//------------------------------// // A Dangerous Forest // Story: Me, the Ponies and my Grandma (Redo) // by Cybers Link //------------------------------// "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I scream with the full strength of my lungs as the feeling of free falling fill my body. People said that when you are about to die, your life passes through your eyes in seconds. I never believe that until now, I could see everything, the times I pass with my grandma training, my old school and how boring it was. my newest school and the bullying. The time I meet my friends, the time I fight with them, the times I laugh with them. Montgomeri behave yourself, why can you be more like your older brother? Monty, someday you are going to inherit the family company, start acting like a Hopefield just like Jimmy. Why is this that the only thing that comes to my mind when thinking about my parents. Disappointment. "HAAAA! phoo!... Ough" The sudden stop from my fall as well as the filling of air escaping out of my lungs interrupts my thoughts. The desperate attempt to gasp for air makes me cough uncontrollably. *Cough* *Cough* "Am-am I still alive?" *Cough* I attempt to say scratching my eyes and looking at my surroundings. That is when I realize the real reason for my coughing, the air was full of some sort of yellowish dust all around me. When I look what has stopped my falling I comprehend what that yellow dust was. I was on top of a big yellow mushroom with black dots. It was the size of a queen-size bed. "Ewww, I am full of mushroom sed. haha, shroom sed." I said remembering biology class and how my friends and I laugh at that a particular lesson." I remember the day like it was yesterday. We were at summer school and it was pretty hot outside. The air conditioner of all the classroom was turn off to save energy. One of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Jackez was teaching us about how mushrooms reprod-"*Slap* I hit myself in the cheeks with both hands. " What the heck am I thinking. Focus man, focus. Hmm Oh no, Grandma?" I ask at loud finally realizing in the situation I was. "Grand? Grand where are you?!" My grandma shushes me from behind a tree cleaning out leaves from her grayish hair. "Thank god...wait?...What the fuck was that! Granma!" I shout remembering how she had pushed me out from the cliff of the mountain. " Don't you think you could have warned me abou- Ouch!!!!" I screamed as a sudden hit in my head stopped me. "I have to talk to your mom about this lenguage of yours. But first, let get out of here and fast. The Timberwolves are still around" She said looking around. "Ok Grand. First: Ouch!. Second: the wolves are up there. I really doubt they can do anything right now." I said while pointing up where we can see the wolves staring at us from above walking in circles around the edge. "And third:...... Please don't tell my mother" Grandma was about to say something only to be interrupted by the howling of one of the wolves, a howl so loud that we needed to cover our ears. Seconds later we see how some of those creatures jump out the cliff only to crash on the ground turning them into pieces of timber. "Jimmy, stay close," she ordered picking up some dry wood from the ground. That's when I finally know why grandma was so nervous, pieces of timber were slowly moving by its own and regroup to form its canine form. One by one started to stand up growling at us with a thirst for blood. *shis**shis* I hear behind me the sound of a lighter trying to light followed by the bright light of a torch in Grand hands. As soon as the fire was up the beast takes steps back fearing the flame. One didn't need to be a genius to figure out why fire + living wood creature = bad... for them. But the small torch wasn't enough, the wolves stop at the sight of the torch in its head but It's a larger number overwhelm us. When we put the fire close to one, three more take its place and little by little they were surrounding us with no way of running out. "Grand, can't you do something else?" I asked with my grandmother behind me and extending my hands in defense position. "Sorry Jimmy, I only have fuel to make one more torch and I don't think it will help us a lot." She said while shielding us from the wolves by moving the torch from left to right at the creatures face as we take steps back. "That is not exactly what I mean, super Grandma," I said in a half-mocking half-serious tone. She smiles at that. The Timberwolves were slowly surrounding us and getting closer and closer. "Hu hu hu, today I can't sweety, you need to help me this time. Jimmy, You need to take care of them one by one for us. I will keep you safe from the majority of them you just worry about one at the time. I'll have your back." She said winking at me with a confident smile. "What!!!" I exclaim looking at the unchanged face of Grand trying to find out if that was just a cruel joke before our inevitable demise or if she was serious about it "God dammit I never know what is in her mind" "Ready Jimmy here comes the first," she exclaimed while I see one of those wolfs trying to take a bite out at my face. "Wait no, no no no. what I am supposed to~" Everything moves in slow motion as I look at the wooden wolf opening its mouth showing its sharp fangs near my throat, there is when my instinct kick in. Making a step forwards I place myself at the side of that thing avoiding the bite from those sharp wood fangs. Before it has the time to react at my sudden movement I fix my pose and raise my fist followed by a close punch to the solid piece of timber that made up its torso breaking it in half. The torso seems to be the creature's weak point because as soon as I break it, the wolf implodes sending the remindings of its wooden body parts all over the place. "Good job Jimmy. I see you keep with the lessons" "OUCH OUCH OUCH!" I cried waving my hand trying to ease the pain."How do I even do that?" My grandma seems happy to have thought my self-defense, at least at first, Later on, when she left as she usually does, she sent an old lady from China who said that was an old friend of hers to keep teaching me a mix of different martial arts as well as a rigorous workout program. I wonder if she will get mad if she finds out I abandon the lessons. At least I didn't leave before I learn how to break pieces of wood boards with my beard hand, it is a cool party trick. The sudden implosion of one of his comrades didn't seem to affect the wolves for the way they keep chasing at us. We were like this for a few minutes. I, breaking the wolves torso one by one and my Grand in my back scaring the rest with the torch. But we, or at least I, couldn't do this for much longer. My right hand was beginning to go numb and to get swollen. "Oh God, we are going to die! We are going to die!" I said finally in tears as I saw more green eyes coming out from the dark of the forest." Grand, I can't do this anymore, more and more of those things keep coming. Do something!!" I shouted in fear. "Yes, It seems that that last howl was a call for more of its pack." She replied holding me closer with his free arm struggling with the Timberwolves with the other. A loud thunder was heard in the night's sky reminding us that it was still raining. The loud noise was followed by larger drops of water falling down the sky. Now with this and the fact that the torch was lit for almost an hour makes me fear that the fire, the only thing that stops those creatures to rip our heads off with a bite, will die soon. "Jimmy, I saw what it seems to be a town near that path. just follow it and you should be safe." Grand pointed at a rarely seeing path before handing me the rest a fuel for a campfire, it was a can with a special gel that easy burns. She uses some of the gel to start the torch but she still needs some rope or something. she also gives me a lighter, a silver metal lighter with stars and twirls design in it with the initials J. H. inscribed in the side. "Here, take this and don't move," I didn't have time to process what she meant by this as Grandma takes out a whistle out of her purse and blow it producing no hearable sound. But it seems it wasn't the same for the Timberwolves as the whistle make them paralyzed for a few seconds. The green glow of his eyes was no longer there and each part of their wooden bodies moved independently of each other making a creaking sound of wood against wood. At the same time. Grandma put herself on the left side of me and extend her left arm putting it so it touches my throat. Then she uses her right foot to push forward one of my own foot. This simple motion made me fall in my back. "I think she found out I skip my training" She then grabs a bush nearby and with one hand she takes it off from the ground with roots and all and put it on top of me as an attempt of camouflage. While I was in the mud trying to recover from the buzzing in my ears caused by the hit in my head, Grandma was already behind the wolves. The glow in their eyes started to appear once more shaking off the state they were in and chasing up my grandma. After a while, when finally my heart stops its crazy beating and I gather enough energy to stand up and look at the direction from where my Grand went. "Well, that's a pity but they will not be missed," I said while taking a quick look at myself. My cuts and bruises were all covered in mud and vegetation and when I try to take my first step, I feel a sharp pain from my bloody leg. Fearing for an infection I seat near a tree which leaves give some decent protection from the rain. I took my first aid kit from my backpack and opened. It was full of bandages of all sizes and shapes, scissors, gloves eyes washes and more. I take out the disinfectant cream and use it on my leg that was the one in the worst state. "Aaaaa, shit!! If I knew this will hurt that much I wouldn't have done that, this burns a lot." I put the cream back thinking that the other cuts can wait for the moment. The lighting follows by the loud thunder could be still heard but less frequency now. At some point, the lightning emitted enough light so I was able to see houses at the distance."The town Grand told me. How far am I from the cabin?" Trying to walk towards the town, a strange feeling passes over my head once again. A feeling telling me that I need to stay low and jump forward. Obeying my instincts, I oblige to this sensation rolling on the ground making me crash with a nearby tree. With my legs up in the air and looking upside down, I saw a honed wood claw where my head used to be. I even feel how those claws cut some of my hair."How the hell does a piece of wood can get so sharp?". I stand up and start running towards the town without looking back but I still could hear the sound of the creature's footsteps on the muddy ground of the forest and the sound of breathing in my neck. Running as fast as I could, I didn't notice one of the roots from one of the trees in front of me was poking out of the ground until it was too late. I trip on it making my face meeting the ground. "Oh crap, think, think what my grandma will do? Grand!" I said to myself as I laid in the ground staring at the wolf that was growling and taking small steps towards me. As I was thinking of something, I put my good hand into the pocket of my coat realizing something. With the creature at mere inches of me, I kick its wooden chin stunting it for a few seconds. Enough time to throw the can with the fire fuel that was in my pocket. The creature seeing that catches the can in mid-air and crushes it with its fangs making its content to leak all over its face. "Perfect!" I smile with the lighter already lit in my hand and throwing it at the beast. Even with the rain, the fire catches very easy burning the monster face with green flames. The wood wolf just moves its head up and down and jumps like a bull with a cowboy on its back trying to put the fire out. The last thing I saw of it was disappearing into the deeps of the forest. With my heart running a mile per minute, I lay down staring at the cloudy sky trying to take a break. While I saw the night sky, I see what could be the biggest bird I ever see in my life. If I have to judge it by how far I think they were from me, I will say that they were at the size of a big dog, of those dogs that a kid could ride or maybe of a small horse. I keep staring at the group of big birds that started flying towards the direction of the town." Oh !, that cloud looks like an elephant, hahaha funny" I laugh at myself. "Jesus! I think I have a concution" I thought while holding my head finally coming back into the real world. "I need to find help," I said finally walking towards the town.