The Way of All Flesh

Chapter Seven

Much to the protest of Dima, Naomi decided it was best that they leave as soon as possible. It would be harder to travel at night, but much easier to avoid the attention of guards. And sacrificing comfort for safety didn't seem like all that hard of a choice.

Hidden behind a loose board in the kitchen wall was a small bag of miscellaneous supplies and clothing that Dima had stored. It wasn't much, but no one bothered to ask why she didn't have anything more. None of them had a lot, and Sylvester had come to terms with the fact that he wouldn't be able to retrieve his own belongings from the inn. Not enough time, Naomi had said. But she had been lying.

By the time they left the farmhouse, the moon was high up in the sky, casting a dull white light over everything. There had been just enough lanterns in the kitchen cupboard for each of them to hold one. It would be enough to get them past Sallon to whatever was the next village down the Western Road. Then they would stop and learn where exactly Naomi planned to lead them.

The forest seemed much denser at night.

What little light the moon had couldn't manage to break through the canopy of trees. It's suffocating silence seemed to only grow. There were times, as Naomi trudged along ahead of the group, that she couldn't hear them moving behind her at all. The stillness of it made her miss the storm. The chaos, she found, had been more comforting.

Twenty minutes passed in silence.

Ash, who was having trouble walking at the same speed as the others, hobbled slightly behind the group. About halfway through their walk, Naomi heard the others stop again. She almost dismissed it as another trick of the woods, until she turned to see Sylvester had stopped to help Ash steady himself, the smaller man barely able to keep upright.

Sylvester grabbed the lantern from him and kept walking.

The two exchanged no words.

When finally the lights of Sallon broke through the trees, Naomi breathed a sigh of relief. The woods had stolen her thoughts, a seemingly endless purgatory of trees, and yet there was the end ahead of her, glowing like a ball of stiff fire.

She almost took off in a sprint, but kept her composure. There were still people in there that wanted her in a jail cell, and they would be keen for her to come running in like a foolish little lunatic. Instead, she pulled her cloak over her head, hoping to blend in enough that the people once again wouldn't question her as a traveler.

Once she exited the veil of trees, she heard a cacophony of shouting.

It was loud, so louder she almost couldn't believe the forest had muffled it so well. People were screaming over one another, words a jumbled mess of nonsense. Something about it was almost musical, in a horrid and hysterical way. It came from deep w ithin the heart of the village, the opposite direction of the eastern gate, and yet Naomi began to walk towards the noise almost mindlessly.

"What are you doing?" Sylvester's voice broke through her hypnosis. "You said we had to leave Sallon quickly,"

Naomi turned back to him, unable to form a response.

Her feet didn't stop moving, taking her close to the sound of the chaotic symphony. Almost as if they were drawn as well, the other's began to follow, moving slowly further past the old wooden buildings. There was nobody on the streets, nobody in the houses. Everything was still but for the shouts.

Eventually she found the source.

In the center of town, on the green where Naomi had stood earlier that day, was a mob of people. They surrounded where the tree, beautiful and flowery, had stood so tall just hours prior. Now it laid on the ground, it's base mangled as if something had snapped it right off the stump. And the people all around it were seemingly screaming at it, or perhaps whatever had uprooted the gorgeous tree.