would I die of starvation before I starved to death? Was there even any chance that I could escape?
All of these questions raced through my brain as I struggled to come to terms with the fact that I may very well spend the remainder of my life stuck inside this cursed land.
But then, suddenly, I remembered something important. Something that made me feel better almost immediately. In spite of everything, I still had control over whether or not I lived or died. There was no reason for me to give up hope just yet. Besides, I figured I owed it to myself to try and make things work somehow.
Even if I failed, I could always return to the forest afterward and start over. Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to worry about dying of thirst or hunger anymore. Of course, I doubted I’d ever see any of the people I left behind again. Most likely, none of them survived the battle with the dragon.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling sad knowing that I’d abandoned everyone I cared about. Especially considering how close I came to losing my own life in the process.
So, I resolved to put aside all of the depressing thoughts swirling around inside my head and focus on making plans instead. First, though, I needed to find out more information regarding our destination. After asking Daelyn to explain further, I learned that we were headed back to the city known as New York City.
Apparently, that was where the portal leading into the forest originated from. It sounded like an odd choice to me since I assumed the two places couldn’t possibly be connected. However, according to Daelyn, the entire world used to exist inside a single giant sphere-shaped bubble called the World Tree.
The tree itself grew larger and taller as time passed, eventually reaching its current size after thousands of years. Eventually, however, the tree began to grow too large for the space available inside the bubble. As a result, the outer edges of the tree split apart and formed new worlds which became separate spheres.
One such planet contained the forest we currently inhabited along with countless other lands. Another orb held the city of New York. A third one housed the capital of Washington DC. Yet another orb included Paris France, London England, Tokyo Japan, and dozens more cities scattered throughout Europe and Asia.
Each of those orbs floated freely above the surface of their respective planets while smaller versions of themselves existed below the ground. These subterranean realms consisted of vast underground caverns filled with rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Some of these areas served as natural habitats for various species of animals and plants. Others were home to ancient ruins dating back millions of years ago when humans roamed the earth alongside dinosaurs.
The last orb, containing the United States of America, was located directly beneath the center of the Earth. According to Daelyn, the US government created the portals between the different worlds so they could travel across the globe quickly and easily.
Unfortunately, most of the portals remained hidden deep within forests and mountains. Only a few of them were accessible via roads and highways. This was why she said we needed to visit New York City to get directions to the nearest portal entrance.
She told us that once we arrived there, we could use the map provided by the local police department to locate the closest exit point. From there, we could follow whatever path led outside of the forest and end up wherever we wished.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted. “Why did you tell me all of this?”
Daelyn shrugged. “It’s simple. You’re going to need some way to navigate your way through the forest.”
That wasn’t exactly what I meant, but I decided to let it slide. Instead, I asked her to clarify.
“What do you mean?” I inquired.
Her eyes narrowed slightly at first, but then she seemed to relax a bit. Her expression softened somewhat.
“You can’t rely solely upon luck to guide you through here. That won’t cut it. Sooner or later, someone is bound to notice you wandering around aimlessly. Then, they’ll send soldiers to capture or kill you. And trust me, the odds are good that they will succeed.
They’ve already killed hundreds of others who tried to leave the forest alone. Why should anyone think differently of you? Honestly, I’m surprised that you managed to avoid being captured until now. But sooner or later, somebody has got to realize that you aren’t actually dead.”
She paused briefly before continuing.
“Besides, even if you manage to escape the clutches of whoever finds you, you probably won’t survive long without food and water. If you want to live, you have to go somewhere safe. Somewhere where nobody else lives. Otherwise, you might die anyway.
Either because you starve to death or become dehydrated. Or both. Now, I know you didn’t come here looking for trouble. At least, I sincerely hope you weren’t. Because if you really wanted to stay alive, you would never have entered the forest in the first place. Not unless you had no other options left.
In which case, I’d say you’re pretty much screwed either way. Unless…”
My mouth fell open as realization dawned on me.
“Unless what?” I finally asked.
Daelyn smiled softly.
“Well, assuming you still intend to try and make it out of here, you may not necessarily need to worry about getting lost anymore. There’s something I haven’t mentioned yet. Something that makes things easier for people traveling through the woods.
Especially those who happen to be carrying weapons. Which means you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way back to civilization.”
***
We spent several hours talking over dinner. During that time, I discovered many interesting facts about the forest. For example, I found out that the trees were sentient beings capable of communicating telepathically with each other.
Their thoughts and feelings flowed together like streams merging into a river. Although they possessed individual personalities, none of them ever felt lonely or isolated. All of the creatures living within the forest shared similar goals and desires.
The only difference was how they went about achieving those objectives. It was also explained to me that the trees used their collective consciousness to create an elaborate network of interconnecting tunnels and passageways.
Those passages allowed individuals from every race to move freely among the branches. However, the majority of the inhabitants preferred to remain close to the trunk of the giant tree. Most of them lived near its base, although some chose to reside closer to the top than others.
As far as the rest of my companions were concerned, they appeared to possess very little knowledge regarding the nature of life within the forest. As such, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for them. After all, they were stuck inside a world filled with monsters, demons, and evil spirits.
A realm inhabited by entities whose sole purpose in existence was to cause harm to innocent victims. Even worse, these same creatures often preyed upon one another. Some of them even turned against their own kind when faced with certain situations.
Such behavior made sense considering the fact that they were all part of the same species. Yet, despite knowing full well just how dangerous the forest truly was, they continued to venture deeper into it. Perhaps hoping to find answers to questions that remained unanswered after so many years.
The more we talked, the less I liked the idea of staying there forever. Daelyn assured me that I could always return home whenever I wished. She said that I simply needed to follow the path leading away from the center of the forest.
Once I reached the edge, I would see signs indicating the direction I should take. From that point onward, I wouldn’t encounter anything resembling danger. Of course, I knew better. Despite everything I learned during our conversation, I doubted that I would ever feel comfortable returning to my old life again.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake off the fear that lingered deep down inside of me. My mind refused to accept the reality that surrounded us. This was a dark and sinister place. One that offered nothing but pain and suffering to everyone who dared enter it unprepared.
The End