That Thing in the Woods

Word Count: 4,299

Because of one careless person, hundreds of square miles of beautiful forest were now charred and black. Someone was carelessly burning leaves near a dead tree, cinders blew onto the tree and in minutes it was on fire. The rotting, insect infested trunk lit up like a torch and fell into the forest setting the dry leaves covering the ground ablaze. Having had no rain for more than a month, the anhydrous autumn leaves quickly spread the flames. The fire spread so rapidly there was nothing he could do to stop it. Within fifteen minutes ten acres were on fire. 

Underbrush no longer existed in most of the area as the vast majority of it burned away completely in the forest fire that raged through the region one week ago. The news and other media warned people to stay out of the forest for the next several weeks as fires could still be burning. Rather than heeding their warning, I ventured into the timberland anyway. I wanted to see how extensive the damage from the fire actually was. 

My backyard bordered the large forest, but firefighters were able to battle the blaze enough to keep it from reaching the houses in our neighborhood. The trees along my fence remained undamaged, but only thirty feet away the trunks were black and soft ash covered the ground. I was sure our house was going to be destroyed when the authorities finally made us evacuate. It was a relief to my whole family to find out our home remained intact. 

There was a distinct possibility of burning cinders even a week after the inferno ended. To avoid burning my legs, I wore jeans and my hunting boots along with a denim jacket. Hopefully, that would be sufficient to protect me from any rogue cinders drifting about the air or being stirred up from the ground when disturbed by my feet. 

Luckily for me, the weather was rather cool that day, so the heavy clothes were bearable on that late autumn morning. The sky was clear, and there was very little wind. Regardless, I still took some things with me like two canteens of water and a cloth to wrap around my face if the wind were to begin blowing and stirring ash into the air. Normally, I could find my way around the forest simply by looking for familiar landmarks. Being the fire may have destroyed many of those landmarks, usually oddly shaped trees and such, I decided it to be prudent to bring a compass along with me as a precautionary measure. 

Checking first to see if either of my parents were home from work yet, I saw the coast was clear, so I set off into the blackened forest. Following a five-minute walk, I reached the peak of the hill behind our neighborhood. I was dumbfounded to see the devastation that crawled through the area; I could not believe what I was seeing. 

The entire valley, with the exception of a few fortunate spots here and there, was charred and scorched black. As I gazed over the seemingly endless devastation, I could see small plumes of white smoke still rising gently into the air. It was clear there were things still burning out here, and I was going to have to be mindful of possible dangers. It was difficult to comprehend how all the things in the forest I developed a familiarity with since I was a small boy no longer existed. If not so shocked, I probably would have cried. 

Once past the initial shock of seeing the wilderness that was my childhood playground in such appalling shape, I set out across the valley. From the top of the far ridge, I could see for at least ten miles when the trees were thick and full. After seeing how bare this valley appeared to be, I guessed I would probably be able to see much farther than normal. 

Even though things did not look like they once did, I was still able to follow one of my regular walking paths through the smoldering forest. I could see one of those white plumes of smoke billowing from the ground not too far ahead of me. Initially my intention was to try to steer clear of it, but when I noticed the smoke seemed to be rising from a hole in the ground, I decided to take a closer look. 

Smoke was indeed rising from a large hole in the charred earth. As I slowly made my way closer, I wondered if I was about to look into the gates of hell. When I was about three feet away from the smoldering cavity, I felt the ground beneath my feet begin to sag. Carefully taking one small step after another, I backed away from the smoking hollow and the collapsing ground surrounding it. 

It finally dawned on me what happened here. This was once a large stump I used as one of my landmarks to help me navigate the forest. Underneath the ground, the roots of the old stump continued to burn creating the creepy smoke that made the opening in the earth look like a gateway to the underworld. 

It was no wonder why they were still warning people not to come out here into the forest. It was very possible the ground underneath me could have given way, and I would have fallen into the cavity, however deep it was. There was probably a fair chance the earth around the hole could fall in and bury me alive in the smoldering pit. I knew from here on I needed to try to avoid any areas where I saw smoke ascending from cavities in the ground. 

Continuing along my way, I kept my sight on the far edge of the valley. Like the giant stump, I imagined a lot of my landmarks no longer existed. I did not typically use the trees since so many of them looked so much alike. Instead, I used things like large fallen logs, that giant stump, and other obstacles on the ground which were easy to see from surface level. Most of the trees remained, but all the old dead wood on the forest floor along with the underbrush burned away completely. I did not need landmarks now since I could see through the blackened tree trunks all the way to the far ridge. 

As I walked between the charred, leafless trees I still had a difficult time comprehending the scope of the devastation. Things I was familiar with, places I frequented since first being allowed to play in the woods were gone. It almost felt like my childhood burned away with the forest in which I spent the majority of my waking time. All this destruction because one person did not have enough sense to burn leaves at a safe distance from an old dead tree trunk. 

I really did not want to think about this, but I could not help but wonder how many animals were unable to escape the blaze and burned to death. It made me want to vomit. Sure, I was a hunter. I killed all sorts of game animals in my time, but we always ate what we killed. I never shot anything just for the fun of it aside from cans and other inanimate targets. To think about all the poor animals that died in this fire amplified the magnitude of the devastation in my mind by tenfold. 

Many of the hardwood trees still had branches, although the smaller limbs burned away. The pine trees looked like giant black spikes protruding from the ground; their needles and limbs completely burned away, but the thick bark shielded the living cores. It was a haunting sight indeed. I had hopes at least some of the trees would survive. The hardwood trees would probably come back, but I did not think as many of the pines would recover. 

Finally, I made it to the top of the far ridge. I could not believe my eyes. As far as I could see was nothing but burned timber. I took a few drinks from one of my canteens and continued my journey. There were a few houses not too far from here, so I decided to head in that direction. Most of the phone lines were still down. I never got a chance to talk to any of my friends to see how they fared in the blaze, but I did not hear of anyone getting hurt or dying. That kind of information spread quickly in a tight knit community like ours, therefore I was confident there were no human fatalities. Regardless, I wanted to go check to see for myself if they were okay or not. 

As I walked across the ash covered ground, I noticed something glimmering in the bright late-morning sunlight. Curious, I went over to see what it was. It looked like a transparent gelatinous blob of some sort. Since I could not pick up a stick to poke the object, I decided to give it a tap with the toe of my boot. It was solid whatever it was. 

Getting down close to the object, I got a much better look at it. It was a soda bottle someone left littering the forest at some time. When the inferno raged through the area, it was evidently hot enough to melt glass. Not really thinking about what I was doing, I reached out to pick up the deformed bottle. Even after a week the glass was still hot enough to cause my hand to sizzle when I made contact with it. 

Abruptly tossing the molten bottle back to the ground, I quickly poured some of the water from my canteen on my throbbing hand. Simply by looking at it, I could tell my left palm was going to blister. My skin charred white in two places, and I could visibly discern the change as my palm began turning red. 

Retrieving the cloth I brought to protect my face if the air became too ashy; I wrapped it around my burnt hand instead. Normally I would be able to pick one of several plants to help ease the severity of my wound, but alas the fire destroyed everything growing at ground level. There was nothing left with which to medicate my palm. 

Given my injured status, I pondered over whether I should go ahead and turn back or not. After a few minutes of musing over my options, I decided to roam on a little further. I did not think my hand was so severely burned that I needed to seek out medical attention; it would do fine enough for me to tend to it when I finally made it home again. Explaining the injury to my parents would be difficult; that’s for sure. 

Continuing my trek through what was once a full, thick forest, I veered away from my course when I saw something else gleaming on the forest floor. Whatever this thing was, it was much larger than the molten soda bottle I burned my hand on earlier. The closer I got, the better I was able to get a look at the object. 

The thing appeared to be made from some sort of metal, copper perhaps. I remembered this location because of a huge mass of vegetation that accumulated over the decades, and I was sure this object is where that ancient heap of vines and other plants once rested. All these years we played around that mass, we never stopped to consider there might be something inside of it. The fire burned away the concealing foliage exposing this artifact that was hidden for who knows how long. 

It was large. Three feet of the irregularly shaped object with its faceted-like surface protruded from the blackened earth. I could not guess as to how much of the relic remained buried. It was indeed made from some sort of metal, but of what kind I did not know. It almost looked like glass filled with little flakes of gold and platinum, but when I tapped it using my canteen it made a distinct metallic sound. 

I did not feel any heat radiating from this strange object even when I got up close to get a better look. I could not see any seams to indicate this was formed from multiple components, but I was sure it sounded hollow when I tapped it with my metal water vessel. As I walked in a circle around the mysterious object, I noticed some strange symbols or chevrons on the sides and front face. These symbols were very faint and could only be seen when I was standing at a certain angle from the sun. 

Wanting to feel the relic with my own hand, I first poured a bit of my canteen water on it to see if it steamed or sizzled or anything. I already burned one hand; I did not want to burn the other. The water harmlessly rolled down the object until it reached the base and absorbed into the ashen soil. Repeating the process, I received the same results as the first time. The thing was not even hot enough to affect a thin stream of warm water. 

Getting much closer to the object, I wanted to look at the metal as closely as I could. Never in my life had I seen or heard of any metal that looked like this. It appeared to be uniform in color, although the smooth surface was very sparkly. From the proper angle, I could see the shine of the metal seemed to take on a slightly varying tone, which is what created the obscure symbols on the thing. 

Very cautiously, I reached my hand out, quickly touching the object then withdrawing my hand. I did this a few times before I maintained contact for a second or two. This did not seem possible. Even days after the fire burned out, that glass bottle stayed hot enough to badly burn my hand, but this alien thing in front of me was cold. The blaze that ripped through the forest burned away the centuries of plant growth that covered the strange object. If that thing was metal, as it appeared to be, I would think it would still be at least warm to the touch. 

There was no scorching on the frigid artifact protruding from the ground either. Even if it did not heat up enough in the fire to warp the metal, there should still be black soot and smoke residue built up on its surface. Instead, the thing looked like someone finished polishing it only moments ago. I could not imagine how something could stay in such pristine condition after having suffered through the inferno that destroyed so much of these rolling hills.  

I probably spent at least an hour examining the peculiar artifact before deciding to try touching it again. When pushing it over with my foot did not work, I knelt down and tried lifting it. Since I could not use my left hand, I pressed the inside of my forearm against it and using my right hand, I tried lifting it. A surge of energy passed through my body, and I fell backward onto the ground. 

It did not seem like I lost consciousness, but when I touched the object, it was around ten in the morning. When I stood back up after the jolt of energy, the sun indicated it was closer to two in the afternoon. Already having burned my hand and receiving a shock from that unusual metal object, I decided it was best not to push my luck any further. I could come back and examine the object further when the forest finished smoldering. 

Something did not seem right. Feeling very disoriented, I began to experience a churning in the pit of my stomach. I continued a little further before I realized I was walking in the wrong direction. The valley ridge was behind me, and I should have been heading towards it. Whatever that shock I received was, it must have seriously knocked the sense out of me. Even with most of my landmarks gone, I still knew this area very well. I did not understand how I could walk in the wrong direction for nearly twenty minutes. 

Making my way back to the cryptic artifact, I continued on until I reached the valley ridge. When I stepped over the top of the hill, I grew dizzy and confused. I walked this route many times, but there was undoubtedly something amiss. An emergency room visit may be prudent after receiving that strange jolt of energy. Nothing seemed right ever since I tried to pull that artifact from the ground. 

Stopping to drink the remainder of the first canteen of water, I looked around for any remaining landmarks nearby. I saw nothing that looked familiar anymore; the fire destroyed virtually everything on the ground except for the trees. While most of the trees looked like they would recover from this disaster, the same could not be said about the dead logs, tree stumps and underbrush. 

I was happy to finally reach the other side of the ridge, because my home was not far beyond there. Cresting the hill, I could see our house a short distance away. I continued to get those overwhelming feelings of confusion and dizziness as I had since making an attempt to lift that cryptic artifact. As I came down the hill, I noticed something that stopped me dead in my tracks. I was indeed looking at my house from behind, but it did not take me long to realize everything was inverted. Everything was there like it should be, but it was all reversed. 

Could that mysterious object I found have shocked me so bad that I was seeing things backwards? 

That might explain the confusion, disorientation and how I managed to walk in the wrong direction for nearly half an hour. It was difficult for me to accept this possibility because everything otherwise appeared in perfect clarity. I would think if that thing jolted me hard enough to make me see things backwards, I would have issues with blurriness and double vision. 

This could not be happening. I must still be unconscious on the forest floor dreaming up this whole thing. This simply could not be real. Everything was exactly as it should be, but as a mirror version of itself. I would swear this was a dream if it were not for the pain I felt in my hand, my right hand. 

My whole body began to tremble as I was overcome with panic and anxiety. Holding my hands out in front of me, I could see there were no blisters on my left hand anymore, and my right hand was wrapped in a cloth to help protect it. It was not only everything around me that was a mirror image; I was a mirror image of myself. 

What could be going on here? Did that mysterious artifact I found in the forest do something to me that scrambled my mind, my memory? 

No, it could not be. Apart from the intense trepidation I was now experiencing, I felt otherwise normal. I could not believe that my brain could be zapped so hard it made me remember everything in reverse without otherwise somehow affecting me. 

Was I in the wrong place? Was it possible the artifact was some sort of key or doorway that sent me to a world that mirrored my own? 

That made more sense to me than to think I was just crazy enough that I remembered everything backwards. That strange metal that was frigid to the touch was like nothing I ever saw or heard of before now. Those runes, chevrons or whatever they were must be some sort of instructions or a warning perhaps. I needed to get back to that object and use it to return to my own world. 

Turning around, I ran back up to the valley ridge as quickly as I could. I did not want anyone to see me because I was afraid they would figure out I was an alien to this world. Once I crested the ridge, I knelt down for a moment to catch my breath and take a few sips of water. 

Trying to take into consideration everything was the antithesis to what I knew, I started down the ridge and into the valley. Making my way back to the relic protruding from the ground might not be as easy as I initially hoped it would. 

As I was walking back across the blackened forest valley floor, I encountered a small bit of fortune when I came across the path I made through the ash covered ground earlier. Now I did not have to try to think backwards to find my way to the artifact. All I needed to do was follow my tracks across the valley and over the far ridge. 

I looked up toward the sun to get an idea of the time. According to the position of the blazing orb in the sky, it was close to eleven o’clock in the morning. It was positioned at two in the afternoon when I got back to my feet, so that meant even the sun moved in the opposite direction in this world. In that case, it was sometime around one o’clock in the afternoon. 

I thought four hours lapsed between my touching the artifact and regaining consciousness. Now I realized no time passed at all. The sun moved, as I knew it, from two hours before noon to two hours after noon. 

I still wanted to tell myself this was a terrifying dream, but I knew better. It was not only the pain in my hand that made me believe this was real. The bitter taste in my dry mouth, the smell of the burned vegetation all around me, and the vividness of the scorched forest indicated this was all without a doubt real. 

The excursion seemed so much longer than it did earlier, and I was pushing myself at a faster pace. I wanted to get back to the artifact and try to get back home, back to the world in which I was born. The distress of the whole situation made the journey seem much longer than it was. 

Both a sense of relief and of dread passed over me as I saw the strange object protruding from the ground. Although everything in this world was a reversed image to my world, the relic in the ground remained exactly as it was when I first found it. I tried reading the symbols hidden in the shine of the metal again, but they meant nothing to me. None of them was even close to something I could recognize. 

Standing in front of the thing for at least ten minutes, I pondered over what to do. I was sure the thing would activate if I wrapped my arms around it like I did the first time, but I had no assurances at all it would send me back to where I belonged. 

Carefully I tried to position myself in front of the artifact just as I did before. The problem was I was not thinking about it then, so I could not remember exactly how I approached it the first time. Doing the best I could to copy my earlier actions, I wrapped my arm and my hand around the object and pulled. Again, a surge of energy coursed through my body which again threw me to the ground. 

The very first thing I did upon regaining my senses was to raise my hands before my face. To my unending relief, the burn and bandage was once again on my left hand. The sun was where it should be in the sky, and the forest was still a charred disaster. I was not sure if I was back in my own world or not, but it felt right enough. Nothing about that other world felt right at all, but this place did. 

Heading back toward my house, I knew it would almost be dark by the time I got back. I was being careful as I walked since it was becoming difficult to locate the smoldering cavities in the ground. Walking through here was dangerous during the bright of day, but it would be downright treacherous in the dark. 

Arriving at the valley ridge behind our house, I saw everything looked like it was supposed to look. Before going any closer, I examined the houses and lawns of the neighbors, even going so far as to make sure the bicycles in the back yards were the right color.  

I made a futile attempt to level my breathing and stop the trembling in my hands, but the anxiety was simply too much to suppress. Looking at the back of my house, I could not help but wonder if this was really my house, or simply another reflection of it in the universe. My feet felt like lead as I tried to push myself forward to what was hopefully the comfort and safety of my own home. I climbed atop some milk crates to look inside the window to see if it was indeed my family inside. 

Before looking into the window, I had to wonder. If this was not my native universe, was I ever going to find my way back home? Would it do me any good to return to the forest and continue trying to properly activate that thing in the woods? 

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