After getting back from the hike I checked with Sara that my new puppy was being well taken care of. Her collar was so tight it was almost strangling her. And Sara hadn’t bothered to clean any of her messes. I still wasn’t sure about Sara. She acts nice but there’s just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. Still; the puppy had plenty of biltong and water so maybe she was just busy.

Afterwards I went to go test arrow designs with my bow. The engineer helping me was very worried the bow string would snap, which can be very dangerous on bows with a high draw weight. Plus I couldn’t restring it without the proper equipment. So they only gave me five of their best attempts. They had no heads. Just wooden shafts and fletching. The fletching was surprisingly good under the circumstances. They’d found a dead bird somewhere and the feathers were secured with scavenged superglue. Two of the arrows shattered when loosed and the other three weren’t very accurate. But they promised they’d give me an extra dozen arrows for the next day’s excursion if they worked through the night. It would have to suffice.

I slept through the politics and got woken up bright an early by a screaming monster. “Are you fucking crazy? I’m not going into that deathtrap.”

“Come on Sara. It’s not that bad. As long as we’re careful we’ll be fine,’ Eric replied.

“Yeah,” Jason said, “it’s just a six hour hike up the valley and a six hour hike back again. You compete in marathons. You’ll have a much easier time than the rest of us.”

“Marathons aren’t located in demon infested hellscapes. And Melissa isn’t going.”

“Melissa is helping organise the camp. You’re just sitting around pretending to be helpful and stealing everything that isn’t nailed down.”

“Sian, name one time I’ve ever stolen from any of you.”

“The only reason you haven’t is because you know we’d report you immediately.”

“Fine,” Sara finally answered, “but if you die I get first dibs on the loot from your corpses.”

Ok. Maybe Sara was completely psychotic. But her friends didn’t seem to think it was anything to worry about. So I just kept my mouth shut and went to collect my new arrows. The team went above and beyond and managed to make me sixteen arrows with improvised aluminium broadheads. I doubted I’d be able to hit anything with them. But it’s the thought that counts, right?

The rest of us collected our rations of food and water for the day and set out to find corporal Meacham. He wasn’t impressed with the additions to the team. The paramedic looked like he was having a panic attack and the geologist was slightly overweight. And it had been decided “assistants” sixteen years or older could come along. Some of us, including me, were still fifteen. But no one actually bothered to check IDs.

Before we set out there was another speech. “This forest is dangerous. I’m not going to force anyone to come. But know if you do come some of you will die. Please leave now if you can’t accept that risk.” Two people left. Sara looked like she wanted to bolt; but she took a deep breath and stood her ground.

“We are going to go on a twelve hour hike.” Meacham continued, “six hours up the valley and another six hours down. Leave now if you can’t keep up. I don’t want to be forced to leave people behind.” Another three people left. “Be very careful. Point out any dangers you spot and don’t get close to anything that looks strange. If any monsters attack don’t panic. We’ve got spears, a bow and a gun. Working together as a unit will lead to less casualties than breaking and running like a coward. Unless you do something stupid to provoke it. In which case we will leave you behind while we retreat.“

“We’ll be leaving trail markers as we go. But just in case keep an eye on the different mountain peaks. If you get lost they’ll help you find the direction of camp surer than anything on the ground.”

We then left the safety of the camp. In the first two hours there was nothing too exciting. Someone ran into a giant spider’s web but our improvised spears with burnt points managed to kill it before any real harm was done. Another person passed out after pissing in a bush. But he woke up within moments of being dragged away. We gave wide berth to a lizard looking thing the size of a car sleeping on a rock. Its scales were shining white and its breath was a giant fog cloud puffing out at regular intervals.

Sian had started singing a marching song at the beginning of the hike but Meacham promptly told her to shut up. She was now whispering the third rendition of the song as we continued. “Across the wending woods we go. Under bough and over snow. Through treacherous webs of spider queens. For a hope of home we dare not dream. Around sleeping vines hidden to sight. And lizards great and white,” she sang quietly. After a pause I said, “sounds great. Very poetic.”

“ I’m not sure about that last verse. ’Lizards great and white’ sounds a bit hammy.”

“We’ve still got plenty of time to work on it.” I encouraged.

After a fifteen minute break we moved on. The next hour was quiet. The sun was shining through the trees, birds chirping, and tiny elementals of wood and snow were all around. According to one of the hikers we were following a trail animals used to get through the underbrush. Eventually the trail led towards a stream that was surprisingly unfrozen.

After crossing the stream the forest became warmer, with trees switching, according to the hikers, from spruce and pine to oak and maple. The most surprising thing was winter seemed to have ended. The leaves were green and there was no snow on the ground. The temperature must have gone up by at least ten or fifteen degrees. The geologist seemed very confused over how quickly the terrain switched.

“Oh, cute,” I said after seeing a little wooden fawn with an acorn nose. It was maybe an hour into the new forest. I think the lack of threats had caused everyone to lower their guards. It was maybe ten minutes later when Eric said, “what’s that.” Pointing to something moving through the trees. By the time I got up to look I could see three humanoid figures maybe eight or nine feet tall with brown, bark like skin and wispy moss green hair. Each of them was carrying a wooden club.

Meacham was screaming something; but it was inaudible over the roar the creatures made when they noticed we had seen them. They charged through the trees while we grabbed our gear and started to prepare for a fight. Maybe half the group bolted. But six spears formed a wall blocking the charge of the monsters while I started releasing arrows as fast as possible. I only managed to release four arrows by the time the monsters reached the spear wall. They barely seemed to notice the one that hit. With one swing of a club I saw Jason get splattered across a tree. Another hit Eric right in the head. The third hit Meacham with a blow that knocked him over. I was about to release another arrow when I realised Sara was screaming into my ear to run. It barely seemed to notice my arrows. So I turned tail and booked it.

I think the monsters were distracted with other survivors since I didn’t hear anything chasing us. Eventually we saw a majestic oak with a massive crown. Sara sprinted towards it and started climbing. Sian and I followed. We found a narrow nook in the crook of one the branches that gave us a cramped, but comfortable, hiding place.

“Do you think we lost them?” I whispered.

“No idea,” Sara replied, “but we should keep quiet just in case.”

I could hear the thud thumping footsteps of the monsters in the distance. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the noise faded to the normal sounds of the forest. We stayed hidden in that hollow. As time went on the shadows of the branches grew longer and daylight faded to evening. And exhausted from the day’s events I fell asleep.

The next morning I awoke to the sounds of a song in a language I couldn’t understand.