The Burning Forest : Chapter 2

ALONE
The grass whistled as the wind blew around Damien and his sister. She flapped her wings furiously as they walked through alleyways and across intersections, but as they neared the forest, she sat on his shoulder to rest.
“This is where I leave you, Damien.” she said with a slight tone of fear in her voice.
“You can’t just keep following me? Aren’t you safer in that miniature form?”
“I am, but the dark magic makes me weak and will drain my life force entirely. You have to be careful Damien. Don’t assume anything is inanimate or powerless. Even the trees can be a hindrance.”
“You’re very good at making me feel more confident. There’s nothing you can give me to protect myself?”
“Nothing comes to mind.” she said dismissively “You do have to change your name, though.”
“Logan,” Damien said almost as soon as she had finished speaking.
“Logan? That sounds fierce. You’ll fit right in.” she said before sucking hard on her glass pipe and exploding into dust. The dust left the smell of cheap fireworks in the air.
Logan now stood at the edge of the forest. The trees swayed wildly in the distance and a deep moaning came from within them as the wind blew between their branches. His feet seemed to turn around towards the safety of the city, towards the safety of drink. Yet, the vision of his now dying wife presented itself to his mind and his body surrendered to his mission. By the time he had cleared all his fears and second guessing, the sky was hidden behind twisted branches without leaves. His heart jumped in his chest as he turned around to see if there was any turning back. He turned just in time to see thick vines tangle themselves into a wall of vegetation. He gulped as he remembered these trees were alive. A soft laugh could be heard from within the trunk of the one closest to him. He gathered his wits and began stumbling along the path that stretched in front of him. Tiny streaks of light seeped through and showed him the way to go. He spent what seemed to be hours tripping over roots and stretching his hands in front of him to make sure he didn’t bump into anything. He was about to sit down for a rest when he could hear the sound of a struggle not far from where he was. He crept in the dark till he could see what disturbed the otherwise silence. It was hard to see but he could see a boy being held down by two men. Logan squinted hard trying to see what they were doing. His eyes accustomed to the poor light and he could see one of the men had a long, hairy tail that was crooked and covered with a bandage. The other man had large black wings folded on his back. The winged man turned for a second and Logan saw a bird’s beak fused seamlessly onto his human face. The grotesque creature held the boy down while his friend struggled to throw a noose around the boy’s neck.
“Please, don’t do this to me guys. I swear I’ll get Mr. Skin his money tomorrow.” The boy shouted still trying his best to not let the noose get around his neck.
“That’s what you said two weeks ago, you little liar. You’ll hang. I said you’ll hang. Didn’t I say he’ll hang?” the Crow man said to his accomplice.
“What?” he shouted, “You’ll have to speak up or try speaking into my good ear.”
“Oh blow off, asshole. Hold him down and let’s get out of these woods.” the Crow man said impatiently.
The noose slid down his neck and the Crow man immediately flew into the air before he landed a few feet away which threw the boy into the air by his neck.
Logan had never been in a fight before but here he was running towards these two men. He immediately tackled the man with a tail who most likely didn’t even hear him coming. Logan raised his arm into the air and swung at his face hard which left him unconscious. In that moment, Logan saw the whiskers and the mouth that stretched from ear to ear. As soon as he noticed he too was also some kind of animal/human hybrid he recoiled in disgust.
He didn’t notice the Crow man had released his grip on the rope and now ran towards him with a knife. The blade plunged deep into Logan’s side before he had a chance to react and the two fell onto the dirt. Everything in Logan’s mind was screaming at this point. He hadn’t been in this forest for half the time he had expected and he was bleeding into the dirt. The two wrestled furiously while the Crow man’s hand forcefully held the knife in place. Logan felt stronger somehow, knowing fully well in his regular physique, he would have given up the ghost by now. Yet here he was, fighting for his life. He pulled the knife and returned it to the sender between his ribs. Logan raised the knife above his head and aimed it for this Crow man’s scrawny neck. The idea of ending someone’s life suddenly snapped into his head. There was only one person, he was going to kill. This freak wasn’t him. The knife fell from his hand and thudded softly in the dirt. The Crow man even with a hole in his belly, grabbed the knife in a hurry without as much as a blink of his eye. Logan’s hands flew in front of his face to protect it and his eyes closed tightly. A loud clunk filled the air and Logan opened his eyes to see his assailant with his head busted wide open and his left eye twitching. The boy stood over them with a large rock held in both hands.
“Thanks for the save man.” he said with a boyish smile.
Logan opened his mouth to thank him but his eyes rolled in his head and he fell backward into the dirt.
“You’ve lost too much blood,” he said before sucking his teeth. “I’ll get you fixed up proper.”
He felt his arms being raised into the air and the rest of him being dragged across the forest floor. He struggled to open his eyes in time to see the boy smiling before he finally lost consciousness.
They ran along the beach like two teenagers until she slowed down and he ran into her. They rolled in the sand and tumbled into an exhausted heap. She smiled at him with that bright smile of hers. Her black eyes were almost as black as her hair. She always surprised him with how beautiful she was. He looked around the beach and dug frantically for what he had buried at that exact point.
“I can’t find it!” he said frustrated as he unearthed another handful of sand.
“What are you looking for?” her soft voice said.
He sat on the sand in defeat and looked at her worried eyes.
“I planted your wedding ring here earlier. A hundred feet from that wind vane, he said pointing at the wind vane spinning on the house not far from them. “And twenty feet from the beach bum’s house”. He said pointing at the cardboard boxes that resembled a makeshift house every evening.
“Oh,” she said smiling with one hand placed on his face and the other around his neck. “Yes,” she said as her eyes watered slightly.
“You’ll marry me?” he said excitedly.
“Yes I would, Damien,” she said before she kissed him.
The two figures embraced on the sand as the sun melted into the horizon and blanketed them in a deep orange tint. “I love you Elizabeth,” he whispered to her.
Logan gained consciousness violently. He was covered in sweat and every part of his body in pain.
Logan woke up in a well-lit room where everything was made from wood. It looked like the inside of a cuckoo clock. He struggled to sit upright and winced loudly. A bandage with tinges of blood stretched across his left side.
“Easy now boy.” a soft voice said. A kind looking man with thick mutton chops like balls of cotton stared at him. “You’ve gone and torn yourself open badly. You’ll need to rest.” The man wore clothes that were too big for him and made him look fat and sloppy. Yet from his hands, he could tell he worked hard and was probably hiding his real physique.
“I’m Stephano, You’ve met my son. His name is…” he was saying before the boy from earlier burst in suddenly.
“Don’t embarrass me with that name of yours! I’m Pin,” he said stretching his hand towards Logan.
The boy was lanky yet tall for a kid. He had a short afro with shaved sides and a tan complexion.
Logan laughed softly and shook it gently.
“What kind of name is Pin?”
“It’s what my friends call me on the count of my long nose.” he said pointing at it.
“What friends? All you do all day is get in trouble. What time do you have to make friends?”
Logan noticed just how long his nose was. It was a quarter of an inch longer than any nose he’d seen.
“So where am I exactly? I’d assume good people like you don’t live in the forest.”
“My boy, we’re still very much in the forest.” He said to Logan’s obvious disappointment. Stephano saw his face fall and attempted to explain.
“The forest is a magical, dangerous place aye, but the real evil that has taken root in this forest comes from Draug,” he said as his eyes glazed over in fear.
“How does this Draug have so much power that he could corrupt an entire forest?” Logan asked as he realized his task had gotten undoubtedly more difficult.
“His subordinates control different sections of the forest. They run surveillance and punish folks like us into submission over petty misdeeds” Pin said sounding more mature than he looked.
“Is that why you were about to be…?” he began to ask before Pin shook his head furiously and he closed his mouth.
“What trouble did you get to Pin?” he asked seeing the tension in the room at the last second. “It doesn’t matter really, I’m glad you saved this man from two robbers at least.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed in Pin’s direction. “My hero…” he said smiling.
“We know everyone in this district, young man. Who are you and what agenda do you have in this cursed place?”
“I’m Logan and my wife is dying. Her pain falls down to Draug. I came here to kill him.” Logan said confidently.
Stephano and Pin stood with their mouths wide open in terror.
“Y-You don’t say things like that around here.” Pin stammered before running to the window and closing the blinds.
“Lord, I hope nobody heard you say that,” Stephano said as he trembled violently in place.
“Someone’s running off into the forest!” Pin shouted
“You’ve killed us,” Stephano said as he collapsed into a heap on the ground.
Logan’s wide eyes now stared at the man sobbing on the ground. He had put these people in danger that was certain.
“I’m sorry.” he managed to utter through trembling lips.
Stephano didn’t seem to hear him as he continued to cry. Pin ran around the house, locking doors and fastening windows.
“What have I done?” Logan said to himself.