Ash and Blair

The woman walked through the forest as though conjured from the mist.

In bad shape, she limped on her left leg, her colourful clothes smudged with dirt, nicks and cuts and scratches on the exposed skin of her face and hands. It was morning, she had been walking all night. If you asked her from where, she couldn’t remember. If you asked her why, that was a harder question.

Her concussed brain throbbed against her skull. Thirsty, the only thing she tasted was blood. All her limbs and thoughts were running on instinct. There was a big black hole of forgetfulness behind her, it was like she had been walking forever. Forever in this state or being and non-being, just one step and then a half-step, in front of the other.

Every once in a while, she stopped, leaned against a pine tree. She was surrounded by pine trees. During these brief pauses, she looked around and saw nothing but more pine trees. Every direction looked the same, like she was walking in place on a treadmill. The tall trees swayed in the light breeze creating a creaking sound. The pine trees were talking to each other. Whispering to each other about her in some ancient language. Every time she stopped, she didn’t think she’d be able to continue. But something deep inside got her going again.

Blair had been tracking her for most of the night. She carried with her a small backpack full of supplies, a stubby water bottle hanging off one side of her belt, and had her shortened black staff holstered at her other side, she never went anywhere without it. She had lived seven of her twelve years at The Campsite near the edge of Pine Forest. Blair knew this area like the back of her hand, better then anyone else that had entered the area. Following the woman was easy since she had very little sense of her surroundings. Obviously hurt, she stumbled and tripped, but didn’t notice. To gauge the woman’s awareness, Blair snapped a twig within earshot of her, nothing.

The morning was coming, and with it the fog. It was common in the area for a dense mist to settle between the trees. This didn’t seem to deter the woman, she was confused and unsure of where she was going. Blair had trained in the fog, knew each tree in the forest just from touch. She could place the palm of her hand on any tree and instantly gain a treasure of data: her exact placement, the fastest way out of the forest, the most secure place to be unseen. In many ways, the fog made her job easier. Blair wanted to help the woman, wanted to share the supplies in her backpack, but she had strict instructions not to make contact, just to follow and assess the threat.

According to her grandfather, Isaac, every human being was a threat. He wanted nothing to do with any of them, didn’t care or gave much thought to others, except the safety of Blair. If someone crossed the perimeter of The Campsite, even by accident, even if done so in a completely innocent way, well, then Isaac very much cared about that person. He never killed anyone, but he had come close. His threats are extreme and immediate, and in most cases, the threat was never seen again.

Blair was reasonably certain that the woman was no threat, but Isaac had taught her that there’s always the potential of the one thing you thought impossible to happen. These seemingly impossible things happened within an instant. Every moment was a choice, and every moment you decided whether to lower your guard or re-up your steadiness.

The woman followed the light of the clearing. Even though Isaac made great pains to make The Campsite as invisible to outsiders as possible, people were still drawn to it. People were searching these days, searching for something intangible and on the peripheral. Back in the city, with all its distractions and trauma, there was very little room for searching, mostly people needed to survive. But Pine Forest did something to people who entered, it opened them up, the creaking of the trees was hypnotic, and lulled them into those part of their minds that they seldom ventured.

Blair learned to control the lull of the pines long ago. Figured out how to use this to her advantage. It was this very thing that allowed her to be invisible. She knew exactly where the woman was headed.

There was something different about this woman. Blair has spent most of her life living on The Campsite and hadn’t really encountered that many other people. Most of them are those that had gotten lost in the forest for one reason or another. The Campsite and Pine Forest were located in what was considered The Outskirts, rural area a couple of hours outside of The City. The Campsite was surrounded by Pine Forest on one side, thirty-five kilometres square of dense pine trees, and Lake Aberdeen on the other. Beyond the forest are the Beacon Hills, a mountain range, rough and untamed.

The inhabitants of The Outskirts were hiding from something. Those that found themselves stumbling through were running from something.

At the edge of the forest, the pine trees abruptly stopped. There was a clear border between where the forest ended and The Campsite began.

The woman stopped at the perimeter, almost like she knew Isaac waited for her.