Chapter 94: The whispering Trees

Chapter 94: The Whispering Trees

It became eerier as Natasha and Alison walked deep into the jungle; the canopy had become darker and gloomier. The very weak sunlight filtered through the high trees, and the shadows cast looked very weird. It was excessively hot, and the sound of a breeze could be heard, and it felt like something was always watching them.

Natasha clenched the handle of her weapon in her hand and concentrated on the noise around her. "Finally, one had a feeling that the jungle was sentient, was watching."

We looked around nervously, and Alison simply nodded her approval. "It's different here. Almost like it's testing us."

Further, they moved on, the going getting tougher. Some roots protruded from the ground as large as serpents, and heavy vines hung like ceilings, and they had to bend down at times. Still, Natasha felt the urge or lure like a compass got its north when the artifact inside her pack was beckoning her.

Trekking for hours, they found themselves in an open space. There was an old spot in the middle of the burial ground surrounded by a large old tree trunk bigger than any they had noticed. The trunk was crooked and tilted, with the branches reaching up to the sky.

Still, butterflies filled her stomach for a reason she couldn't understand; there was something odd about that tree that she could sense. "This… this feels important."

Alison came slowly towards them with the axe held. "It looks ancient. Can the elders that you mentioned leave clues like this?

Natasha approached, cautiously, and touched the tree with one of her hands. As soon as she put her hands on it, the girl sensed the power flowing through her veins. Pictures began whirling in her mind, pictures of what the jungle must have been like when it lived instead of dying. But the visions did not remain positive for long. This creature envisaged shadows walking through the vegetation cover, burning everything they came across.

"Natasha!" Alison's voice reminded her of the present.

From out of nowhere she was suddenly dizzy, and her heart was beating faster. My senses tell me that if I listen, there is something I should be hearing, and if I look, then there is something I should be seeing, and that tree… it is telling me something. Who are these guys? Shadow Order—they were here two days ago. It's what they attempted to harness in the jungle a long time ago.

Alison frowned. "And now they're back. But why?"

Natasha had another possibility to answer when a low voice was heard in the room. At first it was barely audible, but soon, it swelled louder and louder, reverberating all through the clearing.

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Natasha and Alison looked at each other uneasily.

"Did you hear that?" Natasha asked.

Alison just blinked and nodded her head, watching his hands clench around the handle of his sword. "Yeah, he said there are more, and I believe him."

The whisperings rose louder and louder; now they were coming from all around. That's when the shapes in the dark around the clearing started to move and morph into rather indeterminate figures. Natasha unsheathed her sword, and Alison immediately placed herself before her sister.

Then one of these shadowy figures gradually walked up, and its figure seemed to be clearer than the other shapes. The low light reveals that it has the trace of a visage, a pair of bright white eyes staring through the murk.

"You take the artifact," one of the fused crypts replied, and its words were many, yet all the same. "It ties you into the jungle… but also with us."

Natasha held her ground. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The figure tilted its head. 'We are the survivors of those people who sailed to find the strength and power within the jungle.' This we became consumed by greed and remained shadows. Now we are left to be the servants of the jungle's wants and desires.

 narrowed his eyes. "So why are you here? To stop us?"

Its intense vision began to glow and locked on Natasha… "To warn you. The Shadow Order wants what you hold, but they are no heroes as you think they are. He said, If they succeed, the jungle will fall... and so will the world beyond."

Alison

Natasha's hairs on the back of her head raised. "Then let us know how to contain them."

The figure paused, the signs of shifting indistinctly. By any means necessary, you must get to the heart of the jungle. In that lies the reality… and the potential to say no. However, be very careful; there are challenges on the way and hardships. "This is the jungle that will decide if you are worth living or not."

Natasha could ask more questions, but before she did, the figure and his friends vanished into the darkness, and silence soon descended instantly onto the glade.

Alison exhaled slowly. "Great. And now our task is to save the world, is it? No pressure."

 managed a faint smile. "We don't have a choice. With these words, if what they said is right then we have to get to the Heart of the Jungle before the Shadow Order does.

They started moving again, weighed down by what they had just heard. The jungle, due to thick vegetation, became denser and more threatening with each passing moment as if challenging the two.

Later in the day they waded on to a small stream, only wide enough enough to be called path like. A proximity to what appeared natural, however, disturbed the look of its crystal clear water by giving it a ghostly sheen. Natasha squatted next to it, took a cupped handful of water and swallowed it hastily.

As the cool water toNatash's face touched her lips, she had a heating sensation running from the bottom of her feet to her head. This time she started seeing blurred images, the world around her was an endless plain. It was a world of shades here and vast tree which seemed to be alive was visible in the horizon of the sky above.

"The Heart of the Jungle," she said it in low voice.

A voice echoed around her. "Only the worthy may enter. Demonstrate skills and power, show the ascertainable intelligence, and indicate the component of emotion".

The vision cleared and it was dark by the stream and Natasha was the only one awake. How was I going to do this, I wondered, watching Alison look at me, concern in his eyes.

"You okay? You zoned out for a minute."

Natasha nodded, her determination was high, she knew what she wanted to do was the right thing. "I saw it, Alison. The Heart of the Jungle. It's real, and it's waiting for us."

Alison raised an eyebrow. "But how is it that we get there?"

Natasha looked at the stream and saw this one was not glowing anymore at least not as brightly as before. "We follow the signs. It shall provide all if one prefers to meander through it… if willing to play the humble savage in the presence of the true savage.

Alison sighed. "Fantastic. More trials. Here is hoping that the jungle is in a forgiving frame of mind."

But all the same, he obeyed Natasha when she started walking ahead. The forest appeared to turn around them as if they have been traveling a dangerous and attractive trail. The item in her backpack throbbed somewhat dimly, as if urging her onward.

Natasha understood that the further path will not be a walk in a park. But knowing the stakes are the jungle she has grown to love and the whole world if it exists in it, she had to get the job done.