Chapter Three
Andrew had only a fraction of a second to react, but didn't have too many options. There was no time to roll out of the way, and even if he did, the beast would only get him seconds later. But his reflexes and judo training kicked in immediately.
As the heavy beast landed on him, Andrew rolled backwards onto his back whilst planting his foot on the animal's stomach. He gripped the paw of the beast in one hand, its furry shoulder in the other. Using the heavy animal's own momentum, Andrew rolled backwards and threw it over his head in a sacrifice throw. It weighed hundreds of pounds, but for a judo move such as this, it made no difference. If anything, the animal's great weight worked against it.
The beast flew back up into the air and soared headfirst into a tree trunk some six feet away. The sickening "crack!" of skull striking wood was heard, and it dropped unmoving onto the forest floor.
Before the teens could celebrate their victory, two more of the menacing, snarling beasts were already coming at them from the woods, bent on avenging their fallen brother. How could they escape them? They could never outrun the beasts, even in daytime, and surely not at night when the animals had the additional advantage of their special nocturnal eyes. There was only one place to go....
"To the trees!" Katy screamed.
She ran to the nearest tree and scrambled up its trunk. But she wasn't fast enough. The beasts were closing in on her, and she was still within their reach. Long fangs glinted in the moonlight. Red eyes locked onto their prey. This was their forest. They were the masters here.
Andrew frantically looked for a way to cover Katy's back. He grabbed a half-burnt branch from the fire and thrust the flaming end at the beasts. The animals recoiled from the heat, growling. The flames reflected strangely off their red eyes. He held off the animals with the burning branch while Katy climbed out of their reach. Then he tossed it at the creatures to buy himself a few more seconds of time, and clambered up the tree after her.
He had climbed about eight feet up the trunk when... "Andrew look out!!" Katy screamed. One of the long animals leaped and managed to snag the bottom of Andrew's jeans in its jaws.
"Nooo!" Andrew yelled.
The beast dragged him downwards, closer and closer towards the snarling pack. Andrew slid down the trunk, hands grasping for purchase on the smooth bark in vain. Then he managed to snag a small branch, and tried pulling himself up. The beast pulled harder, and the branch began to bend. Inch by inch, Andrew was pulled downward towards the hungry mouths. He was only seconds away from being wolf chow. He yanked his leg, and the jean cuff tore. The beast spat out the torn cuff in disgust and growled ferociously.
Andrew shot up the tree. "Thank God for cheap jeans."
The terrified Pine Valley pair raced up the tall tree. Andrew thought that they must have set a world record for fastest tree climb. They couldn't seem to climb fast enough, as panic and fear spurred them ever onward.
They continued climbing until they were well out of range of the beasts, not stopping until they were about thirty feet up above the forest floor. They were safe from the snapping jaws and ripping claws of the creatures, for now. The teens made themselves as comfortable as possible in the thick branches, while the angry wolf-dogs pawed at the trunk below.
"Whoa. That was too close," Katy said.
"So not only are we lost in the middle of a forest, but we are also among creatures who want to eat us, and are quite capable of doing so," said Andrew. "A far cry from the 'walk in the park' that we originally set out to do. I'm terrified."
"Me too," said Katy.
But Andrew's heart beat fast with excitement, despite the danger they were in.
"What are those things?" Katy asked. "Did you see the amount of legs they had? And those four glowing red eyes? Those whip-like tails? Those long, long fangs? They're like demons from another world."
"I don't know what those creatures are," Andrew answered. "But I think the more important question right now is: where in the world are we?"
"Yeah, where are we?" echoed Katy.
"I don't know the answer to that question either. I guess that it can be said that we are in "adventure". Which isn't an actual physical place, but rather exists in the mind. But anyway, wherever we are, one thing I do know: Katy, I'm sure glad that you're here with me. And what's more, even though we're lost in the middle of this strange forest, with no obvious goal to be met here, I feel as if this world is where I belong right now. I feel like I have a purpose to see through here. I feel like I belong here. It wasn't mere chance that made me pick up that book in the library. Something big is going down. I have a hunch that great things will happen here, and it's going to involve the two of us."
"Hear hear! Well said. And I'm glad that you're here too. But I'm not excited about this at all. I've never been more terrified in my life! I just want to find the way out, and find the way home."
Andrew looked at her starlit face. As always, when he looked at her, he was amazed by her beauty all over again.
Katy adjusted her position on the branch and her fingers brushed his. Suddenly, Andrew found his right hand entwined in her hair, his left hand on her face, and his lips locked with hers, in their first kiss. They kissed deeply, savoring the moment.
Finally they drew apart.
"That was fun, and a bit dangerous," giggled Katy; Andrew had let go of the branch with both his hands to kiss her.
"A bit dangerous, but very necessary," he replied.
"And not to mention very enjoyable" Katy added.
They sat there on the high branch for a while, arms around each other, seemingly oblivious of the ferocious beasts below. Just enjoying each other's presence, lost in the tranquil atmosphere of the forest noises.
"The forest is full of paradoxes," Katy observed. "Beautiful, yet dangerous."
"Terrifying, yet wonderful."
"Tranquil, but in turmoil."
"Calm, but in chaos," said Andrew. "On the surface, these elements of the forest are oxymorons. But if you think about it a little deeper, they really aren't contradictory at all. In fact, they complement each other very nicely indeed."
After some time, Katy yawned. "Where should we sleep now?"
"Welcome to the magnificent Brown Tree Hotel," Andrew said in an impression of a posh hotel receptionist. "We have your basic big branch package. Then we have some deluxe rough limb suites, and we even have a few luxurious king sized boughs, all at very attractive prices."
"So, will four leaves be enough for the king sized bough?" She smiled and brandished a handful of colorful leaves. A caterpillar crawled across one of them.
He kept up the act. "Four leaves and a bonus caterpillar! Why that is quite generous madam. If only more of our customers would be so kind, and we might be able to renovate our hotel!"
At that they both burst out laughing, unable to keep up the ridiculous act any longer. The pair climbed over to a tremendous branch, and got as comfortable as possible on the broad, rough limb. It was prodigiously thick, nearly as wide as the width of a truck, and there was little danger of rolling off when asleep. They were now about sixty feet from the forest floor.
"Hopefully by morning the many-legged beasts will be gone," said Andrew.
They settled down to go to sleep.
"I'm still scared of those animals, even high in this tree," said Katy. "Their very image permeates my thoughts. All I can think of now is sharp fangs and black whips. Can you please hold my hand?"
"Sure." Andrew took Katy's hand in his, comforting her. "I guess from here on in it's the law of the jungle for us. Kill, or be killed. But with any luck, by tomorrow we will have found our way back home."
He didn't know how wrong he would be. Like Andrew had said, they were there for a purpose. And that purpose would take some time to be realized, if it was to be realized at all. And Andrew didn't want to admit it, but a part of him wanted to continue on. A pa
rt of him didn't want to go home so soon, right when they were just starting to explore this extraordinary place.
"'Night," said Katy, "don't let the tree bugs bite."
"Good night," said Andrew. "All will be quite all right."
And soon she was asleep. But Andrew lay awake for some time, thinking about their predicament. How did they get here? And why? It was obvious to him that somehow The Kingdom of the Light gave the rainbow the power to transport him to another world, kind of like the teleportation devices in those science fiction movies. How exactly it worked he didn't know, but he needed to try and find out. He had to know what sort of powers they were dealing with.
But why was Katy transported along with him, wasn't he the sole bearer of the book? Perhaps whoever had transported him here had wanted her to come along too, for some reason. Or perhaps because Andrew had been holding her hand when they had seen the rainbow, she had been transported as well.
Rainbows, rainbows. They keep seeing rainbows. First in Arbori Park, then on the mysterious silver card.
All of this only led to more questions. Yes, the book brought him here, somehow. But who created the book? Who sent it to Earth, and why? For what purpose? What did those portentous words 'you have been chosen' mean? Chosen by whom? Chosen for what?
Or was it all just nonsense? Was it just some strange being who had powers of teleportation playing games with them by sending them to this strange, wild place for no purpose at all, other than his own nonsensical whims and quirks? Were they just pawns in some twisted game?
Why were they brought here, Andrew mused. For good, for evil, or for neither?
Andrew tried sorting out his priorities here in the rainforest. Whatever the case, he knew that his first priority now was to protect Katy in this dangerous place, until they got out. Besides the fact that they were almost girlfriend-boyfriend, and chivalry demanded it of him, it was also because of him that she was here at all. In a way it could be said that it was his fault. So he resolved to protect her fiercely. Even though she was no pushover, and could normally fend for herself, anyone could use additional protection in the middle of a weird and treacherous rainforest, that was filled with all sorts of creatures that could seriously hurt you, miles away from any kind of civilization. Of course, he would try and watch over Katy to the best of his ability.
His second priority would be to protect himself, and his third, to find a way back home. Or was it to find out why he was here? What was more important? Get to safety? Or find the answers, and seek out the adventure that lurked around the corner, to find a higher purpose in all this. Which was it? He couldn't decide right then.
With these muddled thoughts whirling around his head, Andrew closed his eyes to go to sleep high up on the rough branch, wondering what the next day would bring. Wondering where this path would lead him.