Chapter 2-Dark Forest
Her face felt rough and stuck. She cracked open her sore eyelids and came face to face with two beady eyes. She jerked her head and moaned, as the sudden movement brought a sharp pain. Her vision started to focus. Zanas realized that she was lying on a sandy white beach, a small crab making its way across her path, the frothy smack of the ocean lapping at the shore. Glancing up she saw the thick forest of trees that lined the beach. It was then that she spotted her sister. Asenya was lying ten yards from her, face down in the sand.
Disregarding the pain that shot through her head, Zanas pulled herself up, and ran to Asenya’s side. With a heave, she shoved her sister over onto her back. Asenya’s eyes were closed and she was so still, that Zanas felt herself holding her breath in terror. She searched for any sign of life. Just when she was about to raise her voice in a wail of anguish, she saw the slight rise of Asenya’s chest. Zanas shook her slightly and felt herself relax when her sister opened her eyes.
“We survived,” Asenya whispered. Zanas nodded and held her sister close.
There were people along the beach, and a few scattered across the coastline. One woman sat with vacant eyes, rocking back and forth, muttering something incomprehensible to either of the girls. They wandered up and down the beach searching the people, looking for any sign of their parents. They mourned when they turned bodies over, only to find vacant eyes staring back at them. These glass eyes would never again clear and come alive.
The twins searched in vain and found no sign of their parents, who seemed to have been swallowed, like hazy memories into a sea of pain. Zanas tried to recall her last vision of her parents, and only saw her mother’s eyes filled with fear, and unspilled tears. She reached for her sister’s hand and they began to walk towards the group of people who were forming in the center of the beach. Zanas made a mental count of the survivors; nine.
As the girls stepped forward, the survivors turned and stared at them. They consisted of three women, four men and a small child. The woman, who had been muttering earlier, sat silent. All the passengers seemed weary, not quite knowing how to comprehend the situation they had suddenly found themselves thrust into. Zanas walked into the middle of them.
“We have no idea where we have landed. We do not even know if help will ever arrive.” Zanas stressed. “That may be harsh, but it’s the reality. We must start worrying about our basic needs. Two of those are shelter and water. I suggest some of us stay behind and create a shelter, while the rest of us scout the area for fresh water and edible food.”
A low mummer began among them and quickly those who would stay behind, and those who would venture into the forest where established. Four of them would enter the woods; Zanas, Asenya, a young man named Thomas who seemed to be no more than nineteen, and a dark haired woman around twenty-five.
When they entered the forest, Zanas was amazed by how beautiful it was. She had never seen trees so tall or so large; she had never even imagined that trees could grow to be that size. They walked through areas where huge green banana leaves bent across their path and they had to push them out of the way. The air was thick with moisture, so thick Zanas could taste the water molecules as they entered her mouth.
The trees covered the sky with their branches, huge towering arms outstretched in an enveloping canopy. Light beamed down from above through small holes in the foliage and seem to stretch down towards them, like rays sent from a heavenly above. The forest was alive with a thousand different sounds, and Zanas’s ears twitched while trying to discern them. She heard what sounded like crickets, as well as exotic birds that erupted in a haunting cry as they passed them.
They were just coming around a bend when Zanas heard it, the roar of water hitting earth close by. She led them forward past a patch of the biggest plants she had ever seen. They were taller than Thomas, with thick stems that ended abruptly in an open flower. Although she would not entirely describe it as a flower. As the flower itself had no ornamental qualities, but instead, sharp looking spikes that erupted from its sides. Dozens of them formed a giant circular crop, silent figures reaching towards the sky. There seemed something familiar about this plant, but Zanas dismissed the feeling as she led them past and towards the sound of water.
Just around some towering banana leaves, Zanas caught sight of a beautiful waterfall. There was no order to this giant, as it cut from one side of the rock crevice to the other, making the waterfall cascade into a pool of green-blue water. It was so wild and beautiful at the same time. They let out a small cheer as they made their way towards the pool. Zanas dipped her hands into the water and drank deeply, the flavor pure and refreshing.
She relaxed by the shore of the small cove and watched as her sister went for a swim. Asenya’s long dress had been torn down one side and she had torn off much of the bottom when they had entered the jungle. The heat was much too stifling to encourage thicker clothing. Zanas had emerged rather unscathed and had only a few tears in her jeans, but she had long since begun to regret the sweater. Her sister was washing her hair, trying to remove all the debris that had been caught in it from the crash and the trek through the forest. Zanas’s hair was surprisingly still braided; she pulled the long tail over her shoulder and stroked its length, drawing comfort in this somehow.
Zanas was taking another cool drink of water, when she heard the scream, and immediately knew that it was the woman that had come with them. She scolded herself for not keeping a better eye on her, as they rushed back the way they had come.
The woman was standing in the middle of the crop of plants. One of the open mouths, for it was now clear that the flower was an open mouth, had closed on her body, the long razor ends piercing into her chest. As they watched, the top of the plant closed, joining together, entombing a pair of terrified eyes, and a mouth that gurgled blood.
Zanas sprang into action, picking up a jagged rock lying nearby, and hacking the thick stem of the plant until she severed its hold on the earth. The woman and plant collapsed, and in death, the plant slowly wilted and released its hold. They stared down in horror. The woman had been stabbed numerous times by the barbed ends, piercing her fragile body in critical areas. From the paralyzed response of its prey, Zanas would guess that the plant released some kind of neurotoxin into its victims to keep them from escaping. She also hoped that it numbed the pain, as the young woman’s eyes glazed over, and faded out.
She remembered now where she had seen a plant like this before. In her science class, a small predator that survived off flesh, Dionaea muscipula, also known as the Venus Fly Trap. This seemed like some sort of mutation of that plant.
Thomas stood off to the side, his eyes wide and frozen. Zanas could read the panic on his face. She noticed one of the plants behind him start to slowly descend its mouth, the sharp thorny teeth reaching forward. Zanas grabbed Thomas and yanked him out of the center, trying to make their way out of the gathering of flesh eaters, Asenya following closely behind. They broke through the perimeter, and Thomas collapsed to the ground panting and gasping for air. As they turned back, they watched as the plants gave one last shudder, before returning to their immobile pose, forever reaching.
Zanas felt a soft misty vapor that quickly turned to a pouring torrent of rain. They were immediately soaking wet and found it hard to breathe with so much water floating around them. Through the haze, Zanas noticed a hollowed tree. She pulled her companions into the empty giant, and they huddled together, shivering.
“What just happened?” Thomas stammered. Both Zanas and Asenya shook their heads, neither had an answer for the frightened boy.
… … …
The rain continued for what seemed like hours. Zanas sat watching the deluge of water as it poured past the entranceway to the tree. Thankfully, it was placed on an angle, or they would be soaking in water by now. She glanced at Asenya and Thomas, who were both asleep. Lightning flashed in the center of the sky, illuminating the tree and sending a brilliant bolt of excitement through Zanas
. The smell of wet earth entered her nostrils, and she felt as though she could smell the very essence of the forest, alive with pure freedom, as though it were calling to her. She took one last look at Asenya and Thomas, and she sprinted out into the forest.
Zanas ran as though she was in the forest of her home. However, this was not her home. The trees there had been tame, shadows of their former selves, molded to the interpretation of man. No such thing had been done here. This was a wild and unaltered land Zanas pounded her bare feet into. She did not know where she was running, only that she moved and streamed along the green leafy paths. Zanas came into a meadow and came to a halt, scanning her surroundings. And then she saw it.
Its small head resembled a deer. She noted that it had no horns or sharp weapons of any kind. Only soft flesh, as it nibbled at the soaking grass. It took deep breaths, breathing out in a cloudy fog. The animal stamped one hooved foot into the ground, catching sight of her. Zanas felt a spring unwind inside her, and she sprang at the animal, her body stretching forward, landing on the creatures back. She wrapped her arms around the animal’s neck and squeezed with all her might. They lay there in the mud, the pouring rain bouncing all around them. A low growl erupted from Zanas’s throat and with one final jerk, she snapped the creature’s neck.
Zanas sat there stunned for a moment, her hands in her lap, small drops of blood staining them. She had never killed anything in her life, she had never even intended to hurt the deer like creature, it had been uncontrollable. Zanas didn’t know how she felt about this. Part of her was horrified; she had killed an animal with her bare hands. Yet, another part of her was still filled with the adrenaline that coursed through the veins of a predator stalking prey.
She picked up the animal, heading towards Thomas and her sister. Yet again, she had no way of explaining how she knew she was going the right way, she just knew. Before long, Zanas could see the hollowed tree in the distance. Thomas and Asenya were talking as she walked in, their words coming to an abrupt halt as they saw the animal.
“It’s not very big,” Zanas explained. “But it’s something.” She placed the animal inside and sat down. She was wet, but her body was burning up from the inside out, as if she were getting sick. But she didn’t feel sick. In fact, she felt wonderful, strong, and full of life.
Zanas dozed off when a sound startled her. She immediately noticed the rain had stopped, and it was late into the night. Then she heard it again, a soft echoing sound, a seeking voice answered by others. She stepped out of the tree and into the forest.
At first, Zanas thought she was imagining it. Purple lights floating and dipping in the air, a beautiful airborne ballet. The purple was so vibrant it seemed almost to be neon colored. In the pitch black of the night the color made her eyes ache. She stared at this floating vision with eyes wide. The center light came into view.
A soft buzzing filled the air, as its paper-thin wings flapped rapidly. The body of the creature was sparkling incandescently, as it hovered near her face. She leaned forward to view its shimmering body, and with one fierce dive, it jabbed her in the arm with a sharp barb. Zanas let out a small cry and smacked it into her arm, its juices squishing, leaving an opalescent trail. She heard stirring behind her and knew that she had awoken Asenya and Thomas. Zanas was extremely glad for this, as the rest of the purple darts came heading their way.
For all their beauty, the insects were not very smart or very coordinated. They were able to smack them inflight easily, and were only stung a handful of times. They stood there staring at each other, the bugs splattered everywhere, like a gory battlefield. But instead of blood, a purple incandescent fluid had scattered ubiquitously. All three of them were covered, streaks and splatters across their clothes, every one a star filled lightshow, floating in the canvas of the night.
Pieces of the insects had exploded on anything close by; the leafy trees surrounding them had splashes of color strewn across their bodies. They had moved along the ground, creating streaked trails of neon. However, these were not the only things that were beginning to glow. What had looked like sticks moments before, began to uncurl into luminous colored flowers. Their shades colored the forest with their beauty; dark burgundy, deep hunter green, and sapphire blues. The flowers gently opened and closed their petals, as if drinking in the night. Before the flying insects, the night had been filled with darkness. Now, it was lit up with a thousand twinkling lights.
No one dared go near the flowers to get a closer look at their beauty; they all remembered the plant that had tried to eat the woman earlier. There seemed something sinister in the way the petals opened and closed in a tantalizing way. They took turns sleeping, each one of them staring out in awe at the glorious world they had been dropped into from the heavens.