Wizard's Oak

Night came yet the rain did not subside. Surprisingly, the forest or the place where they held refuge did not flood. The moss seemed to hold in the water like a sponge. So, the four took out the sandwiches they had made, ate, and then huddled together to sleep. Sometime during the night Laura was awoken by something strange; an unsettling noise that had found its way to her ears and stirred her from her slumber.

Laura sat up and listened carefully for it. But after a minute, she didn’t hear anything. The forest outside was quiet, except for the waning storm. She nestled under her coat and was about to drift off to sleep when she heard the sound again.

Gggrrrrrrooooaaaaannnnn…

Quickly, she sprang up and went to the window.

Gggrrrrrrooooaaaaannnnn…

There it was again. She waited a minute, then something to the left caught her eye.

Something moved.

Laura went back to her backpack and grabbed a flashlight. She went back to the window and flipped it on, but it produced no light.

“Damn,” she muttered.

Then she thought of something.

Laura went to Linda’s backpack and quickly found her camera. She raced to the window and quickly started clicking away. Picture after picture snapped and shot out a flash of light. In this process she swore she saw something long and gangly move, something on what appeared to be a smaller tree rooted within the confines of their vicinity.

“What, what are you doing,” Linda asked, rubbing her eyes.

“What are you doing with my camera?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Linda. I, I didn’t mean to wake you. I saw something outside the window and I wanted to see, but my flashlight wasn’t working and I didn’t have much time.”

Linda sat up and looked around. The two others were still sleeping soundly.

“I’ll replace the film if you want me to,” Laura added.

“Don’t worry about it,” Linda added. “You said you saw something?”

Laura nodded.

“What was it?”

Laura thought for a moment and then replied.

“I don’t know. I took a few pictures of it, but I didn’t get a good look when the flash went off. Is there any way that we can view it on your camera?”

“Not without developing the negatives, or taking them out prematurely. But, doing that would most likely ruin the film, and I’ve got some good photos in there I want to keep.”

“I understand,” Laura replied.

“You said your flashlight isn’t working?”

“Yeah. Here, see for yourself.” Laura handed Linda the flashlight. She examined it and shook it next to her ear. She then opened it and presented it to Laura.

“That’s why.”

Laura looked in at the compartment that held the batteries. It was empty.

“Huh,” she muttered. “What a dummy I am. Some survivalist, right?”

She chuckled at her ignorance and shook her head. She then went to her backpack and rifled through it until she found some batteries. She slid them into the chamber, closed it, and turned the flashlight on. It shot a beam of light into the room and, as Laura directed it, outside the window into the night. There it illuminated the rain that still fell, and the trees that had been there before. Nothing else was present.

The next morning the rain had stopped and the four ventured out to discover a whole new environment. Before them trees seemed to be present where none had been before; trees that seemed only as tall as they were scattered about the mossy terrain.

“Where the hell did these come from,” Jonathan asked.

“I don’t know,” Eric replied.

“Well, if they grew from seeds, they couldn’t have done so in one night. That would take one hell of a lot of miracle grow with the rain that fell last night.”

“Impossible,” Eric replied. “We must’ve missed them.”

“That’s right,” Jonathan replied. “We must’ve missed a shit load of trees that were there the whole time, right in front of us, right outside of this window.”

“Now, now, now boys,” Linda added. “Who cares how they got here. This forest is strange.”

Linda looked over at Laura.

“How do you mean,” Eric asked.

“Well,” Linda replied. “Laura said she saw something last night when the rest of us were asleep.”

Eric and Jonathan looked at her.

“Like what,” Jonathan asked skeptically.

“Well,” Laura paused. “Something that appeared to be slender. Something weird.”

“Weird like what,” Eric asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, maybe it was a deer or something,” Jonathan said.

“I don’t think so,” Laura replied. “It didn’t move like one.”

“Well, who could really tell? It was dark and probably raining hard outside, right?”

Laura nodded.

“It didn’t attack you, did it?”

“No.”

“Well, until something does, let’s not worry about it. We have plenty of other things to worry about. Like more rockslides, more flash rainstorms, etc.,” Jonathan stated.

“You’ve got a point, Jonathan,” Laura said.

“So, what shall we do now,” Jonathan asked.

“Well,” Linda said. “I would like to explore a few more buildings and take a few more photos. It shouldn’t take more than an hour. At most.”

“Okay, let’s get it over with then,” Eric replied. “We have a long ways to go.”

It wasn’t long before Linda found a house that caught her attention. One, it seemed, worthy above all others to photograph.

“Over here, guys,” She called to the other three. “This one’s perfect.”

She pointed to the house to let the others know that’s where she’d be.

“Go on in, we’ll wait out here,” Eric told her.

Linda disappeared inside and the others waited.

“Say, Eric,” Jonathan asked. “What do you suppose these trees are, anyway?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “They look like smaller, juvenile versions of the much taller ones we’ve seen. Their bark is even the same color as theirs.”

The two leaned over to one and examined it closely.

“Huh.”

“What is it, Jonathan,” Eric asked.

“Look at the moss on this one. Well, I think it’s moss.” He pointed to a black, wiry tuft stuck in the side of one.

“Hmmm. It almost looks like animal fur, Jonathan. Look at it.”

“What kind of strange animal would own this kind of fur?”

“I don’t know. This whole forest is starting to give me the willies.”

“Me too,” Jonathan replied. “Me too.”

When they looked up Laura was gone.

“Where the hell did Laura go,” Eric asked.

“I don’t know,” Jonathan replied. “She was right her.” He pointed to her spot.

“You guys!”

It was Laura.

“Look at this.” She showed the two a small handful of blue, luminescent pear-shaped fruit.

“What kind of fruit is this,” Jonathan asked.

“I don’t know, but it smells and tastes delicious.”

“Laura, did you even consider the fact before you ate it that some fruit is in fact poisonous,” Eric asked, concerned.

Laura just stood there with fruit in hand thinking.

“Well,” she replied. “Since it’s been nearly half an hour since I’ve eaten one and I don’t feel any different, I suppose they are okay to eat. “

“Hmm, to err on the side of caution, let’s put them away in our backpacks and if you don’t drop dead from the fruit you’ve eaten, we’ll partake in trying some, okay,” Eric said.

“Sounds good,” Laura replied. “Let’s go see what’s taking Linda so long.”

Inside the house the three looked for Linda. They called for her.

“Linda. Linda.” There was no answer.

They looked around for any signs of doors, stairs, and holes in the wall; any place where she could have disappeared to. But they couldn’t find any. All that surrounded them were trunks of trees, branches, and vines that held together broken remnants of dilapidated walls. Upon these walls were the faded flakes of wallpaper, nearly green from an accumulation of fungi and spores borne from prolonged exposure to moist conditions.

“Wait,” Laura said. “Look here.”

She pointed to a door on the far side of the room that was open but a crack, allowing a gentle passage of air to flow through.

“I felt the air coming from inside of it. I bet you that’s where Linda is,” Laura explained further.

“Let’s go, then,” Eric replied.

The three entered the room, which was empty, save for nature’s usual occupants.

Linda was nowhere to be found.

“Where is she,” Jonathan asked. “This shit ain’t funny.”

“Linda,” Laura yelled. “Linda!”

The other two joined in.

“Linda!”

They were about to call again when Eric raised his arm to hush the rest.

“Shhh, I think I hear something.”

All three stood still and listened. Before long something stirred and then whimpered from below.

“Look there.” Laura pointed to what appeared to be a hole in the floor that seemed to seep out of one of the room’s shadows.

The three hurried over to it. As they got close the wood beneath them began to crack and split.

“Shit,” Jonathan said. “Back up, back up a few feet!”

“I think it’s better if just one of us goes up to the hole to investigate. Who the hell knows how old these floorboards are.”

He looked at the other two.

“Who’s the lightest of us?”

“Well,” Laura said. I’m 125.”

She looked at the men of the group.

“You two?”

“Well,” Eric said. “I don’t know about Jonathan here, but you’ve got me beat.”

“Me, too,” Jonathan stated.

Laura looked at them.

“So, you’re not going to tell me your weights? You’re not going to at least humor me?”

The two looked at each other.

“Nope.” They both smiled wide. She just stared at them with bright, penetrating eyes.

“Smug,” she snorted and cocked a snide grin. “I guess it’s all me then.”

“Guess so,” Jonathan replied.

Laura looked back at the two once more and then slowly walked to the hole in the corner of the room. To be sure, she took off her backpack to lighten the load. Not two feet later did she reach the perimeter. She leaned forward slightly to see what light allowed her but saw nothing more than an expansive void. It appeared as though there was nothing beyond the perimeter of broken floorboards.

“Linda,” she shouted. “Linda!?”

Laura heard another whimper and the sound of something stir.

What was down there?

She backed away slowly from the hole and opened her backpack. Before long she found her flashlight. She stood up, flipped it on once to verify its operational status and then walked back to the hole. With flashlight in hand, she leaned cautiously over the edge and pointed the beam of light down into the darkness. Only when the light had reached the bottom some ten feet down did Laura see a floor that was littered with broken fragments of floorboards, various antique bottles, and… Linda.

“Linda,” Laura cried out. “Linda, are you okay?”

Linda responded with yet another whimper and an even fainter movement of her arm.

“You see her,” Eric asked. “She’s down there?”

Jonathan started to run to where Laura stood but Eric grabbed him before he got much further from where he stood.

“The floor, Jonathan, the floor.”

“I know, Eric. If we go to another spot at the hole our weight will be more evenly distributed.”

Eric looked at Jonathan for a second or two.

“Trust me,” Jonathan urged. “Trust me.”

“Okay,” Eric agreed. “But do it sloooowwwwwllllyyy.”

“Oooookaaaaaayyyy,” Jonathan teased and walked to another spot around the hole.

He peered down but saw only darkness.

“Point that light on Linda again, will ya Laura,” he instructed.

She did.

“She looks real bad,” Jonathan said. “I’m not sure, but she might have a concussion. It’s hard to tell from here.”

He looked at Laura and she at him.

“Someone needs to go down there,” Laura said. “Someone needs to find a way to get her out.”

“Give me the flashlight, Laura.”

She took a few steps towards him and reached out to hand it over. He grabbed the flashlight and pointed it down towards Linda again.

“What’s going on over there,” Eric asked. He took a few steps forward.

“Stay where you are, Eric,” Jonathan lectured. “You don’t know how weak this floor really is.”

“Well,” Jonathan replied. “How’s Linda? Is she hurt bad?”

“It appears so,” Laura replied. “We’re trying to find a way down there to get her out.”

Jonathan darted the light back and forth along the floor, examining every crevasse, every shrouded nook and cranny. He was looking for something in which to get down and assist their friend. A stairway, a ladder, even some sturdy roots, branches, or vines. But there was nothing available at their disposal.

Jonathan looked at Laura.

“How the hell do we get down there?”

She thought for a moment and then her eyes lit up.

“I know!” She looked towards Eric.

“You have rope in your backpack there, right?”

He removed it from his back, laid it down before him, and hastily dug through its contents. He pulled out a long string of thick red nylon rope.

“Sure do!” He lightly tossed the coiled rope into Laura’s outstretched arms.

“Okay,” she said as she uncoiled it. “What do we do now?”

“Well, we’ll have to secure it to something and lower one of us down,” Jonathan replied.

“My guess is that it would make most sense to send the one who’s the lightest down that hole.”

Laura looked at Jonathan with scorn about her face.

“What I wouldn’t give to be fat right now.”

“First get Linda out of there, then we’ll tackle that little problem,” he replied.

Laura stuck out her tongue.

“Look, up there,” Jonathan interrupted her as he pointed.

She looked up to where he directed her. There just above her head was a thick branch that had grown enough to break through the ceiling and loop up through it again.

“Could you pull on that to test its strength,” Jonathan asked.

“Sure,” she grumbled.

She grabbed it and gave it a good tug. It didn’t budge even slightly.

“Okay,” Jonathan said. “Let’s loop the rope around that and tie it tightly. Then, climb down and we’ll work together on how to get her out of there.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Laura replied.

“You got that, Eric?”

Eric nodded and gave a thumbs up. Laura looped the rope over the branch and lowered the length needed to make the descent required to reach Linda. As soon as she secured the rope around the branch, she grabbed her backpack and the flashlight from Jonathan and headed slowly down into the hole. Eric slowly approached a vacant spot next to Eric and looked down along with him. All they could see was the faint spot of light coming from the flashlight Laura held between her teeth, nothing else.

“Okay,” Laura called up to them. “I’m here.”

“Okay,” the two shouted back. “Keep us updated.”

“Will do”.