Ranger Rising

Part 6: Into the Forest

Erickson's family focused on raising cattle on their farm. As such, a fence encompassed the majority of their land. There wasn't space between that fence and the first line of trees in the forest. Only about a meter and a half or two meters. A thin, worn stretch of hard-pressed dirt filled in the gap between the two. It was just wide enough for a small cart and horse to pass in order to fix the fence when the cows broke boards and posts.

I knew that the beast's tracks had been seen somewhere near here. Both Father and Andrew had known about them so I kept my eyes on the ground. Looking for anything that resembled a giant creature. So far the only thing that really stuck out on the trail were the deep ruts of cart wheels, horse hooves, and human footprints from hundreds of treks down the path. It hadn't been that long since the creature's tracks had been found. They couldn't have disappeared already! They had to be around somewhere.

Around the time the bend in the fence came into view and I started to feel frustration and disappointment start to edge in, that was when I found them.

Father had told me that the tracks were twice the size of a bear's. I'd never seen a bear before though. They didn't frequent the Edirk Forest. However, I got the distinct feeling that Father either meant a very big bear or no one in town truly understood what kind of comparison they were drawing. The prints vaguely resembled the bear shape that I'd seen in some of my school books; however, they were too large to be a bear. Far too large.

My foot easily fit within the tracks of whatever this beast was. And then some. One foot and both my hands to be exact. I bent over and tried it myself just to be sure. The length of the claws on the front limb measured more than two of my own longest fingers.

"Sealdír's bones," I swore under my breath as I looked up from my hunched position. The next print, from what I thought was the opposite foot, lay nearly at the other end of the path, just shy of the first grouping of trees. I nearly tripped over a rock as I rushed to find the next set of prints. They lay nearly four meters away! Stamped into the ground, at the bottom of a tree.

I'd seen enough animal tracks to know what a stride was. The distance they covered between one step and the next. Pigs had relatively short strides because they had short, stubby, little legs. Couldn't cover much ground with those. Horses, while clearly larger animals, couldn't even begin to compare.

I made my way to the next footprint, skirting around the edges of it as though it might somehow summon the beast that had made it. My eyes nearly immediately traced that same invisible line into the forest, looking for the next print. I couldn't see it. The forest brush quickly became too thick and tall.

Maybe I could see it better if I went in.

I braced my hand up against a tree, fingers curling into the bark.

Father explicitly warned me to stay out of the forest.

He explicitly warned me not to do a lot of things. Don't go to the inner circle without being invited. Don't go to parties at the mayoral manse. Lena, don't speak out of turn at school. Lena, don't share your ridiculous ideas with others at the market. You can't make a fool of yourself. Don't pretend to be something you're not. Stop trying to ignore your fate.

All of those things he explicitly warned me against. All of those things I did anyways.

So why not one more? Why not go into the forest? Yes Father was only trying to do what he thought best for me, but I think at this point in my life I can figure that out for myself. No one was there to stop me.

I squared my shoulders and pushed into the first line of trees.

They grew sparsely at first. A person could easily walk between the trees and see through the gaps. However, after the first ten to fifteen meters, the gaps became smaller and tighter. Roots rose up into the space between on the ground, creating perilous tripping hazards. Even further beyond it became impossible to figure out where one clump of trees ended and the next began. The smell of greenery, water, and soil was rich here. Richer than most of a farm's fields. Birds sang and small animals darted from branch to branch above my head.