Whispering Woods Biomass

"There is danger at the edge," Irene told the newly born sapling.

"I don't understand, Mother."

"I did my best to birth you deep inside our forest hamlet, but destructive humans come deeper each day. Flying objects called buzzers zoom over my head and those of my relative, noisily searching for new playgrounds."

"Playgrounds? What are those, Mother?"

"Humans get bored easily, my child. We have heard how they crave adventure and fun. Their desire is to have adrenalin flowing in their veins and make their hearts pump very fast."

The sapling was quiet. The forest hamlet was ancient and far from human cities, sitting between two mountain ranges. Its valley contained springs that filled the river and quenched the thirst of wildlife and the forest's roots.

Under the ground was a mass of intertwining roots that communicated. If a tree fell, all the others knew of it; everyone knew when a sapling was born and stretched its newborn root to the mass.

A tiny bird bent the top of the sapling, bouncing the baby tree’s top. "Mother Irene, a small flying buzzer with two humans is approaching fast from the north. A larger buzzer is roaring over the river, following its banks. The deer and fox have left the forest, but the eagle is following the large buzzer."

Irene lifted her branches, exhaling a long breath in warning throughout the hamlet. The breath whispered through the trees, “Beware, beware, humans approach. Take care, forest dwellers!”

She then quivered her roots, sending an alarm through the root mass to stay connected and to communicate.

**

Amden and Royce had heard of this faraway forest and decided to survey it by drone. A GoFundMe had raised twenty-five thousand dollars for them to find the so-called Whispering Woods. They flew to the closest city and began a three-week backpack trip to the reported pristine forest at 5,000 feet.

"Look at those trees, Royce! I've never seen such colors or broad canopies on trees. Wow, the largest deer I've seen just bolted over there. Did you see it?"

Royce nodded that he had seen the deer, a species neither of them was familiar with from textbooks or exploration. The forest was yellow, blue, lime green, fuschia-pink, and burgundy. The trees were all evergreen ones with needles.

Amden turned his giant drone on and released it over the narrow river, snaking through the forest. He watched on his camera while Royce set loose a smaller one, aiming it toward what appeared to be the middle of the forest.

The two then set off, circling to the north to release the other drone.

**

When he spotted the two humans, Gerald, Irene's nephew, sent his aunt a message. A rumbling of the underground biomass of roots began a thrumming, vibrating beat resonating even above ground. The birds started circling slowly higher and higher to find the air currents. The eagle shot up high to lead them to the air current and then reversed downward over the river.

As Amden and Royce unknowingly approached Gerald, the tree exhaled and sent a whirlwind that grabbed the un-launched drone and smashed it into boulders.

"You mean harm to my forest and must leave," Gerald yelled at the humans. "No one can desecrate this forest. We do not want humans in here."

Amden and Royce froze, staring at the trees and looking at each other. They couldn’t figure out who had yelled at them.

Irene and Gerald signaled the entire forest to work together, using the river and all beings in it to rid their land of these encroachers.

The river was now pushing icy water to the men's feet. Moss began rolling into enormous green walls, encasing the men. The eagle took out the airborne drone in one swoop, then dragged it through the river and rocky riverbed until only pieces were left.

The icy river water covered the men's ankles, and the moss was up to their shoulders.

"Royce, we will smother if we don't get out." Amden's eyes were locked on his friend's in terror. Moss was encircling Amden's throat, fingering into his ears.

Irene and Gerald finished the encasement of the men utilizing the forest’s biomass communication.

Amden and Royce became vertical bone pillars covered with rock-hard moss. None of their features could be seen. The entire system within the ecosystem of the Whispering Woods had worked together to protect itself from human encroachment.

Copyright © 4/4/2024 by Andrea O. Corwin

Whispering Woods Challenge - fantasy story with a sentient forest