The change was immediate.
Once we stepped out of the field and under the canopy, the air became cold and thick. The fumes of sap, rot and wood, tainted with a metallic sting, burnt my nose as I inhaled. Screeches and squeals, the likes of which we've never heard before, echoed from all directions. All around us was an ecosystem that we couldn't see due to a solid veil of shadow fogging the space between the trees. The trunks themselves were thicker than houses; about twice the size of the farmhouse. They were pale and cracked like decaying bone. Each trunk intertwined in a network of roots that pulsated, thin veins protruding from their outer shell, glowing blue as its blood flowed through them. The Gurkha's body bumped as it manoeuvred through the forest. The roots let out a slow hiss as they were crushed under the tyres of the van and the boots on our feet. We were getting close to the heart of the void.
"Disgusting," Miko said as she observed the glowing blue ichor that clung to the souls of her boots.
I placed my hand on the trunk of one of the trees. It was warm to the touch, even through my latex gloves, and it vibrated ever so slightly.
A small imperfection caught my eye, a piece of bark hanging off the sapwood underneath. I tugged at it, trying to tear off a souvenir from the forest. It was still holding on tight, despite hanging off. I had to wrap two hands around as well as pressing my boot against the trunk, just to get leverage.
I just about managed to tear it from its core, almost taking me with it.
I looked back at the tree.
The sapwood inside was a pale blue hue with small slits that slowly opened up. Liquid began to well up in the slits before gravity forced them out, leaking down the surface.
I slipped a sample on my finger.
It was hot.
Grasping the piece of bark in my hand, I observed it—front and back. On the back of the piece, there were small pieces of fur that had once attached it to the tree; for such small hairs, they certainly clung on tight. As I waved my hand over the tips of the hairs, they followed, attracted to my palm. They stretched ever closer, almost reaching flesh, I jolted back, throwing it back down hurriedly, heart cranking.
"Hey, Himiko," A voice called out behind me, Kaoru. "What's the hold up?"
"Nothing," I replied, slowly trudging away from the crying sapwood.
BB floated overhead, war paint cleaned; Kaoru was worried that it was the reason why it freaked out before. It rotated through the air, gently scanning the area, quietly humming to itself in slow beeps.
"How high do they go?" Connie pointed upwards towards the sky above.
The trunks towered as far as the eye can see; the canopy was a blur above the shadows. Branches reached across, wrapping around each other, forming a web that repeated all the way to the top.
"Whoa," Miko gazed up alongside him.
"Let's go," I called, marching ahead as they followed behind.
It would be shortly after that we would encounter the discovery that would be the catalyst for how we would come to see the use of Aethesium.
"How long do you reckon until we reach the core?" Kaoru wondered.
"Not sure?" I looked at him and shrugged, "We've been going for a while, but no matter where you look, all you see are trees."
"Are we going the right—"
Kaoru was interrupted by BB, whose gentle beeping had picked up pace.
"BB, buddy," Kaoru looked up at him, eyebrow raised, "what's wrong?"
He froze solid, still beeping as he looked ahead to the distance.
"There's someone there," pointed out one of the agents, reaching his finger into the fog.
Cloaked in the fog was the silhouette of a man. He looked to be in his late forties. His loose skin hugged tightly on muscle—thick; they tensed through his skin with every slight movement. He was crouching down on the floor, from here we couldn't see what it was as his back was covering it; covered in a dirty red shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and the bottom tucked into baggy denim jeans that were covered in tears and holes.
"Weapons ready," I whispered to Kaoru, Miko and Connie beside me. The squads to our left and right followed suit, raising their weapons swiftly and pressing their feet firmly into the ground.
The man ahead must've heard as his head slowly turned to us. He slowly lifted himself up; each flex of the muscle fibres in his legs was carefully considered, likewise with his arms, which were slowly lifting above his head, hands wide open. There was nothing in them, but they were painted in dry blue liquid, reminiscent of the ichor that leaked from the trees and roots.
"Who are you!" I called to the man, "What are you doing here?"
"I am Gabriel Lefèvre," He called back, "I'm a farmer in these lands, or I guess you could say I was one."
"Mr Lefèvre," My voice echoed, shaky at the edges. "I want you to slowly turn around and make your way over to us with your hands raised."
He didn't say a word, just moved.
He turned around, hands still raised, still exercising the same caution he had already been. One foot at a time, he swivelled and stepped towards us. His face could be seen more clearly now: His face was wrinkled, each crease telling a story of survival. His eyes were narrow and relaxed much like his brows, which were low permanently locked in a frown separated in the middle by the creases in his skin.
The farmer's hair was short and black; it wrapped around his head like a hurricane, familiar, along with his thick beard.
It was the farmer from the family photo.
What was unfamiliar, though, was his eyes. They were once dark and brown, but now? Now they shone. They were lit up like blacklit sapphire—bright blue.
"Easy," I uttered firmly as he stepped within a few metres.
The man remained silent. His eyes moved between each of the rifles aiming at him, glinting with each flick, but he didn't flinch. Then they locked onto my eyes.
My eyes stared back, not flinching either.
"Kaoru," I said, eyes still locked, "Scan him."
He nodded.
"BB, scan him."
The bot didn't make a sound of confirmation, just glided through the air. He closed in, face meeting the farmer's. He remained for a moment, then slowly moved back, creating space between bot and man.
BB ticked—erratic, like a Geiger counter near something bad. The farmer just stared at him.
Not a single word nor movement was made. Just silence, except the mechanical sounds of BB, the hum of the Gurkha's engine and the beating of our hearts.
The ticking stopped, and he moved away slowly.
I looked to Kaoru, whose eyes were flicking from word to word, lit bright blue from the screen.
"Well, he's human," he began reading, "but there's a high concentration of Aethesium flowing in his blood."
"How much are we talking?" I inquired.
"A lot..." he exclaimed, "As much as... The crystal from the school."
My brows tensed slightly. I began to gnaw at the inside of my jaw.
"Mr Lefèvre, how long have you been here?"
"A long time..." his voice was cold. His eyes didn't move as his mouth was just frozen in time.
He understands us and can even communicate. It's surprising that with that much Aethesium flowing within him, it should drive him insane.
"I've got a question for you, if you don't mind..." His voice was gentle, and he remained silent for a moment. I nodded.
"What could've possibly drawn you into a hellish place like this?"
I looked at Kaoru, and he looked back. He snorted.
"Honestly," Kaoru divulged, "no idea."
"You're going to the centre, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"I understand you don't trust me," The man started, "but if you want info, I can tell you."
I looked at Kaoru—he shrugged. The man continued.
"If you'll just trust me."
He didn't make a move during or after his offer, just stood tall, hands still raised.
There was a moment of silence.
If he's the man from the farm, there's a lot of info, especially about that thing. My mind filled with the words of the journal, his journal.
"Fine," I looked to the squad, "we'll take a break."
Later, the hum of the engine ceased, and what replaced it was the crackling of fire and the chatter of agents, muffled by their masks.
"How come you're not wearing a mask?" Miko asked the farmer.
"Is there a need for one?" He asked.
Gasp.
I looked around; it was Kaoru—mask discarded on the floor.
But others followed, even me eventually.
"So," I placed my mask neatly on the floor and leaned into the farmer's direction, "How did all this happen?" I waved my arms around; he looked around himself.
"Well..." he cleared his throat, "As far as what did it, I don't know. But one day, a comet struck. It was far away from the farm, so I ignored it. Then suddenly, I woke up one morning, went outside, and there was just this massive tree where the comet hit."
"Did you not want to check it out?" Connie asked.
"At first I wasn't, but after all the changes, I began to wish I had."
He leant forward and clasped his hands together.
"Its reach began to stretch, further and further. Every morning, the ring of trees expanded, growing taller and taller. The other farmers left one by one; I wanted to stay—I never thought it would reach."
I couldn't stop thinking about the graves, the family photo. I wanted to ask, but it's not something you can just bring up. So I brought up something else.
"What's the tree-goat?" I asked, voice low.
Everyone looked at me with one brow raised, except for the farmer, who looked at me blankly.
"The Sylvacabra?" he announced.
"What?"
"Sylvacabra—tree goat. He just appeared one nigh—"
"Whoa, are you OK?" one of the agents asked someone outside of the circle. Everyone else followed his gaze to see who they were talking to.
It was a man—an older man—an agent, covered in blood, this time crimson, stumbling out of the treeline. His hazmat suit was torn to shreds, and his mask had been discarded. His eyes were hollow, not even noticing us sitting around the fire. Mumbling to himself, repeating things like "please, no" and "Don't kill me" through quivering lips.
We all rose to our feet. Some swarmed him, wrapping the broken man's arms around their shoulders, but I noticed Gabriel remained seated, staring blankly at the fire.
"Do you know something?" I asked the farmer.
His eyes flicked to mine.
"Perfect timing," his voice was low.
We sat the victim down, wrapping him in a towel. His eyes still weren't with us, still mumbling. We offered him water and rations, but he didn't move, not even a flinch.
"That's his doing, I reckon," Gabriel assumed, "no creature here has the capacity to break a man the way Sylvacabra does."
I sat back down.
"Where did it come from?"
"Hell if I know," he said as he rubbed his eyes, "he just appeared outside my farm one day, I've been trying to answer that question myself."
My throat tightened. I gulped a bottle of water down to try to loosen it.
"Could it be here with us, y'think?"
"It could be hiding anywhere," he responded, rolling his eyes to mine, "watching us..."
"FUUUCK!"
Our heads shot towards the visitor, tossing and turning frantically.
"Calm down, calm down." The agents swarming him tried their best to calm him down, but he just kept screaming.
"It k-killed them... a-a-all of them." He wailed, "My men... t... t-t-t... tore them to shreds."
I grabbed my radio.
"Officer Hale?"
"Captain Blossom?"
"We've got an agent here, in a bad state. Has anyone else been attacked?"
"I've not, no."
"I-i-i-it... followed me..." the survivor mumbled.
"Must be a member of the eastern expedition squad."
"It followed me!" he repeated.
My heart sank.
"Everyone weap—"
The trees rustled, hectically. The sound of creaking scrambled from tree to tree, different directions each time.
The agents circled, aiming their guns at the trees.
"Kaoru, get BB ready!" I called.
"Himiko, what's wro—"
"I'd do as the lady says." The farmer stood up; he must've realised it too.
His eyes widened. His head slowly turned, he looked at the victim, still screaming, pulling out his hair.
A branch fell.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka!
An agent opened fire, tearing the branch into small chippings.
Kaoru pulled out his tablet, tapping the screen in a hurry.
"Everyone, calm down!" I cried.
Rustle.
It came from behind me.
I turned...
Eyes...
Two glowing blue eyes, looking at me from the trees.