Footprints In The Snow

IV. Into The Woods

:|| Posted above: Not once did we spot the strange man, but not once did I feel a pair of unseeable amber stop burning into the back of my skull. ||:

I follow Jack down the gravel road, trying to look inconspicuous.

"Where are we going?" I demand as we walk around a booth selling beaded necklaces and shiny earrings. "It would have been faster if we had just gone through the lumber yard."

Jack glares at me over his shoulder and puts a finger up to his lips, telling me to be quiet. He grabs my wrist and pulls me behind a one of the trees that lines our village.

"You know," Jack whispers, "You're only grounded for one more day. You sure you don't want to wait it out?"

"I'm not gonna get caught, Jack. Neither are you. Now come on." Taking the lead now, I run into the trees, not bothering to check if Jack is following.

After being stuck in Terra Nix for what felt like forever, it felt like to feel the branches brush my face as I run through the trees, and the twitter of birds as they swoop overhead. I spot a long-limbed pine tree up ahead and grab one of the horizontal branches, swinging up into the tree. I stop ten feet off the ground, looking over the snowy ground.

"Zara!"

My moment of peace ruined, I glare down at the figure posed at the base of the trunk.

"What do you want, Jack?" I tighten my grip on the branch I'm hanging onto.

Jack's eyes are wide and frantic. "It's your brother. He saw us leave, and no doubt when he finds us, that he's going—"

I scramble down from the tree, grabbing Jack's hand and hauling him deeper into the woods.

To my relief, I spot a fallen redwood tree, relatively small compared to the others around it. I haul Jack and I into a hole in the side of the bark, probably due to rot or something like that.

I press myself against the inside of the tree, trying to stifle my breathing. Jack's nose is less than an inch from mine, due to the small width of the hole. My eyes flicker from his green gaze to the snowy ground beneath my feet.

Footsteps sound nearby. I clap a hand over my mouth, my eyes fixed on the opening to my left.

"Azari! You are so done when I get my hands on you!" Zeke shouts. From his voice, I can assume he's maybe twenty feet away from the log. "Wait, that sounded weird . . . . Hold on, let me rephrase that. Azari, you are in so much trouble when I find you!"

I hear him trudge away. When his footsteps finally recede, I drop my hand from my mouth and let out a brief exhale.

"That was close," I whisper. "Do you think--"

"Why are you so damn set on staying out here? Can't you wait for one more day to come out here? I mean, it's all just a bunch of freaking trees anyway. If that's what you like about the forest, then go to the orchards. They have plenty of trees there!" Jack's hands clench into fists.

I stare at him, shocked at his outburst. It makes me fumble with my words. "J-Jack . . . wh-what are you . . . . No, it's not just the trees, it's so much more than th--"

Jack clasps his hand over my mouth, pulling me deeper into the tree. As we get deeper, the whole widens.

I stop, staring at the sight in front of me.

Before me, living quarters have been set up within the tree's huge diameter. To the left of the "room", there is a pile of blankets, with a few dirty wooden crate next to it. To my right, there is a sort of kitchen, with fruit and spices hanging from the room in bags by thin rope, and a couple of pots and pans stacked up in the corner. In the center of the room, there is a larger wooden crate and two dark chairs.

Jack, his hand still over my mouth, pulls me over to the stack of crates next to the blankets and opens the top of one of the larger ones, filled with clothes and makeshift pillows. I climb inside, still not knowing what startled Jack into doing this. Jack climb in next to me, quickly taking out an armful of clothes and shoving them under the blankets. He climbs in next to me, his shoulder pressing against mine.

Jack grabs the crate's top and pulls it over the box. The lid falls into place just as footsteps sound not far from where we are.

I can feel my heart pounding, and I hope that whoever is here can't detect it. I find a small hole just below the top of the box, and I peer through it.

The figure is standing at the entrance to the room. I can tell from the broad shoulders and shape that it's a man. Due to the lack of light in the room, I can't make anything out other than that. He is holding a crossbow, I know that, and looks about ready to fire at anything that moves.

"Come out. Show yourself!" he shouts.

That voice . . .

"I know you're in here!"

I look over at Jack, who is staring right back at me. He gives the slightest shake of his head, and I resume staring at the man.

How are we supposed to get out of this situation? I ask myself, panic rising in my chest.

The man spins around and points his crossbow at the tree's entrance, hurrying towards the disturbance.

"Now or never," Jack whispers, seizing my hand and leaping out of the crate.

We sprint through the room's entrance and break out into the woods as a screech of agony reaches my ears.

Jack doesn't even hesitate at the scream. He tightens his grip around my wrist and pulls me through the trees.

We arrive in the ring of trees surrounding Terra Nix. I exhale, not realizing I had been holding my breath.

Jack casts me a final glare before walking back into the village, sneaking between the booths and popping out onto the main street.

As I follow him, I glance over my shoulder.

Not once did we spot the strange man, but not once did I feel a pair of unseeable amber stop burning into the back of my skull.