Random Writing

The Forest of Souls

I wrote this for the Dymocks Writing Comp and submitted it at 11 pm T^T

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Unnatural silence reigned over the forest like a thick blanket. The birds safely tucked in their nests and squirrels high in the trees. Foxes and badgers hidden in their burrows not daring to peep. The sun shone high in the sky casting long shadows between the branches down onto the ground below. Suddenly footsteps crunched underneath the autumn leaves, heavy laboured breathing and wild eyes constantly checking behind them. Blood and perspiration streaming down their face and staining their shirt. They stumbled, running as fast as they could trying to out manoeuvre whoever was pursuing them. But there was no escape. A glint of silver flashed past, burying deep into a tree trunk ahead. Quickly they turned and ran straight into the path of the second flying arrow. It was an instantaneous death. Soft footsteps finally caught up to the body. "Welcome to the Forest of Souls" she whispered softly.

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The whispers of those who wandered through the forest ensured that no sane person would ever enter. They were alone. Isolated. Until a girl heeded their call. She could see them. Feel them. Communicate with them. Outcast and lonely she had come upon the forest. It was eerie and foreboding. But she had no one left. So she had entered, trying in vain to escape the cruelty of the world she currently lived in. She couldn't take it anymore. The pressure had built up inside her wanting to burst out and take revenge on those who had hurt her. Oh how she wanted to let it all out. But she knew she couldn't. She wouldn't. The rumours about the forest were spoken softly in heavy tones. Strangely she felt at home within the forest. Announced missing, she continued to live for years inside. Hunting, scavenging, and surviving on her own. But she was never alone. Not truly. At first the souls were cautious and circumspect around her. So was she. Gradually after a few months they had warmed up towards each other. The strange creatures of the forest also had grown comfortable with her. Life continued on. It was just her, the souls, and the creatures of the forest. That was until the city arrived.

Bulldozers, excavators, trucks, and track loaders, huge machines had come to tear the forest down. The city needed to expand out more, barely fitting the population within. The mayor had seen the forest and contemptuously dismissed it and ordered it to be flattened to the ground to make more room for apartment complexes and industrial buildings and factories. The girl had been alarmed to learn of the new development happening on the edge of the forest. The creature living close by had evacuated to the girl's cottage and the souls had told her the story. At first horrified, she had then become overwhelmed with pure rage and hatred for humans. Living in the forest for so long away from society, she no longer considered herself one of them, but a part of the forest life. Suppressing the emotions inside of her for later she went to investigate the area herself. Her home that she had lived in for so long, worked on for so long, was being destroyed just like that. She couldn't just stand there and do nothing. They had no right to wipe out the habitats of hundreds of species for their own benefit. They'd already caused enough damage as it is to the climate. The environment was heavily impacted and the souls and herself were worried that they wouldn't survive, that the forest would die out. But with her care and the guidance of the longest wandering souls she had pulled through and the forest was barely surviving and thriving. When she reached the site of deforestation, all her bottled up feelings overflowed. She saw red. Blinded by fury she had isolated each target before stabbing them with her range of knives, or skewering them with her powerful bow and arrow. The ground soon ran with the blood of the construction workers, some trying to escape after spotting the fates of their comrades. But she showed no mercy. No one escaped her one person attack. With the heavy vehicles used to carry out the task, she called her large friend of the forest to pound them to dust. Hopefully they wouldn't try it twice.

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Just before he had died from blood loss, he had taken a small piece of footage and sent it to the mayor. Then his eyes glazed over and he breathed out his last breath. Upon seeing the footage, the mayor was furious that they were taken out by a wild girl and that the project costing millions of dollars had been crushed so far. But he was greedy and wasn't going to let her get away with the crime she committed. So to ensure that she was finished off and that damn forest was taken care of once and for all, he called in the cavalry.

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Exhausted, she set up camp close by, but far enough away so that anyone who dared enter the vicinity, could be immediately spotted and dealt with, without being seen herself. She slept lightly and soundly, secured in her knowledge that the souls and spirits were looking out for her. It was two days later when they launched their attack. Fetching water from the river she was warned by a soul who happened to make sure that everything on the outskirts of the forest were okay. Confident in her skills she had rushed to her weapons and travelled in the treetops hoping to catch the hunting party unawares. She let loose a hail of ten arrows before they could react. Wearing bullet proof vests, they were surprised by the piercing arrowheads and they were either ominously still or too injured to continue. She easily dispatched at least three quarters of the group before the others broke out and ran like the wind into the maze of forest. Unlucky for them she knew the forest like the back of her hand and she hunted them down pitilessly. But as she made her way back home, a hidden soldier rose up, aimed and fired. Reflecting lightning fast as a cat, she whipped out an arrow and shot, hitting her mark. Too late she couldn't dodge the oncoming bullet. It struck her right at her heart. She realised soon she would join her soul friends in roaming the forest freely, and playing with the creatures. She promised right before she died, that even as a soul of the forest, she would continue to protect it to the best of her abilities. And so the Forest of Souls remained throughout the centuries, every once in a while gaining a new member.

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This wasn't the best but I tried