The Breakaways

Chapter 6

My breath caught in my throat as I really inspected the forest for the first time. 

It was beautiful. I could see the pine trees were towering higher than I could imagine, higher than any tree I had ever seen before. They were easily taller than 20 story buildings, and I'm sure ones I couldn't even see reached 30. 

On the ground? Well, lush vegetation covered it, all except one spot. The winding river of a dirt path headed through the trees. The dirt had a reddish color, and just added to the perfect effect of the woods.

It was silent between us until we reached where the trees began. I reached my palm out and touched one. Watching, the man beside me (who I had forgotten the name of) informed quietly, a note of remaining awe in his voice, "Tallest redwoods ever known to be in a story. Each home to hundreds of animals, and the reason why not many are allowed here. You're lucky this is where you entered. Hardly anyone gets to see them." He breathed out, and I could hear his reverence for these woods.

The bark did have a reddish tinge, staying within the color pallet of the forest. I walked past a tree just in time for a flake of wood to miss my head. Looking back, I could see it was a woodpecker. It was big, and mostly black. It had a single white racing stripe down its neck that eventually tipped its wings, and red feathers behind its eyes and its head. It had a yellow beak and a yellow ring around its eye. Then the path twisted, and I could see it no longer.

"Anyway," the brown eyed man continued, "Welcome to our story. It's been going for eight years. I've been here for four years, and been a guide for three. My role was just a guide for this story, but I got a year to explore it for myself."

I looked away from the woods, and asked him, "But don't you think that's kind of unfair though? You just get chosen to work your teenage life away, and for however long into your adulthood. Aren't you upset you only got one year of excitement?"

He smiled, but I could see the sadness behind it. "Believe me, I got plenty of excitement. I still do! During my first year, I got to be escorted to all the major places. And now, I get to go around to places I'm assigned and bring new people here and tutor them, in a way. It's fun!" 

That all sounded nice, but he wasn't hard to read. I could tell he was trying to make me think it was better than what it seemed, when it wasn't.

I opened my mouth again, not entirely sure what I was planning to say-but he interrupted me quickly.

"What about-"

"I get plenty of excitement. This job is great, really. But you shouldn't be asking these things-it will only serve to stir up trouble with the government. Whatever you're currently thinking against the government, it's wrong. We don't need to worry about that."

I looked away to the ground. "You're right. I shouldn't. Sorry."

"Not any wrongdoing of yours," he replied. He looked away like I was doing, but out of the corner of my eye I could see as he muttered something more. 

He's right, I thought. When did these ideas get in your head?  

A scene behind my eyes flashed an image of a scrawny boy with cinnamon hair.

Him, I thought. I had forgotten his name as well. His ideas were starting to get to me. That's what this was. Not me. Him. 

After a minute or two longer of silence, the man explained to me, "By the way, you don't have to worry about getting set up. I'll get you a room in an inn. There are multiple villages built just for newcomers, and we're on our way to one right now. In fact, one of the best. The people there are amazing. You really are lucky to have entered where you did. You'll find yourself some friends you can trust fast, I assure you-if you're into trusting people, that is."