Chapter 4:
Recover
Gren woke suddenly as her head whipped to her left. It took a few seconds for her thoughts to follow. There had been a splash but she couldn't see anything through the dark of night.
“Syth?” She called out before she thought, “It had sounded just like him cannon balling as kids or was that just part of a dream?” Gren used the back of her wrists to rub her eyes, hoping to avoid exciting any of her burns as she teetered into a standing position.
A second splash sounded.
“Hello?”
A pause rang through the air and stillness settled around her. She couldn't tell how far the splash had been but the river must be near.
“I need he-”
Again she heard the sound of her brother's cannon ball only this time five in a row. Before she had time to process, the river sang with activity and the forest that had been at peace just a moment before now sounded off like a mad drummer.
Gren wasn't the only one to hear this. Rabbits and a family of fat rodents scrambled past her in an effort to run from the sound of large carnivores jumping in the river, one after another.
“Oh no. No no” Gren could hear her own panicked cries mixed with those of the red foxes fleeing their burrows. Rabbits squealed and the small foxes screeched, spurred forth in the desperate run from low growls and barks that could be heard coming near the river bank.
She spun and launched herself in the opposite direction of these unknown monsters, as more splashed in the river she could only imagine that the first to go in were now clawing their way out. She had no idea how long it would take for them to cross, but when they did she suspected they would be a lot faster than she was.
Her eyes scanned the ground for dangers as more critters sped past her. She looked one step ahead and manged to slow her panicked steps just enough to allow her time to find balance for each foot as it found a clear patch of dirt or a root large enough to land on. Her burns were temporarily forgotten as she grabbed trees for both balance and to push herself forward.
Howls broke down some of her resolve as Gren flew past trees, now counting only on her own momentum for balance. She heard growls from behind, both to the left and to the right. They were after her and were catching up much faster then Gren had feared. She heard their running and panting as some began to surround her.
A squirrel dashed out from behind her and darted up a tree.
“There.” Gren clung to the one hope she had left and jumped up to the same tree the squirrel had jumped to. Surprised by the company, the small creature cried out and darted even faster up the bark as the little girl bloodied her knees doing the best she could to follow. Although slower than the critter, Gren managed to pull herself through branches to half-way up the tree before looking down.
Moon light shown softly through the canopy above and gave her brief glimpses of silver fur shifting and pacing around the shadow of the tree. Growls caught in their throat as pants misted the air in front of the large wolf creatures. None of them looked up enough for her to see their eyes, but instead sniffed and drooled along the ground beneath the tree.
Gren sat there staring as the wolves parted for one with white hair covering it's gizzly-sized body. It paced forward to the trunk of the tree before parting his jaws to let a mess of red fur that was caked with an even darker crimson fall to the groung. The alpha rose it's head from the previously claimed fox carcass to sniff the bark that had damaged Gren's knees. A moment passed before it looked up into her with yellow eyes.
It's tongue flicked past it's fangs and shook drops of fox from the whiskers around it's snarling mouth. A bubbling came from it's throat before a howl erupted forth. The trees shook as all the wolves around him joined in, as if trying to shake their meal from the tree's grasp. Shivering hands tightened around the branch above.
The white wolf slowly sat back on it's haunches before launching itself up, griping it's claws around the trunk.
“Oh please no. I'm sorry.” The wolf seemed drawn on by Gren's screams and clawed upwards inch by inch. “Please. Help me.” Tired tears rolled down a burnt cheek as she watched death approach.
Exhausted limbs struggled to lift her as Gren climbed further away from her tormentor. Blood and tears fell on the Alpha's face as it struggled past thick branches and chased behind the girl. Other wolves were attempting but failing to follow suit. They fell and were pushed aside by their brothers, all eager to devour the biggest prey they had seen in some time.
Branches scraped skin as Gren broke through the canopy above, twisting herself through the thick branches. She could hear the pants and growls of the alpha right behind her, but she didn't dare to look. A pair of blue birds took flight, silhouetted against the moon.
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Gren crawled across the forest's roof, finding footholds on larger branches and grabbing fistfuls of leaves. Once the growls turned to struggled breaths far behind her, she looked back to see the alpha. He was struggling to follow as his rear paws kept breaking through the delicate ground and trying to pull him back to earth. One last growl ripped through his throat and his eyes glinted yellow against the moon before he slipped through.
A soft thud and whimper could be heard, as Gren turned and tiptoed from branch to branch toward the only thing she could see. The crescent moon shown on Gren's weary face and bloodied clothes as she made her way across rolling hills of leafy green forest tops.
* * *
“I'm so proud of you.” Jar kissed Gren's cheek and the scars were gone. “You were so very brave.” He took her hands and kissed them lightly. The pin pricks of pain faded away. “You are stronger than you know.” He took her foot, with legs bleeding and tired, and pecked them one by one lightly. “My strong, brave, sweet little one. I love you with all my heart.”
“I always loved this.” Gren thought as she understood that she was at the fair with her family.
“Yes syth?” The man turned his head away from the girl. “I can't quite hear you.”
“I said I'm sorry.” The young man balled his hands, while he stared at his father’s shoes. “Though It wasn't really my fault. I told you you didn't have to leave.”
Gren looked for her mother to say something to her brother, but as she found her, her face only stared blankly at Gren before the corner of her lips were dragged upwards, as if by fish hooks.
“Marian, do you like my new hat?” Jar turned to his wife to show her an axe lodged in the back of his head.
“Fair's closed.” The red and orange jumpsuit bounced on the ticket man as he ran toward the exit. “Fair is now closed.”
Gren looked toward her mother only to see her head burning in flames. A scream came from Gren as the woman reached red hot hands out to her daughter.
* * *
Gren's face was on fire again. Her eyelids rose to a shining sun before she swung her face away for protection. Heavy breathing slowed and eventually she squinted around her.
Olive leaves swayed like grass in a lazy wind. Birds popped their heads from the branches, taking off and landing in an unknown pattern.
Gren picked herself up from a crevice in a tree that she couldn't remember having fallen asleep in. With a lowered head, she peeked behind her lids, only seeing a constant light blue behind a sea of green. A small foot snuck it's way onto a thick branch.
Gren's sneakers gripped bark as the branch bent into shadow. Her tentative speed quickened and she started off toward the highest point in the canopy. The branches bent for her as they did for the wind, which even now helped to cool her wounds.
Trees swayed as a gust blew between them and tried to knock the little queen from her hill right as she reached it. Scrapped and swollen hands swung and unzipped a small blue backpack and began to riffle through it. Gren quickly found her brown sweat shirt and carefully wrapped it around herself just as another bought of wind flew by. Gren threw up her hood to conceal her face.
The whole of the room stretched out before Gren. For as far as her eyes could see under the shade of her hood, foliage covered the land, leaving little space for the bright blue sky to shine in. The only animals that could be seen, were jumping from branch to branch. The squirrels' brown chestnut furs blended with the bark and sets of sharp claws dug into the tree's skin as they launched themselves between the trees. The birds on the other hand were much easier to spot. Calling out to each other in sharp chirps and quick clicks, they seemed to have no common color. Crosses of magenta with black, blue with grey, and white with red darted around the canopy, peeking at the seeds under the leaves or darting down below.
As Gren's eyes adjusted, a small ridge seemed to form in the valley bellow.
“The river.” She thought as she climbed her way towards it. Worries of food were the first thoughts to stress Gren's mind. By the time she had reached the river and climbed down to it's sandy bank she had decided rabbits would make an acceptable meal if only she could catch one. She mentally thanked Syth for letting her read his survival books as she decided roots would have to do for now.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
This chapter is quite a bit shorter, not to mention late. I'm still not sure how to proceed with Syth's POV. I know people don't normally like switches but Syth is an important character too. Don't worry. Gren will get most of the spotlight. Thanks for reading.