“The sorcerous vines gripped Lucy, tightening around her. Their wicked thorns sliced her skin…”
Terri rolled her eyes and crouched by the root of the pine. A fat brown mushroom poked through the dry pine needles. A spike-cap. Nope.
Around her, the Penderton Forest hummed with life. The tall pines rustled overhead, troubled by March winds, but here, at the forest floor, the air was still. It was a warm day and after the two-mile trek from town through the woods, Terri was sweating in her hoodie.
“Lucy struggled, trying to get free. But the harder she fought against the vines, the tighter they wound around her.”
Ugh. Terri glanced over her shoulder. There were seven of them: two big kids, Alice and Sergio, both 14; four little kids, between 5 and 7; and her. She was 11, and she was not a little kid anymore.
They had come out for the warlock mushrooms. They popped up with magic waves, and if you gathered them at the right time, they could be used for healing. Nereda, the medmage at the Penderton hospital, bought every mushroom they brought her, but they had to hurry up. When the magic wave ended, the mushrooms died. This wave started sometime last night, so they probably had till the end of the day to get what they could.
For some reason, kids were the best at hunting warlock mushrooms. When adults came on a mushroom hunt, even if they just stood around to the side, the mushrooms wouldn’t show up. They wouldn’t find anything, and they wouldn’t make any money.
She needed the money. Dad was still gone. He left last October to find work in Virginia, right after the town council said it was safe to leave and nobody would get sick anymore. He was supposed to be back by now, but he stopped calling the house, and she overheard Mom tell Grandma that he hadn’t sent any money. It was Mom, Lonnie, Lindsay, and her now, and Lonnie and Lindsay were still toddlers.
Terri crawled around the tree roots, brushing the pine needles aside. Her fingers touched something smooth, and a little zing of magic pricked her skin. Found one. She gently cleared the needles around a small blue mushroom.
So tiny.
Tiny was better than nothing.
The trick with gathering warlock mushrooms was to be as gentle as possible. You couldn’t grab the mushroom from the top. You had to lift it carefully from the bottom, or it would disappear.
Terri scooped it up, put it in her basket, and stood up.
The little kids were searching by the pines, crouching and crawling. Their brightly colored hoodies made them look like big mushrooms themselves. If she could find a mushroom that big, all their money problems would be solved.
Poppy lost her balance and landed on her butt, her red hat sliding over her left ear. She grunted and picked herself back up. “What happened next?”
Alice smiled, adjusting the bow on her shoulder. “Where were we?”
“The vines,” the little kids chorused.
“That’s right. The vines strangled Lucy. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.”
Here we go.
“Just when everything started to go black, Justin appeared with his glowing sword.”
The little kids cheered.
“Justin is the hero!” Poppy announced.
“That’s right,” Alice told her.
Ugh. There was always a hero. Sometimes it was a boy hero, sometimes it was a girl hero, sometimes it was a dog hero or a magic unicorn hero, but there was always some kind of hero in Alice’s stories.
It really bugged Terri. There were no heroes in real life. Mom used to say Dad was her hero. He was supposed Terri’s hero. All of their hero.
“Justin slashed at the vines, and they shrank from the glowing light of his blade.”
Dad wasn’t coming back. She knew it. Mom knew it too. She just wouldn’t say it out loud. Maybe he got tired of being a hero or a dad. Terri pressed her lips together. She wasn’t a little kid anymore. Crying was out of the question. She moved on to the next pine.
“The vines fell apart, cut by Justin’s sword. Lucy’s hands came free. She made the fire sign, and magic flames seared the thorns!”
“Yay!”
Terri dug furiously through the pine needles. Her fingers raked the ground. Magic zapped her again. Oh no. She pushed the needles aside and saw a mushroom, bright blue and as tall as her hand. It held together for a moment, just long enough to fool her, then broke into dust.
“Fuck!”
Sergio spun around. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah.” She wanted to punch something.
Mom worked so hard. Why couldn’t he just stay? Did he really hate us that much?
Sergio raised his hand. His back was to her, and he was staring at the woods. Terri froze.
“Shhhh!” Alice hissed.
All of the little kids clustered around Alice and went still.
Terri couldn’t see anything strange. The woods looked normal.
The forest became silent. No bugs, no birds.
In the deep quiet, something growled low, in the distance.
The tiny hairs on the back of Terri’s neck rose. Not good.
Sergio thrust his bow back on his shoulder, walked over to Terri, and nodded toward Alice.
It was over. The hunt was over, and she only had four mushrooms.
Sergio nodded again. Terri walked over to Alice, careful where she put her feet. Sergio followed her.
“What is it?” Alice whispered.
“Not sure. It hasn’t seen us yet. We can try to wait it out. Hope it keeps moving.”
“Nope, we’re out.” Alice shook her head. “Everyone, follow me. We’re going home. We’re going to go quiet and careful.”
She started forward, toward the old highway. Everyone followed her, single file. Terri was next to last, with Sergio in the rear.
Four mushrooms. Two medium size, and two tiny ones. Fifty dollars.
It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair.
A blood chilling roar shook the air. It came from behind them. The thing had found their scent trail.
Terri’s heart sped up, flailing in her chest. This was bad, really really bad.
“We’re going to run,” Alice ordered, her voice urgent. “Don’t trip, don’t fall, don’t stop. Terri, you’re in front. The old gas station.”
They’d used the old gas station as a rest stop and rally point ever since Terri could remember. The building has collapsed, but the tall concrete carport by it was still standing.
The little kids were looking at her. She took a deep breath. “Catch me!”
She turned and broke into a run.
Trees flew by.
Another roar sliced through the air. The thing was chasing them.
Fear slapped her. She wanted to run full out, as fast as her legs could carry her, but she had to pace herself, or the little kids couldn’t keep up.
The world shrank to the woods in front of her. Her heartbeat was so loud in her ears.
Terri burst through the brush onto cracked pavement. The old highway!
She turned left and looked over her shoulder. Behind her, the little kids spilled out onto the road. Poppy fell down on all fours. Alice jumped out of the bushes and picked her up. Their gazes met.
“Don’t stop!” Alice barked.
Terri took off down the road.
The thing roared again, so close.
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
Trees snapped behind her. Terri glanced over her shoulder. A huge shaggy shape burst onto the road. It looked as big as a truck.
Oh no, oh no, oh no…
She dashed right past the turnoff to the station, spun around, doubled back, and waved her arms at the little kids. Roger was the first one to her.
She waved her arm. “Go, go, go!”
He ran past her to where the concrete bones of the old carport stuck out of the greenery. Cade was next.
The dark shaggy thing was charging toward them.
Alice had slung Poppy onto her back and was running, her face red. Afew steps back, Sergio was dragging June by her arm.
Alice dashed past Terri.
The thing was a hundred yards away. Terri saw it clearly now. It was giant, covered with dark clumpy fur. It looked like a bear, except bears didn’t have spikes growing out of their backs or horns on their heads.
She had never seen anything like this. This close to town, the wolves were the worst they had to worry about.
Sergio shoved June at Terri. “Get on the carport!” He jerked the bow off his shoulder.
She grabbed June and ran for the old gas station.
Alice had freed the rope hanging from the roof of the carport and jerked it down, unrolling the rope ladder attached to the top. Roger was already to the top of it, and Poppy was right behind him.
The horned bear snarled. Terri picked June up and sprinted. June was tiny, but it felt like her arms would break. They half -stopped, half -crashed by the ladder. Alice grabbed June by the waist, shoved her up onto the ladder, and turned to Terri.
“Go!”
Terri climbed. Her fingers felt numb. It had to be only a second or two, but it felt like forever. Finally, she climbed onto the concrete roof, landed on her hands and knees, and scrambled forward, to the edge facing the road.
Alice hurled her bag onto the roof. It flew over Terri’s head and landed on the middle of the roof.
Alice wasn’t climbing up.
“Alice, get on the roof!”
She was still there, standing by the ladder.
“Alice!”
Poppy started to cry.
“Alice!”
All the kids were crying now.
Sergio burst out of the brush. A huge bloody gash crossed his chest. His face was white.
Behind him the horned bear thrust through the bushes. Its head was enormous. It was as big as the kitchen window in her house. Its eyes were glowing, and its mouth gaped open. Drool hung from its fangs.
Sergio climbed the ladder. As soon as his hands touched the edge of the roof, Terri grabbed his arms and pulled with everything she had. He cried out and she heaved him onto the roof.
The horned bear charged.
Alice jumped and squirmed up the ladder.
The kids screamed.
Alice landed on the roof and yanked the ladder up.
The bear smashed into the concrete support. The kids howled. The roof shook but held.
The bear roared and circled the carport, looking for a way up. Sergio sprawled on his back, breathing hard. Alice dropped to her knees by him and pulled his clothes up. Three ugly red scratches crossed his chest and stomach.
“What were you thinking?” Alice growled.
“I shot it. It didn’t care.”
“They’re not deep.” Alice dug in her bag and pulled out a jar with pale yellow paste inside. She dipped her fingers into it and smeared it on Sergio. He grunted and shook.
“Terri, get the cracker,” Alice ordered.
Terri crawled to the bag on all fours and dug through it.
The horned bear smashed into a support again. The kids shrieked.
“It’s fine,” Alice said. “It will hold.”
Terri’s fingers closed around the flare. She pulled it out and thrust it at Alice. Alice took it, stood up, extended her arm toward the sky, and pulled the string dangling from the bottom.
Nothing. There should have been a red flare and a boom, but there was nothing.
“It’s a dud,” Sergio squeezed out. “Use mine.”
Alice looked around. “Where’s your pack?”
Sergio’s eyes went wide. “Oh man. I dropped it.”
The bear rose on its hind legs, trying to stretch to the roof, but it was about three feet too short. It dropped back on all fours, bounced, and roared again.
“Terri, help me bandage Sergio,” Alice said.
Terri grabbed the bandages out of the bag.
The flare signaled danger, that something bad happened. Without a flare, nobody would come looking for them until tonight, maybe tomorrow. Sergio was still bleeding.
“So what do we do now?” Terri asked, handing the bandages over.
“We wait,” Alice said. “It will get bored and go away.”
#
Sergio’s lips were pale. Alice changed the bandage again, but no matter how tightly they wrapped Sergio’s chest, the red stain kept spreading. Terri bit her lip. The sun dial someone had built below years ago said at least two hours had passed.
The bear took a running start and smashed into the support again. The carport shook. She didn’t even have the strength to be scared anymore. She just sat there numb.
The bear kept hitting and hitting, like a hundred times over the two hours. Eventually it would break the carport and then it would eat them. They were all going to die today.
What will Mom do if I die? She will be so sad. Would my dad even hear about it?
The little kids huddled around them.
“Alice,” Poppy asked in a tiny voice. “Is a hero going to come and save us?”
“Of course,” Alice told her.
The anger and fear bubbled up from somewhere deep inside Terri. “You’re lying.”
Alice gave her a look, but Terri didn’t care.
“Tell them the truth, Alice. Nobody is coming. Nobody will save us. We’re all going to die.” Her voice kept rising louder and louder and she couldn’t stop it. “There are no heroes in these woods! Nobody! Is! Coming!”
The bear snarled below and turned toward the forest. Its fur rose, and it braced itself, ready to charge.
A boy walked out of the woods, followed by a large shaggy dog.
Terri blinked.
The boy was about her age. His hair was dark. He wore sweatpants and a gray hoodie and carried a backpack on his back.
It would eat him. The bear would kill his dog and eat him.
The boy looked at them and waved.
Terri turned to Alice. Alice was looking at the boy, shocked.
The bear snarled.
The boy’s eyes shone with gold. He turned to the bear and stared.
The bear rose on its hind legs, roaring, flinging spit in the air.
The boy kept staring. Next to him, the dog growled. Its back rose, its muzzle changed, its ears thrust up. It got real big. Its shoulder was level with the boy’s shoulder.
What was this? What was even happening?
“You can smell me,” the boy said to the bear. “You know what I am. Think about it. You don’t want to see my other face.”
The dog bared its teeth. They glowed.
The bear took a step back.
“Keep walking,” the boy told it.
The horned bear snarled again, quietly, almost like it was back talking, dropped on all fours, and backed away.
The boy took a step forward.
The bear bolted. It crashed through the brush in a blind panic and then it was gone.
The boy tilted his head. “The Wolf was right. It does work.”
What?
The boy turned to them. “It’s safe now. You can come down. I’ll take you home.”
Ten minutes later they were walking down the old highway. Sergio rode on the magic dog’s back. He was a big as a pony, and he smelled like death.
“Sorry about that. I keep washing him,” the boy was saying to Alice. “I think it’s his natural stink.”
“No, no, that’s fine. We don’t mind,” Alice said.
“Don’t worry about the bear,” the boy said. “Once I drop you off safe, I’ll go home, and we’ll track it and either relocate it or put it down. There was some twisted magic in these woods before. We cleared most of the affected animals, but we must have missed this one. I’m sorry again. That must have been scary.”
“No, no. It’s okay. We just didn’t expect it. We know not to go into the northern woods, but this is the southside. This area is supposed to be safe.”
“Why were you out anyway?”
“Mushroom hunting,” Alice said.
“Warlock mushrooms?”
Alice nodded.
Ahead the road turned slightly, and the town came into view, bathed in sunshine. The boy shrugged the backpack off, unzipped it, and took out a big ziplock bag filled with warlock mushrooms. He offered it to Alice.
“Here you go.”
Alice shook her head. “We can’t take that. You already saved us.”
The boy smiled. It was a beautiful bright smile. “I pick them every magic wave. Trust me, I have plenty. We missed the bear, so it’s our fault you didn’t get to finish your mushroom hunt. Please take these. If you don’t, I’ll just leave them here on the road.”
Alice took a step back. “We couldn’t…”
The boy turned and put the bag into Terri’s hands. “Of course, you can.”
As they walked out of the woods, with Sergio leaning on Alice, Terri looked over her shoulder. The boy gave her a wave, turned, and he and the dog disappeared back into the forest.
“That was the prince,” Alice said. “The shapeshifter prince.”
“Everybody is a prince or a knight or a wizard with you,” Sergio muttered.
“No, he is really a prince. His father is the Beastlord and his mother is a deadly witch-warrior…”
“Alice, shut up,” Sergio said. “It was just a weird kid with a magic dog. He didn’t even do anything. It was the dog that scared the bear away…”
Terri gently hugged the fat plastic bag to her. Around her, the world was bright with sunshine.
There were no heroes in the woods.
Except one.
