The trees had always spoken, but now… she understood them.
At first, it was a whisper to the winds, a shiver in the leaves. Then the words came- low, ancient, laced with something hungry. They spoke of roots that stretched beyond time, of things buried deep, still breathing beneath the soil.
“You are one of us now,” they sighed through the brittle branches. “And, so they will come for you too.”
The ground pulsed beneath her bare feet. A creaking yawn echoed through the forest, something shifting, walking.
The oldest tree groaned. A warning. A welcome. A death knell.
She had listened too long.
The darkness is where they thrive. They anticipate that sudden jolt of adrenaline that spikes when you hear footsteps shuffling closer and closer to you, and then suddenly holt.
They know you notice it, even when you choose to ignore the obvious signs. They can smell the fear leaking from your pours. It makes them salivate to the very thought of it.
The lonely souls that choose to walk alone are their targets, and they have many. This is a cat and mouse game.
Jack never imagined the startling outcome that awaited him at the top of the beanstalk. All Jack could think about was, “I need to earn enough to cover this month's rent,” especially given the grave condition of his parents' health. Unbeknownst to him, they had fallen victim to the Bubonic Plague, a relentless disease ravaging his small seaside town.
Yet, that was far from the extent of his worries. He was in imminent danger, confronted by the giants that loomed around the opening of his beanstalk, and they were far from pleased.
“A mortal?! A mere MORTAL dares to climb one of MY beanstalks and ascend to Mt. Olympus?!” thundered Zeus, his voice resonating like a storm as thunder and lightning crackled ominously behind him, unleashing a tempest upon Jack's village.
“Zeus, mighty King, let us unleash the storm of war upon these mortals to remind them whom they trust in prayer,” Ares chimed in, stepping forward at Zeus's right side. “Brother, there’s more to war than mere bloodshed. You’ve already afflicted them with the Black Death. Allow me—”
“ENOUGH!” Zeus bellowed, cutting off Athena’s protest. “We shall address this issue in a different way…”
