Nature’s Retribution

“Are you excited for the Call?” Jessica rested her chin in her hands, looking up at me from her seat in the fluffy armchair.

I turned to my reflection and adjusted my olive green bow tie. “I guess.”

“You guess? This is supposed to be the most exciting time of the year!” I glanced at her in the mirror. Even from where I stood, I could see the excitement in her eyes. If only I could feel the same.

I sighed. “Oh, I don’t know. Something about the idea of being chosen to be the Servant of the Earth Mother and living in the woods away from everything I’ve ever known to do her bidding for all eternity doesn’t quite appeal to me. We don’t even know what the Servant does.”

“They serve the Earth Mother.”

“I know that, but how?”

Jessica shrugged. “Only the Servant can know.”

I shook my head. “You know that sounds sketchy.”

“It’s part of the mystery.” She stood and took my hands in hers. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Chances are you won’t even be chosen. Most likely you’ll go to the Call, someone else will be chosen, and you’ll come home tonight breathing a sigh of relief. You’ll see.”

I squeezed her hands. “Okay.”

Her expression changed suddenly. “Ethan?”

“Hmm?”

“If you are chosen... you won’t forget me, will you?”

I stared at her. How could I forget? She was my whole world. She just didn’t know that yet. If I could make it past tonight without becoming the Earth Mother’s minion, I would tell her. I tucked a lock of curly red hair behind her ear and gazed into her emerald eyes. “I could never forget you, Jess. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being an amazing friend.” She smiled, and my heart felt like it was about to burst. “I should go now. I can’t be late.”

“Of course. Good luck, Ethan.”

****

I approached the center of the field, the fresh dewy grass squishing beneath my shoes with every step. A light mist had settled over the area, so it was difficult to see anything more than about twenty feet ahead. As I walked, dark figures began to appear through the fog. They took the form of people standing in a circle, hands linked. They saw me and broke the circle to allow me in. As I took their hands, I looked around. There were about thirty of us, all aged twenty. Everyone wore formal dress in varying shades of green, to signify oneness with nature and allegiance to the Earth Mother.

“You’re a minute late, Ethan.”

I looked to my left. Professor Hakim stood just outside the circle, glaring at his watch. He did that a lot these days. “I’m sorry, Professor.”

“You know how important this is. The Earth Mother has no mercy for those who disregard her most important holiday.”

“Yes, sir.”

Professor Hakim sighed. “Let’s waste no time.” He pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. He adjusted his glasses and began to read.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Call, a decennial celebration of our Earth Mother. Today, known to many as Earth Day, is the day that Mother Nature shall select her Servant. Her requirements are a young man or woman of twenty years of age, in good health and good spirits. He or she must undergo three difficult tests to prove their loyalty to the Earth Mother and their readiness to become her Servant. Should the chosen one fail any of the three tests, they shall not become her Servant. Instead, they shall be cursed for life. You should be warned: There is no remedy for this particular curse. Once you have it, you can be certain it remains, even into the afterlife.” He closed the paper and looked at us.

“It is an honor to be chosen. Do not fail the tests. Good luck. And of course, happy Earth Day.”

We watched him disappear into the fog. We looked around at one another for a moment, until someone sang the first word. Another joined in, then another, and another, until we were all singing the Earth Mother’s song at the top of our lungs, calling her into our presence. When we finished the song, we fell silent. For a minute, no one moved or made a sound. Silence ringed in my ears. Then I heard it. The sound of footsteps coming from behind. I turned my head, peering into the mist, trying to catch my first glimpse of the one I had worshiped since childhood. A shadowy figure approached, and my heart pounded faster. As the figure came into view, I could make out the shape of a young woman. Tousled red hair poked out from underneath her scarf.

“Jessica?”

When she spotted me, Jessica made a beeline for my direction. Her eyes were wide with horror. “Ethan!” She grabbed my arms, trying to separate me from the circle. “Ethan, it’s all wrong! They’re trying to trick you!”

“What... what are you doing here?”

“I had to warn you. It’s a trap! The Earth Mother... she doesn’t have Servants. The chosen one is going to be sacrificed!”

“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”

“I don’t have time to explain.” She looked around frantically. “She’ll be here any moment. You have to come with me... now!”

Without warning, she turned and sprinted toward the woods. I broke away from the circle’s grip and ran after her as fast as my legs would allow. I glanced behind me as we ran. The others stood there, still holding hands, staring after us. By the time we reached the woods, I could no longer see them through the fog. We stopped for a moment in the cover of the trees to catch our breath.

“What... what’s going... on?” I gasped for breath and leaned against a tree for support.

“We have to... keep moving!”

I followed her further into the woods. She seemed to know where she was going. After a while, we slowed our pace to a steady walk. “Where are we going?”

“To safety. Don’t worry, I spend quite a bit of time wandering the woods. I know where we are.”

I thought I remembered Jessica telling me once that she didn’t like the woods, but I didn’t think much of that. A few minutes later, we came upon a clearing. Jessica stopped. “We’re here.”

I looked around. “Where’s here?”

Jessica didn’t respond. She stood still, her back toward me.

“Jess?”

She turned toward me slowly. She had an odd, almost menacing expression. When she spoke, her voice was no longer the sweet voice I knew and loved.

“You have failed the first test!” The voice coming from her now boomed into the quiet stillness of the woods, like the sound of roaring thunder.

“W-what?” I took a step back.

She took a step forward. “I chose you, and you chose Jessica over me!”

“No! No, I...” I took another step back and tripped over a tree root, falling hard on my butt. I scrambled to get back up, but the root lifted itself out of the earth and wrapped around my leg, holding me in place. I tried to pull myself free, but the root was too strong. Another root grabbed my arm, pulling me to the ground.

“You have been disloyal to me! Therefore, nature itself shall be disloyal to you! Nature shall be your enemy for all eternity!” Jessica’s mouth opened wide. I watched in terror as her jawbones separated. The top half of her head flipped back, turning inside out to reveal the face of Mother Nature herself. Her body warped and reconstructed into that of her true form. Long black hair billowed around her and stormy brown eyes glared into my soul. Animals, insects, and plants swarmed around her, covering her though she wore no clothes. She raised her arms toward the sky.

“No! Wait! Please, I will be loyal. Give me another chance!”

“You had your chance, Ethan!”

She brought her arms down and the world seemed to turn its attention to me, as though I had done something so despicable that even the trees, shrubs, earth, and animals were shocked. The roots released me, and I leaped to my feet and ran. I had no idea how to get back home, but I didn’t care. I just had to get away from the Earth Mother. As I ran, tree branches leaned down to block my path. The grass stood taller and sharper, jabbing through the soles of my shoes. Shrubs reached out to scratch my arms and my face. Birds dove down to peck at my head.

When I finally stumbled upon home, Jessica - the real Jessica - was waiting for me. She took one look at me, scratched, bruised, and bleeding, before rushing me inside. “What happened?” She asked, sitting me down beside a house plant. When she turned away to find her first aid kit, the plant leaned my direction, pointing its sharp leaves toward me.

I screamed.