The cold chill my body felt magnified as I was fully enveloped in the Red Forest. I whipped my head around and slowed down as I noticed that the rider had stopped before the forest entrance.
I could hear my heartbeat drumming in my ears as I stared at him. My blood ran cold when he tilted his head at an unnatural angle on his neck, his cloak blowing in the wind. He grabbed his horse’s reins and headed east; I assumed he planned to go around the forest. It would take days. I knew that because of all the talk from grumbling travelers in Alger. I wasn’t even going to let my thoughts wander in the direction of why he wouldn’t enter the forest. I could only handle so much.
I turned back around, and immediately focused on the forest’s sounds and searched the land. It hummed softly, and I relaxed until I felt many dark erratic hums roll down my spine. My heart beat harder if even possible as I spun my horse in a circle. A cold sweat covered my skin in a blanket of fear when I saw one set of eyes peer at me from the bushes. They were red with only a tiny slit of black in the middle.
The rest began to appear, in the trees, and in the bushes all around me. I believed this was where I would die. I could feel a rush in my ears while fear hit me like a bucket of icy water.
For too long, I continued to spin in a terrifying dance. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end with the knowledge that I couldn’t get away without having any creatures behind me.
The only movement in the forest was the occasional slow blink of their eyes. With fear crawling into my chest, I thought about going back the way I had come. But there was at least one inhuman rider back there, and I doubted he was the only one.
The creatures hadn’t made any moves, and I swallowed hard while I made the decision that I couldn’t go backward. The terror was almost paralyzing but with my heart’s erratic beating and the feeling that something would jump me from behind, I continued down the path.
The eyes lingered on my skin, but there was no rustling of leaves, no sound at all. The forest was deathly silent besides for the sounds of my pounding heart and my horse’s hooves hitting the ground. We walked down the trail, the eyes so focused that I had the feeling if I ran they wouldn’t be able to stop themselves from chasing me.
My hands shook, and I dug them into my horse’s mane to ground me.
When the sun began to rise, the light shined through the dark forest and slimy thin arms and legs dragged themselves away from the path. I saw a bony hunched-over spine as one creature turned to look at me before parting.
Its teeth were sharp little points, and I shuddered as I imagined the possibility of them biting me. Its gray skin was thin and spotted with red scabs and scars. It was on all fours and its claws were sharp and as long as my fingers. Though, there was a depth of knowledge behind the inhuman slanted eyes. And I knew that there was too much intelligence in them for it to have been a mindless man-eating creature.
They made not a sound as they left, and I thought it defied all logic. But I was learning logic didn’t exist in this forest. As I saw the last one ramble away, I let out all my dread in one big breath.
I patted my horse’s neck, mainly to steady my trembling hands, and then I realized I hadn’t named him yet. I settled on ‘Gallant’ because he was the bravest horse I had ever met.
The sun shining over the horizon was a beautiful sight. I saw the forest in the light for the first time. Something I’d thought would never happen. I’d been sound asleep just hours ago, and now I was on the run for my life. It was almost unbelievable. Except this was too terrifying to be anything but real.
Rays of light shined onto the crimson leaves, making them appear covered with red dew. I watched the sunrise open the flowers on the vines clinging to the red trunks of the trees. The blooms were a darker shade than the vines; they were such a dark red they almost appeared black. Red leaves of every shade fell around me. I held my hand out to catch one and noted the stickiness left when I let it go. I rubbed my fingers against the thick liquid on my palm and grimaced when I realized it was blood.
I’d heard stories about the forest, but I thought that was just what they were—stories. When the Battle of Tjank took place after the sealing of the magic, there had been so many casualties of war in this forest that the ground imbibed on the blood like wine. The soldiers’ blood had mixed with the magic land and seeped into the plants, slithered up the trees, and took over the forest.
The ground had opened up, and the dead soldiers fell in. It was said that the creatures were the fallen dead soldiers, but nobody co
uld be certain. After what I had seen, I didn’t doubt that they were. I wondered why they had let me go and if anyone else had ever been so close to them and lived to tell about it.
I wiped my hand on my cloak as we stepped around a large red puddle I imagined was probably blood. As we progressed further into the forest, clouds began to block out the sun and a strong metallic smell hit my nose. I heard the sound of running water and stopped to dismount Gallant, my feet sinking into the ground, red liquid seeping onto my boots.
The trees creaked eerily as I walked him through the brush to the sound. A breeze picked up, and I shivered, not from the chill but from the strange way it brushed my skin. I walked into the clearing and stared blankly at the creek. The red liquid could be nothing other than blood. I should have known . . .
I sighed. “Sorry, Gallant.” I rubbed his nose. “We’ll have to find you some water when we get out of the forest.” My voice sounded gritty here, and I shivered. We were walking back to the path when a loud thunder clap hit my ears. I looked heavenward as streaks of red flew across the sky, and rain began to fall.
Even after seeing the forest, I was still astonished it was raining blood.
* * *
The thick liquid seeped through my cloak. A drop rolled down my cheek, and I pulled my hood further over my head. I was itchy everywhere as the blood dried on my skin. Gallant was no longer chestnut but red. Nausea rolled in my stomach at the sight of so much blood.
We had walked the trail for so long that I watched the sun crawl across the sky. I had trudged beside Gallant for as long as I could handle, slugging through puddles of blood, until I rode the rest of the way.
The rain had been a persistent skin-crawling annoyance the entire time. I hadn’t seen any travelers, but I could imagine why. If I had the choice, I would have gone around as well. The scent of metal was the only thing I could smell since the rain had begun, and my lungs were begging for some fresh air. When I determined I would never get out, I saw a break in the trees. I sped us into a trot, and we broke out of the Red Forest.
The blood rain stopped.
An empty valley stretched before us, the only things decorating it green hills and rocky areas. The sun warmed my skin, and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. I shuddered as I peered behind me and saw the menacing clouds above the Red Forest. Red was a color I never wanted to see again.
“Come on, Gallant. Let’s go find you some water and get far away from this place.”
We rode for a short time until we came across a lake. Woods surrounded the opposite side, and I walked Gallant into the trees for cover. As the lake water turned red from washing the blood off my body, I thought about the ugly truth.