Under The Earth

Alive Was the Forest Part 2

"Ok, the first thing to do is to get to the river just beyond the edge of my farm," Alex said, more to herself than Oscar.

"As if I couldn't tell that for myself," Oscar said, rolling his eyes at his friend's mumblings.

"Well, what else do you suppose we do?" She asked, ready to defend herself at any moment.

Oscar laughed, "I wasn't suggesting we don't go to the river."

"Good."

"Well, you lead the way then. This is your property, after all."

Alex nodded and lengthened her stride to place herself in front of Oscar. Most of the way was over gently sloping hills with a few streams in between. And lastly, before they knew it, they were clambering over a wooden fence, taller than all the other - wire - fences.

The fence marked the end of her property and the beginning of the wilderness.

And she could see why it ended there, because - even if it wasn't for the mountains rising into the sky nearby, it was a largely untouched forest that was likely illegal to cut because of- climate change. She thought, feeling that familiar sense of doom.

Ah, climate change. Just about one of the most consistent topics they had to have bashed into their heads at school every year. Why do we even get taught about it every year? She asked silently, not exactly like this generation is at risk of forgetting such a thing.

Having been raised on a farm, she was quite nimble and a good fence climber, so she managed to get over the fence rather quickly. Her friend, meanwhile, clambered over the fence as if he were a horse climbing a tree. The two didn't mix all that well.

Eventually, however, Oscar had managed to get himself over the tall wooden fence to stand beside Alex in front of the river where he would now take over at guiding them. He parted the plants growing along either side of the river bank and looked out over the water.

"Hmm... The water's running quite fast. Do you know how to swim?" Oscar asked.

Alex shook her head.

"Well, time to start learning then!" He said, grabbing the rope hanging off the side of her bag.

"What am I meant to do with this?" She asked in bewilderment, but too late.

Oscar had already dived into the river and swam to the other side.

"Hold on to the rope!" He shouted over the noise of the rushing water, "And kick your legs really hard."

Alex nodded and gripped tightly onto the rope as she waded out into the water. Then, feeling the ground disappear beneath her feet, she panicked slightly and flailed around frantically like a fish out of water.

"Calm down!" Oscar called as he tugged on the rope.

Taking a deep breath, Alex slowed her breathing and pushed hard against the water with her legs. It's working! She noticed in relief as she moved out further into the middle of the river, and eventually to the opposite bank.

Feeling land beneath her hands she heaved herself out of the river, grabbing ahold of the plants on the river's bank so as to not slip bank into the river. Oscar wound up the rope and placed it back onto the side of Alex's bag.

They even took a quick break to refill their water bottles before setting off again. But this time, into a great, ancient, and native Norwegian forest that climbed up the side of mountains and along valleys. So beautiful and vast that it was no wonder it was protected.

However, when they stepped through the large, continuous wall of trees swaying together in unison to the wind, they entered what could only be described as a literal nightmare: the forest was dead.

No trees carried any leaves, the branches held no birds, and only plants that were wilted and brown poked up through the forest floor. A horrible silence fell, and Alex found herself stumbling over a rusty old plant that crumbled at her touch.

Oscar ran to her side to help Alex up, and she pulled herself onto her feet, the shock still not subsiding. Suddenly, the heavens gave way and rain started trickling down their faces and through their hair, the only thing which finally made them act.

They had to put aside their shock for now and think fast, "Tent!" Alex shouted above the rain.

Thankfully, they'd thoroughly gone over, time and time again, how to build up a tent in all kinds of scenarios. Although, she had to say that neither of them imagined this. Regardless, they were inside before the worst of it - hail and snow - began to fall.

Oscar sat down in the eerie silence of the tent and began twirling around a rock in his hands, head tilted in curiosity. When the rain briefly stopped for a bit, he grabbed together a pile of sticks and rocks,

"Hey, what do you want for dinner?"

The question came so unexpectedly, but still, Alex was too enwrapped in her own thoughts to hear anything outside her own head.

"Alexander!" Alex jumped at the touch of her friend's cold hand.

"Yeah? Oh right, dinner! Umm... I'll just have a spaghetti sandwich, thanks."

And with that, Oscar set to work. Alex watched in pure curiosity as he grabbed some bread and a can of spaghetti from their food bag and lit a fire just outside in the clearing they'd set up their tent in. He grabbed out a butter knife and dipped it in the can, bringing it out to wipe it across the surface of the bread.

Once done, he held the bread carefully someway above the fire, before again taking out the butter knife and slicing the bread in half. He gave one piece to Alex, and the other to himself. Exhausted and hungry, they essentially gulped down their food in one bite. Well, Alex did anyway, and she almost choked. But soon enough, night had fallen.

After both had dinner, they laid out their sleeping bags and snuggled down for the night. It was cold and silent, and Alex couldn't fall asleep. She got out of her sleeping bag and put on her jacket to go for a walk, not too far from the tent, but just far enough that she wouldn't wake up Oscar from his sleep.

She stepped outside the tent and into the dense wilderness, home of the trees. At first, Alex thought that the trees seemed to be... human-like, waving at her with their long and creaking branches, the tangle of twigs along the end of the branches nodding at her, almost saying 'Keep moving.'

Whilst she dismissed it as her mind playing tricks on her, she was still off put by the seeming unison of every tree and bush and whatever other - dead - plants lurked in this forest. Alex became hyper-aware of any rustle of trees nearby, any unexpected breeze or snapping of a twig. Still, the windy night kept her mind in a state of relative peace.

In the distance, she heard something splatting against hard rock and followed the sound to a small, shallow pond where a waterfall trickled down the sides. A sense of tranquility filled her, and she followed the pond into a stream and walked along it against the current, mindlessly wandering 'round in the quiet forest, when...