Hidden trails to nowhere

Gabriel Morgan
4 min readJan 6, 2024

Zariek woke to the sound of thunder. An unusual pattern for this time of year. Though unexpected events had become a part of daily routine, lately. They wandered outside, disoriented, and peered above. An attempt to ensure the same familiar sky embraced them. There was no thunder to be seen.

Zariek was joined by many others, equally confused by the noise. Kol was standing amongst them.

“This is not right,” Kol muttered under their breath, before turning to Zariek “Is our forest well?”

“For now! If the peace is disturbed for longer, it may well not be”

Kol nodded, then returned to looking above — transfixed — as plumes of light churned out of their skull.

Zariek moved through the uneasy crowd and perched on a fence, peering into the wilderness ahead. They had scouted every safe inch of their wild front yard earlier that day, and nothing was out of place. Population numbers were surveyed, as usual. And they were within stable limits, as usual. Zariek pondered what they could have possibly missed; if the chaos was not of the sky, it must be among them.

“Do you suspect this is of sentient intervention?” Kol asked. Zariek shrieked in response, the power of which nearly toppled their small frame backwards.

“Stop sneaking up on me like that! I was deep in thought.”

“I would appreciate you being deep in thought about my question.”

“Right,” Zariek sighed. “I don’t know- we need evidence. I certainly found none.”

“Walk with me. Maybe we will find answers tonight. Maybe something new awaits us.”

Zariek gave Kol a gesture of affirmation. They left the safety of their grounds together, their path lit by Kol’s flames.

When night arrives, the forest is tameable by no one. The air is drenched in the absence of its usual chipper songs. There are glowing eyes everywhere, or perhaps glowing plants. It is difficult to tell the difference. Zariek carries out their duties during all of nature’s cycles, but they have never quite gotten used to this one.

As they pressed through the darkness, there were no signs of change. They still caught the scent of moss and crisp, humid air. Familiar creatures in the trees watched them warily. There remained small life, constantly in motion, for their lives depended on it. The plants were vivid, the trees were well and truly alive.

After some time surveying their environment, Kol spoke.

“Here.” Kol pointed to an abandoned campsite. “We have visitors.”

Inside the campsite sat a crimson tent with strange angular symbols mounted on its poles. They found bedding and rations inside, and — much to their relief — no weapons. Whoever had spent the night here had not done so for long, and it was clear that their visitor had left in a hurry. Profuse amounts of blood, trailing deep into the forest, denoted they did so for good reason.

The camp was placed in Zariek’s last post location. They felt betrayed by this.

The two sat together in the grass, silently, as raindrops began to fall from the sky. They stared down the path from which they came. How wrong they were to think predictability would always keep them safe.

“I’m not sure what this means,” Zariek said, breaking the silence. “Are they here for us?”

“No. They are a symptom.”

“Any idea of what…?”

“No,” Kol said frankly, as they stood and outstretched a grey clawed hand. “Come, return we must, for there is much work to be done.”

And return they did, by the paths long forged through the thick forest floor. The roadmaps of the safest places, once.

Aniku’s light spilled through Zariek’s hut, heralding the beginning of a new day. One they were not ready to face, thanks to sleep deprivation.

The smell of rain and firewood drenched the air. A few among their ranks had set up night watch, as ordered by Kol. Zariek walked outside and was immediately greeted by Kol, who handed them meat from a morning hunt.

“Eat.”

“Thank you,” Zariek said “Any disturbances? News? Anything?”

“No,” Kol sighed, eyes fixated on the sky above “Patience is on our side.”

Zariek did not know what that meant. They seldom knew what anything Kol said meant. They nodded anyway, and finished eating in silence.

Zariek was abruptly pulled out of deep thought as an old friend came running towards them.

“One of our own has been killed. Eaten.” Ameku was visibly out of breath, their usually chatty nature cut short by terror.

“Unusual, our predators never roam this far.” Kol paused “Sit. Tell me, what happened”

“I don’t know. We were….we were watching, and Ulenu heard a sound, and went to investigate and- we should have stopped them-“

“You had no way to know.”

Ameku nodded, then broke down in despair. Zariek attempted to console them.

“Prepare their body for a proper burial, if there Is anything left of it. Find what you can.” Kol ordered with an attempt at warmth in their robotic voice.

They did as they were told, without taking time to grieve. The forest was always hungry; what was left of their friend would not last long.

Darkness eventually washed over their night sky, as it always did. It enveloped them with a beautiful collection of lights, as it always did. This time it felt unfamiliar. This time it felt unfair.

This is one of two short stories written as a part of the as-of-yet unfinished world guide, set before the events of the videogame I plan to finish one day. More information on my worldbuilding project on my Ko-fi, here.

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Gabriel Morgan

Artist, writer, worldbuilder. cybersecurity & neuroscience graduate.