Vos' Decision

  Everything hurts.

   My feet, my lungs, my arms,my whole body felt like it was going to collapse any second. But whenever I considered stopping, my bones chilled at the sound of rapid footsteps and the loud roar catching up to me. 

      When is this going to end? 

         It’ll end when that fifteen foot tiger stomps on your face and eats your head. I thought on the verge of sobbing. 

         But alas, I see the recognizable knobby tree around the corner and smile as I make the turn, hop over a pile of grass, and sprint down the forest. A few seconds later, I hear a loud SNAP! As the giant monster yowls and grumbles while shaking metal chains in frustration.

     Great, that should buy me more time. 

       The victory of catching the tiger is short-lived when I look back and hit my head against something, causing me to trip and fall hard on my backside. 

    I get back on my feet while rubbing my lower back to take a look at what I bumped into. 

    It was a door- an elegant, marble door- with etched designs of angel wings and flowers into the wood that towered above me and the willow trees. Standing next to it is another door equal to the white door in size, but ends there in comparison. The other door was black and covered with dead leaves and vines, with strange faces full of teeth popping out of the sleek, black wood. 

     I waved off both doors impatiently, “ Arrgh, I don’t have time for this!” 

     But when I looked in other directions, for any other pathway on my left or right...there was none. The only way forward were the doors. 

        So of course, I reached my hand for the angelic, white door. 

       “ I would think about it more thoroughly, if I were you.” I heard a nasal voice snicker. 

       “ Who said that? Show yourself!” I demanded. 

       “ Down here!” it called.

      I looked down and saw a green creature barely the size of a small child, but had large pointy ears and a small tuft of hair under his chin. The curious thing also wore many jewels around his neck and clawed hands. Despite the extravagant appearance, he had small, gentle eyes and a friendly smile. 

     “ What brings you this deep in the forest, traveler?” the little goblin asked. 

   “ Right now, I’m trying to escape this monster.” I told him. 

   I stared at both of the doors crossly, “ And I’m afraid that I don’t have much time.” 

         The monster continued to roar in the distance while shaking in it’s chains. 

   The gobin raised his brow with little concern, “ It seems so.” 

“ You really shouldn’t be here, it’s isn’t safe.” I told him.

   “ No monster from any land has moved me from this spot yet,” the goblin chuckled. “ For I have guided travelers through these doors for eons.” 

     “ Think you can help me out? Which one should I go through?” I asked. “ Why shouldn’t I go through the safer looking door?” 

       “ I shall show you what lies behind each one, traveler. Then you’ll decide for yourself.” the goblin says. 

“ Oh, you can just call me Vos.” 

    The goblin extends a hand, “ Auxilium. ‘Tis a pleasure.” 

    I shook his hand, and then told me to take a few steps back so he can perform his trick. 

      Auxillium stood in front of the white door with his feet planted to the ground. Waving around his little green hands as they started to glow a luminescent pink. As he waved his hands around, a hole started to form over the white door, growing bigger and bigger. 

     “ You can’t enter through the White Gate until you actually open the door,” Auxillium said. “ All I can do is show.” 

    Behind the newly made window looked similar to the very forest Auxilium and I were standing in. But instead of just a plain tree and dirt path, there were sparkling rivers that trickled into the scene, glimmering in the sunlight, with shiny fish jumping in and out of the crystal streams under the bright healthy trees. Blooming pink flowers and leafy vines tangled underneath the beautiful branches. Vibrant feathered birds flew through the tall trees along with tiny faeries that dropped golden dust in their trail. One little faerie even flies up to me whistling little tunes, not flying away before giving my nose a tiny kiss. 

       Auxillium closes the window slowly, and as he does I sadly waved goodbye to the little faeries and their lovely home. 

    “ Well that was absolutely beautiful.” I sigh. 

      “ It truly was, traveler.” Auxillium agreed. “ Now for the Black Gate.” 

      Auxilum did the same thing and waved his hands toward the intimidating black door, but instead of his hands glowing a light pink, his hands and the doors glowed a mint green as the hole over the door opened.. 

     “ Take a look.” Auxilium gestured toward the window. 

          When I looked through, there were no trees to be seen for miles. Or any sort of plant life for that matter. Instead of the flowers and beautiful vines or even the forest I was currently in- there was a plain land of black rock across the surface, with streams of hot lava seeping through the surface and hot water geysers erupting in the distance. The only creatures that dwelled in this wasteland are those of the horrific sort, deer-like animals with green fur poking out of spots of wrinkly skin. Instead of beautiful fluttering faeries there were hideous jumping frogs, with a hundred eyes and bearing a bottomless mouth full of fangs. Ready to catch an equally disgusting fly a few inches away that gushed out green slime right before the frog swallowed the abomination. 

          But in the distance, behind all the lava and monstrosities under the dreary red sky, was a sleek, glimmering sword. Wedged into obsidian stone, bathing under a shining beam of light. 

        “ What’s that sword, over there?” I asked Auxilium, “ Do you know anything about it?” 

      I point to it, and Auxilium’s face lights up,“ Ah yes, that is the sword of Ares. It has been a desired sword by many knights of many kingdoms.” 

     “ I heard of the sword of Ares.” I replied. “ In my village, there were tales that the bearer used it to slay a dragon that plagued our village years ago. Many say it’s a myth, but fellow monster hunters take it quite seriously.” 

      “ So that explains the little friend accompanying you,” he gestured to the roaring tiger behind me. “ You’re a monster hunter.” 

        “ Not exactly,” I chuckled, “ I’m just a volunteer stand-in for my village. Since we ran out of monster hunters since the last dragon.” 

         Auxilium nodded, “ Then the path of your choice seems obvious.” 

       “ But…” I paused, “ It would make things a lot easier if I went through the white gate. I could escape the beast and probably be better off in the nicer turn of the woods.” 

    “ But the monster won’t be dead.” I considered, “ And if I go through the black gate, then I can use the sword to kill the monster. But what happens after? Will the monster even matter if I can’t get over those streams of lava or hot geysers?” 

   “ Another thing to note,” Auxilium assisted, “ If you go through either of the gates, you won’t be able to return to this spot. The choice you make will be final.” 

     “ So if I go through the white gate, I can’t go back to get the sword…” I tap my chin, “ But if I go through the black gate and get the sword, I’ll never see those faeries and beautiful river streams. “ 

  “ That is correct.” The goblin nodded. 

   SNAP!

    Auxillium and I whipped around behind us as a large roar echoed through the forest. 

    Oh no, the tiger broke out of the bear trap. I thought as my stomach sank. 

      “ I think you might be running low on time, Vos.” the goblin said with a  little bit of distress in his voice. 

       I hovered my hand over the knob of the black gate, knowing that it’s the right thing to do. But something still kept my hand from moving. 

    Maybe the faeries will know how to kill the monster. There’s probably plenty of things in the other forest that can kill it. 

     But do you really want to take the risk that you might be wrong? That your poor judgement will be at the expense of the lives in the lovely white gate? 

      The fifteen foot tigers' footsteps came toward us like a thundering storm, drawing closer and closer as I switched my hand back and forth in between the black and white doorknob. Hearing the tiger yowl in excitement as it gained ground, and baring it’s sharp fangs- which made me break a sweat. 

    “ Vos, quickly!” Auxillium urged me. 

     Making my decision, I opened a door and jumped through. Barely missing swipes of the huge tiger’s claw as it followed me through the gate.