Brave Reborn (OUAT/Peter Pan Fanfic)

Chapter 41

Another few decades later...

(Sorry with all these decades and years)

The day had been simply dark and overcast, but in seconds, it became a wall of water. The trees offered no shelter, droplets are the size of almonds smashed their way through the foliage above. Our footwear was quickly overwhelmed, water seeping in through the stitching. We were sodden. We were cold. In the tropics, we would have still been warm, but this was a temperate rain forest.

The boom rolled across the forest, announcing the start of what the brooding cloud layer had promised since dawn. The boughs of the trees swayed in the strengthening blow, surrendering their fall leaves without a fight. Black clouds sprawl across the sky, billowing in from the west. Their brassy glare drains color from houses and trees and burnished cars in driveways, leaving tents tinted bronze in the faltering light. The air grows heavy and the humidity presses down, suffocating. The scent of rain is dark and heady. 

I stood there for a moment under the gloomy clouds. A stillness falls over the land, and in the silence comes a low crackle of thunder, rolling across the tops of the tents to the pattering of tiny raindrops. For a moment, everything stops. Even the wind holds its breath. Then water began to sprinkle, cold and wet on my skin. Drops of water trickled down my body as I stood there frozen, my gaze fixed on the horizon, staring at the beauty of the whole scenario. As the clouds continued crying, I turned and walked away.

The thunder seemed to crack the air as if the very heavens might split apart. It rolled like the ash could of a volcano, becoming a rolling booming rumble. It declared to all the raw power of nature and gave fair warning of the wrath that was to come.

There is an intense anxiety to the rain as if between the tumbling cloud and the earth it is fearful of never reaching its destination.  The sound of this rain, so soothing to some, is enough to drown out every other noise. There were no chattering from the lost boys, no battle cries from crazy pirates, and certainly no birds chirping outside.

The gale howled outside with the violence and raw power of an angry bear. The window's rattled and the wind gusted down the chimney bringing its iciness to the room. The treehouse creaked under the strain and I could only describe it as like being trapped in a bear's roar.

Streaks of pure white crackled against a stormy blanket of gray, shrouding hot silver clouds with its blinding incandescence, emanating the light of an imminent tempest. Jagged bolts endlessly protrude, filling the sky with undying flashes of radiance.

The drops were drumming against the trees. So much rain was falling that the sound blurred into one long, whirring noise. Eventually, the noise lessened and the drops faded into a musical chime. Soon it dissolves into cold, silent clouds.

The stars in the sky were nonexistent, as between us arose puffs of gray. Those balls of cotton seen during the day shifted into streams of gray the color of ash and soot. They blanketed the sky, hiding the full moon in it's full glory behind them. But the moon fought and succeed, oh how it fought to shine it's light on the earth.  A sliver of moonlight spilled into the room, not enough to ignite the fiery hues of the room, but enough to navigate between the rough wooden chairs to the exit beyond.

Then I heard something that was thought to be dead, a roar. Not a lion nor a tiger's; but a bear. It had been over a century since a bear was heard in the woods. The roar was a fierce sound that echoes through the plains. The intensity vibrates deep into my mind, giving a bone-chilling effect. Its roar blasts its way through its surroundings, drowning out all other inferior clutter of noise. 

I looked out of the window to the other of the camp and saw a huge black bear. When it saw me its head flew up and pointed to the clouds in the stormy sky. The large animal raised its thin lips and growled at me. Then loud, piercing sound came from its muzzle. The howl carried itself past my cowering body and through the woods. I stepped back and tripped over a fallen tree branch. The unexpected noise still rang in my eardrums like water falling in a distance.

My face became as white as chalk as my lips  trembled like a candle in the wind. My throat was so dry as if I had climbed the tallest tree in one breath. I could barely make a sound. When I was finally able to, it sounded like an unpleasant breeze, it was harsh, it was hollow.

I ran out of my treehouse and into Felix's tent.

"Wake up!" I called.

"What?" He muttered.

"Mor'du is back. I saw him in his bear form."

"Pan," Felix sat up, "You were probably dreaming, again. You threw Mor'du into another realm. Now go to bed, it's past midnight."

"But I wasn't dreaming this time! I bet he is here to take Merida's body. We have to make sure that her body is protected."

"What would Mor'du do with a—" He stopped himself and thought for a minute. Even in the dark night, I could tell how annoyed he was and that he rolled his eyes.

"Give me five minutes and we can head over to Merida's spot to check. Wake the boys up and tell them that there is a wild animal out there and they need to be on watch. If you are right, then let's not risk Mor'du having a midnight snack."

I nodded and woke the boys up. They all were tired as hell, weary with the burden of long-closed eyes. They could have easily pulled off being walking zombies, dead on the inside but subconsciously awake. After reawaking the angry mob of tired boys, we made to haste to leave camp and walk into the woods.

The forest was dark and foreboding, but there was peace in its sullen ambiance. My eyes flickered over the thick, dark trunks of the trees that rose steadily into the sky, its branches interlocking with its neighbors like giant's arms linked together protecting their home. The trees were densely packed together, leaving just enough space to allow someone to maneuver through. I pressed my palm against its rough bark and breathed in the scent of the forest. The musty scent of leaves after rainfall, the warm soil packed against the earth by scurrying animals, the scent of things in different stages of blooming and growth. The smell of life. The forest was teeming with it.

As we approached the opening where Merida lay, I knew that something was wrong and my instincts were terribly right. There were fallen trees that blocked the entrance. We started to climb over the trees and branches. As gripped my hands, I suddenly feel the Adrenalin surging through my veins. I climb and I climb, the branches crackling under my hand. 

We hopped down the piles of wood, our faces looking at the falling trees. I felt like the world was slowly disappearing in front of me. Or maybe it was just me who was fading away. Those moments it did not mattered anyway. Because my empty burning lungs and my heart hitting my chest so hard I thought it will break my ribs and rip apart my skin was the only thing I could think about. Slowly, I turned around, eyes closed.

My eyes opened, but they became wide open when shock took over. Black dust was dashed over the ground table where there should be a beautiful maiden resting. Instead there were rags from her dress.

As I walked closer, I could have sworn that I heard a yawn. It was too sweet and light to be any of ours. Besides, it was quiet and simple. When I looked over the ground table, my heart stopped. Impossible. There was no way that this could be possible. I gasped.

"Pan, what's wrong?" Felix asked. 

I gently lift the rags up and walked over to him. His face fell at the sight.

"What in the hell is that baby doing here? More importantly, what happened to Merida's body?"

"Felix, Merida is right here."

"But that would mean—"

"Merida is alive." I smiled.