Whew! Got this one done in the two days I promised! I'm moving this coming Tuesday so, my days are going to be spent packing. Joyful. If no one has realized she is in Fangorn, and my lord that place is hard to write ya know. In the Book's and Movies we only really see the southern parts of the forest and not the northern areas. That's where I placed her. More northern. I fought with myself on exactly where I wanted her to travel. In this story, Taylor is NOT going to know the future events. She will have recalled the legends and myths of Elves, and Dwarves and other beings. For all the scrolls and books that survived the wars had become scarce in the future. so knowledge is limited and they are all considered myth. Thank you all for reading!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC
It was most definitely a nightmare.
She decided the best course of action was to start walking. Even with the forest being bathed in nothing but icky darkness. She knew she couldn't stay in one spot at least. If these woods were like anything else she has ever been in, then she knew wild animals were probably roaming around.
As if to prove her point, a sudden howl had her jumping as she looked back in the direction she came. She froze when a noise reached her. With how silent it was, the growl sounded like it was right behind her. Cautiously, she turned to peer off into the blackness of the abyss.
A hidden wind blew above, shaking the leaves of the trees enough to let a few strands of light rain down onto the forest floor. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of just what was making the growling sound. Two very large yellow eyes were staring back into her own. Out of the darkness, came two, no three more pairs of eyes. Lips pulled back to show off razor sharp teeth and she let out an involuntary whimper.
A pack of wolves. Very hungry looking wolves.
She had no weapon to defend herself. She could barely see two feet in front of her. She was going to die. Be torn apart by a pack of ravaging wolves. The moonlight that was being allowed to shine down, was slowly fading.
The tree next to her gave a hearty groan, scaring not only her but the wolves as well. She let out a small scream as a branch seemed to weave and twist its way down towards the wolves. As they startled and started to growl at the tree, she took her chance to book it out of there.
Taylor was only able to get a couple feet before the wolves gave chase. She was always a successful runner. Running was how she kept in shape. With being only 5 feet 5 inches and weighing at 130 pounds. She ended up having to pull her dress up and over her knees to be able to run faster, but even with that, the wolves were gaining on her.
She tried using the terrain to better suit her needs, but with zero visibility, she was more worried about tripping over roots that seemed to rise to meet her ankles; than trying to jump and do backflips. As if. She felt something sharp hit the back of her calf and gave a small cry as she stumbled. Risking the glance back, she screamed when a wolf was literally just inches away from sinking its teeth into her flesh once more. It had only nipped her the first time.
As it's mouth opened to clamped down on her leg, the root of a tree literally sprung up and slammed down on the wolf's neck. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have stopped and stared. Instead, it pushed her to go even faster. She could see a small break in the leaves up ahead, moonlight was streaming down through the canopy and she spotted the perfect climbing tree.
Silently, she prayed this tree wasn't some magical root moving tree. She let go of her dress and jumped up, grabbing hold of a branch and swung her legs up. The sound of fabric ripping could be heard as one wolf lunged for her, missing her back and hitting the edge of her dress, ripping a good-sized chunk out of it.
Taylor was able to climb up onto a higher branch and looked down to see the wolves a good foot below. As they jumped up, snapping their jaws at her feet, she decided to climb a little higher until she was sure they could not get her.
Her arms wrapped around the trunk of the tree as she pressed her face flat against it. She was far to terrified to even move to look at the bite on her leg or see how badly her dress was ripped. She stayed like that, her body pressed against the tree until the wolves finally gave up on making a meal out of her and ran off.
Even once they were gone, she didn't let go. Silent tears were sliding down her pale cheeks. Why was she here? Where the hell was she even? Was this some sick joke someone was trying to play on her? Her ex-boyfriend Mathew maybe? Her old boss? Her partial frenemy Bethany?
If this was someone's idea of a joke, she was not laughing. How did she get from falling off a building to suddenly being inside some dark, dank, creep ass forest! A forest that had trees that she could have sworn moved and the way were groaning, was like they were talking.
Did someone give her drugs? Was her latte laced with a hallucinogenic? Had she imagined this whole darn day?
Finally feeling brave enough, she opened her eyes and did her best to try and see around her. The tree she was in, hadn't groaned or moved yet, so she took that as a good sign. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress and sniffled.
It was lighter in the forest now, she could start to make out the things around her. Slowly, rays of sunshine penetrated the dark and drove the cold and dreary away. Hesitantly, she moved on the branch she was sitting on until her back was pressed against the trunk and brought her leg up to look at her calf.
The bite wasn't that bad, considering. There was dried blood that tracked a trail from the bite to her heel, small rivulets of fresh blood made its way down to drip onto the grass below. A small chunk of her flesh was missing, and shallow cuts spread out on each side of the wound. From where the wolfs teeth scraped her skin.
She needed to find a way to clean the blood off and stop it from bleeding. Taking a deep breath, she slowly started to make her way down the tree. For some reason, she felt compelled to say thank you to the tree for letting her hide in its branches.
She was going crazy.
Once her feet hit the fallen leaves and grass below. She looked down at the ruined part of her dress. It had once hung snug to her knees, but now it blew open freely to her mid-thigh. The wolf had torn a chunk off and ripped it. Not seeing any other option, she bent down and grasped the torn fabric and ripped a lengthy piece off. There went $179 dollars.
She sat down on a tree root to wrap her small piece of cloth around her wound. Making sure it was tight enough and wouldn't slip down her leg. Once that was done, she sat there for a moment as she gazed about the trees.
There was really no way to describe what she was seeing. From the way the trees twisted and bent, how the roots curved into the air, to the moss that littered the ground and tree trunks. This forest was old. It was nothing like she had ever seen before.
Deciding that sitting there wasn't going to help her get out any faster. Taylor climbed to her feet and started to walk in a random direction. Well, she was hoping it was west. From the way the rays of sunlight were bending into the thick canopy above, the sun was behind her. As she walked, the trees grew closer and closer together, the air grew colder and staler. She was struggling to get a full breath in, even though she knew the sun had to be high in the sky, it was dark now. It wasn't as dark as it would be at night, but like someone had put a shade over the sun.
The forest was primordial. Centuries-old trees with sprawling limbs guarded the darkness, blotting out any sunlight. Their bark was mottled and splotched, as if bubbled soup had been frozen in time on its surface. Clumpy combs of wet moss dangled from their rotten bough. Bewailing sounds ghosted through the trees. It was truly a place to make the blood in her veins freeze over.
Her mouth was dry, as she swallowed, the ache in her throat was not soothed. Her stomach rumbled from both hunger and nervousness. She had no idea what was edible in this forest. She didn't pay very good attention to biology in high school or the class she took in college. Now, she wished she did.
She could only remember a few things edible in the wild. Yet, nothing in this forest looked inviting to try. The human body could last approximately three weeks without food, but without water. She didn't feel like dying of dehydration.
Every little noise would cause her to jump. Her brain on constant alert for more wolves or other wild animals. It was cool in this part of the forest, even with it being darker. Her paranoia was getting the best of her. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She could have sworn the tree limbs were reaching down towards her, trying to grasp for her.
At one point her hair was snagged by a branch and it took her a lot of effort to be able to get it untangled from the tree. After that, she ripped more of her dress and used it as a makeshift hair tie, to try and keep it out of the branches reach.
She didn't know how far she walked, or if she was even going in a straight line. All to soon, it was becoming dark once more and as the last visible rays of the sun started to fade. Taylor found a tree and started to climb it once more.
She spoke quietly to it, as she climbed its sturdy branches. She found a branch that would be side enough for her to sit on and not fall off. Her body was tired, from being up through the night and walking all day. Her eyes felt heavy, and her legs hurt. She prayed the wolf that bit her did not have rabies.
Was she on a reality show? Try and survive the wilds and not get eaten alive? She had watched a few of those shows growing up, to where people tried to take on the jungles and islands. Well, she hated to burst their bubbles but that wasn't her! The most adventurous she has gotten in her life was going camping with her friends in college for a week. There were no cameras though, not that she could see.
She needed to find a way out of this forest! She didn't know if she was even still in Washington! She was sure that no trees there acted as if they were alive!
"Stop it." She let her head fall back against the trunk of the tree. No use in spurring her imagination on anymore than it already was. If she ever got out of here, she was going to smack the one responsible for dumping her in this place. She scowled at the thought. Whoever it was, they were heartless.
It was truly night out now. She could hear wild animals prowling down below and she really hoped there were no giant snakes that liked to sleep in these trees. Her eyes closed on their own accord and she had to snap them open as her head bobbed.
The branch she was sitting on was just wide enough that she could lay down on it. Not being able to fight off the exhaustion, she laid with her tummy on the branch, her arms coming to wrap around it tightly.
"Oh, don't let me fall off please." She whispered more to herself. As her eyes closed and sleep clouded her brain, she did not see the tree moving its branches to slowly wrap around her body, securing her to the branch she was on.
When she awoke, a few streams of sunlight were falling threw the leaves and onto her face. Groggily, she attempted to sit up, only for her back to hit something hard. Her eyes snapped open as she looked around.
"Holy shit."
She looked the branches over, one was literally curled around herself and the branch she was laying on. it looked like the spiral of trees Tarzan went sailing down on his feet in the trees when they are playing that 'Son of Man' song.
It took her a while to get out of the ensnarement, but eventually she was able too. Once out, she gazed at the branches in fascination and horror. Okay, this forest was freaking alive! How the hell was that possible? She pinched her skin to make sure she was awake and not dreaming. Not dreaming.
"I need to get out of here."
As she made her way back down the tree, she stopped when her feet hit the ground and did a full spin. Which way did she come from yesterday? She had no idea. Yeah, she could use the sun as a marker, but what if she was now going northeast or northwest, or maybe-
"Stop it!" She told her mind. Looking back up, she sighed. Perhaps she could climb to the top and see if there were any visible landmarks. Taking a deep breath, she started to climb back up the tree. Her pace was slow, not wanting to slip and fall. The branches at the top weren't as thick as they were towards the bottom, so she had to be careful with which one she grabbed hold of.
Finally, her head broke free enough for her to see over the treetops and she groaned outload. All she could see were more and more trees. Off in the far distance she could see a mountain range, but it was shrouded in mist. Every other direction was nothing but wide expansion of trees.
If she was correct, from the way the sun was moving across the sky, the mountains were to her west. Turning to what she wanted to say was northeast, she blinked then squinted. Was that a river?
It was a river!
She could barely make it out from all the trees. River meant water, water meant possible survival. Feeling some semblance of hope, she started to make her way down the tree. In her haste and hurry, her foot slipped on a moss-covered part of the branch and she fell.
She had a split second of terrifying horror as she fell through the air and then her body hit the ground. The air was knocked out of her lungs and she cried out when her arm got caught under her body. Tears of pure anguish pooled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks as she rolled into a ball and cradled her arm.
It took several deep breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth before she could blink the black dots out of her vision. Glancing down at her am, she made sure no bones were sticking out. She sure broke something though or bruised the hell out of it.
Keeping her arm to her chest, she pushed herself up and stood on shaky legs. Okay, okay. She had this, she could do this. She could make it the river, then hopefully follow it and find people. Someone who would rescue her and take her back to the city.
"Great Taylor, you've been lost in this forest for barely two days and already you've almost been a wolfs dinner. You can't get food or water and now you might have broken your arm!" Yes, grumbling to herself was the perfect idea. "What a girl scout you are!"
The longer she walked, the more she ached. Her leg had stopped bleeding but without cleaning the wound. Who knew what kind of infections she was getting. Her feet had little cuts from stepping on twigs and sharp little rocks. Where were her shoes anyway? Then again, the last she remembered she was wearing heels so that wasn't really hiking footwear.
Gosh! Why was it so hot! Sweat was rolling down neck, chest and back. Her thighs were getting raw from rubbing together. The humidity in the forest was reaching unbearable levels. Why? It was just so cool under these canopies!
This made her walking miserable as she fought off the exhaustion of walking in such temperatures. With no wind blowing through the trees, it only made it worse. The air was stale, and the heat just hung suspended in the air, the thick leaves above not letting it escape.
It took her three more days of walking to reach the river. By this time, she was showing severe signs of dehydration. She was so dizzy and exhausted, she had to stop more than she wanted to rest. Her body was pushing its limit. She barely slept now, having to sleep in the trees every night and with her arm still injured, it was now even more difficult to climb up into them.
Her throat was raw, and it hurt now to swallow, even her own spit to even get something down to sooth the dryness had not helped and with her body drying up, was not produced as much. The sound of the rushing river was music to her ears and she stumbled from the trees and onto the rocky bank. She had to crawl the last few feet to the water's edge. Her hand touched it first and she drug her tired body close enough to bring her hand to her mouth and drink the sweet, cool, water.
She did not care that it was a river and was probably teeming with all kinds of bacteria. It could have been a bloody mud pit and she wouldn't have cared, as long as it was water.
Once her thirst had been relieved, she pulled her body into the shallow waters of the bank. She laid on her back, the water running over and under legs and moving her hair gently in its current. It took more effort than she wanted to admit sitting up and to remove the strip of cloth off her leg to inspect the bite. It didn't look that bad. Although she could see there was puss in the hole to where her flesh was removed.
She cleaned it the best she could and rewrapped it. Next, she tore more of her dress off and used it as a makeshift rag to scrub the sweat and dirt off her body. Splashing the cool water on her heated face, felt like heaven. Once she deemed herself clean, she fell back against the rocks once more, her lower body still submerged in the water.
Her head fell to the side and she opened an eye to peer down the bank. She sat up when something caught her eye. Was that? Oh my gosh it was! Scrambling to her feet, she hurriedly walked towards the grass along the bank and dropped to her knees and ripped up the plant.
Cattails. Wild growing cattails!
They could be eaten without boiling them and she quickly pulled a few up and washed a few rootstalks off in the water and bit into them. The earthy, grassy flavor tasted like she had just bit into the best piece of chocolate on earth. She ate a few of them and sat back on her butt as she looked out over the river. She pulled the corn-dog looking flower top off and after a quick wash, ate the pollen out of them like she was eating corn on the cob. She was glad she listened to her grandfather about what parts were edible on these plants.
A fish jumped and she suddenly longed to have fishing pole or something. Fish sounded so good.
She was only able to eat a few Cattails before her stomach protested its fullness. That was okay though, she had gotten some kind of sustenance in her body. Taylor sat there, on the bank of the river until it had grown dark. She took refuge in the trees once more, only being able to get a few hours' sleep.
The next morning, she drank some water and ate a couple more cattails.
"What do I do now?" She wondered aloud as she sat on the bank, watching the water rush down the river.
"Find my mommy."
Hearing the voice behind her, she whirled around her mouth falling open at the sight of the little boy from before. How? Who? What the hell? There he was, same yellow jacket and blue jeans. Same big blue eyes and blonde hair.
Now she knew she had either gone crazy or she was dead, or she was dreaming all this crap up. Yeah, that was it! she was dreaming, it wasn't even Monday morning yet. She was never late to work, never fired. She didn't climb out onto the top of a ledge in a building to rescue the same little boy standing in front of her!
Nope, no! This was not happening! No way! She refused to play along any longer!
Yet, the ache in her leg and arm were real. The bruises on her body and how she got them, were very real. The water rolling over her toes was cold and very much real. The warmth of the sun beating down on her skin. All these things her senses were feeling and smelling and seeing, were real! Opening her eyes, she found the little boy was still standing in front of her.
"Where is your mommy?" She felt ridiculous, talking to something that was probably just her imagination. The little boy lifted an arm and pointed down the river.
Her eyes followed, and she looked down to where the river curled around the bank of some trees and disappeared. Feeling confused she looked back at the boy only, surprise, he was no longer there.
"That's it, I am going freaking crazy!" She growled to herself. She didn't know what to do. Follow the direction that her imagination had cooked up?
She was starting to freak out on how utterly lost and scared she was. By now, she would have had to see some kind of civilization. Either it be people hiking, or planes and helicopters flying overhead. Nothing of the sort though. There was nothing that showed people existed here.
So, where the heck was she? South America? Montana? Narnia?! She snorted at herself. Narnia, please! She was being ridiculous!
The sudden howling of wolves nearby had her decision made! No way was she going to experience THAT again! She stayed along the bank as she made her way down the river, being cautious of any aquatic animals they be on the banks or lurking in the shallows.
For hours, she walked along the banks. A few times, she had to actually get in the river and swim for the trees had grown along the bank and she could not walk it. She didn't dare stray away from the water, for fear of her losing sight on it.
She was so wrapped up inside her head she never realized when the trees started to thin out and grasslands were now stretched out in front of her. When a harsh breeze blew through, causing her to shiver violently from the wetness of her dress and body; did she finally take note of her surroundings.
She almost cried at seeing the rolling plains and hills. No more dark forest! Her excitement was short lived though, the river she was following stretched on and on, as far as she could see. Should she continue following it?
Something told her that she had followed it enough, she needed to now cross these plains. But that meant leaving the water and edible water-based plants. From where the sun was, she maybe had 2-3 hours left of daylight. Another shiver escaped her, and she wrapped her arm around her torso. She still couldn't move her left arm very well, and from the bruises that decorated from her elbow to her wrist, she had to have broken something. It was colder out here. Before the trees had sheltered her from the colder wind, heck it was even HOT inside. Out here, it was colder.
Looking down at her dress, she frowned at seeing she had ripped it enough that it was just below mid-thigh. There were no more cattails here, and she had nothing to carry any water in. She needed to move on though, she had too. For her own survival.
She drank a little more water from the river and took in a deep breath. She could do this, she could make it out there. If she survived four days inside a forest, she could do wide open plains! Stilling her nerves, she nodded in determination and took the first steps away from the forest and out onto the grasslands.
Thank you to the ones that have decided to follow this story! You're awesome!
Review responses.
lotty-x: I am glad you enjoyed the first chapter! Thank you for your review!
Guest: OMG! I didn't even realize that! MY laptop corrected the spelling and my Beta nor I caught that. OMG. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
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Thank you all for reading! You are all amazing and keep us writers going. Please don't be shy in telling me your thoughts.
Tenna' ento lye omenta!