The Witchtale

Tree in a Jungle

They moved towards the woods on the right, as the left side led them to the dock. There were streams up there somewhere deep in the forests too – if Zach was to decide the woods on the left were better suited for a group to reside in for hiding. So he decided to keep to the right side for now. From their conversation he also picked up that the bandits were keeping clear of the Upper House due to the witch. But for him, the house was safest at the moment.

They kept moving in the dark for some time, when the thickness of the forest around them became so much that they couldn't move forward without disturbing the woods around them, Zach found a thick shrubbery which could be used to hide. They sat there. By now their thirst was becoming more prominent. Although the weather was cold, they had started perspiring.

"What now?" Aliya said after some time.

"I ... I had prepared an emergency SMS if things got tricky, but there is the network problem. Also using a phone would be dangerous due to the backlight... it's a slight chance." He replied.

"But it's the only one we got, we can do it... we can send the message and hope that they find us." Aliya replied.

"Well, we'd need altitude... a tree! I can climb one and send it." Zach replied, suddenly things didn't seem that hopeless.

"Yes."

Zach got up slowly.

"You stay here." He whispered to Aliya, she looked at him questioningly.

"You're hurt already, stay here... I'll be back." He said and began to walk away.

"Like hell am I going to stay in this dark forest alone! I'm coming with you... I'm not that hurt." She replied back and got up, "Besides, this place creeps me out... look there... That branch of leaves look like a hanging rodent or something." She said pointing out at her right.

Zach chuckled, Yeah right, a hanging rodent...

Then with a jerk he looked at the place Ally was pointing at and groaned.

"See, it is weird!" she was saying.

"Yeah Ally, let's go together... leaving you alone here isn't a good idea after all." He decided not to comment on the hanging rodent. It was thanks to the dark that she thinks it's a branch of leaves.

They moved in the dark. Zach knew that he had to find a sturdy tree to climb as the weaker ones will create noise in the silence of the forest and completely avoid disturbing the bushes. He kept moving, the good thing was that the bandits would use a fire torch if they search for them and that will make it easy to spot them at a distance and give him plenty of time to dodge out of sight. But that wasn't what he was concerned with for now. He understood the full depth of the trouble they have got themselves in now. There were traps set in the forest as well. The good thing was that till now they have only come across traps set for smaller animals and for hunting purposes. The bandits are not expecting anyone to come here. Still, several times he felt as if they were being followed and turned to look around. Only darkness.

"What?" Aliya whispered when he had done that several times.

"Nothing – just..."

"Zach, you realize that you're looking for a tree in a forest and not finding it?"

"These around us will create a racket in the night's silence if I try to climb them. I'm looking for a giant one... you know."

Finally, he remembered there was a giant tamarind tree close to the gravel path. It was his favorite place to hang around during hot summer afternoons – he knew almost each creak and branch of that tree – but it's been eleven years... would it still be there, when everything else is gone now? He looked around him, how far was he from that tree? He was still pretty much inside the woods but the tree wasn't very far, looking ahead upwards he could see its wide canopy.

So... Not everything is gone from here.

He cast a glance around him and picked up his pace. When they were close to it he slowed down coming to a halt. The tree was larger than it ever was. He touched its bark, feeling nostalgic despite the darkness and the chill in the air. Moving around the trunk he looked for the bump which acted as a foothold. Finding it he swiftly alighted the first branch without so much as a creak. He had been a good climber as a boy and now he worked his way swiftly upwards. When he was almost 15 feet high he slowed down and rested on a fork of two branches.

He waited for his breath to return to normal. His eyes closed while he clutched his phone to his chest.

With this and some time they will be out of this island. Out of danger.

Zachariah was almost taking a deep sigh of relief when he heard Aliya calling him from below.

"Zachariah?"

He turned to look down just as he heard some shuffling from above him.

No way! Big cats do not live here anymore!

Aliya was still calling his name from below. He could see her up turned face searching for him between the branches. His breath caught in his rib cage. Should he call out to her to run? For some time he heard no movement from above and just as he thought he had imagined the noise. Something moved down from the branches above him. He heard the faint creaking of branches as the wood bent under its weight. He risked turning his head. Looking up at the branch directly above him. He saw a man looking down.

He saw him train something long and thin at the ground. Then, not finding a clear view the man knelt to outer edge of the branch, moving away from the main trunk to the thinner branches where the foliage was less and he could get a clearer view. The moonlight caught his rifle for a moment and the metal shone black. Aliya suddenly stopped saying his name.

Zach felt all blood draining from his face. He felt his throat constrict as he realized what he had brought upon Aliya. As the implication of everything hit him. He froze.

Unable to call out to her to run away, Utterly Unable.