Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #5)

Bitter, angry, and let down, Mina pulled her red bike off the rack and started the miserable and wet ride home. The last few weeks, she’d neglected her notebook titled, “Unaccomplishments and Epic Disasters,” but now she could see her next entry: Tried to save the world. Drowned doing it.

Her chest ached, and her legs burned as she pedaled furiously. Twice, a car drove right through a rain puddle near her. Each time, she squealed and veered toward the side of the road, dodging the car. But the second time, as she bumped into the grass and mud, she lost control of the bike for a moment. When she got back on the road, she wanted to scream. Nothing was fair! All she wanted was for her last few hours of life to at least be dry.

She came to the bottom of Kingdom Hill and got off her bike. The hill was a blast to ride down to school, but riding up it was killer on her legs. It was a half-mile incline, almost impossible to pedal. The hill was lined with forests on both sides of the road and barren of houses for the next mile. This was usually the most peaceful part of the journey.

In the rain, it was miserable. Mina walked alongside her bike and couldn’t help but stare into the moss-ridden forest. Sometimes a deer or squirrel would dash into the underbrush. This time, something else caught her eye—an oddly shaped giant ash tree. It was skinny and crooked on the top with long branches. Its bark was covered with green moss, and mushrooms peppered the base.

It wouldn’t have gained her attention on any other day, but she swore she saw it move. There! Its branches were shaking. Granted, it could be from the weight of the rain pelting the branches, but she didn’t want to take that chance.

She picked up her pace, kept her eye on the ominous tree—its branches shuddering in her peripheral vision—and walked as fast as she could up the incline. But when she could no longer keep the tree in her eyesight, she heard it.

She’d almost been expecting it. A deep groan sounded, a cracking and snapping of branches. The cracking became more frantic—louder.

As it grew, so did her panic.

When Mina glanced back, the ash tree was gone. She ditched her bike and sprinted up the wet hill away from the noise. She gasped for breath, the sound loud in her ears.

So loud she couldn’t distinguish the crashing anymore. Afraid to look back, she just ran.

The ground rumbled under her, and a deafening roar pounded her ears. She screamed seconds before a large, rough, vine-like arm scraped and wrapped around her waist and lifted her high into the air.

Feet dangling helplessly, Mina struggled against the rough bark that bit into her skin. She wriggled and pried herself out of its grasp, falling onto the muddy ground not far from the road’s edge. Winded, she turned in horror to face the monstrous tree beast. It had uprooted itself and was now leaning over her.

Its roots moved along the ground in spider-like fashion, inching toward her leg. Whimpering, Mina crawled away from it. The trunk of the tree had cracked open to reveal a jagged mouth; the thick branches worked as the monster’s arms. It moved toward her. The moss and leaves on the tree began to turn brown and slowly fell to the ground, dying, but she didn’t have time to ponder why.

She got to her feet and ran, only to slip on the muddy terrain and fall onto her knees. A loud creak of branches was her only warning. She lifted her gaze to see one of the tree’s large branches swing for her head. With a cry, Mina rolled to the side. The strike grazed her foot. She didn’t think she could outmaneuver the tree monster a second time. Her only option was to get out of there.

Headlight beams blinded her in the mist. Mina rose to her feet—Brody! She tried to wave him away. Tires screeched on pavement as he braked to a stop. The tree monster roared in fury at his black SUV and took two huge menacing steps toward it.

“Oh no!” Mina cried out.

The tree swung a massive branch toward the car. Brody slammed the car into reverse as the tree pounded a branch within inches of the hood. He continued to drive away recklessly in reverse, the tires squealing as he made a hectic escape.

Mina breathed a sigh of relief that the car and driver were okay, but she couldn’t help being a little disappointed that he’d left. Not to mention, she should have used the momentary distraction to run away.

She’d blown her opportunity.

“Oh, Mother Hubbard!” Mina let slip and took off. She was tired, sore, and bruised. Normally she would have pulled out the Grimoire by now. But she was on her own. Just when she thought she had outrun the tree monster, another one—a birch—appeared in front of her. The peeling white-gray bark created a face with eyes and a mouth. She was surrounded. The birch-tree monster swayed menacingly in front, while the mushroom-covered-ash-tree monster caught up and blocked her escape.

“I mean you no harm,” she called out. She held up muddy palms in the air to show she was defenseless. “I didn’t do anything to you. Just leave me alone!” The mushroom tree had dried out even more, and leaves kept falling to the ground. Maybe the monster couldn’t survive above ground long. If that was the case, she only needed to wait.

A figure in a long black cloak appeared from the woods.

“Help!” Mina cried to the cloaked being.

But it only watched her from the tree line, neither helping nor hindering. “Please help me!” she tried again, but the figure didn’t move—just continued to observe as she ran from the monsters. “Fine! A thousand curses on you!”

The figure raised its hand and pointed at her, its meaning clear. It was commanding the trees to harm her.

Mina tried to keep the monsters in sight, but the way they skittered about on their roots made it difficult. The ash tree started to shake and crack, its movements becoming stilted. The birch monster showed no signs of wilting or slowing until it stopped, and its long, gangly roots burrowed deep into the ground. Suddenly, they erupted out of the earth right in front of Mina, wrapping themselves around her legs.

She screamed and clawed at the roots, trying to pry them off. She swore she heard the monster laugh as it began to drag her into the ground. Flipping over, she dug her fingertips into the dirt, desperate to anchor herself. She glanced toward the hooded figure and noticed it had come closer as if to watch.

A low rumbling noise sounded in the distance, growing louder as it came closer. Headlight beams illuminated the tree attacking her and created a giant circular bull’s-eye. The vehicle accelerated. Brody was back! He hit the curb at an intense speed, lifted into the air, and torpedoed straight into the trunk of the ash tree. No!

The monster shrieked as the impact severed many roots. The ones that had imprisoned her loosened, and Mina was able to wiggle free.

Brody’s front wheels were halfway up the trunk of the toppled ash tree. He kept his foot on the gas, the wheels of his SUV continually spinning three feet above the ground. Was he too scared to let off it, or was he injured?

She held her breath.

He stirred and moved around inside.

She let out a sigh of relief.

Brody waved at her, trying to get her attention. His car was probably totaled, but the electric window worked…sort of. It whirred and made a loud grinding noise as it wiggled down.

“Mina, look out!” Brody shouted.” His face was pale as a ghost.

Mina turned as the ash tree toppled forward. It was going to fall on her. She dove to the left and missed being crushed by the thick trunk. Branches snapped, and she imagined a rush of wind as if the tree had exhaled its last breath.