A single leaf shivered as silver mildew climbed its vines turning the leaf into a sickly husk. Char dotted the forest floor with the residue of flames long since quenched. With each careful step, Ivy, a slender woman with pale lavender hair, drew deeper into the curling thicket of trees. Her clothing was well-worn but not yet tattered. She’d been traveling for a while. Her blue eyes focused on ahead, keeping her from walking into the low-hanging branches.

There was a path, once well-traveled, barely visible under creeping thyme. The density of the woods began to ebb, giving way to light. In the center of the glittering golden rays stood the remains of a cottage. Two walls remained and crumbling roof tiles encircled a skeleton. It was clear that there had been a fire here, more than likely set on purpose, unfortunately.

The undergrowth quivered and moaned in pain. Ivy paused a moment, glancing upon the leaves covered in a soft powdery mildew. She knew better than to touch it. 

She drew in a long breath and let it out slowly before stepping closer towards the charred skeletal remains.

She stopped just outside of the roof tiles and glanced at the ground. There was a ring of blistering mushrooms around the skeleton, which upon closer inspection was clearly human. The arms of the deceased clung to a smaller set of bones belonging to a cat. The bones were charred, and the earth beneath was black with soot, but no smell of ash lingered in the air. Placed on top, as a warning omen, was the witch's hat. 

“A dead end, again…” Ivy muttered under her breath, rubbing her tired eyes. She clasped her hands together, mumbling the last rites for the witch that had been burned here not long ago.

The surrounding trees rumbled and groaned as she finished her prayer of respect for the dead and turned to leave. She rummaged in her bag and retrieved a well-worn leather-bound journal, ruffling through the pages to find a folded sheet. She carefully opened it to reveal a map with several crossed-out town and village names. She added another “X” to it, crossing out Willow’s Peak.

With one more glance upon the charred remains of the cottage and all the lost knowledge and memories within, she moved to leave the clearing. 

Several branches crackled deep in the woods. Leaves covered in mildew fluttered down around Ivy as the soft silver fuzz became more apparent as the forest thickened again. Further in, the trees became gnarled and covered with boils of sap; pulsing, oozing, suffocating the roots of the trees, and wilting the once flourishing ground cover. Another snap closer set her on edge. Shuffling rustled in the wilting shrubs beside her. Suddenly in a burst of energy, a creature tumbled across her path.

A plump fluffy raccoon lay upside down with its butt against one of the sticky trees. A heavy compass hung over its round face as it tried to right itself. Its thick tail sank into the putrid ooze along the bark, releasing a noxious stench into the air. It was so strong even the raccoon gagged.

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Ivy retched heavily from the rancid smell and quickly held her nose shut. With a grimace, she looked at the raccoon in her path before glancing at the large compass. It looked old but well taken care of, though the needle kept spinning, refusing to settle. 

“What have you got there? That does not look like something you should have,” she told the chattering critter, reaching for the compass to pluck it out of its grubby little paws before it could run off with it. 

The raccoon chattered as her fingers reached for the compass, but its tail was stuck fast, and Ivy’s fingers slipped under the cool metal. The raccoon hissed as the spinning compass was pulled from its tiny clinging fingers. It ripped its tail free of the putrid sap, leaving fur behind to retrieve its prize. Clapping its dirty clawed paws around the metal clip meant for easy carry, it tugged. After a moment of tussling, the needle slowed and pointed at Ivy. The raccoon paused, looking with a quivering nose at the compass, only to have it pulled out of its grasp. Spitting, it moved to leap on Ivy, but a bellow not far enough away gave it pause. The fur on its body stood on end as thundering footsteps shook the ground. Trees splintered as the underbrush crushed beside them.

The leaves erupted in a violent burst, raining more mildewy leaves upon Ivy and the raccoon, revealing a massive deformed willow tree. Its gnarled trunk stood upon its branches akin to legs, the same putrid boils and silver discoloring covered the strange beast. With a lurch, the tendrils of leaves split, giving way to a distorted feline face, its maw filled with sharp and splintered pieces of wood as if the bark had been broken open. Its roar was deafening, freezing Ivy in place, leaving her disoriented with her head spinning.

The raccoon finally sank its teeth into something. Not Ivy, nor the compass in her hands, but her map book. With swift claws digging into Ivy’s skin, the raccoon had her attention long enough to see her leather book in its jaws and for her eyes to follow as the raccoon dashed in the opposite direction.

That was finally enough to jolt Ivy back into action, and she sprinted after the critter that had stolen her journal. Adrenaline urged her on; she leapt over fallen trees and shrubs, not even feeling the whips of the branches along her face and body. 

The warped willow tree beast did not relent in its chase of the young woman. The density of the trees slowly gave way as Ivy kept running, making it easier to navigate the underbrush as she followed the raccoon. 

The critter was faster than it looked, able to squeeze under and around fallen trees and low underbrush. The silvered leaves still covered the path and more boils along the trees popped as they crashed through the woods. Behind, the beast barreled over trees ripping up the earth with its limbs. 

The raccoon finally took a running leap off one of the fallen trees. Just beyond the tree was an edge, not of the woods but of the silvery mildew and nasty boils. A perfect clean line cut into the trees, leaving one-half sick and twisted and the other lush and blooming.

Ivy’s eyes were wide with panic as she pushed her screaming muscles to keep moving towards the healthy line, telling herself over and over to keep running and not stop. Safety was within sight, she just had to outrun the beast.

She cursed under her breath as she lost sight of the raccoon and the thundering leaps of the beast got closer and closer to her. Just as Ivy was about to cross the threshold of the mildew-covered trees, her foot caught on a root, causing her to trip and fall.