The Forest Dwellers

Tommy didn’t want to admit it, but he didn’t know exactly where he was. Not in terms of where his life was going, but precisely his location at this very moment. It was around mid day, and the fearless 32 year old was hiking with his best friend Carter. Tommy was single at the moment, and had been feeling anxious to get out and explore after having recently moved out of his home town that he had lived in since he moved back from college six years ago. His days always felt longer and more lackluster since he had moved into his own apartment, and he felt a longing for companionship. 

   It was out of his loneliness that he found his desire to explore the world around him. He wanted to see the natural world and embrace the wilderness just outside his back door. He had come out with his friend on a Saturday to the wilderness on the far east of town to go hiking, and he took plenty of provisions to prepare for any potential circumstances that could arise. In his backpack he carried beef jerky, nut butter, protein bars, english muffins, carrots, kale, apples and walnuts, with plenty of water in a gourd tied to his pack. But all of this was still not enough to get himself out of the predicament he was now in. He somehow forgot where the trail was, or the trail left him behind.

   His legs were killing him, and his feet began to get sore trapped in his snug brown tightly-laced Merrell hiking shoes. Halting unexpectedly, he announced that he needed a short break. Carter turned to look at his friend dubiously. What was going on? They were no where near any discernible trailhead, and lunch was consumed little more than an hour ago. Tommy took a seat on a dead tree trunk laying on the ground, his brown hair being pushed aside by his one good hand to try to make sense of his surroundings. Carter walked over to him.

   “I don’t know why we haven’t seen anything for miles.” Carter said. “I’m not sure where we are.” He looked at his friend.

   Tommy looked back at him dubiously. “Why, we are in Beaverhead National Forest. This land used to be occupied by the local Native American tribe over a hundred years ago, before out ancestors came to the new world and wanted to colonize. He said wryly, making his friend wince.

   “I know where we came to this morning.” Carter said. “What I mean is, I don’t remember anything since we had lunch. It all looks the same to me, the trees, the sky, the flowers, the shrubs. It’s almost as if we are in a play, and someone else is putting together the scenes and we are inexplicably acting in front of an imaginary audience that can’t be seen, and the plot is unbeknownst to anyone but the crafty playwright who is pulling the wool over our eyes.” Carter knelt on a mound of dirt and pulled out a bottle and drank the water inside.

   Tommy had taken out the beef jerky and was chewing it down rapidly. The rough texture satisfied his need for nonconformity that was slowly enveloping his life, starting every day at the office where he had three different bosses having him run around making sure every odd and end was in order until he fell asleep in his car at lunch from pure exhaustion. Tommy worked for an insurance company as an underwriter, and was continually helping his clients in getting the best prices for their individual, unique insurance needs. It was a job that he enjoyed, but it caused him much stress. At times, he felt used and slighted by his fellow man. He felt like every conversation was more of a transaction than anything else. He stared at the ground and sighed. “I know the feeling.”

   “I think that we need to get out bearing, to find out which direction to head toward. I just can’t figure out which way is which. Do you know from whence we came?” Carter asked.

   Tommy shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t say it.” He sighed, heaving his shoulders forward, and grabbed a protein bar from his pack.

   “I mean, we have to be somewhere.” Carter replied optimistically.

   “Everywhere is somewhere.” Tommy cornered him with his own logic. “Look, let me rest a little while, and I am sure I can come to my senses to remember where we are.”

   A woodpecker alighted on a sturdy branch of an oak tree hovering above the two men. The small red and black woodpecker hopped over to the central trunk of the tree, and went away picking apart the bark of the tree in a never-ending quest to take apart the tree to find what it was looking for inside whilst the men below sat, waiting to find where their path had gone.

   “I remember.” Carter spoke, “that when we had left the car, I had taken the map for this trek that you wanted to do this morning.” The staunch man went into his sack and started unzipping various pockets and compartment. Finally, he withdrew a small, foldable map, along with a brochure about the park.

   “A lot of good that will do us.” Tommy stated sarcastically. “Tell me, what good is a map when you don’t even know where you are? We can’t pinpoint our location at the moment. What we need is a bearing.”

   “Well, we can’t seem to find it here” Carter said.

   “Perhaps…” Tommy sat, deep in thought, then spoke. “I think we need a fresh perspective on the situation.” There was a fluttering of wings overhead. He looked up to see a bunch of feathers fall on his shoulder.

   “So, you mean climb to a place where we have better view of the land and layout?”

   Tommy smiled. “Exactly.” Carter felt unsettled by this. Something about Tommy’s demeanor made him uneasy. Carter put his hands on his head to think, his hard stubby fingers grasping the roots of his glossy blonde hair, his green eyes unsettled by the circumstances.

   Tommy had already gotten up, and was pacing back and forth restlessly. It struck Carter as odd that Tommy appeared so oblivious to the dangers of being lost in the forest. Shouldn’t he be more scared? 

   At present, Carter felt like their best chances at survival was to find someone who could help them, seeing that neither of them knew anything about surviving in the wild. He pulled out a small mirror from his pack. “Tommy, I have a mirror that we could use, once we get to higher ground.”

   Tommy laughed. “I haven’t seen anyone here since we came to the trail. The last time I remembered seeing a person was in the parking lot. It’s like they vanish into nature once they leave their car.”

   “Well, I think it is at least worth a try”

   “You’re probably right.” Tommy conceded. They looked about and saw a clearing approximately 10 yards away. They settled on moving in that direction, and picking up their packs to leave when they heard the unmistakable howl of a coyote. It pierced through the air and brought fear into the hearts of the men. “We have to get on high ground” Carter said immediately as the head of coyote came into view from a thick far off.

   They both looked for a tree that could be climbed, and found one where the bark was more rough and had footholds that were deep enough to fit a foot in. Carter hastily climbed up the tree, dragging a somewhat estranged Tommy up with him. Ever since coming to this park, Tommy had been acting stranger than usual, but he was always known as a strange guy by his friend. One such reason was that Carter was his only friend, outside of his work. In fact, Carter could not remember how he ended up meeting Tommy. It was almost like one day, he just appeared. Though this was always the case with Tommy, as he was very mysterious with what he did.

   As the two men climbed higher, the coyotes passed the spot where they were just minutes ago, and paused, as if contemplating a new scent that they picked up. Just then, a noise like a chainsaw was heard, and the coyotes dispersed.

   Tommy and Carter both held onto the trunk, and were enmeshed by the crown where a dense foliage of leaves and branches covered any views they could have of the outside world. Tommy felt himself slipping, and his foot gave way. His hand grabbed at Carter’s ankle, and both fell. They fell through a hole in the tree and found themselves inside the biggest stump they had ever seen as they hit the ground with a thump. Underneath them lay hundreds of thistles and thorns. It was dark all around them.

   As Carter began to grow accustomed to the dark, he saw many eyes falling on him. A group of elves wearing green frocks and red overcoats appeared. They wore moccasins that made no noise as they slowly approached.

   Carter was the first to speak. “Where are we?” He knew it was a desperate question, but he needed an answer.

   The first elf that approached him have a low-hanging beard, and answered. “Why, you are at a crossroads.” After a long pause, the elf spoke. “As you can see, we are inside of a tree. The only way out is by the way you came in.” He pointed his fingers at the opening above them. “There are two ways to go, through that opening or through the roots.” The tunnels were surround them. Carter had never seen roots that big before, but at the same time he had never seen the insides of a root, as they were always underground and away from view.

   Tommy had gotten up and was feeling quite dizzy. He put his hand on his head to stop the ground from moving. “What time is it?” he somehow managed to ask.

   A round elf with pointed nose came up to him and looked him in the eye. “It is 12:00. Time never changes here.”

   The elves started to feel more comfortable around them. One of them spoke up, “We should welcome our guests properly, they have come from the world above.” They all cheered, and the elf with the beard spoke. “Why don’t you come with us to the banquet hall for lunch.” The humans couldn’t say no to that, so they were led down one of the many roots to another large trunk. This one had various rooms inside at different levels, and to the right Carter could see a large room above him carved into the phloem. The elves within the trees pointed out the banquet hall being there. 

   A short elf with red hair showed them to a chamber just below the banquet hall where the guests could rest while food was to be prepared, though what food could be prepared inside of a tree was indeed a mystery to anyone. There were three old elves that had sat across from the guests. They told of the land of the wood elves under the trees. The Elves would use the roots to get from one side of the forest to the other. They had cared for the trees for thousands of years, and had used the sap to give them immortality. Carter listened intently to the conversation, while his companion continued to sit idly by picking small needles out of his clothes.

   At length, they were called in for dinner. The smell of dried mutton and dried apricot left a rotting taste in Carter's tongue and made Tommy cringe, but both men were too famished to think, and both took ample rations.

There were glasses of fine wine poured out and given to the guests. Carter forgot about his portion as his companion downed the wine before he could become accustomed to the situation. Why were the wood elves acting so nice to us, he wondered.

Before he could think again, a shock came across everyone at the banquet hall. Someone, or something, was hacking at a tree nearby, and everyone could hear it. The was a loud uproar, and the elves got up to go into the direction of the sound.

This was there chance to escape. Carter got up from the table and grabbed Tommy to pull him up, but Tommy's legs were like lead, and he stumbled backwards. As they both started making way down the winding stairs toward the main foyer below, one of the elves turned to see them trying to escape, and called out to the other elves.

Carter ran through the first tunnel he could find, and found that roots making up the tunnel were generally stuffy, and difficult to breathe. The tunnel got smaller and smaller around him, until he found himself struggling to get through. The elves were close behind him now. Perspiration covered his cheeks as he struggled to get through to safety, and he began hitting the ceiling in despeartion. Eventually, his fist punctured a hole in the top of the root, and he stuck his hand out for help. A hand grabbed his, and a beautifully strong woman pulled him out.

He was back on the trail. The woman had a strong back and long legs. She asked him if he was okay. He said he was, forgetting about his friend. They left in her jeep. As he came to his wits, he remembered words of wisdom given to him by his dad. Try to leave things better than they were before you got there.