Disclaimer: The characters, the plot and the terminology are all mine. The
song was done by Steve Rhyner and is not mine. This story has absolutely no
relation to Dark Amystika's story of almost the same name. M. Night
Shyamalan is coming out with a movie called "The Village" with a plot that
seems to resemble this fic. I swear on a stack of Bibles that this is
coincidental.
Dedications: First and foremost, I want to dedicate this to my beta- readers, rythmeck and bobo3. Dedications also go to KamikazeCreamPuff and Megumi, the Absconding One for introducing me to fanfiction.net. I also want a dedication and an apology to go towards Dark Amystika. My hatred for her take on the song is what inspired me to write this. And so, without further ado, welcome to my twisted little wonderland.
Chapter 1: The Village
Mrs. Brenner had fallen ill. Actually, "ill" didn't quite do the situation justice, but what else could it have been called? Her skin was starting to erupt in dark green boils, and she couldn't move a single joint in her body. It seemed that no one had ever seen such a disease, let alone its cure, in all of the villages.
She was ill, and there was a reason: the Dark Black Forest.
Mrs. Brenner had been walking along the stream bordering the Forest one day. She was even on the right side of the Painted Bridge, as any sane person would have been. And then she heard something. A rather bizarre, almost musical noise like a sharp intake of breath. The next thing she knew, something had grazed her shoulder. She only barely managed to get back to the village before her joints stiffened and she fell over with those boils. A few villagers helped Mr. Brenner carry his wife to bed, just before they learned that the mystery illness was contagious.
The bottom line is that there was an epidemic to be cured there. So, the villagers did what anyone would do, and immediately asked the village doctor for help. Luckily for them, he knew what was wrong.
Rumor had it that Dr. Alexander Lync was the only person to have gone into the Dark Black Forest and survived. He did certainly have the strong, mountainous look of the type who could survive such a dangerous place. Unfortunately, he most likely started the rumor, and he refused to describe his experiences in the Forest, which gave everyone the impression that he was a little crazy. However, the villagers had to deal with him, since he was the only doctor in the village. That is, unless you count Holly.
Anyway, Lync came over to the town hall to tell the mayor what he knew. With him, as always, was his redheaded thirteen-year-old apprentice, Holly Brenner. No one knew exactly why Lync had chosen Holly as his apprentice doctor. After all, most doctors weren't women in this particular time and place. However, most doctors assumed that their patients were inferior and knew virtually nothing about their illnesses. Lync didn't have that attitude, and neither did Holly.
Holly waited outside as Lync spoke with the mayor in the village hall. Lync had warned her that the meeting could turn ugly very quickly. She didn't know why, but she was glad to have some time alone to think things over. At least she had some bit of comfort to hold onto: Lync had known what was plaguing Holly's parents and those villagers that tried to help them. Apparently it was called "Bloodbarb poisoning" and Lync knew about the antidote.
Holly was puzzled by this. "Why does that involve going to the Mayor's office? God forbid Master Lync was lying about the antidote."
Luckily, she was spared any further thought of her parents' death as Lync bursted through the door.
"Come along, Holly," Lync said. "We have some preparation to do."
"Are we getting the antidote?"
"Yes, but we're going home first."
It killed Holly to go home at a time like this, but Lync had said that they were getting the antidote. Lync had been an honest teacher to Holly for the past several years, so she tried to stay patient.
Holly followed Lync to his house, which contained one room, one closet and a roof. Lync was never much for extravagances, and his house was definite proof.
"Get a couple of bags," Lync told her.
Holly knew better than to ask why, so she rooted around the house. She came back to Lync with a pair of leather rucksacks. Lync began filling them with bread loaves and glass bottles. The bottles seemed filled with water to Holly, but some of them looked empty. When the sacks were filled, he went over to his corner of the house.
"Come here, Holly."
She did, of course. "I have some gifts for you. We'll both need them."
He reached into a drawer and took out what appeared to be a large, rectangular piece of wood. "This is called a Dictionary."
It didn't look like a book at all to Holly, but it was obviously important. Just the way he said 'Dictionary' seemed to say that it was no ordinary list of words. Anyway, Lync continued.
"If you put your hand on it, like this," He spread his hand out across the piece of wood, and took his hand off again, "you can understand any language." He handed the Dictionary to Holly, who took it, trying to hide her new belief that her master truly was crazy.
Lync rummaged around his belongings again, this time coming up with a locked, metal box and a key. "If you ever get into trouble while we're out, open this box. It will save you from anything we'll meet tonight." Again, Holly took the items, noticing how heavy the box was. She also noticed how the box's weight seemed to shift.
"What kind of trouble could we expect?" Holly asked.
"It doesn't matter as long as you have that box," Lync said shortly. "Now put those in your rucksack, Holly. We're leaving."
Lync and Holly set off on the trail leading out of the village. No one escorted them out. It was nighttime, and far too quiet. Even the crickets seemed to be afraid to make the smallest bit of noise.
"It's a long way to go," Lync said, finally breaking the silence.
"I know," Holly replied. "But I'm afraid. Where are we going?"
His response was the last thing Holly wanted to hear:
"Into the Dark Black Forest."
A/N: So, if you like what you read, keep going. If not, go ahead and read something else. Either way, please review.
Dedications: First and foremost, I want to dedicate this to my beta- readers, rythmeck and bobo3. Dedications also go to KamikazeCreamPuff and Megumi, the Absconding One for introducing me to fanfiction.net. I also want a dedication and an apology to go towards Dark Amystika. My hatred for her take on the song is what inspired me to write this. And so, without further ado, welcome to my twisted little wonderland.
Chapter 1: The Village
Mrs. Brenner had fallen ill. Actually, "ill" didn't quite do the situation justice, but what else could it have been called? Her skin was starting to erupt in dark green boils, and she couldn't move a single joint in her body. It seemed that no one had ever seen such a disease, let alone its cure, in all of the villages.
She was ill, and there was a reason: the Dark Black Forest.
Mrs. Brenner had been walking along the stream bordering the Forest one day. She was even on the right side of the Painted Bridge, as any sane person would have been. And then she heard something. A rather bizarre, almost musical noise like a sharp intake of breath. The next thing she knew, something had grazed her shoulder. She only barely managed to get back to the village before her joints stiffened and she fell over with those boils. A few villagers helped Mr. Brenner carry his wife to bed, just before they learned that the mystery illness was contagious.
The bottom line is that there was an epidemic to be cured there. So, the villagers did what anyone would do, and immediately asked the village doctor for help. Luckily for them, he knew what was wrong.
Rumor had it that Dr. Alexander Lync was the only person to have gone into the Dark Black Forest and survived. He did certainly have the strong, mountainous look of the type who could survive such a dangerous place. Unfortunately, he most likely started the rumor, and he refused to describe his experiences in the Forest, which gave everyone the impression that he was a little crazy. However, the villagers had to deal with him, since he was the only doctor in the village. That is, unless you count Holly.
Anyway, Lync came over to the town hall to tell the mayor what he knew. With him, as always, was his redheaded thirteen-year-old apprentice, Holly Brenner. No one knew exactly why Lync had chosen Holly as his apprentice doctor. After all, most doctors weren't women in this particular time and place. However, most doctors assumed that their patients were inferior and knew virtually nothing about their illnesses. Lync didn't have that attitude, and neither did Holly.
Holly waited outside as Lync spoke with the mayor in the village hall. Lync had warned her that the meeting could turn ugly very quickly. She didn't know why, but she was glad to have some time alone to think things over. At least she had some bit of comfort to hold onto: Lync had known what was plaguing Holly's parents and those villagers that tried to help them. Apparently it was called "Bloodbarb poisoning" and Lync knew about the antidote.
Holly was puzzled by this. "Why does that involve going to the Mayor's office? God forbid Master Lync was lying about the antidote."
Luckily, she was spared any further thought of her parents' death as Lync bursted through the door.
"Come along, Holly," Lync said. "We have some preparation to do."
"Are we getting the antidote?"
"Yes, but we're going home first."
It killed Holly to go home at a time like this, but Lync had said that they were getting the antidote. Lync had been an honest teacher to Holly for the past several years, so she tried to stay patient.
Holly followed Lync to his house, which contained one room, one closet and a roof. Lync was never much for extravagances, and his house was definite proof.
"Get a couple of bags," Lync told her.
Holly knew better than to ask why, so she rooted around the house. She came back to Lync with a pair of leather rucksacks. Lync began filling them with bread loaves and glass bottles. The bottles seemed filled with water to Holly, but some of them looked empty. When the sacks were filled, he went over to his corner of the house.
"Come here, Holly."
She did, of course. "I have some gifts for you. We'll both need them."
He reached into a drawer and took out what appeared to be a large, rectangular piece of wood. "This is called a Dictionary."
It didn't look like a book at all to Holly, but it was obviously important. Just the way he said 'Dictionary' seemed to say that it was no ordinary list of words. Anyway, Lync continued.
"If you put your hand on it, like this," He spread his hand out across the piece of wood, and took his hand off again, "you can understand any language." He handed the Dictionary to Holly, who took it, trying to hide her new belief that her master truly was crazy.
Lync rummaged around his belongings again, this time coming up with a locked, metal box and a key. "If you ever get into trouble while we're out, open this box. It will save you from anything we'll meet tonight." Again, Holly took the items, noticing how heavy the box was. She also noticed how the box's weight seemed to shift.
"What kind of trouble could we expect?" Holly asked.
"It doesn't matter as long as you have that box," Lync said shortly. "Now put those in your rucksack, Holly. We're leaving."
Lync and Holly set off on the trail leading out of the village. No one escorted them out. It was nighttime, and far too quiet. Even the crickets seemed to be afraid to make the smallest bit of noise.
"It's a long way to go," Lync said, finally breaking the silence.
"I know," Holly replied. "But I'm afraid. Where are we going?"
His response was the last thing Holly wanted to hear:
"Into the Dark Black Forest."
A/N: So, if you like what you read, keep going. If not, go ahead and read something else. Either way, please review.