That World Called Zerigoph: The War's End

Chapter 5

The Great Forest was green again as creatures chirped invisibly from the trees. Thunder boomed overhead and James looked up, meeting a facefull of downpour. He wiped his face with his sleeve and flicked the water off as he marched forward, squinting through hardening rain. His entire body was soaked in an instant, the soft ground turning softer as James pulled his boots from melting dirt with each step. His chest swelled with anxiety; something was wrong.

"Into the trees! Into the trees!" a painful voice yelled, the foliage above James beginning to shake with the movement of bodies. James pulled his boots from the mud with a grunt, clinging to the bark of a Great Oak. He groaned as his head thunked against its bark, knowing even in trial he'd have to climb them again. His internal complaints were silenced when the ground began breathing. James climbed as the mud chased him upwards, slowly at first but quickening vigorously.

"Alright," he said, climbing in waterlogged clothes, "a flood was not what I had in mind for a trial, but I guess it makes sense." He was high enough to see the lowest branches, where a singular Zakras leapt towards him. He moved differently than everyone else, continuously barking orders to move towards the lake where the trees were tallest.

James swung his body between branches, barely using his wings as he flew through the trees. The water was fast and strong, but the surge hadn't come yet. Ducking under other Zakras and dodging children, Grimlok launched his body towards Ka'Hushka. The Gabrul would have already evacuated, sensing the water surges before the rain even started. The Elkonn always sent children up first, as they were faster climbers and could be carried by Zakras if needed. James moved faster. He hadn't seen a single adult yet and the surge couldn't be far. He needed to get them into the branches before it came, otherwise there would be one hell of a cleanup once the forest drained.

The adults started running past him on the branches, uncoordinated but fast. Looking down, he saw the trunks of Ka'Hushka's outskirt trees covered in climbing Elkonn. The roofs of their buildings were beginning to disappear, and he grimaced to the first bodies screaming and grasping desperately as water tore them from wood.

"Grimlok!"

"Elder Hal!" he scratched out. "How many are left? The surge is coming!"

"Most are on the trees now. I think they're beating the water, but there's nothing else we can do!"

"Did you set the breakers?" James yelled over roaring wind.

"Already set and already gone! They bought us the time we needed, but now we have to go and hope enough make it!"

James waved him on, and the elder slipped past him to follow the running crowd. The branches were slick and a standing coat of water covered everything, but he never fumbled. James stared out over the remains of Ka'Hushka, now nothing but water with a few floating wood pieces that raced between trees. The water was white with roaring foam. He looked to the western river. Its barricade was nearly covered with maybe a minute left until it spilled over completely. To his left was the invisible Saladi, climbing to the tops of their trees with anyone caught in the downpour.

A new sound blossomed in the silence of roaring wind, a low growl by a beast of water and rage. James tensed, watching the Great Stone Wall so he could see both rivers in his periphery. A new wall of water rose from each, forcing itself down narrow channels and over breaker walls, rushing in a great wave through the forest. James raced towards the lake, finding the horn on his belt. He climbed and flew with one hand as his lungs filled the horn. He was the last arrival, but they all knew the surge had come. Deafening crashes filled his ears as trees around him rumbled with the power of oncoming water. He could barely hear the chaos of Great Oaks torn from their roots, broken at their bases, colliding and crashing into one another before strengthening tidal waves through the forest.