Forest Story - Chapter 4

Instructions

I look up, and instantly my jaw drops. Standing before me are tall, beautiful, alive trees. It's as if an invisible line separates the two forests, with dead trees all around me and living ones ahead. "This is where the compass was leading me," is the only comprehensible thought my mind can come up with. The forest in front of me is the exact opposite of what I have been walking through. Life seems to fill it up to the brim, spilling out of every nook and cranny. Emerald leaves sprout from every limb of the trees, vines hang from branches, shrubs and small plants dot the ground. The forest floor is covered in a carpet of moss, and flowers sprout in clumps. Yet... something is off. A second later, it hits me. There are no sounds coming from the trees. The leaves do not rustle, the sparrow perched on a high branch is silent. For the first time, I feel a pulse of fear. The noises in my head were strange, the glowing compass was surprising, but this? This is unnatural. I suddenly feel a shock in my right hand. Yelping, I stare down at the compass. While I have been staring at my surroundings, the compass' light has grown nearly blinding. It begins to heat up, but not to the point it burns. Staring at it in shock, I notice the needle still points in the same direction, straight towards the living woods. "Strange that it would shock me right as I began to feel apprehensive," I think to myself. "Could it have been trying to get my attention, to tell me not to worry?" It wants me to enter the forest of living trees, that much is certain. Is that really a good idea? The forest is beautiful, but... Can I really trust this compass? Is it actually being controlled by the thing that called me to the woods, or something more sinister? Were the noises I heard even trustworthy? I begin to fear I have made a mistake when I feel a second pulse of electricity. It cements the idea that the compass is trying to convince me not to worry, but I am not entirely sure I can trust it. Anxiety makes me restless, and I begin pacing at the edge of dead woods. After a few minutes, I pause. "What are you thinking?" I rebuke myself. "The noises have been with me my entire life, and have never caused me any harm. I have no reason to distrust them!" The sunlight shining through the treetops is growing dimmer, and I know night is approaching. I still have the feeling that I need to reach my destination before sunset, which means I need to enter the living forest now. Although I'm still conflicted, I push every thought out of my head and step across the invisible boundary into the living woods.