Vikaya had a tumultuous journey to the forest of Niqwara. It was apparent that the forces weren't in her favor
"It is supposed to be a holiday and here I am waking up at 4am!" she groaned loudly slithering out of bed
In an hour she was out on of the road not knowing she will be met with unexpected setbacks and dangers along the way
A peaceful road with no cars in sight, she sipped the smoothie she blended in the morning, great songs and amazing scenery filled her with peace
"Whoa!" she exclaimed and turned the steering wheel right on time as a car suddenly appeared to dash into her
"Is this your grandma's house? Drive properly shrimp head!" she yells at the car and moves on
"That was close!" she breathed out with relief, her body shaking all over with shockwaves
Rest of the journey was smooth and she was halfway through but suddenly her tire burst out of nowhere. The roads were smooth, the pressure was right, the temperature is stable yet the tire gave away. Her car lost control and swayed and drifted on the road. Vikaya slammed the brakes and the whole thing ended with a long screeching sound and heavy marks on the road
Vikaya quickly turned on the parking lights and stopped the car leaving the wheel and burying her face in her palms too horrified and shaking all over. Numbed with shock and no strength in her body she got out of the car and sat down at the side of the road. After 10 minutes of gathering her bits and pieces standing on her weakened legs she brings out the spare tire
"In the middle of nowhere. Awesome!" she said
In half an hour she changed the tire and was on the road again
"Oh good it's just 5 minutes from here" she takes a right turn and stops at the nearest pit stop
Fortunately there was a car repair shop, her brain worked like a cheetah and she got her car checked and the spare tire repaired
After the tiring long drive she finally reached at 7pm, the sun's last rays did the farewell dance and disappeared
"It's too late now, I will go to the forest tomorrow morning" she decided settling down at a motel nearby
Unexpected and ghastly rain accompanied the morning and Vik was grateful she packed thoroughly
"Caution and anxiety can be useful sometimes" she patted herself on her shoulder
"But why is it when you go into the unknown the rain reminds how ominous this situation is!" she groaned "There wasn't a single drop of rain in the forecast!"
She drove away in 30 minutes and reached the forest entrance in 15 minutes
"Let's see, cabin number 11" she checked the details
Vik had booked a cabin for safekeeping all her things and to run away to a safe space if a wild animal chases her instead of running to the car
"Alright and we are set!" she said with delight, settling all her things in the warm, cozy cabin and packing all essentials
"I wish I could just sleep" she whimpered looking around at the cozy wooden cabin and surprisingly large bed
She locked the cabin and ventured into the forest on foot with a large rucksack on her back
"Straight from the entrance of the forest, taking the north-east direction I will encounter those strange Ttuan trees, whatever they are" she sighed and continued on her path with a compass in hand
After 30 minutes of walking straight without letting her feet rest, she gave up and sat down on the ground, cautiously of course making sure no bugs and critters would find way into her clothes
"Where are these damn Ttuan trees?!" she yelled and the moment she uttered the last word a strange sound engulfed the forest
A pattern of wave-like sounds filled the whole forest, it was eerie yet magnetizing and Vik found herself walking towards it, the sound increased by each step and after a while it was too loud yet no source to be found
"Where is it coming from?" said Vik out loud and a strange red light glowed. She turned swiftly and stepped back with shock and fright
A big tree stood in front of her, which seemed to missing when she first arrived here. The tree had let go of all the leaves and it's dry branches extended like a witch's arms reaching for the sky. But on the tree emitting that strange red, glow hung peculiar fruits all over it
"These must be those Ttuan trees" she concluded and the sounds subsided bit by bit. This strange tree filled her with curiosity and she slowly stepped towards it although, ninety percent of her thoughts warned her that its a trap set by a demon to eat her
As she stepped closer towards it, the dry ground crunching beneath her feet, she jumped. The tree suddenly decided to disappear as she moved closer towards it. The whole tree was poof, gone
"Alright alright" she said out loud "I won't come near you"
The tree slowly appeared again and showed itself
"Please show me the way to other Ttuan trees" she requested
The forest immediately immediately was filled with the strange wave-like sound again and lighted up in the strange red a few feet away
"Wow, thank you!" she said and sprinted ahead
"So, this is the Enchanted Wood, and these are the introvert Faraway Trees, got it" she said to herself
As she glided ahead quickly counting one tree after the other, she got lost sometimes in the twists of the maze-like forest, a strange raven scaring her and sometimes sitting down struck with thirst, hunger and sore leg muscles
"He should get 2 stab wounds, that jerk" she huffed
After an hour later, which was surprising seeing 122 trees is a lot, she finally reached the final 2, twin trees.
"Thank god it's daylight" she sighed "Well, of course, I started so early" she patted herself mentally
"I am sorry dear trees, please don't disappear, I just want one quick thing then I will be on my way" she said to them. To her surprise the trees didn't disappear
"Oh you guys are so cute" she said as she noticed them joined by the branches and roots
Carefully bringing out her shovel she began digging at the center without damaging the trees
"This is so tiring! I should have taken some money from that slime rodent" she huffed
After digging for a while she hit something hard
"Thank goodness" she breathed out and bent down, she reached out her hand to touch it but as soon as her fingers came in contact with it something frightening happened
Whatever she was trying to grab, grabbed her instead and pulled her under with supernatural force. A loud and long scream was heard through the empty forest, not even the birds flew away. Vikaya felt as if she was being dragged through and stretched apart at the same time and suddenly thrown on the ground with full force
"Ahh oww" she exclaimed in pain rolling on the ground
She laid there unable to move, afraid some bone definitely might have cracked. In a few minutes, after summoning courage and trying to ignore the pain she moved her arms and legs
"No excruciating pain, thank god" she said and slowly struggled to get up. Finally standing on her bruised legs she looked around
"What is this strange place?" she exclaimed with shock as now the forest was no where to be seen. Instead the land was outstretched endlessly with a few trees and a lot of graves, a lot of graves
She huddled across towards one but to add to her bewilderment, the gravestone was blank. She limped ahead to check other graves but each one of them was empty. A land filled with unmarked graves
"Damn that rat bastard!" she yelled with rage
"What am I supposed to do now?" she screamed helplessly. The passage through she was dragged here from had already disappeared and she stood in the middle of the grave-ridden twilight emitting land
Out of the threatening silence a strange sound emerged again, the same sound she had followed all through the forest had followed her here. In a swift turn Vik found herself hurriedly limping ahead, dragging herself towards that sound. Fear and hope fighting a strange debate within her.
Will Vikaya escape this no-man's graveyard? What kind of a sick lunatic is Alekon Do and why did he play this dirty trick on Vikaya?
One thing Vik knew was to keep going, giving up was not an option