The Tree Line: Chapter 7

“Oh dear, I fear I have said too much.”

“No!” Celeste disagreed. “I need you to continue.”

“Perhaps,” Cindy agreed, but took the time to take a deep breath before continuing.

“It was after the great war. He had good intentions. I know he did.”

“Who did? Dr. Neil?” Celeste asked.

“Yes, but it was actually Dr. Neil’s father, Jerome Russo, who had the initial idea. He was a scientist and worked for The Royal Army.  After Josiah was born, he moved them to Great Britain to work on a computation machine.”

Celeste was trying to follow along.

Cindy continued, “Even as a child, Josiah was recognized for his intelligence and with his father being a scientist, it was only natural that he became involved in the movement.”

“The movement?” Celeste prompted her, afraid that she would quit talking.

“Things needed to change. Evil needed to be eradicated. The movement was needed,” she grabbed Celeste and squeezed her hand.

Celeste sensed that Cindy wanted her to agree.

“Of course it was needed,” Celeste said.

Nodding with relief, Cindy began again.

“World War II left Italy divided. The country had witnessed the best and the worst in humanity.”

This Celeste could truly agree to.

“I believe the whole world did,” she said.

“Exactly! You see why it was necessary. Building upon his father’s idea, Dr. Neil made it his own and brought it to life.”

Cindy laughed, “Pun not intended.”

“Huh?” Celeste was confused.

“Things were going well until 12 years ago. A new plan was developed after Mi..” she paused, catching herself, then continued. “After many things happened. It was then that Dr. Neil changed our course and set a new date for…”

Cindy was not able to finish because the door was pushed open violently, and Ben entered.

“Well, well, well,” he said, “What do we have here?”

Cindy was instantly frightened, “Nothing, Ben. Maybe you should leave.”

He looked at her, taking a few steps forward and pointed a finger at her face.

“Maybe you should shut your mouth,” he told her.

Celeste spoke up, “Ben, there’s no need to get angry. I only came here looking for Miles. I can’t find him.”

He turned to her, smiling, “Is that so?”

Instantly she regretted telling him that, but she plowed forward.

“Have you seen him?” she asked.

“I don’t believe I have,” he said. “Then again, maybe I did.”

She was sick of his games.

“Well, Ben, either you have or you haven’t. It’s a pretty simple question to answer. Even for an idiot.”

The smile left his face and his eyes darkened.

“What did you say? Wh-wh-what did you say?” he was stuttering.

“Oh, no!” Cindy gasped.

Not sure why Cindy gasped, and not really caring, Celeste continued, feeling feisty. She was not backing down.

“It’s yes or no, Ben. If you can’t answer then maybe I’ll go find Chuck and see what he has to say.”

His look was still angry, but he looked amused.

“You go ahead. Go ask Chuck…if you can find him. Seems as if your precious Miles is not the only person to di-di-disappear tonight,” he was stuttering again.

“I don’t believe you,” she said.

Celeste tore past him, up the stairs and into the living area. She spoke loudly, asking the others gathered there, “Where is Chuck?”

No one answered her. They only stared.

Frustrated, she checked the bathroom, then went back downstairs and started banging on the other bedroom doors.

Ben was leaned across the doorway, blocking the room where Cindy still stood, looking scared. Ben was now laughing.

Chuck was not in the rooms.

She ran into her office, her own bedroom again, and then to the garage.

Nothing. No sign of Chuck.

Walking back in, she saw that Ben was still with Cindy. As she approached, he shut the door and she heard it lock.

Reaching the door, she banged with her fists, cussing and screaming for him to open it.

She heard muffled voices. It sounded like he was berating Cindy.

Without consciously thinking about it, she walked to her closet and grabbed her garden boots. Slipping them on, she walked into the garage and out the door into the darkness.

All the years she had lived there with Miles, she had never ventured past the backyard. Miles warned her that the forest was full of dangerous creatures. He said there were coyotes and snakes and other things that she should avoid.

Yet she found herself being drawn into the thicket of branches that slashed between the old trees.

She stepped in, feeling the branches scratch her legs. It was more dark under the trees than she had imagined. Before long, the outside light of her house was swallowed by the darkness.

She walked slowly and deliberately, trying to avoid large debris and fallen tree limbs.

After walking for about 30 minutes, she heard something. She had completely lost her bearings, unsure of how far she had actually ventured, walking as slowly as she was.

She stopped, then turned in a circle, squinting her eyes, desperately trying to see anything around her.

All looked dark; even the light dim from the moon was gone from her view.

She heard the noise again and looked down. It sounded as though it was below her.

How could that be?

She stomped her foot, hoping it was an animal nearby.

The noise continued, and again, sounded like it was coming from below the surface.

She instinctively lowered her body to the ground, laying flat with her ear pressed against the dirt.

She could hear intermittent banging among a constant buzz.

“What on earth?” she muttered to herself.

After a moment, she gathered her senses and stood up. She started wandering around the area.

She lifted branches and kicked leaves, until suddenly she felt her skin rip.

She reached with her right hand and felt blood dripping from her thigh. She had walked into a clump of thorns.

Each movement caused her leg to throb in pain, yet she continued.

After several minutes, she felt something hard under her feet. It was unlike the earth of the forest.

She banged her foot, then leaned down and felt with her hand. It felt like metal. She used her hands to push aside some foliage.

She banged with her fists, until she was sore from the effort.

Suddenly, the banging below stopped and all was quiet.

She fell back and landed with a thud on her backside.

Within seconds, the quiet was interrupted by a locking sound, then she heard a loud creaking noise.

A few feet away, a door raised from the earth.

She was too stunned to react. 

She sat, watching, as a dark figure emerged.

She heard an unfamiliar voice say, “You shouldn’t be here. If you know what’s good for you, go back to the house and pretend this never happened”

How could she pretend this never happened. 

That would not be possible.

She stood, but instead of turning back to her house, she stepped forward, towards the man.

“It’s too late for that,” she spoke up, trying to push past the man.

He was old, but still strong enough to firmly grasp her arm.

“Celeste, please go back,” he whispered.

“How do you know my name?” she asked.

Before he could answer, she heard footsteps, then another figure come from the earth.

It was Miles

“Dr. Neil, bring her down. It’s time she knows the truth.”