WnW 2.18

Fire was the true victor tonight. It consumed the barn at an alarming rate, rapidly seizing the dust and grain to fuel its hunger. Hot air whooshed out of the barn like the warm breath of an animal. I watched the roof of the barn slowly collapse in on itself. There was a sick feeling in my stomach as I thought of the animals trapped inside.

A sense of alarm struck me, quickening my heartbeat. I whirled around towards the field. Nothing. There was no movement, the field was empty. Which meant that Nell was sending me a message. Looking back one more time at the burning barn, I began to run towards the chapel.

The horizon glowed with orange light and I hoped that the smoke was obscuring the rising sun. I wanted this night to end so badly. Strangely, while my mind felt raw, my body wasn’t fatigued in the slightest. The thing I had done to Aaron, it had done more than heal my wounds, I felt energized. It didn’t make me feel good. The thought of the cow’s flesh sliding into mine was enough to make me shudder.

Passing through the dense section of trees and emerging in front of the chapel, I called out, “Nell!” 

My throat felt ragged from inhaling smoke. I coughed and tried again, “Nell!”

No response. I slowed my approach and crept up to a hole in the church wall. Nothing moved inside and I didn’t hear anything either. Had she left or fled from something? I made my way to the entrance and went inside. There was no sign of a struggle, the colourful variety of plants were undisturbed since I left. I slowly scanned the room for any hint. That’s when I noticed that the door at the back of the room was slightly ajar.

Approaching cautiously, I listened for any noise from within. The forest had always been unnaturally silent, I hadn’t heard a peep from any wildlife while I was here, no frogs or crickets, only the leaves rustling in the wind. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Inside, was a smaller room with a large hole in the roof that let the light of the distant fires illuminate the interior. I recoiled as a stench washed over me. It was a nauseous cocktail of a thousand unique body odours mixed with the metallic smell of blood. I gagged and it wasn’t just because of the smell. I had no frame of reference for what I saw. 

They called it the Tree, and I supposed that was as apt a name as any. The base of the thing was a column of flesh. I could see that it was made of human limbs, legs and feet mashed together into a mesh of moving skin. The floor had been dug out and the Tree was rooted in the dirt. The column was ridged because the individual limbs retained some shape and the ridges spiraled upwards. The column eventually gave way to the “branches”, more limbs, this time arms, stretching upwards towards the sky. The hands waved, some pointed at the sky, some held their palms up, as if waiting to receive something. The arms and hands had…

This is a nightmare.

They had sensory organs attached to them. A bloodshot eye looked skyward from its place on a wrist. An ear was nestled in the center of a palm. My sight fell as if dragged by the gravity of the earth, unable to bear the burden looking at the thing any longer. That’s when I noticed Nell, standing close to the Tree, stiff and unmoving with her hands at her sides.

“Nell,” I called out weakly. She didn’t respond.

I shuffled closer, hoping the Tree wouldn’t notice me and attack. It continued its strange gyrations.

“Nell.” I touched her shoulder.

White hot anger poured into me like molten metal out of a furnace. I felt every fiber in my body that the feeling touched ignite. I screamed, feeling utter hatred for the world.

Then the feeling passed. My skin felt raw, the wind that wafted in from the hole making me flinch. I tasted blood in my mouth.

“Nick.”

I turned slightly, unable to unclench my muscles. Nell looked at me with concern. It was hard to breathe and I didn’t know where to look. Certainly not at the monstrosity or at the woman who had just hit me with… that. I fixed my eyes on my shoes, dirty and torn to shreds.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,” Nell mumbled. She sounded exhausted.

My fists shook as I tried to find the air to speak. “What was that?”

She was quiet for a moment before answering, “A signal. That’s what the Tree is designed to do.”

I finally managed to pull in a full breath, regretting it as the stench overwhelmed me once again. I shut my eyes and went over a relaxation technique in my mind. Focus on each muscle individually. Tense and then release. When I finally stopped shaking, I looked at Nell.

“Okay. Signals. Explain.”

“The Tree is like a satellite dish, except instead of radio waves, it’s something else. It’s broadcasting the animosity that made the cult attack each other.”

I shook my head. “This is what they wanted? I don’t understand. What good is a signal like that?”

“I don’t know,” Nell said.

It was hard not to focus on the Tree’s undulations behind her. “Aaron kept talking about a god,” I said. “And those things in the sky… Fuck, none of this makes any sense.”

Nell bit her lip, then said, “I don’t know either, but right now, we need to worry about destroying it.”

I couldn’t even look at the thing, let alone think of what I could do to destroy it. Perhaps the fire would reach us and take care of it, but sensing Nell’s urgency, I knew that we needed a better plan.

“Maybe we could make the building fall down on it…” I said.

“No need,” a cold voice sliced through my thoughts.

I whirled, growing antlers to cover myself. Through the slits in the visor, I saw a tall woman enter the room, stopping just inside. I blinked, realizing that the woman was wearing a pajama onesie, with smiling blue moons covering the legs. Just when I thought I had a handle on all of this weirdness. She was taller than I was and she looked down at me impassively through thin frame glasses. Unaffected by my transformation, she walked forward, passing me by. Nell flinched as she walked past her, before she stopped in front of the Tree.

“Friend of yours, Nell?” I asked.

The woman spoke without turning around, “You didn’t tell him about me?” She sounded sarcastically offended. “Perhaps you should have thought through your little rebellion more thoroughly.”

Her voice sounded familiar. I made a guess. “Aaron’s employer?”

She turned around to view me with slender eyes. “And you’re the eavesdropper. Why exactly are you involved in all of this? Did Nell threaten you? I think Aaron may be more incompetent than I thought, letting an outsider get his hands on a vial.”

I didn’t answer. There was too much I didn’t know. I didn’t want to reveal anything that could harm our chances of getting out alive.

She pursed her lips. “Keeping mum?” She flicked her hand dismissively and turned back to the Tree. “That’s fine. You were an unintended variable. I plan to keep your impact on the experiment to a minimum.”

Suddenly I felt something click inside my head. The world tilted and my head hit the ground. What? Had I just lost my balance? I pushed myself up, before losing my balance and falling over again. My vision swam. I needed air. I turned my head to the side and breathed in, clearing my thoughts. Why hadn’t I done that earlier? More importantly, it was taking all my focus just to keep breathing in and out. When I stopped to think about picking myself up off the ground, my breathing stopped. I could see Nell out of the corner of my vision. She was alarmed but seemingly unaffected by the same thing that incapacitated me. Breathe. In. Out.

Suddenly I heard the click inside my brain and my sense of balance returned. I could breathe without focusing on it. Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet.

The woman turned back around, her eyes lighting up for the first time since she appeared. “Oh. Now that is interesting.”