FSE

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They always told us about the Forest. It had always been there, since the beginning of time. Always reaching for us at the edge of the city, at the edge of creation.

As children, we were always told not to enter the Forest and its inviting, dark depths. We were always told to not even look at its ancient trees, and the crumbling, overgrown ruins within. The Forest stood just beyond those tall fences, out of reach. They said monsters lurked within, they said the trees could kill- new stories came out every day about children who found a way into the forest, only to die in some new vicious way.

Then there were those missing people. The Council created a building just for the missing people; The Hall of Vanished Persons. It was a massive, octagonal building that stood in the center of the city, where the statue of a once-important man had been before. Its walls were covered in pieces of paper, and each one was a missing person. People left mementos to the lost ones on the floor nearby the walls, many of them candles.

'Children, welcome to the Hall of Vanished Persons. Many of them are children like yourself, but they were naughty.' My teacher told us when she took us there last year. She was a portly old woman with curled blond hair, and she was too cheerful for her frame. 'Do you know why they were naughty?'

'No, Ms. Bowe!' We all shouted as one. We were poor fools- young, poor fools.

'Well, kids, they entered the Forest. The trees in there probably tore them to bits, and the monsters got them and nibbled them up!' Ms. Bowes explained, making a biting motion with her hands. 'And if that didn't happen, perhaps they were so naughty they became the monsters themselves! So, you know why you should be good.'

'Don't be naughty or the Forest will get you!'

I guess I must of been naughty.

Two years later, I wandered off the well-beaten road to the housing complex, sullen and tired. I sat down on a stone near the fence and sat my bag down next to me. The battered regulation bookbag flopped onto its back like a fish out of water, kicking up dust. The Council dictated that there be no plants within the city's borders, lest the forest spread within. Not even grass; a historical artifact we were taught about once.

I gazed out to the Forest. This part of the fence was a long way from the nearest guard tower, where the guards wore blinders on their helmets to stop them gazing upon the Forest. No one cared as I watched it.

Ancient, withered trees grew as twisted as an old man's fingers about a hundred feet from the fence, covered in thick vines. The ground below those trees was covered in ferns and tall grasses, and birdsong- that was what they called it in the textbooks- rung out constantly. But the space between the fence and the Forest was a barren mess, with the scorched logs of trees standing out like toothpicks in the dirt. They had burnt the Forest when it came too close.

Suddenly, something small brushed up against my leg, and it made me jump. The little creature jumped as well and stared at me, leaning back on its four legs- I identified it as a creature from my textbooks that was known as a Vulpes- no, a Fox. I had presumed them to be extinct. The textbooks said they were voracious scavengers, willing sometimes to strip the flesh off of the living.

The fox leapt up onto the rock and sat down next to me, resting its long face on its front paws, and then it yawned. It was gazing out into the forest.

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' The fox commented. The textbook said nothing about them talking.

'I...' I stuttered.

'You could just run out there now. Whats stopping you? It's much better in there.' The fox added.

'The fence.' I stated. The fox pointed its snout to a nearby building, where the roof stood over the fence. A ladder was leaning against the side of the building, originally used to repair a broken window.

'I... They tell us the Forest is death, and danger....' I muttered. The fox let out a laugh that had no place in its frame.

'Who's they? Your mother? A voice coming from a loudspeaker in that "Hall of Vanished Persons"? Not like they need you anyhow.'

'Y...You're right. I'm just another child, made to fulfil the Council's orders...'

'Then go. Better place and time than ever, really.' The fox replied, standing up. It slipped through a small gap in the fence, and waited for me to climb up. I got to the top and glanced down at the dirt below. It was a short drop, but did I really want to do this...?

'The Forest will not wait for the ones it has chosen.' The fox said, annoyed. I leapt.

Crossing the space between the city and the Forest was easy; no guards stopped us. None were even in our sight.

And as I walked through the Forest, with grass at my knees and the branches of the trees above me, the fox stayed close. He usually hopped between tree branches, to stay in my eyesight. The little fox seemed to care for my safety.

But I couldn't help to notice the slight buzzing in my head, similar to what you get after an adrenaline rush.

'Do you hear that, friend...?' The fox asked, hopping to another branch.

'The birdsong?' I questioned. The birds were creating a massive din, with dozens competing over each other for being the loudest.

'No, not quite. It's a feeling that rings in the back of your skull, ever present. It calls to you, beckoning you. Do you hear the calls of the Earth-Mother...?'

I then realized that he was talking about that buzz, so I nodded. We crossed an aged fallen tree trunk that created a bridge over a river, the moss smelling of old earth and decay. The river itself was roaring below us.

'Good. Their may just be hope for you yet.' The fox commented, smiling. He leapt ahead. 'Come on, follow.'

I followed the fox. He led me to the side of the path I had taken, along the side of the river. We passed even older trees, their withered branches seemingly reaching out to claw at me; the uninvited guest. Or was I invited...?

'I know exactly what you're thinking right now.' The fox commented as we went down a hill. I gave him a confused stare. 'You're wondering if you were actually invited. You were, trust me. Otherwise, the Earth-Mother wouldn't send one of her envoys out.'

Suddenly, we stopped. The whole time as we were following the river, the buzzing was getting stronger. It seemed willing to make me collapse, overwhelming my senses. But we stopped where the river had stopped- feeding directly into a massive, ancient tree. The tree itself was hundreds of feet wide and many more time taller, with its massive green canopy high above me. The bark itself was twisted and contorted, but it was full of life. Moss bloomed on its ancient surface, thousands of bugs crawled up and down it, and several rivers flew right into the tree.

'She creates the Forest. She feeds the ones who live within, and her ever-loving embrace keeps the world alive. She even keeps envoys like myself alive, undying.' The fox explained. 'Well, do get closer. Touch her withered bark, caress her living body. I was in the same predicament once before, don't worry. It's a much better idea to go and touch her. Let her protect you. She chose you, you know. Sent me out to find you.'

I walked up to the ancient tree with my bare hand outstretched. I got up right next to it, and the buzz was overwhelming, roaring in my skull.

'Feel her embrace.' The fox said just before my hand touched the bark. Then the whole world went black as the buzz reached a numbing peak.

The Next day, another child found her way to that same rock near the fence, to that same abandoned house with the ladder on its side. She rested there, watching the Forest breathe. A large hawk landed next to her, landing almost silently. The child didn't notice until the hawk uttered a few words.

'The Forest really is something, isn't it?'

And that same day, another name- to add to the one from yesterday- was placed in the Hall of Vanished Persons. Both were children, one male, one female; both lost to the Forest.

But were they truly gone?