Chapter 646

The year was 3042. Samira, just nineteen years of age, stood at the edge of what they now called the Chronos Woods. It wasn't always called that.

Before 3021, it had been just woods, a sprawling mass of green on the outskirts of the city, a place for weekend picnics and quiet walks. Now, it was something else, something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up even from this distance.

The Time Trees. That was the name given to them after the initial panic subsided, after scientists and theologians and every other kind of '-ologist' had failed to provide any explanation that made a lick of sense.

In 3021, seemingly overnight, a significant portion of the world's forests had changed. Not just changed in the way of deforestation or disease.

No, this was…different. Trees unlike any recorded in botanical history had sprouted, pushing aside older growth, twisting their way into existence as if reality itself had decided to rewrite the rules of nature.

These weren't ordinary trees. For one, their bark was a deep, unsettling shade of violet, almost black in the shadows. The leaves were silver, shimmering even on the dullest days, and they didn't rustle in the wind like normal foliage. Instead, they seemed to vibrate, to pulse with an inner light that was just barely perceptible, yet deeply unnerving.

Samira had heard stories, of course. Everyone had. It was impossible not to. The Time Trees dominated conversations, news cycles, nightmares. Stories of people entering the Chronos Woods and never returning. Stories of those who did return, broken, babbling incoherently about moments stolen, years lost, lives twisted.

She tightened her grip on the worn leather strap of her bag, the cheap metal digging into her palm. Inside was a water bottle, a ration bar, and a small, tarnished silver compass her grandmother had given her. "Just in case," her grandmother had said, her voice tight with an emotion Samira hadn't understood then, but knew all too well now. Fear.

Samira was here for her brother. He'd been gone three weeks. Three weeks since he'd decided to prove everyone wrong, to show that the stories were just that – stories. Teenager bravado, mixed with a healthy dose of stupidity, her father had called it, his voice thick with worry that even anger couldn't fully mask.

The authorities had warned against entering the Chronos Woods. Quarantine zones were established, patrolled by armed guards. But official searches were few and far between. Resources were stretched thin dealing with the…aftermath…of the Time Trees, the missing person cases, the psychological fallout, the sheer, incomprehensible weirdness of it all.

If she wanted to find her brother, she knew she was on her own.

Taking a deep breath, Samira stepped past the warning signs, ducking under the flimsy barrier tape that did little to inspire confidence or actually deter anyone. The air changed the moment she crossed the unofficial boundary. It wasn't just the temperature dropping, although it did become noticeably cooler, a damp chill that seeped into her bones. It was something else, a feeling. The air felt…heavy, almost viscous, as if she were trying to wade through water.

The usual woodland sounds were absent. No birdsong, no rustling creatures in the undergrowth, no insects buzzing. Just silence. A thick, oppressive silence that pressed against her eardrums, making her own heartbeat sound deafeningly loud.

Sunlight struggled to penetrate the canopy of silver leaves. The woods were cast in perpetual twilight, the violet bark of the Time Trees absorbing what little light managed to filter through. It created an environment of perpetual gloom, a space where shadows danced and played tricks on the eyes.

Samira walked deeper, her boots crunching softly on the fallen leaves, the sound amplified in the unnatural quiet. She called out her brother's name, her voice sounding weak and small, swallowed by the heavy air. "Karim! Karim, can you hear me? It's Samira!"

Only silence answered.

She consulted the compass, even though she wasn't entirely sure it would work properly here. Time was supposed to be…different…within the Chronos Woods. Maybe the laws of physics were different too. Still, it was something to do, something to give her the illusion of direction in this disorienting place.

She pushed through a cluster of violet trees, their silver leaves brushing against her face, leaving a faint, metallic scent in the air. It was a strange smell, not unpleasant exactly, but definitely not natural, artificial almost, like ozone mixed with old metal.

As she walked, she started to notice things. Not just the trees themselves, but…anomalies. In one spot, a patch of wildflowers bloomed impossibly out of season, vibrant colours in the dim light. In another, she saw a tree that looked halfway between normal and Time Tree, its bark partly violet, partly brown, its leaves a mixture of green and silver.

It was as if the woods were unstable, fluctuating, reality itself fraying at the edges.

She found something else too, something that made her heart clench. A discarded backpack, lying amongst the violet roots of a Time Tree. It was familiar. Too familiar. It was Karim's.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She rushed to it, dropping to her knees beside the bag. Frantically, she unzipped it, her fingers trembling. Inside, just as she feared, were his things. His water bottle, half-empty. His favorite worn-out novel. And, clutched in the side pocket, his cellular device.

She snatched up the device, her hopes rising for a moment. Maybe there was still battery. Maybe he'd left a message. But the screen was cracked, black, unresponsive. Useless.

A wave of despair washed over her, cold and heavy. He'd been here. He'd been right here. And now…

She stood, clutching the device, her gaze sweeping the woods around her. The violet trees loomed, their silver leaves seeming to watch her, to whisper secrets she couldn't understand.

"Karim!" she yelled again, her voice cracking this time. "Karim, please! Answer me!"

Still nothing. Just the oppressive silence and the unsettling feeling of being watched.

She decided to keep moving, following a barely discernible path that wound deeper into the woods. The air grew colder, the shadows darker. She felt a growing unease, a primal fear that whispered in the back of her mind, telling her to turn back, to run. But she couldn't. Not without knowing what had happened to her brother.

Hours passed, or what felt like hours. Time was difficult to gauge here. The perpetual twilight made it seem as if it was always the same time of day, or perhaps no time at all. She walked until her legs ached, her throat was dry, and her ration bar was gone.

She found more signs of others who had ventured into the Chronos Woods. Scraps of clothing, dropped items, once even a shoe, lying alone on the forest floor as if its wearer had simply vanished. Each discovery intensified her fear, yet also fueled her determination. She had to know.

Then, she heard it. A sound. Faint, almost inaudible, but distinct from the silence. It was a…whine? A high-pitched, almost metallic sound, like metal vibrating, resonating. It seemed to be coming from deeper within the woods.

Cautiously, Samira moved towards the sound, pushing through thicker and thicker growth. The Time Trees were closer together here, their violet trunks forming a dense, almost impenetrable barrier. The air was thick with the metallic scent of their leaves, stronger now, almost overwhelming.

The whining grew louder as she went, becoming more insistent, more…urgent. It was joined by another sound now, a lower, rhythmic thrumming, a vibration she could feel in the ground beneath her feet.

And then, she saw it.

A clearing, bathed in an unnatural, silvery light. In the center stood an enormous Time Tree, far larger than any she had seen before. Its trunk was immense, its violet bark gnarled and twisted, its silver leaves shimmering with an almost blinding intensity. The whining and thrumming emanated from this tree, from its very core.

And around the base of the tree…people. Dozens of them. Men, women, children, all standing motionless, facing the tree, their eyes wide open, unseeing. They were like statues, frozen in place, their faces blank, devoid of expression.

Samira's blood ran cold. She recognized some of them. People from her city, people who had gone missing in recent weeks. They were here, all of them, trapped, petrified.

Then, she saw him.

Among the frozen figures, near the base of the giant Time Tree, was Karim. He was standing just like the others, motionless, his eyes wide, staring blankly ahead. He was alive, she could see that, but…empty. His spirit seemed to have been sucked out of him, leaving only a shell.

"Karim!" she cried, running towards him, pushing through the frozen figures. They were cold, like statues carved from ice. She reached her brother, grabbing his shoulders, shaking him. "Karim, it's me! Samira! Wake up!"

His eyes remained unfocused, unseeing. He didn't react to her touch, her voice, her presence. He was there, but not there.

Tears streamed down Samira's face. What had they done to him? What had this…tree…done to all of them?

As if in answer to her question, the giant Time Tree pulsed again, the silver leaves shimmering brighter, the whining and thrumming intensifying. And then, images. Not sounds, not words, but images flooded her mind, overwhelming her senses.

Visions of time, twisting, bending, fracturing. Moments ripped apart, rearranged, stolen. She saw lives flashing before her eyes, not her own life, but fragments of lives, moments of joy, moments of sorrow, moments of love, moments of loss, all jumbled together, meaningless, terrifying.

She understood then. The Time Trees didn't just steal time. They stole moments, the essence of life itself. They fed on experiences, on memories, on emotions, leaving behind empty husks. They were predators of time, feeding on humanity's past, present, and future.

And they were doing it to Karim. To all of these people.

Desperation surged through her. She had to do something. She couldn't just stand here and watch her brother become another empty shell. But what could she do? Against this…thing…this entity that existed outside of time itself?

She looked around wildly, searching for anything, anything at all that could help. Her gaze fell on her grandmother's compass, still clutched in her hand. It was just a cheap compass, a trinket, really. But it was something.

On impulse, she pulled it from her bag and threw it at the base of the giant Time Tree. It struck the violet bark with a soft thud and fell to the ground.

Nothing happened.

Despair threatened to engulf her completely. It was hopeless. She was hopeless.

But then… a flicker. Just a tiny flicker, in the silver leaves of the Time Tree. And the whining faltered, just for a fraction of a second. The thrumming weakened, became uneven.

And Karim…Karim blinked.

His eyes, for just a moment, seemed to focus. He looked at her, a flicker of recognition, of…something…in their depths.

"Samira…?" he whispered, his voice raspy, weak, like he hadn't spoken in years.

Hope surged through her again, fierce and desperate. It was working. The compass…somehow…it was doing something.

"Yes, Karim, it's me!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "I'm here! I'm going to get you out of here!"

But the moment of connection was fleeting. The Time Tree pulsed again, stronger this time, the silver leaves shimmering violently, the whining and thrumming reaching a deafening crescendo. The images in her mind intensified, becoming a torrent, a chaotic storm of fragmented moments, tearing at her sanity.

Karim's eyes glazed over again, his brief flicker of recognition vanishing, replaced by the same blank stare. He was slipping away again, being pulled back into the tree's grasp.

Samira knew she had to act fast. But what else could she do? She had nothing else, no weapons, no tools, just…herself.

She looked at the compass again, lying at the base of the tree. It was just a piece of metal, a simple instrument. But maybe…maybe it wasn't the compass itself, but what it represented. Direction. Order. Something opposite to the chaos and temporal distortion of the Time Trees.

Taking a deep breath, Samira made a decision. It was a desperate, foolish decision, but it was the only one she could think of.

She stepped forward, placing her hand on the violet bark of the giant Time Tree. It was cold, unnaturally so, like touching ice. The moment her skin made contact, a jolt shot through her, a surge of energy, of…time.

The images flooded her mind again, stronger than ever, more chaotic, more overwhelming. They were no longer just fragments of lives, but her life now, her own memories, her own experiences, being ripped apart, examined, consumed.

She gasped, staggering back, pulling her hand away. The pain was intense, like her very soul was being torn apart. But she had to do it again. For Karim.

Ignoring the agony, she placed her hand on the tree again, this time pressing harder, leaning into it, offering herself to it. The visions intensified, the pain sharpened, but she held on, focusing all her will, all her love for her brother into that single point of contact.

She imagined her own memories, not as fragments, but as a whole, a coherent story, a life lived, imperfect but complete. She offered it to the tree, not as food, but as…information. As a counterpoint to its chaos.

And slowly, impossibly, something began to change.

The whining of the tree faltered again, but this time it didn't recover. The thrumming weakened, faded. The silver leaves dimmed, their unnatural light receding. The chaotic images in her mind began to coalesce, to form…something…again.

Karim…Karim moved. He swayed, stumbling slightly, but he moved. His eyes flickered, focusing, widening as he looked at her.

"Samira…?" he whispered again, stronger this time, his voice filled with confusion, but also…recognition.

"Karim!" she cried, tears streaming down her face, relief washing over her in a wave so intense it almost buckled her knees. "You're back! You're really back!"

He looked around, his gaze falling on the other frozen figures, then back to the giant Time Tree, now visibly dimmer, its silver leaves dull, lifeless.

"What…what happened?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Where are we?"

"We're in the Chronos Woods," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "And you were…trapped. But you're okay now. I got you out."

She reached for him, pulling him close, hugging him tightly, burying her face in his shoulder, sobbing with relief. He hugged her back, weakly at first, then stronger, his own body shaking.

They stood there for a long moment, clinging to each other, surrounded by the silent, diminished Time Trees and the frozen figures of those still trapped.

Then, Karim pulled back slightly, looking at her, his expression shifting from confusion to concern. "Samira…you're…fading."

She frowned, confused. "Fading? What do you mean?"

He pointed at her hand, the one she had placed on the Time Tree. It was…transparent. She could see the violet bark of the tree through it, as if her hand was becoming insubstantial, like smoke.

Panic flared in her chest. She looked down at herself, at her arms, her legs. They were all becoming translucent, the edges blurring, as if she was slowly dissolving into the air.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered, fear gripping her heart.

Karim's eyes widened in horror. "The tree…it took something from you, Samira. To free me…to weaken it…it took something from you."

She understood then. She had offered the tree her memories, her life force, to save her brother. And it had taken it. It had taken her future.

She looked at Karim, at his face, his real, living face, filled with fear and love and gratitude. She smiled, a weak, fading smile.

"It's okay, Karim," she said, her voice barely a whisper now. "You're safe. That's all that matters."

Her body was fading faster now, the edges dissolving, her form becoming less and less defined. The world around her was blurring, the sounds fading, everything becoming distant, ethereal.

Karim was crying now, tears streaming down his face, clutching at her fading form, his hands passing right through her arm. "No, Samira, no! Don't go! Please!"

But it was too late. She was slipping away, dissolving into nothingness, her essence fading into the very air around them.

Her last sight was of her brother's face, his anguished expression etched in her memory, a memory that was itself fading, disappearing, becoming nothing.

And then, there was only silence.

In the Chronos Woods, the giant Time Tree stood diminished, its silver leaves dull, lifeless. The frozen figures remained, still trapped, still empty.

And Karim stood alone, in the unnatural twilight, clutching at empty air, the echo of his sister's sacrifice reverberating in the silence, a brutal, unending sadness in the heart of the woods that stole time, and now, a life.