The Invaders

Chapter Four

It's been a year and half now, crisp winter morning returned and there was a frosty chill in the air. A sweet surrendering scent of the moist morning dew that cascades all around the sublime forest. The mixed cool autumn leaves from the tall trees lay scattered on the forest floor; they were in the motion of turning a brittle brown. There was the sound of shattered glass that emphasized the leaves being crunched, as if you were to step on them, pushing their papery remains deep into the brilliant white snow, which lined the ground like a fresh white cotton sheet. The passive and daunting forest has the appeal of a forgotten land, which has been lost in time. The isolated forest remained in a capsule, untouched by the destructive essence of man. The dark shadows of the voluminous trees and puzzled bushes had become the structure of the forest. The trees stood proud and tall as protectors of the exigent grounds, as the impregnated bushes that had consumed the hard regions of the forest, concealed the land from beneath the vibrant portals of the open sky. Dense fog gathered in the center of the moor. Over a small hill to the north, nestled in a valley, lay the village Helen and the others seek refuge in. It was bitterly cold ,the entire place was covered in snow and freezing.  Helen still hasn't received a sign she questions if there was a god out there that could help her. 

Her mother was getting worse as the days passed she couldn't sit around any longer and do anything. So she made up her mind, she was going to town. She didn't want to interact so closely with them but they were her last resort. It was late afternoon, the winter breeze was blowing from the east, She picked up the engraved dagger with the initials W.D, it was her husband's, she stared at it with tears threatening to fall, swallowing hard she pushed the smaller dagger into her worn-out satchel and wrap her long black hair under the cloth creating a hijab. She took one last look at her mother, her skin was pale, around her eyes were red and puffy, whether from the cold or the disease. Sighing, she walked away with a heavy heart. She knew the risk of venturing out to the outside. The other humans all stood looking at her with pity, the young held onto their mothers peeking through their legs watching her as if she was making the biggest mistake of her life. Which Helen believe she is.

She set out for her journey, the irony, she ran from the place now she must return. The village looked relatively small from the mountains, cradled like a baby in the arms of the surrounding hills. She stood looking out across the moor as the fog slowly crept its way towards the village; tendrils, like fingers, clawed its way closer, quickly smothering it from view. What would be a gray afternoon chill descended upon the surrounding hills, as slowly the sky began to darken. 

she stood, shivering, watching the moon struggle to penetrate through the thick sky. The leaves were unyielding, hanging on a firm branch in the sudden chill that succeeded sunset. The sounds of unseen creatures and the sound of the creeping dead chilled her to the bone as she slowly breathed in the dark mustiness, the earth-laden chill filled her nostrils, burning her insides. Darkness had fully set in now, only the waning glimmer of light from the moon illuminated her path to the forest. She walked out down the grassy path and up back into the hills finding her way to the city. Feeling empty with a wretch inside her stomach, she looked back. Only the thin rays of moonlight illuminated the path, it made her sorrowful to know that she left her mother behind in a desolate consummation of misery. 

It's been three whole days, her feet ache and sore from the long journey, her sandals were torn beyond recognizable, her toes peep out at the world,  her esophagus aches for water. She leaned against a rough bark of a tree staring at the gray moon illuminating her surroundings. Sighing, she simply couldn't continue the journey. She was starving, she ate her last piece of food 2 days ago, she was hoping to get something to consume. But where? With all her willpower she pushed her body from the bark of the tree and stumbled along the path she was trying to create with a branch she found earlier. The forest was distant, quiet as she quickly worked her way down the dew sodden grass. The isolated forest has the appearance of winter romance which blossomed, alluring your mind deeper and deeper into the enchanted land. As the wintry sun rose in a timely hurry, as if trying to make up for setting so early the evening before, the sun tried to force its way into the gray sky bursting out streaks of warm mellow glow onto thickened icy leaves trying to melt away the cold. Sending what was left of the dulled moon packing until its next shift overlooking the night.