I tried hard not to panic. I must search for a clue to find a way out of here. Even if it was an illusion, this world had a natural order, and I was happy to follow a path that threaded through the trees.
The way was pleasant; the branches above were heavy in leaves, and exotic flowers perfumed a soft wind that rustled through the leaves of the trees. I walked slowly, savouring the beauty of my surroundings before a long-drawn-out clamour shattered the tranquil silence.
It sounded like someone was hauling a heavy object over the ground, but when I listened more closely, the movement seemed too smooth and controlled; something was slithering through the undergrowth under its own power.
Something alive.
I stopped abruptly, and the movement stopped with me.
I stood motionless, straining to hear the sound again, but the creature had also stopped. I could see nothing of it, but a stench like sulphurous marsh gas rose from the thick vegetation where the beast hid. As the toxic mist drifted over, it left a sticky deposit like decaying fish roe on my skin and cloyed the air with a repellent, alien sweetness.
Arcadia itself reacted violently to this invasion from the other world, and the usual gentle breeze turned into a fierce wind that whipped through the treetops and scattered leaves everywhere. Dark forces had entered, and the soft green shades of the woodland shifted into a murky yellow fog, and in the semi-darkness, my heart pounded uncontrollably.
I waited for a long time without hearing anything and tentatively moved forward, but the beast thing moved along with me.
Steeling myself against the horror to come, I turned to face my pursuer, but once again, it stopped with me, remaining hidden in the bush with its gaze upon me.
Surely, the guardians of this wonderful land would not tolerate the presence of the alien intruder and send it back from where it came?
The underlying world that supported the illusion must be the home of the slitherer, and the creature had broken through the security of whatever protection scheme the designers had put in place. But ultimately, it mattered little whether this was an illusion or an alternative reality. The slithering beast could kill me as easily in one state as in the other.
For the first time, I felt genuine fear and tried to flee from my pursuer, but like in a nightmare, my heavy limbs refused to move faster. On impulse, I spun around and caught a fleeting glimpse of a huge serpent covered in green scales, glistening with slime.
The serpent let out a screech of anger and disappeared back into the undergrowth. Clouds of steam marked its path as the protective oil that coated its skin evaporated in the warmth.
I never saw it again, but I constantly heard it tracking me from a safe distance.
A whistling noise suddenly erupted in my head—an unbearably high-pitched sound that caused me to drop to my knees in pain. Suddenly, the radio interference, which was what it was, stopped, and I heard the distant but unmistakable sound of a human voice. The signal was faint and intermittent, and I strained to interpret the message. I could barely make out the sound of my name, but I knew who it was.
"Albert!"
"You must get out of there," he said faintly.
Before I could reply, he had vanished, and our communication line had been cut off. Albert must have summoned every ounce of his strength to get in touch with me, and I knew I wouldn't hear from him again. I continued walking with an increased sense of urgency, but I was still left puzzled.
Why does he want me to leave Arcadia?
I had no way of knowing, but there could be no turning back now.
As I moved through the woodlands, the irrigating pools appeared at regular intervals, and I passed them without taking notice until I saw a pool that radiated an aura of pulsing red light, drawing me compulsively to its edge.
I looked down and saw a tiny red sea, its waves crashing on an unseen shore; the rhythm matched my heartbeat, as if I were controlling the flow. The sea became part of me, and I watched captivated as a series of curious faces appeared on the crest of each wave, falling away when the trough sank back into the deep.
The turbulent waters calmed, and the images faded until only one remained, gently rippling on the surface like a developing photograph in a fixer tank. It was the face of a beautiful woman, and when she fixed her gaze on mine, her pupils dilated, voracious black holes that seemed to feed on my life force. I remained paralysed by the poolside as she feasted until satisfied, then watched in wonder as her fulfilled form rose from the water like a genie from a lamp.
I was strangely undiminished by her feeding frenzy, but I was unable to take my eyes off her tall, commanding figure. Regally dressed in a flowing red robe, she was like a queen from the pages of a fairy tale, and astonishingly beautiful.
I was unable to look away, and she began to sing a haunting, repetitive melody that furthered the enchantment and dulled my senses. The words were meaningless, but her song compelled me to draw ever closer, and I saw that since leaving the pool, pain had consumed her body; those exquisite features had crumpled into a corrugated mass, and she seemed close to death.
Her lips moved, and I felt her soft breath as she murmured,
"This accursed wood is killing me; we must both leave, or you will die alongside me."
I was still under her spell and reached out to reverently stroke her face with my outstretched hand. Her cold flesh recoiled at my touch, and she instantly transformed into a vicious, spitting polecat, claws unsheathed and ready to pounce.
I stepped back in fear, and once at a safe distance, she rose again, once more in the form of the queen. Her coal-black eyes glittered with defiance, but she was in agony and screamed.
"There lies the way out," she said, pointing forward, "—do as I say, or rest here forever."
With a final moan of despair, she vanished. With her went the last traces of her enchantment, and that I had touched the corpse-like flesh of a soulless shapeshifter sickened me.
I was ashamed that the red queen had snared me so easily, but confused that Albert had given me the same urgent advice as her to leave the wood. Nothing lay ahead but the endless wood with no visible means of escape, but I had no choice and continued on my way.