Tale Of A Cursed Alpha

To say that I was frightened out of my wits would be a very gross understatement. My heart had somehow jumped from its enclosure in my chest and was now making very wild beats in my ears. I struggled to hold my head steady to avoid a very large organ dropping out of it. I wasn’t sure a large red blood spurting organ would be a very good sight to see. My hands suddenly seemed to grow a mind of their own as they flailed helplessly, my attempts to keep them at my side failing woefully. My belly was not left out as it tumbled violently like a pit of snakes had been let loose in it, each of which was nice having a field day of biting out huge chunks out of my belly walls. My legs? They seemed to have suddenly had all their bones melted into a tissue puddle as they wobbled under me, threatening to give out under me at any moment.

As if the scare by the trees wasn’t already good enough, the guardian of the trees decided to pay me a visit as well. That was what he/she looked like at least. How else would you describe someone who wore a cloak that was clearly green but still managed to glow so brilliantly in the dark? And by dark, I don’t mean the kind of dark that happens when the moon disappears under heavy clouds. I mean the kind that snuffs out all kind of light. The kind that exists in a room where all the opening through which light could come in has been blocked. The kind that has you feeling around for your nose to be certain it is still glued to your face. Yeah, that kind! Yet, I still managed to see this person very clearly due to the brilliant features of their plumage. The figure wore a cloak that seemed to be the source of the glow. Taking a closer look, I could see that it looked exactly the same as the grass rug in the hut. Yeah! This was the guardian all right. No one else would wear a robe made of grass. Not to mention the small antler like branches that sprung from behind his ears. I would have easily mistook them for antlers if not for the lush green leaves that sprung from their sides. I wondered if he had simply attached them or they really grew on him. My brain almost overloaded trying to think of how that was possible. His legs seemed bare except that they exuded a green halo as well and he seemed to be at least 7 feet tall. I had a feeling that if he stood very still, he would be a perfect tree. A very bright green, breathing one, sure, but a tree nonetheless. A chill settled in my bones as I wondered if he had been here all along, standing among his trees and watching us as we barged into his property like we owned the place. The memory of the table came floating back to me as I wondered if it really had been breathing. My dread ballooned to a hundred times its former size as I wondered if these things were alive. I wasn’t usually scared of nature, as a matter of fact, I dared to say that I loved it but the possibility of living, walking, breathing nature sounded pretty scary.

“Who… who are you?” I finally managed to ask, my voice sounding like grating rocks.

The figure chuckled. It was difficult to believe that this… thing was human. The voice was neither male, nor female, not even human, I dared to say. It sounded like the rustling of several large, leafy branches on a very stormy day. I frowned as I took in the figure again wondering if the sound had come from the trees instead. “I see you finally met each other.” It wasn’t very easy to hear the voice of a tree, much less, understand what it was saying but somehow, I managed to make sense of the words.

I stared at the tree person suspiciously as I tried to make sense of his words. What did he mean that we had finally met each other? Could he be referring to Indrik? Or perhaps… THE TREE THAT HAD SUDDENLY APPERARED BEHIND HIM. I yelped as I jumped back, nearly falling on my face. There was no doubt about it now. These trees were definitely moving. How? I couldn’t say for the life of me, especially as these trees were very huge with the least no shorter than fifteen feet. I became jumpy as I wondered for the umpteenth time what this living tree wanted from me. Not my life, I hoped, because it would really suck to be turned into a tree.

Tree person turned toward the tree behind him and placed a green palm against it. My eyes widened. That was definitely not a hand. It was shaped like a palm, yes, but it looked more like a branch, with all the shoots and leaves that a branch would have as fingers. “Come on, Herms. I’ve told you to stop sneaking up on me. Especially not when I have guests. Look, now, you’ve almost scared her to death.” The tree shook from root to leaves like it was throwing a tantrum, something which I wouldn’t have thought possible until tonight. “Yeah, go ahead. I will definitely come by later as long as you promise to be good.”

Like talking to trees was not already strange enough, Herms shook again as the ground rumbled under me and I watched the tree start to move farther and farther. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been seeing it happen before me right now but the tree seemed to be moving by moving its roots underground.

“Quietly, Herms.” Tree person called after the tree. I didn’t think that to be possible but the tree rumbled again before continuing its journey, this time without any sound.

My mouth fell open.