Where the Forest Ends: A Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novel Read online

  She had learned that people like her, the outsiders, had a history as medics. Their ability to see through the skin of the locals gave them an advantage no one else had.

  She had grown into tall and gangly young woman, well over six feet tall with long black hair. She towered over the locals. Along with the goggles she had to wear at all times to see, she was easy to pick out of any crowd.

  She leaned back and told Cornelius, once again, that he needed to eat less and take better care of himself.

  "So," said Cornelius. "Are you coming to the festival tonight? There should be a lot of great beer and food."

  Vivian let out an exasperated sigh.

  "I'm on duty at the festival," she said.

  "Excellent," said Cornelius. "I'll see you there. I might need you."

  "Try not to," she said sternly.

  He laughed as though she were joking. He thanked her, stood, and walked out into the humid air of the forest.

  Once Cornelius was gone, Vivian stretched and walked across the small medical office to the bookshelf. She grabbed a ratty book on heart conditions and began leafing through it. The shelf was filled with books from other planets. Her medical knowledge came exclusively from these books, which she had then taught to the only other medic, Ellen.

  Ellen also happened to be the only other outsider on Trella.

  She scanned the bookshelves and thought about the cases and epidemics from other planets which she'd read about. The people of Trella had amazing immune systems, and rarely got sick. When they did, it was only for a short period.

  In fact, one medic was more than enough to cover the entire population. They had two in case one of them got sick. It had happened twice, both times to Ellen.

  Vivian needed to be at the festival in about an hour, but until then she had no scheduled appointments. She packed up her supplies and left the medical office. She looked back at the tree in which it was kept. This tree contained her office and a variety of stores.

  She turned and walked along the bridges between the trees. She remembered how scared she had been the first time. She thought of her father, and about how she had put on a tough face because he'd looked so scared.

  She thought of her father's final moments. The basilisk who'd killed him was displayed prominently in the Great Hall as a trophy. Once Vivian had seen the skeleton of the great snake, any doubt about the locals had disappeared. Sometimes she looked at that snake and tried to imagine what her father’s final thoughts had been.

  She walked across a few more bridges, speeding up as she walked. She passed a few locals, who smiled at her. She rounded a residential tree and stopped at a nondescript door. She knocked twice and heard Ellen's voice from within.

  "Who is it?" said Ellen.

  "It's me. Lights!"

  The sound of a click came from inside. A moment later the door opened, revealing Ellen. She was wearing the same goggles as Vivian.

  Vivian walked past her and inside. Ellen closed the door.

  Vivian reached up hesitantly and removed the goggles from her face. She took in the complete and utter darkness around her for a moment.

  "Ready?" said Ellen.

  Vivian took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm ready."

  The lights would have been blinding if Vivian hadn't been prepared. The locals had installed lightbulbs from another planet inside their home. It gave them a place to stay and relax where goggles weren't needed.

  Vivian blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to the light. The locals had put themselves at great risk to install the lights, and Vivian was eternally grateful for that.

  Although the locals very rarely contracted illnesses, their one great weakness was light. When they were hit with any significant amount of it, the consequences could be dire. It hadn't happened while Vivian had been there, but there were enough horror stories that she understood the risk.

  She blinked and looked around. Their quarters were small but cozy. There was a desk and bookshelf on one side, a bed on the other. There was a chess board set up on the floor in in the middle of a game they had never finished. Vivian was sure Ellen was going to win.

  She turned and smiled at Ellen, taking in her naked body. She must have undressed while the lights were out. She was about a foot shorter than Vivian, although they weighed about the same. Ellen's body was shaped like a pear. Her large nose was offset by her constant smiles.

  "How long do we have?" said Ellen, striking a pose.

  Vivian smiled and laughed. "We've got about an hour."

  "That's enough," said Ellen. "Come on. Let's get you out of those clothes."

  "I don't think I have time," said Vivian, taking a step back.

  "Of course you do," said Ellen, taking a few small steps towards her. "I won't be long."

  Ellen walked towards Vivian. Vivian giggled and walked backwards, holding out her long arms as a blockade.

  The back of Vivian's legs hit the bed, and she fell backwards on the mattress. Ellen took the opportunity to pounce, grabbing onto Vivian as she laughed and struggled. Ellen kissed her on the lips, then moved down, first between her small breasts, then her stomach, then lower still. Ellen pulled down Vivian's pants and underwear past her knees.

  "Alright," said Vivian, her face turning red. "I think I can make time."

  "Thought so," said Ellen. "Let's get those clothes off."

  Ellen yanked Vivian's pants the rest of the way off while Vivian pulled her shirt over her shoulders and threw it onto the ground. It hit the chess board, sending the pieces flying and making the game impossible to resume.

  Ellen paused, frowning at the board. Then she laughed. "I was going to win anyways."

  "Were you?" said Vivian, arching an eyebrow.

  Ellen yanked Vivian's pants the rest of the way back and scrambled on top of her. Vivian could feel her warm breath.

  "I was going to win," said Ellen, "and you know it."

  "Shut up and kiss me," said Vivian. She pushed herself up and kissed Ellen.

  Ellen kissed her back, and Vivian lost herself in Ellen's embrace.

  Chapter 3

  Vivian sipped at her water and listened to the music. The drummers at the front of the Great Hall were playing for the council, but the music was being enjoyed by everyone.

  Along with the Great Hall, the Mother Tree housed the living quarters of the Council and the Council Chambers.

  Vivian glanced around. She was fascinated by the decorations that had been put up to celebrate the Seed Festival, which commemorated how the Mother Tree had transformed Trella from a piece of rock into a luscious planet.

  According to legend, the planet had once been a barren asteroid. An explorer came to check it for minerals. Unknown to the explorer, a single seed had tagged along on the bottom of his boot. The explorer found nothing of interest on the asteroid, and left.

  The seed, however, was left behind. That should have been the end. It had almost no sunlight, no water, and no way to survive.

  But the seed refused to listen.

  That seed grew into the Mother Tree.

  The sheer will of the Mother Tree allowed it to grow to an immense size, stretching into the emptiness of space. It dropped seeds onto the ground around it, spreading out its might and power as its roots went deeper into the asteroid. Some said that its root connected all the way to the other side of the planet, where the roots had become trees themselves.

  Although Vivian was at the festival to enjoy herself, she was also on duty.

  Pitchers of beer and wine were passed between the tables. Vivian kept an eye out for anyone who looked off balance or queasy. Every time the locals took a large gulp of liquid, she watched it tumble down their throats and into their stomachs.

  She glanced at the basilisk skeleton mounted on the wall above the Council's table. The snake was taller than Vivian, and at least thirty meters long. Although the snake's tail came to a point, it was well known that Basilisks had an immense fin at the end of their tails.
/>   After a successful hunt, the fin was cut off and used to create the rarest and most delicious of meals among the people of Trella, Basilisk Fin Soup.

  The basilisk on the wall had killed Vivian's father, the man who had brought her here for a better life.

  Five years after her father's death, she had asked Cornelius for all the details. Cornelius's mind had been hampered by years of heavy drinking, but he recounted the story with as much clarity as he could muster. There were a few things he misremembered, things that didn't quite fit, but Vivian had always blamed that on the drink.

  She had to go on his word.

  She had nothing else.

  Vivian glanced towards the dance floor. Ellen weaved between the couples, dancing as though nothing could stop her. Ellen wasn't on duty, and had no reason to restrain from drinking. For Ellen, that was more than enough reason to get wasted.

  Ellen was the only love of Vivian's life. Although she hadn't really had a choice. Ellen was the only other outsider on the planet.

  The hall abruptly became quiet. Vivian looked up at the Council's Table. Hazel was standing with a hand in the air.

  The dancers stumbled for a moment as the music abruptly came to an end. Ellen twirled a few more times before a local grabbed her shoulder and pointed towards the chief.

  Chief Hazel was an old, white woman whose hair matched the white translucence of her skin. Despite her age and frailty, she had a fierce intelligence and a gaze that could bring the toughest of men to their knees.

  Vivian had seen the power of that gaze a few years back when there had been a rebel uprising within Trella. A rebel insurgent group had attempted to overthrow the Mother Tree.

  Hazel had systematically led an attack against their hideout on the other side of the small planet, taking out each one of the strongholds which the rebels had built up over decades within a matter of weeks. Then she'd given the surviving rebels the best medical attention she could in preparation for their executions.

  Vivian, as the chief medical officer, had been with them as they had either lived and been hanged, or died in prison cells. Each of the rebels had told a different tale about why she should let them escape, but she hadn't listened.

  She had told herself that her lack of intervention was because Cornelius was never more than a few feet away, ready to step in and protect her if the men ever became violent, but she always suspected that she didn't want to know the truth.

  The prisoners had rambled about a huge variety of things, from of Chief Hazel being evil to the ground swallowing up newcomers to the city. They also rambled about how the water was orange and poisoned and that the rest of the universe was gone, that this small planet was all that was left. The more injured they were, the more random and nonsensical their claims became.

  One even claimed that Basilisks didn't exist. He claimed that the skeletons prominently displayed on mantles around the planet were nothing more than a collection of human bones rearranged into a skeleton shape. He claimed that the graves of humans were scavenged every night to make new monsters and scare the locals.

  The man making that claim had been hanged, and Vivian had watched. In his final moments, he had met her eyes. She had seen nothing but a sane man who was terrified.

  Vivian had spent a long time staring at the skeletons of the basilisk after that, wondering if there could be any truth to the man's claims. She had mentioned it to Cornelius, and he had laughed and grabbed his gut as though it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

  She had dropped it after that. She knew it was ridiculous.

  Hazel stood and the entire hall went deathly silent.

  "We are gathered here," she said, "on this day of the mother tree, to pay respects to all that this planet and this tree have given us. We have been here for eight hundred years! Here's to eight hundred more!"

  The crowd raised their glasses and drank with Chief Hazel. After everyone had finished, Hazel looked out at the crowd and made it clear she wasn't finished.

  "We have one other thing which is very important that we need to acknowledge tonight."

  The crowd quieted further.

  "Ten years ago," said Hazel, "A great tragedy befell us. Frank Masters, the father of our very own chief medical officer, Vivian, arrived to begin a new life."

  Vivian's head shot up. Hazel was looking directly at her. She had only spoken to Hazel once before, and the chief had never directly acknowledged her.

  "The snake behind me," continued Hazel, gesturing at the immense basilisk skeleton on the wall behind her, "met with Frank while he ventured out to retrieve a satellite dish. It was the greatest snake anyone had ever encountered. We should have been there to protect him, but we weren't."

  Hazel turned towards Vivian. Vivian tried to appear tough and collected, but as every eye in the Great Hall of the Mother Tree turned and looked at her, she wanted to cower into a corner and hide.

  Why couldn't it have been Ellen who everyone was staring at? She loved being the center of attention.

  "Ever since that terrible day," said Hazel, "Vivian has become one of the most irreplaceable members of our community. Her influence during the Rebellion of Dave can't be understated. She gathered more information from the rebels than anyone else through her caring demeanor. All the lies that Dave put into their minds, she drew them out."

  The audience applauded. Vivian blushed and bowed her head.

  "Vivian," said Hazel, raising a glass, "I'm glad you're here."

  The crowd applauded, and Vivian was once again reminded that to the people there, who relied on echolocation and touch for vision, the only difference between them were the goggles she wore.

  Vivian slowly stood, her legs shaking, and waved to the crowd. The applause grew louder. She found Ellen in the crowd and smiled. Ellen smiled back from where she was standing on a bench to see over the crowd.

  "Enjoy the festival!" said Hazel once the applause had died down. "Give praise to the mother tree and all she provides!"

  In that moment, as the festivities began in earnest and the forest was filled with joy, cheer and celebration, Vivian realized something that had snuck up on her, something she had never thought she would say as long as she had memories of the world outside of Trella.

  She realized she was genuinely happy.

  Chapter 4

  Vivian was staring at the ceiling. Ellen was curled up beside her, snoring loudly. Vivian sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Nothing had happened at the festival that had required her to intervene and use her medical knowledge.

  Throughout the evening, her eyes had been drawn to the basilisk on the wall behind Chief Hazel.

  She didn't know why, but there was something about that snake which bothered her.

  There was a knock on her door. Vivian sat up and leaned back.

  Most of the city was asleep, despite the lack of any day-night cycle in the city of Trella. People slept when they wanted to, and worked when they wanted to. However, there was a social pressure to follow the same pattern as everyone else.

  She looked at the door and wondered who would be knocking. It was probably some drunk local who needed stitches. After pulling on her goggles and made sure the lights were off. She'd once dealt with a local who had ventured up to the top of the trees. He had only been in the light for a few seconds, but it had been enough to burn holes through his skin. He'd died less than an hour later.

  She opened the door and looked both ways. There was no one there. Her eyes came to rest on a piece of paper sitting on the ground.

  She bent over and picked it up.

  It said, simply, "Want to know the secret of the basilisk and what really happened to your father? Come to this address in one hour."

  Below was listed an address Vivian knew was a government building. It was the central science facility of the Mother Tree Council.

  Vivian held the note for a few moments, then walked back inside their quarters.

  Ellen was still sleeping.

  Vivia
n knew what she was going to do. She was going to find what happened to her father. She had always suspected there was more than what she'd been told.

  She pulled on a heavy cloak to cover her and left the room.

  She closed the door and made sure that her goggles were properly attached before setting out in the direction of the labs. The bridges were empty and the she saw no one as she walked.

  She couldn't help but look down at the ground, at its strange moving stillness.

  She came to the immense tree which housed the science academies and labs of the Mother Tree.

  She looked around and saw no one.

  She was just about to leave when someone whispered her name.

  She walked around the tree and saw that a door in the tree had opened, revealing an elevator. A man stood inside.

  He wore a cloak which covered his entire body, but she could tell from his hands that he was a local.

  "Are you coming?" said the man.

  Vivian paused. The man's voice was strained and rasping.

  "Come on," said the man. "You're going to miss it."

  Vivian hesitated then stepped into the elevator. The door closed behind her.

  "Miss what?" she said as the elevator ascended. "Why are you hiding your features? Are you one of Dave's men? From the rebellion?"

  The man chuckled. "Not exactly."

  "Then what?"

  The man pulled down his hood. Although he had the same see through skin and piercing eyes the rest of the locals had, the differences made her gasp. He had black hair which contrasted sharply with his sparkling white teeth. A bandage covered where his left ear had once been. He had a long scar along his neck with the grooves of a rope pulled taut.

  "You're Dave," she said matter-of-factly. "You led the rebellion against Chief Hazel and the Mother Tree."

  "You're damn right I am," said Dave, rubbing the scars on his neck, "and I'm going to show you why we rebelled."