Servants of the Living Forest Read Online Free Page B

it?"
    "There are worse hells," Cameron said. "I'm still excited about us."
    She held out her hand, and Jocelyn took it. They smiled together.
    "Come on," Jocelyn said. "We're only a few miles away from the peak."
    "Right!"
    *~*~*
    They continued their trek, side-by-side, with Sancho ahead of them. As they neared the base of the peak, Sancho turned, and they walked away from it, following the dog deeper into the woods instead.
    The minutes passed, and they were no more concerned about the deviation than they were with time, their location, the rising heat, eating. Anything.
    Cameron heard a prolonged rumble then, soft and far away, different from the crack of a tree, and slowed. And as she looked around, had an epiphany.
    "Hey, you know what? I haven't seen any animals today. Not even an insect," she said. "Have you?"
    "No. I haven't," Jocelyn said, searching. "I thought for sure we'd be neck-deep in all sorts of lovable critters. That's so strange."
    She checked her compass then, and, waving it around, began to despair. "Oh, no!"
    "What is it?" Cameron asked.
    "It's not working," Jocelyn said. "Here, look."
    They stopped, and Cameron watched as the compass needle swayed but never pointed to north. "How long has it been like that?"
    "I don't know! It was working all the way up to the peak." Jocelyn looked upward, behind her. "Oh, man. I can't even see the peak anymore. But weren't we just there?"
    Cameron bit her lip. She didn't want to say it, but knew she had to offer the suggestion. "Do you think we should start heading back the way we came?"
    Jocelyn scowled. "We'll have to, won't we?"
    They turned and started walking back. Jocelyn gave up on her compass and pocketed it, instead examining the verdant surroundings.
    "Come on, Sancho," Cameron called.
    The Labrador, with seeming reluctance, caught up to them and followed.
    After an hour, they were still wandering through the forest, unable to find the peak. The ground soon flattened, and the grass thinned until there was only the soft black soil. The trees became more numerous, forming slender rows around them.
    Cameron wiped the sweat from her brow, brushed it off her lip with her thumb, amazed it was so hot even under the continuous shade. She glanced to her side. As always, Jocelyn looked cool and composed.
    "Are we lost?" Cameron asked.
    "That's the thing. I can't tell," Jocelyn said. "We've been going in the right direction, but it's like everything got moved around." She looked up, but the thick foliage offered only spots of blinding white. "I can't even find the sun."
    "The peak didn't just disappear."
    "I know!" Jocelyn shouted. She took out her compass, but it was no less broken, and she groaned in frustration. "I just don't get how we could be lost."
    They slowed, tiring. Cameron heard more distant rumblings, as though the forest had an upset stomach. As she searched for its cause, she spotted dozens of large black beetles swarming from beneath the soil across from them. And with each step forward, more seemed to appear, following them from a distance like a living shadow, never moving nearer.
    She looked ahead then, and discovered that the trees were bent, their massive trunks curving at them, with their long branches reaching out like fingers.
    "Um, Joey," she said. "Those mushrooms, they weren't, like, hallucinogenic or anything, were they?"
    "No, Cameron," Jocelyn said.
    "It's just, I don't want to be sick or get into trouble."
    "Don't be a silly girl. You're talking about the trees, right? Well, I see it, too. And I didn't eat anything off the forest floor."
    "Okay, fine," Cameron said, pouting some. "So, what is this? Are the trees supposed to be like that?"
    Jocelyn rubbed her face with her hands, and then took out her nature guide. While she flipped through its pages, seeking out any comfort, Cameron heard another deep rumble, this time much closer than before, and spun in place.
    At that moment, she realized they were alone.
    "Sancho?" she called. "Sancho,