Labyrinth: Saving the Fallen City

Two Sides of the Forest Prologue

The rain pelted to fire but did not stop it. My sorrow-filled tears sizzled in the fire and held it off from burning my skin while the fire burned my clothes. My voice cried out in fear and I reached up to get away from the fire. My arms flailed until they hit a branch. I looked up and saw I had reached the branches. I wasted no time climbing up the branches. I climbed until my arms were so sore that I could hardly move. The rain had been pelting my body and the trees were rubbing against my skin to wash the grime of the fire and ground away. 

The branches of the other trees and my own were coming together. The other trees clawed at me in tempting desperation, leaving marks on my skin. It was difficult to decipher which were safe, and which had been burned. My branches were growing slick from the rain and rough because of the wind. I touched the branches from the other trees, but they dissolved and caused me to fall off balance. I struggled with the slick branches and the burned ones for a while until I came to two very strong branches. I could either climb onto a different tree where the canopy was not far or keep going on the tree that I was on. My body was so exhausted.

I wanted to rest. I grabbed onto the smaller tree to stop, but when I pulled my hand back, it was covered in blood. I jumped back in fright and saw the blood from the other tree drip up my arm instead of down. It began to burn my skin and I cried out. I turned back to my tree and saw the wind had blown me away. I would have to jump back to the strong tree, but I risked falling into the fire or hitting another bloody branch. I jumped, reaching for the strong tree. My heart felt like it stopped as I glided through the thick air.

My hands clasped the tree and help myself up. Instantly, the rain began to wash the blood and prior marks away and I took a breath. The energy I took to jump drained me and I began to breathe deeply and cry a tearlessly. I begged someone to help me. I was so weak as I clung to the trunk of the tree.

My eyes began to close, and the tree wrapped its branches around me. I clung to them desperately, helping them close to cut me off from the world around me. Once my muscles relaxed, my eyes did as well. I fell asleep. I felt joy and peace as my body rested. I didn't need to hold onto the tree, because my mind and body trusted it to hold me still. I didn't have to move. These branches would not consume me.

When I woke, the storm had passed, and the sun was shining. I was somehow now high above the canopy of the other trees. I was clothed in a beautiful dress that felt alive. The dress had grown from the branches of the tree to fuse into my skin. From my body, the dress had extended to the branches. From my skin and dress, I had blossomed and borne fruit. I brushed my fingers on the delicate blooms around me. They had somehow traveled higher with me and grown from me. I touched them once more, but this time they broke from their stem. I tried to catch them, but the wind carried their petals down. I snatched for them, but they drifted. I cried out for them but was unable to save them from the horrors that I had been through and the new ones that may have developed.

My instinct was to chase after the two lost flowers, but something was pulling my body upwards, so I began to climb again, hoping the blossoms would somehow find their way back. I took one branch at a time until the light from the canopy got so bright that my only energy was from the anticipation of finding what was on the other side of the canopy. My breathing grew harsher and my body became excited. I was so close! It felt like a couple seconds until my hand broke through the leaves and I could feel a refreshing wind. I was at the top. I let out a joyful scream. I tried to continue, but the canopy was strong. I beat on the branches and pulled at the vines.

Finally, I cried out for help and I felt a hand take mine. The touch sent sparks through my body. I moved through the canopy with ease and was kneeling at the top of the tree. I touched the material on the person who helped me. I was overwhelmed with relief and excitement. I began to look up to see the person's face. I began to blink furiously. My body shook gently, and the tree began to blink away. I tried to stop myself, but reality woke within me and pulled me from my safety. The figure pulled me to my feet and embraced me. He whispered five words into my ear before I blinked one last time, and everything faded.

When my eyes opened, I was standing in front of someone in the middle of a field. I was holding onto their arms as if I were learning to walk again. They looked into my eyes and smiled. It was not the same person as I was originally standing with. They pulled me to my feet and put a hand on my cheek.

"Don't worry. I will not hurt you. I'm here to guide you. Be ready child. Your purpose is coming. Do not lose sight and do not lose hope" I searched the person's eyes as they spoke to me calmly. I stood on my own and looked at the person. Their body was strong and capable. They extended their arm towards somewhere to bring my attention to my surroundings.

"Your journey will not be as you expect but stay on the path and you will find the right way" he spoke smoothly as I took in the field around me and looked to the forest that encircled us. A storm was brewing. I saw the strong tree in the distance.

"This is the beginning. Only you can uncover the ending" were the last words I heard before a bolt of lightning struck the ground and I took a sharp breath.

Thank you for sticking by my book. You will not be disappointed!

-JCross