Ori and the Stranger

Chapter 3

     "Are you sure about this?" Ori asked, hesitantly prodding at the blue plant.

     "Of course, child," Sein responded, "It will feel like being tossed into the air. It's the only way to get out of this ravine, so we don't have a choice."

     "I, uh... I don't know," Ori said, stepping away from the plant, ears drooping.

     Blitz let out a dramatic sigh. "Fine. I'll go first, then you," he said, walking up to the plant. He seemed to hesitate as well, clearly he was just as unfamiliar as Ori was. He took in a deep breath, and ran towards the plant. He leapt onto the top, and the plant glowed blue. Blue particles shot out of the sides, and Blitz shot up at incredible speed. Within moments, he had cleared the entire ravine, and was standing on the cliff edge looking down at Ori.

     "See? It's fine," Sano said to Ori reassuringly.

     Ori nodded, and stepped back up to the plant. He closed his eyes, taking in slow, deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then, before he could stop himself, he jumped onto the top of the blue plant. He felt it sag for a brief moment, before he felt incredible force exerted on his legs. He yelped in surprise as he shot up the cliff wall. He flipped around, flailing about and shouting in surprise. He felt himself slowly stop in the air, then start falling back down.

     Oh, no! I missed the ledge! he thought, panicked. He yelled in fear as he tried to reach for the ledge. If he fell, he might not be able to reorient himself in time. His heart filled with fear when his paws barely slipped past the edge. But just as he was about to fall, he felt Blitz's hand grasp his paw tightly, and Blitz grunted as he caught Ori. Ori looked down at the ravine, panting. Blitz heaved him onto the ledge. Ori laid still for a moment, panting as his heart fluttered like a caged bird.

     Blitz stood over Ori as Ori finally calmed down. "See? Not too bad, now was it?" he said jokingly, earning himself an annoyed glance from Ori. Sein floated up over the ledge and hovered over Ori.

     "Come, Ori! There is no time to waste!" she said with a sense of urgency, "This way! To the Spirit Tree!" She fluttered over the ravine, Ori and Blitz following close behind as she ventured deeper into the forest, along a trail that cut through the lethal foliage that now infested the forest.

     The entire forest was unrecognizable. Though Ori never ventured far from home, Naru did sometimes take him out here on little adventures. He remembered what she called them: the Shining Glades. They were lush and green and full of plants and animals. Now, all the plants were rotten and decayed, and the little critters were reduced to fearful, scrawny scavengers gnawing on the bones of the unfortunate. The smell was rotten and repulsive, devoid of the moist lushness that it used to have. It pained Ori's heart to see a place he loved to play reduced to a hollow shell.

     The only notable life they encountered in the now Sunken Glades were abnormally large, spike purple slugs that Blitz dispatched without much trouble, despite them shooting their spikes at him with incredible speeds.

     After a small while, they came upon a large hole in the ground. A rickety, rotten bridge spanned its length to the other side, creaking even as it sat idle. Ori didn't feel too comfortable passing the bridge, convinced it would break and Ori would plummet to the ground below. There didn't seem to be any launcher plants at the bottom, and there was no way he could climb the sheer rock walls of the cavern. He looked to the sides, and his heart sank as he saw large clumps of spine infested bushes. The same that had almost killed him.

     Blitz shook his head. "No way we're making it across that," he said, "It's a miracle that that bridge still exists. There has to be another way around." He drew his blade and walked over to the foliage on one side of the trail. He swung his blade at the plants, but they seemed unnaturally sturdy. They didn't show the slightest hint of damage even with Blitz's determined, constant strokes with his blades.

     "Don't waste your energy, Blitz," Sein spoke, her ethereal voice echoing down the cavern she floated above, "It won't work. We'll have to cross the bridge."

     "Easy for you to say! That thing'll crumble to dust at a stiff breeze!" Blitz shouted, gesturing towards the rotten bridge.

     "Blitz, calm down. We don't have a choice," Ori said, placing a paw on Blitz's wrist. Blitz took a deep breath, his voice calm again. "Sorry. I just... that bridge is going to crumble the second I step on it. If we fall in there, how are we supposed to get out?"

     "Maybe it's not as unstable as it looks," Ori said, putting on a warm smile to mask his own uncertainty. Blitz let out a sigh. "Fine. But if we get trapped down there, it's your fault." He looked toward the bridge, and started towards it. Ori followed close behind.

     They stopped right before the bridge. They looked over the edge, seeing that the bottom of the cavern wasn't too far, but it would still be impossible to get out if they fell in. Blitz took in a deep breath and took a hesitant step onto the bridge. It creaked and groaned as Blitz put his weight on it, but did not break. Slowly he took another step, trying to be as gentle as possible on the frail, brittle bridge. Ori followed close behind, looking down at the wood. His lighter body did not put as much strain on the wood, but it still squeaked lightly under him.

     A loud screech rang out, causing Blitz and Ori to jump in surprise. They looked up towards the source of the sound, and saw another one of the frog-like creatures that had attacked Ori earlier. Ori's heart sank, remembering how they had tried to leap onto him to crush him. "I think we should hurry, Blitz," he whispered to Blitz worriedly, eyes glued to the creature as it fidgeted on the branch it was perched on. It's head twitched madly, eyes darting around with feral intent.

     Blitz nodded, still stepping gently but at a faster rate. The bridge creaked dangerously as they moved across it. Ori looked back up at the creature, noticing it had gone silent. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the creature staring straight at him with an intense gaze. It squirmed a bit on the branch, readying itself to a leaping position as its gaze continued to bore into Ori. Ori felt a sense of dread. "Blitz, hurry!" he shouted in a panic, shoving Blitz. Blitz yelped in surprise and stumbled forward, the sudden weight causing his foot to go straight through the bridge. "Ah, no!" Blitz shouted in frustration, pulling at his foot. "What the hell was that for?!" He scolded Ori, an angry look on his face. Ori frantically gestured towards the creature.

     Blitz followed his pointing, and saw the creature about to leap and slam down on the bridge. His eyes widened, and he started pulling at his leg more frantically. Ori ran to his side, helping him pull his ankle out of the rotten wood. Just as Blitz got his leg out, he heard the creature grunt with effort as it leapt off the branch towards the bridge. Blitz immediately sprinted towards the other side of the bridge. The bridge shook violently, and Blitz and Ori were showered with splinters as the creature landed on the bridge. The bridge instantly made a loud cracking sound and crumbled under the creature's feet. The creature screeched in fear and surprise as it plummeted to the bottom of the cavern.

     Ori felt the bridge start to angle more and more downward, now broken in half. Ori ran as fast as his little legs would take him. Blitz looked at Ori as he ran, shouting with a sense of urgency, "Grab on!" He held out his hand, which Ori quickly took. He heaved Ori onto his shoulder, and Ori held on tightly. He felt Blitz leap up as the bridge broke loose from the rock it was anchored, and plummeted into the cavern. Ori felt a sudden force propel Blitz upwards, and looked back to see the cylinders on Blitz's backpack belching out blue fire, which seemed to lift Blitz up. However, just before they reached the other side, a stray piece of splintered wood hit the backpack, fast enough to pierce it. The cylinders sputtered, and the blue flame ceased. The uplifting force disappeared. "Oh, no!" Blitz shouted in fear as they slowly started to fall. Ori yelped in fear, clutching to Blitz's shoulder even more tightly. Sein watched helplessly as Blitz reached for the ledge, but barely missed it by a hair. As Ori and Blitz plummeted to the bottom of the cavern, Sein was pulled down with them, tethered to Ori by an invisible force.