The Secret Door (#Wattys2016)

Chapter VII Grizzlebark

Near the foot of the exit beyond the trick floor, Van finds a pink handkerchief decorated with blue birds. It gives off a strong scent of strawberry. Van readily recognizes it as Ana's belongings.

"Ana had a habit of flashing her handkerchief when reading, and yes I saw her holding this," he explained as he shows the handkerchief to the others. Don cannot stop himself sniffing its sweet strawberry scent.

"Just checking," Don said reddening after receiving an elbow from Alice.

Cara sighs at the sight of them. "It means she was here."

"And hopefully she's not far from here Cara," Van added. He had a lot of questions to ask Ana if they ever reach her, like what she is doing in this kind of place, and who she really is. She was exhibiting supernatural qualities when they followed her in the restricted hallway.

"Another world now awaits us beyond the exit," Alice declared. Who knows what craziness lies there? Kirsten is now recoiling behind Cara. But when they pass the exit nothing insane happens to them, except Don getting stuck in the narrow doorway. And now, another exotic view reveals itself to them. They are facing the edge of the woods and a great cylindrical structure near them dominates the horizon.

"Let's rest here for a moment, my feet is getting achy," Kirsten suggested.

They don't know what made Kirsten's feet ache for she didn't do much work, but they could still feel the effect of that infernal stairway. They then decided to take a break in the shade of the cylindrical structure to recover a bit.

"What if there are wild animals there in the woods," Kirsten trembled.

"Who knows, this must be just another convincing stage prop," Alice replied harshly. Don grinned. They would never forget how Kirsten cried over a fake ravine.

"This place have strange rock formations," Van commented. He pats the stone structure they are leaning on. It doesn't look like a man-made building; it must be a form of monolith or an enchanted object.

"Van, it's a tree actually," Cara said. Indeed, fathoms high above and casting a wide shadow over them are tangles of branches and leaves.

Van's mouth hangs open. "This thing is massive."

"My whole house will fit inside that thing Van," Don added.

Wild ideas come to Van. From here the surroundings are obscured by the towering trees of the backwoods.

"I think we should climb this thing, we will see the whole place around here up there," Van suggested.

"What are you trying to prove, planning to show off Van?"

And Kirsten sniggered sarcastically after saying those. Alice is now fighting the urge to drag her into the backwoods and leave her there.

"And how can we find the way out of here with the trees blocking the view," Van retorted.

"I don't think that's a good idea Van," Don trembled, fearing he will be forced to climb this monster tree.

"Can we take a break for a second Van," Alice whined.

"You take your rest Al, I'll be climbing this one," Van replied.

Van runs his hand on the great trunk of this massive tree. The bark is jagged, but nothing here is big enough to hold on to while climbing. But there are parts of the trunk that are misshapen, like steps of bulges. Down on the ground near the deformed part of the trunk is a small signpost which says: For non-climbers and ground dwellers.