The Land Behind the Mirror | ONC 2022

Chapter 3

Trudging through a forest filled with unfamiliar scents and sounds proved far more challenging than Alba had anticipated. Alba hoped that there would be at least some sense of familiarity, that she would get some vague idea of what she was supposed to do, how she was supposed to survive.

However, all she got from her surroundings was the sense of dread, a feeling that danger was all around her. It felt like all the beings in this new world, which seemed to be the old one, wanted to hurt her. Even worse, everything seemed to view her as just another delicious meal.

She trod around, watching her surroundings cautiously, jumping out of her skin at every loud sound. Every snap of a branch seemed to spell out danger, and there were many of those. The forest was more alive than any other, and Alba was starting to lose the courage that she had previously managed to dig out from the very depths of her being.

This way, dear one. This way.

Once again, the whisper reached Alba's ears, caressing them with its grandmotherly tenderness. Yet, Alba didn't find the comfort it provided reassuring. How could she trust it? What if there were beings out there able to mimic sounds, emotions even?

Alba distinctly remembered hearing something about that, about creatures imitating human voices to lure them into their lair, to viciously devour them. Yet, whether it was just a horror movie or some odd documentary, Alba had no idea. Everything she knew and thought she knew was churning inside her skull, making it hard to think about anything. Making a decision seemed impossible.

Hurry. Please. We mean you no harm.

"Sure, sure. A disembodied voice coming from nowhere means me no harm. Right. Silly me to worry about that," Alba said, not sure if she was talking to herself or replying to the voice.

Alba. Come. You will be safe here.

Alba was startled at the mention of her name and grew even more suspicious of the odd and yet utterly soothing voice. It reminded her of her grandmother. It made her recollect drinking hot cocoa with her on a cold winter night. All those good old days lost in the maze of time came rushing back to her in the form of memories.

Tears slowly slid down her face mixing with the sweat that never seemed to stop flowing in this tropical land, the one that could be the same one she was in before, only millions of years in the past.

Yet if that was the case, how could there be a voice speaking her language? Calling her name?

Finally, Alba decided that it hardly mattered. Perhaps she was walking into a trap, but how much worse could it be than being devoured by the T-Rex or the enormous insects that she started noticing as she went on? The oversized insects were just another thing to be afraid of. At least the voice sounded like it was trying to help. The possibility of not dying was far better in Alba's mind than the certainty of death that the image of T-Rex conjured.

She stood up a bit straighter, determination burning in her eyes. If it was a trap she was walking into, she would do so with dignity.

"Where are you?" Alba asked what looked like empty air.

Still, she did feel like there were other presences there. More than one at that, but it didn't mean anything to her. Ever since she entered the woods, there was always something going on, life continuing as if her sudden appearance hadn't disturbed it in the slightest.

Over here. Follow my voice.

Alba did vaguely remember all the stories that ended badly when one blindly followed a stranger's lead. However, she was too exhausted to think of another way. So, she just continued dragging herself through the thicket of both bushes and air to reach the voice.

This way. That huge tree. Can you see it?

"Yes, I see it," Alba said, her voice as sluggish as her movements.

Climb it. You will be safe there.

"Climb?" Alba asked, yawning loudly as her muscles started giving out as the adrenaline of running for one's life left them.

Quick. Climb.

Even though Alba could hear the pattering of tiny feet converging all around her, she couldn't find enough strength left in her to do so. It was as if she was suddenly left drained.

The shock. The running. It was all too much for someone who, until that point, had led a very peaceful life. The only adventures she ever had were those in books and movies.

Her body slowly crumbled to the ground as Alba started embracing unconsciousness which provided her with some escape from the impossible things which somehow became a part of her reality. Before she could fully plunge into the land of dreams, she felt as if she was floating, rising slowly to great heights.

"Am I dying?" she thought for a second, but even that wasn't enough to keep her awake.

All she cared about at that moment was some respite. One part of her reason was trying to break through to tell her that she couldn't give up, that it would mean death. However, all it accomplished was for her eyes to flutter open, admiring the greenery that surrounded her like the most comfortable bed, and drift off to sleep again.

Her sleep was restless. Falling. Being carried away by a tornado. Being chased. Always being chased. Never being able to escape. The monster's gaping mouth closing in. Teeth chattering in fear. Crunching sounds.

Alba was startled awake after the horrible nightmare, barely stopping herself from plummeting to her death from the tree she had suddenly found herself on.

"Wait a second. I didn't climb the tree, did I?" Alba whispered to herself, looking around.

She wanted to see if there was anyone around who could have carried her up, but she saw no one. Furthermore, she couldn't think of a being who lived at this time that had enough intelligence to do so. Yet the voice...

"Nah, I probably just forgot climbing it. I was too sleepy," Alba said, shuddering as she recalled the horrific nightmare in which T-Rex had managed to catch up with her.

She could still feel his teeth breaking into her skin like a knife through butter, crushing up her bones as she shrieked in agony.

Shaking her head, Alba tried to focus on the situation at hand as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. From the stiffness of her joints, she estimated that she had been lying in the same position for a long time, so it stood to reason that it could be the dawn of the next day. It was a fact substantiated by the low sunbeams that she could see from her position high up in the tree.

Looking around her, it seemed as if she was in some type of a nest as the leaves were far too perfectly arranged to be naturally occurring. It was far more sizable than any regular nest and that was the main reason she wanted to vacate its premises immediately.

Therefore, before even considering investigating the place, she started looking downwards, assessing the best way to descend.

Climbing down the tree turned out easier than she assumed it would be, as there were wooden planks that served as old-fashioned stairs that she could easily use to reach the ground. Her mind didn't allow her to process the oddness of that construction as it was something she was familiar with that she found common enough.

Either way, she didn't pay any attention to that as she tried to decide on her direction. The best course of action seemed to be going back to where she came into the world in the first place, but she was no longer sure where that was. Her sense of direction was generally horrible, and fear made it worse.

For that reason, she decided to let luck choose for her as she started going in a random direction, admiring the odd-shaped plants that reminded her of seashells. She had never seen such large, green plants that were so unusual in shape.

"I might as well rest here," Alba said.

Only seconds later, the air was pierced with a loud scream.