No Footprints in the Border Woods

When I stood outside, I could actually say the snow seemed pleasant. I wasn’t really fond of snow, since it didn’t snow where I lived, but a visit to my grandmother’s house in winter usually meant it was unavoidable. The house had been in the family for generations, but I had never lived in it. It was where my family liked to gather for holiday events.

 Family gatherings meant heated debates and sibling rivalries and I wanted no part of it, so I decided a short walk in the little patch of woods would be nice. To the big rock and back wouldn’t be bad, and my uncle and father should have settled down by then. I would be back before the sun started to set.

I didn’t visit often enough to dare believe I would be okay walking in the woods after dark. I had always been told there were mysteries in the trees and I never dismissed it as just stories to make kids behave. Too many people had said it.

There was fresh snow on the ground, enough to leave tracks but not so deep that it would make my walk unpleasant. The walk was uneventful, until I reached the big rock, and the air suddenly seemed colder. The only thing I could hear was a light whistle of the wind and the crunch of the snow under my feet. I didn’t like it.

I turned to go back the way I came but came to an immediate halt. I blinked hard, trying to make my eyes see correctly. I drew my coat tighter around me and looked wide-eyed at the pristine snow before me. My footprints were gone. I looked to my left and my right, certain that I hadn't been mistaken about the direction I had come from. But there were no tracks to be found. I took a step back, breathing quick, shallow breaths, and looked down. There wasn't a single footprint there, and I knew for certain there should have been. I looked down as I jumped from where I stood to a foot or two away. Before my eyes the compacted snow rose back into place like a sponge expanding with water.

I wondered if the woods were trying to get me lost. If the woods were alive, they knew me. They knew I could get to my grandmother's house from where I was, even if I went a different way. That was what I was going to do. I turned to my left and decided to take a detour off the beaten path.

“I wouldn’t go that direction if I were you.” I was startled by a man’s voice, and I jumped, turning quickly to see who it was.

There—on top of the rock—lay a horse-sized creature more radiant a white than the fresh snow at the base of the rocks it reclined on. I did not know what it was, but I knew it was not of my world and that its oversized foxlike form was not its true one. 

“What, no, who are you?”

“I am something like the guardian spirit of this expanse of woods,” the being said. His mouth wasn’t moving and I realized that I was hearing the being's voice in my head. He asked “Do you know why you are alive? It is because I didn’t think it was wise to let you add your energy to the beast roaming around further down that path you were about to take.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I assume you were hopping around because I erased your footprints. I am keeping you hidden from the beast by hiding your tracks and your aura.”

“What beast are you talking about? No one said anything about a beast being out here.”

“Its physical form is no more than fifteen minutes old. As the unlucky soul that wandered out here, you naturally became a target, and these beasts take their first meals seriously. It is almost a disgrace for them to choose a target and let it escape. It is clever, though I cannot fathom how it really has such a code.”

“How is this possible?”

“These woods are magic and can create lifeforms using the energy your people give off when they are here. Energy is absorbed, whether it is good or bad. My kind take preventative measures to lessen the chance of dark effects, but the darkness may linger before dispersing. During one of your people's recent celebrations, a clumsy human toppled a ward stone, and at that very celebration, there were fights and grudges formed. That ill will and negativity, combined with what was still hanging in the air, and the beast was born from it.”

“But why was it born now? Where did it get enough negativity to exist?”

“You came out on this walk for a reason.”

I suddenly realized what he was implying. “My grandmother's house isn't in the woods. It’s at the edge, can it really take-”

“The hungry will reach far for a meal. You brought the stress with you when you first came in, and you made it easy.”

“I can't stay here,” I said, trying not to panic.

“As I said, the beast is still waiting, and will continue to track you, but I won’t stop you if you think you are tough enough to survive the return to your people.”

“What else can I do?”

“Wait.”

“For what? Did you come to kill it?” I asked, hopefully.

“It isn’t alive in the way that you are. It is bad energy that has to be dispersed.”

“Can you disperse it?”

“It's almost offensive that you would question whether I could complete such a simple task, but you are a human. You don't know better,” he said, “It wouldn’t be hard for me to dispel, but I prefer to have it cornered already. It will sense that I am a threat to it and avoid me, but it is looking for you, and it will grow reckless soon. If I allow it to sense some of your aura, it will prioritize getting to you more than avoiding me.”

“How long will it take?”

He said nothing. I had a bad feeling it could take hours, then I realized the being probably didn’t feel time the same way that I did. He made the waiting sound simple, but it might take days for the beast to get desperate. I couldn’t bear to stay any longer than I had to.

A thought came to me and I wondered whether it made me brave or impatient and foolish. I asked the being, “If you stop erasing my footprints, and I move away from you a little, do you think I could get it to come out, but still be safe?”

The being continued to stare at me, then said, “It won’t come unless I remove almost all traces of my presence from around you. There is no guarantee of anything. It is your choice whether you leave or not. Just pray you are skilled enough to outmaneuver it.”

“Is there any protection you can give that will help me ward it off just a little?”

“This small token is the best you will get without turning the beast away.” He moved his paw and pressed it down a few inches from where it had been originally resting. I heard a snap, then he swatted down a sprig of some sort of plant that had three red berries attached, and it fell in the snow before me. He said, “Pick it up. Carefully.”

I bent quickly and closed my hand around it, not sure how a stick would help, but the stick threatened to cut into my skin. I loosened my grip as I lifted it. I opened my hand and was surprised to see that it didn’t look at all as it had when it hit the ground in front of me.

It was still a piece of wood with berries, but it seemed to be carved into a blade. I wanted to ask how the being changed a stick into a weapon, but I didn’t want to offend him. I asked, “Am I supposed to stab it with this? Will that help disperse the energy?”

“It can, but you should hope that it doesn’t come to that. Pray it doesn’t get close enough for you to be able to use that, and that I can get to you quickly enough. Now go, and I will find you when it’s time.”

I walked away nervously, clutching the blade and looking around as I continued toward my grandmother’s home. The being was not on the rock when I looked back. He had left me so quickly.

As I thought back to what I was told, I realized that I never actually saw any trace of the beast. No footprints. No noticeably broken branches. The being could have been lying to me and playing tricks on me like supernatural creatures where supposed to do in the woods, but something told me that I needed to believe what I was told. The woods were far too quiet. Animals were never so silent unless they were trying not to be found.

I looked back quickly, then forward again. My footprints were behind me. I started to feel some regret. Maybe it would have been better for me to stay. I knew the beast was out there, somewhere near me.  I was sure it would have been safer to remain with the being, but then my family would come out to look for me.

If they came looking for me, they could become targets. They might have split up to search, and the guardian being might not have been able to protect so many people at once.

I walked faster, hoping maybe that I could make it back without running into the beast. Then, my eyes landed on four marks in the snow and I came to a stop. Although I prayed that the 'V' shaped marks weren’t what I thought, I knew they couldn’t be anything other than footprints. It was only one set, however, with no sign of a trail. It was as if this was the place where the beast had appeared and disappeared.

I had no idea where it could have possibly gone from that spot. Had it sunk into the ground? Could it fly? Was it taking humongous leaps around the woods? I was sure I would see it if it was. I didn’t know what it looked like or what it could do. I feared that it might be able to teleport, but then I knew it should have appeared in front of me by now.

As I stood looking for traces of it, I saw the glint of something in between the trees and stopped walking. Wires? Rope? I had never seen rope that shined that way. I looked at the way it crossed like sloppy netting and my heart sank. My path was blocked by what I could only assume was a giant spiderweb. I knew immediately that I had walked into a trap. I hoped I wasn’t in too deep. Maybe I could get back up the path before the beast realized I had come so far.

I turned, and almost stopped breathing when I caught sight of what couldn’t be anything other than the beast, walking down the trunk of a huge tree, with the ease of walking on flat ground. Eight cat-like eyes watched me out of a horrifyingly amphibious face that didn’t match its overgrown wolf-like body. It moved toward me with a spiderlike motion on turned out feet, and I started to back away slowly. I didn't dare scream, because that would surely make it pounce. That’s what its legs seemed to be made for.

It was much smaller in size than I had imagined, but there was something about that that made it more terrifying. I realized that it wasn’t something I could hide from in a tree trunk or outmaneuver. It wasn't a big, stupid clumsy beast. It could go where I could go and it wouldn’t struggle to get me where it needed me.

I wondered if the blade I had been given could cut through the web, but it was obvious that there was no way I could cut through fast enough, even if the blade was capable. I would have to get past the beast somehow, but going on the offensive wasn’t the best idea.

The beast charged me with a screech. It opened its mouth and sprayed a stream of liquid at me as it plowed through the snow, and I sprung clumsily out of the way, thankful that the beast didn’t seem the best at turning while firing. The beast didn’t seem to have much traction on the snow, and I was thankful for the small mercy.

Even with the small mercy, I didn’t feel better. I realized the liquid was its web. It was trying to catch me before I could run away, but it was not going to. Before it could turn, I took off into the trees, in the direction it had come from, running between the closely packed ones. I hoped that the beast was still large enough to have trouble moving through tight spaces. I could hear thumping and branches breaking as it bounded after me, making me determined to run even harder.

Where was the guardian? The beast had come and was clearly pursuing me. Shouldn’t that have been enough to summon the being? I zig-zagged through the trees, making sure to never keep the same pattern for long, lest I risk getting shot in the back.

I could hear the beast closing in, its screeching right at my back, and in one last ditch effort, I turned and held the blade up, feeling the berries on it burst in my grip. The beast ran into the blade, which then went through the beast’s chin and out through the top off its head. All eight of its eyes went wide. As the beast’s blood trickled down the blade, it mixed with juice from the ruptured berries that dripped down my hand. I could feel static and heat as the liquids ran together, and suddenly there was a spark and flash. I was thrown backward. I could hear the beast screech and then I felt warmth.

“I am here now.” The being’s voice came to my ears instead of my mind this time. “Keep your eyes lowered. If you look at me you will fall under a spell and you won’t fully recover even after it is broken.”

I could hear sounds like the crackle of electricity and see flashes that were even brighter than the one I had seen before. I did not dare look up.

 “Congratulations, you have slayed the beast,” the being said, after what felt like an eternity. He sounded bored. “Lucky for you, it was only a newborn. Don’t worry, I will restore the wards so this doesn’t happen again. I understand the clumsiness of humans, unlike the spirit before, so I will place the wards accordingly.”

I didn’t like the way he spoke about humans, especially when he had all but left me to fend for myself. There were a lot of things I wanted to say, but all I replied was, “Thank you.”

“It seems you got all turned around because of this beast.” he said. “When I am gone, you will be able to follow the footsteps back. It will take you to your party.”

“Thank you.” He only gave a humming noise in reply, then there was nothing. There was no more radiance. I was once again alone. The beast’s body was gone.

I got up and I saw footprints, bigger than my own feet could make, and I followed them through the trees. I had never run so fast in my life. I ran past the fading webs of the beast and the broken branches. I found my way soon, and I ran until I saw the lights of the house through the trees.

The door was open, illuminating the dim front yard and I knew people must have been looking for me. It was not like me to be out in the woods when the sun was nearly behind the hills.

A relative’s yell went up when I came out into the open, letting everyone know I was back.

“We were looking all over for you!” my grandmother said, but her stern expression turned to one of concern. I must have looked terrified.

 “Please don’t be angry, I don’t think the woods will handle it well.”

 “What does that mean?” she asked, seeming more concerned than suspicious. She turned over my hands and looked up at me with concern when she saw the bloodstains.

I didn’t want to worry her. “I don't think you would believe me if I told you.”

“Honey, I live here. I know there are things unlike us out there,” she said, taking me by the shoulders. She smiled at the look of surprise on my face, and asked, “Is whatever it is taken care of? Is everything all right with the spirits?”

“Uh, they are working it out now.”

“Then come inside. No need to bother with it further.” She turned me around and urged me inside. When I tried to look toward the trees, she turned my face toward my family, who was settling back into party mode. She shook her head and said, “Focus on the positive, and it keeps them away. Now go wash your hands.”

With a knowing look, she walked away, and I realized I probably hadn’t seen anything close to what she had seen over the years.