On planet Zonia:

No, no, no, I’m going to ruin everything.

Lua’s long golden hair flowed in the wind as she dashed through the lush forest toward her village. She couldn’t drag her elven humanoid form along fast enough. But she had to. She couldn’t mess this up. She picked up the hem of her forest green dress to gain more speed.

By checking the sun’s position in the sky, she could tell it was late in the afternoon. What seemed like mere moments ago, she had gone for a walk in the forest and told her fiancé, Tobé, that she would be back before the Harvest Festival. They were planning to surprise his father, the Chief of their village, with their engagement that evening. As she thought of it, she started to blush, torn between nervousness and excitement. She’d never thought the Chief’s son would pick her to be his sól-chaté, what their people called “his only love.”

Distracted by these musings, Lua’s attention didn’t quite catch the object in her path. She tripped and fell, hard and flat on her face.

“Ow…” She raised her head gingerly, groaning from the pain. 

She looked back to see what she tripped on, and to her surprise, she saw what appeared to be a young girl’s arm, pale and covered in blood, sticking out from the bushes. Lua screamed. She sat up, inching away from the arm in question. Peering at the bloodied body part, she saw that there were no signs of decay or abnormalities—it was fresh. Whatever did this to her must still be here, she thought in panic.

 Lua heard rustling noises from nearby bushes. She rose, scanning her surroundings. Her long-pointed ears twitched with alarm. Metallic chittering like a cicada echoed through the forest.

There was something there, something hiding behind the trees, blending in, watching Lua like a predator, waiting to attack. The metallic chitters drew closer. Feeling surrounded, Lua panicked and fled for the village screaming. 

“Help! Somebody help me!

This unseen being pursued its prey, slithering toward her, faster than her legs could carry. Unable to outrun her attacker, Lua could only look back, sensing her impending demise.

The creature made contact. Her scream echoed through the forest.

— ✧ —

On planet Earth:

“Mark this one here.”

The jeep came to a stop in the middle of the woods. An awkward, lanky construction worker, with a can of red spray paint in his hand, stepped out the vehicle and approached the large, old tree close by. Seeing how tall and wide the tree was, he couldn’t help but let out a whistle.

“Damn, that thing is huge. It’ll take some time to bulldoze this behemoth down.”

The worker shook the can to prime it, causing pressure to build. He sprayed the crimson paint on the tree, marking it with a large “X,” and took a step back to admire his work.

“Is that the last of them?”

“Yup,” replied the other worker, who was short and rotund. He took out his map, which was covered with little red X’s except the current spot. With his red marker, he placed the final X on the map. “Tomorrow, we plow this place down. We should be able to get it cleared by the end of the week.”

The worker who stood near the tree glanced overhead to see the base of the sun touching the top rows of foliage up above.

“Hey,” the worker in the jeep said. “If we hurry, we can catch the rest of the game at Louie’s.”

“Sure, but you’re buying,” said the lankier worker.

He slid the can into the left cargo pocket of his pants and then hopped back into the vehicle.

On the opposite side of the  now-painted tree, hidden from their sight, was a hollowed-out hole. Inside, there rested an aged blue box, clasps rusted from years of exposure to the elements. Such conditions left the box ajar. Within, something glowed. The rhythmic pulsation of this glow resembled a breath.

As the men drove away, a low hum began to sound from inside the box and echo out from the hollow tree. The frequency of this sound was so high that, as it traveled, no humans could hear it. Its sound continued to stretch outward and onward, as though calling out for someone to notice it.