twins race past them, pretending to shoot each other with ancient (and probably not loaded) rifles. The only ones in the group that actually like this place are the twins. They’re the source of the massive headache Kunnins has been fighting for the past week.
“How about you take those two with you?” he says. “They’re already half wild, hunting small animals might be good for them.”
“What if they make a run for it? Try to tell someone about us?” the nurse asks.
“Tell them the moment they step out of sight is the moment you come down here and shoot their mother,” Kunnins says.
“But we need their mother--”
“We don’t need her capable of walking. We’ve got plenty of wheelchairs,” he says in a bland tone. The nurse barely hides a wince at the cold-blooded comment.
“Yes sir. Boys! We’re going animal trapping!” he yells at the two. They stop mid-battle, turning to look at him. “That means fresh air.”
“Let’s do it!” the twins say.
***
So now I’m standing in the area I picked for myself and Cubby, staring up at the biggest tree in the forest with a sense of awe. Look, I know Pan said it should be temporary, and I’m sure Cubby can make his own base--if he couldn’t, Pan would have never told him to. Maybe I should just build him a floor not too far from my own, just so, you know, he’s doing his work, but I know where he’s at. Yeah, that works.
“Hello, beautiful,” I say, heading up to the tree and placing my hand on the trunk. “You’re amazing, did you know that? Wow, would you feel that life force,” I say, almost to myself as I look at my hand. It’s like a steady flow of warm energy flowing through the huge tree. “Can my little buddy and I spend some time with you? Just for a few weeks, really.”
Look, trees don’t talk. I know that--I’m not crazy, or anything. But if you’re planning on staying in a living thing for two weeks, it’s a bit rude not to introduce yourself, right? I really should have introduced myself to the trees last night, but I would have looked like such a dork in front of the guys.
The tree I’m touching is starting to respond, the limbs are moving gently, slowly shifting to reach for me. Even the most rigid trees start to move when I ask them, or even when I look at them too long, sometimes. The branches move lower, coming down and forming stairs all on their own. “You ready, Cubby?” I ask the boy. Cubby stares in wonder at the tree, nodding almost absently as I tug him along.
The tree slowly stands, leaving us at least fifty feet off the ground. I look around, heading for one of the largest branches and stepping on it. Automatically the branches move either up or down, bunching together to form a floor, walls, and a roof. It forms into a small, cozy little nest right in the middle of the branches. It’s perfect for Cubby to work with. I just need to find another branch for myself and we’ll be good to go. I didn’t realize it would be this easy--I’ve never actually tried this before. Good to know, though!
“Hey! Sunny!” I hear Jack bellow from below. I step out of the place I built for Cubby, going further down one of the branches and looking down. Jack’s got a fire-pit in his arms--it’s different from the ones he built the others, it looks like a ball with holes in the sides. “I figured you’d want even less chance of sparks,” he says, holding it up. The base holding the ball is wide and curved slightly to stand on a branch.
“I appreciate it,” I say as he steps on his metal surfboard and comes up. He hands it to me, looking at the tree curiously.
“I don’t see much difference,” he admits, sounding a bit disappointed.
“Good,” I say. “Thanks for this, by the way--” I blink as Cubby races past me, jumping onto Jack’s board and holding up his hands.
“What?” Jack asks blankly.
“I need a
“How about you take those two with you?” he says. “They’re already half wild, hunting small animals might be good for them.”
“What if they make a run for it? Try to tell someone about us?” the nurse asks.
“Tell them the moment they step out of sight is the moment you come down here and shoot their mother,” Kunnins says.
“But we need their mother--”
“We don’t need her capable of walking. We’ve got plenty of wheelchairs,” he says in a bland tone. The nurse barely hides a wince at the cold-blooded comment.
“Yes sir. Boys! We’re going animal trapping!” he yells at the two. They stop mid-battle, turning to look at him. “That means fresh air.”
“Let’s do it!” the twins say.
***
So now I’m standing in the area I picked for myself and Cubby, staring up at the biggest tree in the forest with a sense of awe. Look, I know Pan said it should be temporary, and I’m sure Cubby can make his own base--if he couldn’t, Pan would have never told him to. Maybe I should just build him a floor not too far from my own, just so, you know, he’s doing his work, but I know where he’s at. Yeah, that works.
“Hello, beautiful,” I say, heading up to the tree and placing my hand on the trunk. “You’re amazing, did you know that? Wow, would you feel that life force,” I say, almost to myself as I look at my hand. It’s like a steady flow of warm energy flowing through the huge tree. “Can my little buddy and I spend some time with you? Just for a few weeks, really.”
Look, trees don’t talk. I know that--I’m not crazy, or anything. But if you’re planning on staying in a living thing for two weeks, it’s a bit rude not to introduce yourself, right? I really should have introduced myself to the trees last night, but I would have looked like such a dork in front of the guys.
The tree I’m touching is starting to respond, the limbs are moving gently, slowly shifting to reach for me. Even the most rigid trees start to move when I ask them, or even when I look at them too long, sometimes. The branches move lower, coming down and forming stairs all on their own. “You ready, Cubby?” I ask the boy. Cubby stares in wonder at the tree, nodding almost absently as I tug him along.
The tree slowly stands, leaving us at least fifty feet off the ground. I look around, heading for one of the largest branches and stepping on it. Automatically the branches move either up or down, bunching together to form a floor, walls, and a roof. It forms into a small, cozy little nest right in the middle of the branches. It’s perfect for Cubby to work with. I just need to find another branch for myself and we’ll be good to go. I didn’t realize it would be this easy--I’ve never actually tried this before. Good to know, though!
“Hey! Sunny!” I hear Jack bellow from below. I step out of the place I built for Cubby, going further down one of the branches and looking down. Jack’s got a fire-pit in his arms--it’s different from the ones he built the others, it looks like a ball with holes in the sides. “I figured you’d want even less chance of sparks,” he says, holding it up. The base holding the ball is wide and curved slightly to stand on a branch.
“I appreciate it,” I say as he steps on his metal surfboard and comes up. He hands it to me, looking at the tree curiously.
“I don’t see much difference,” he admits, sounding a bit disappointed.
“Good,” I say. “Thanks for this, by the way--” I blink as Cubby races past me, jumping onto Jack’s board and holding up his hands.
“What?” Jack asks blankly.
“I need a
Similar Books
