The Dead Forest--chapter six

Hello All:

"Happy Halloween! 
All last week and today has been very, special at The Literary World of Tom Raimbault; for this has been Halloween week! In celebration of the holiday we rolled out a new novella titled The Dead Forest. Today's blog post is the exciting conclusion."

The Dead Forest--chapter six

Much had changed in recent months pertaining to the level of relationship between Donna and Stan. Donna initially didn’t tell Stan about Fredrick’s misfortune because her feelings were much stronger, then, in comparison to how they were in the previous year. That spring ritual obviously caused some serious changes for Donna. Still, way in the back of her mind, she experienced an internal conflict with Frederick; and realized that he would be coming home soon. Donna would be obligated to be with him in this time of need, and eventually marry him. 

Donna was at a loss of what to do. This internal conflict went on for over a week until one night she finally mentioned Fredrick’s misfortune to Stan. She was initially fearful in doing this, recalling the way Stan reacted earlier in the spring when mentioning that Fredrick had written her and inquired about the rumor of her and Stan.

But it was no longer spring which meant that Stan wasn't so crazy with his episodes of neurosis. He seemed understanding of Donna’s circumstance, and then calmly suggested,  “You need to break away from those things that have been holding you back from become the true Donna; the Donna that you truly want to be in your heart. And I think I have the perfect solution.

“And what would that be?” asked Donna.

It was this very moment when Stan’s annual morbid fetishes began to manifest. They inspired the plans for a morbid ritual that he and Donna could do in the woods that would finally help her break free of those things that trapped her. And the more he spoke of this ritual, the more his selfish desires fueled those morbid fetishes.

 He said to Donna, “I know this might sound crazy. But what we can do is dig a hole right near the tree, deep enough to bury a large, wooden box. I’ll do that; you don’t have to worry about coming out here and doing hard work. Now this wooden box; we will make it large enough so that you can fit in. It’ll be like a coffin. In fact, it will be your coffin.”

Donna’s face contorted and made a queer expression. She was beginning to dislike the sound of Stan’s idea.

 “Trust me.” Insisted Stan. “Now you won’t be dead when you climb into the box below the ground. You’ll only pretend to be dead. And I’ll bury you until the hole is filled up. Then, as soon as I’m finished, I’ll dig you up again. Like I said before, you’ll pretend to be dead until I open the box—your coffin—to make love to you. For all practical purposes, the Donna who once was will be dead. But the new Donna--the true Donna who you wish to be in our heart—will come to life after I kiss you.”

Donna immediately rejected the game. It was morbid, for one. There was also the possibility that something could go terribly wrong. What if she panicked underground, and died before Stan reached her?

Stan insisted, "Really, Donna, it won't be that bad. Here... I want to show you something. Lay down on the blanket.” This was the blanket that the two had been sitting on in the forest during their late night picnic.

Reluctantly, Donna lay down on the blanket. She was a bit uneasy with whatever mysterious thing Stan had in mind.

 Stan took hold of the edge of the blanket. "Now just close your eyes.... and put your hand on your chest."

Donna immediately answered, "Oh, Stan, I don't want to do that. Nor do I want to play your morbid game!"

“Just try it!” insisted Stan. “Can’t you just be open-minded and give it a try?”

Reluctantly, Donna closed her eyes and put her hands on her chest as-if she were lying in a coffin.

When Stan saw her finally laying in the right position, he explained, "Now all I'm going to do is fold this blanket over you. It's going to be over your face. And I want you to imagine that you are covered up in a box.”

Kneeling on the ground, Stan folded the blanket over Donna's entire body, including her face. Then he announced, "See, you're covered up. Okay...? You can still breathe in there. You've got this blanket over your face, but there is still air in there, right?”

Donna pointed, "Yes, but there are holes in the blanket that allow air to get through.”

Stan answered, "Yes, I know. But why don't we do this. Why don't we try taking it to progressive steps? Next time we can put you in a cardboard box for about twenty minutes or so. And then we take the lid off and see that everything is okay."

"Oh, Stan, that's a silly idea" argued Donna. “Why is this so important to you?”

Stan explained, "Donna, I really want to do this with you because it will be a symbolic act that will put your life behind you so that you can start a new life with me. This will be a symbolic act which involves burying you in the Earth that's near the tree here. We know this tree has a spirit in it. We know that this tree is responsible for bringing us together. You agree with that, don't you?"

Donna nodded her head, "Yes..." By then she had the blanket pulled away from her face.

"So can we do that next time we are together?" nearly begged Stan. "Could we bring a cardboard box here to the woods; a box that is big enough for you to get inside of? I could probably get one at the gas station. We receive a lot of supplies throughout the week that are shipped in large boxes. I could just say I need one to pack something up at home.  I will, instead, bring it to the woods so that next time we are together, we can resume our exercise. You will get into the box for about twenty minutes and then come out. Does that sound okay with you?”

Donna agreed. “Okay, fine, we will do that. But I don't really understand how going in a box for 20 minutes is going to make it the same as being buried in a wooden coffin underground."

Trust me reassured Stan. We will do these progressive steps so that when the time comes for you to be finally buried in the ground, you will be so used to it that you will realize that you could be in there for an hour or two. And you'll be relaxed and everything will be okay. Can you just trust me?”

Donna paused for a few seconds. She sighed and said, "Okay, fine. I will trust you. Under one condition."

“What's that?” asked Stan, covering his sudden annoyance with Donna attempting to negotiate.

“You have to promise me that at any time I feel uncomfortable and say stop, you will listen to me. Whether you're putting the cover on or filling the hole with dirt, it doesn’t matter. You have to stop when I say.”

It seemed fair to Stan. "Okay, I agree.”

This agreement took place on a Wednesday night. Their next date was to be on that Friday of that week.

***

The following morning, Stan's father inquired Stan as to where he was going at night. This was while the two sat at the breakfast table before heading off to work. Father asked, "You know, I notice you've been going out late at night and then you come home at the wee hours of the morning. Where have you been going? More important, is this affecting your job? How are you working this?"

Stan reassured his father, "Oh no everything is fine with my job. I'm not tired or anything. As for where I am going; I really haven't said anything about it, but I have a girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Father repeated. "How come you never said anything about this to us before?"

"Well, I'm kind of keeping it a secret?" answered Stan.

“Secret?” probed Father. “Why are you keeping it a secret? Is she married?”

"No, she isn't married.” reassured Stan. “But she has a boyfriend."

"And he doesn’t know about it?"

Stan explained, "'Well, I'm kind of ashamed to admit, but her boyfriend is away at war. We're not too serious about this relationship at this point. But I really like her, and I like being around her. We just go out at night and hang out."

Father felt that maybe his young adult son could use some guidance. He began by asking an insightful question, "Well Stan, what are you going to do when her boyfriend comes back from war? And did she make an obligation to him to be faithful while he is away? Might you be presenting her with a conflict of interest?”

"She did." answered Stan. “She did promise him to be faithful. But Dad; as time goes on, it seems like she's forgetting about him more and more. It seems like she's becoming more and more interested in me. If I didn't know any better, I think we are falling in love.”

Father halfheartedly chuckled, "In love? I thought you said it wasn’t too serious a moment ago. And I wouldn’t be too quick to let your feelings get the best of you. Plenty could change once her boyfriend comes. Those old feelings could suddenly return. But if you think the two of you might be in love, you might want to lock this deal by marrying her. I bet you never considered that.” Father hoped to use the suggestion as a way to re-guide Stan away from what appeared to be misleading feelings. Stan was so young, and this was surely “puppy love” for him. And from what Father could determine, the relationship wouldn’t have been so serious as to consider marriage.

But Stan surprised Father with his answer. "I guess... Sometimes I think about it—marriage. I just don't know if I'd be able to go about it properly. I mean you make a good point. Why wouldn't I want to tie the knot with her and get married? But how do I go about doing this?

Well if Stan were such a man to make a serious life decision like this, maybe it was time for him to find a new job that could earn him more money. Father nodded his head in acknowledgement, "Well Stan, you've been working at this gas station and it's time for you to have a more substantial income... Have more of a man's job so to speak. I have a friend who is a one of those higher-up managers at an auto parts manufacturing plant. I think maybe I can get you a job there. I can talk to him; he can pull some strings, and maybe get you on the assembly line making some really good money. It might be piece work, but it usually ends up paying more than at a job like—say—the gas station. Then you could have a better income, and you'd be in a better position to ask her father in marriage. That is the proper way to go about it. You do know that, don't you?”

Stan nodded in affirmation.

Still in disbelief that his son was truly ready to take on a manlier role in life, Father continued with his test, "So what do you say I talk to my friend and see if he has any openings there; see if he can get you a job making more money. Then you could ask this girl’s father for her hand in marriage, and eventually propose to her. She might have to think about it because she did make an obligation to be faithful to this young man who is away at war. And while we’re on the subject, you were supposed to be there as well—away at war. But you didn't make it in boot camp, remember?

Stan looked down at the table, feeling embarrassed and ashamed. "I understand all of that. But, Dad, I really love this girl and feel that we are meant to be."

Father answered, "Very well then. I will talk to my friend, and we'll see if can get things going for you. So what's her name?"

"Donna..." answered Stan.

"Is she pretty?"

"Oh yes, very pretty! You know Lilly Munster from the TV show, The Munsters?"

Father laughed, "Get out of here! Are you serious?"

"Yes she kind of looks like her, but much younger."

***

 Just as Stan promised, he carried—actually dragged –a large cardboard box out into the woods beforehand, during daylight. No one saw him dragging the box out there. There was no problem bringing it to the old tree in the magickal valley of Donna’s spirit mother.

Late Friday night of that week, he and Donna ventured out to where the cardboard box waited for them. By that time, Stan had a good idea as to where he was going to dig Donna's grave. The box sat just like it would as if it were some feet below with Donna inside. Once the two reached it, Stan asked, "So are you ready? This should be pretty easy."

Donna shrugged her shoulders, "Sure..." She opened up the lid and looked inside. The large cardboard box was about five feet long and three feet deep. There was plenty of room for Donna to get inside. And it was just as Stan's morbid fantasy would dictate; the box was shaped like a coffin.

Donna lay down, inside.

"Very good." congratulated Stan. Then he directed; "Now I want you to close your eyes and rest your folded hands on your chest like you are dead.”

Initially, Donna wasn't comfortable with pretending to be dead inside of a box. But she did as Stan directed.

Stan put something on her chest; right on top of her folded hands.

Donna opened her eyes and looked down towards the area. It was a bouquet of flowers.

“Oh Stan!” exclaimed Donna. “I don't know if I like this game. You make it seem so real, like I were dead.

“Oh, but Donna…” insisted Stan. “We have to play it this way. We have to make it seem like you are really dead. You see, this life that you currently have with Fredrick, and the control that your parents have over you has to end. The Donna who has those obligations put on her has to die. That is why we are acting out you being dead. So just relax, close your eyes and pretend like you are dead. I have flowers put on you and I'm going to close the lid.

Donna said nothing. She simply closed her eyes and lay still while listening as Stan put the lid over the box. Of course she could breathe inside of the box. And she listened outside for Stan’s voice.

“We are going to do this for twenty minutes.” reminded Stan. “At the end of the twenty minutes, I'll open the lid up and we will see how you are. And remember, you are not really buried. So if you start to panic or can't breathe, just sit up in the box. Take the lid off. It's light.”

There was no answer from inside the box.

“Donna?” called out Stan.

Still no answer.

In a sudden panic, Stan lifted the lid. "Donna, are you okay?"

Donna opened her eyes, "Yes Stan, I'm being dead, remember?"

"Okay, you scared me for a second."

Donna smiled, "Are you sure you still want to do this?"

"Of course I still want to this. I just wasn't expecting you to suddenly be able to play dead so well.” Stan closed the lid, looked at his watch and then sat on the ground with his back against the cardboard box. He sat there for five minutes... ten minutes... It was really peaceful out there in the woods. Crickets were chirping. A couple of owls hooted. At one point there was some rustling off in the distance; probably a raccoon or a fox. At the end of the twenty minutes, he opened the lid and looked at Donna who lay still with eyes closed and folded hands on chest with flowers laid across. Stan didn't say anything. He simply kissed her lips.

Donna opened her eyes and playfully announced, "I'm back from the dead."

It was a quite a thrilling moments for Stan. What made it so enjoyable was the fact that Donna seemed to know how to play the part well. She could lay there in the coffin like a real corpse. And when he kissed her sweet lips, Donna came back to life, just as in Stan’s most morbid fantasies.

***

Donna wasn't able to get out of the house for about a week after her cardboard box adventure with Stan. On late Wednesday night of the following week, Stan went to her house like he usually did, but didn't see Donna standing on the side of the building. He concluded that there was a problem. Maybe Donna's parents were onto her. In fear of this speculation, Stan didn't dare go to her bedroom window and knock.

It’s a good thing he didn’t! There actually was a problem that Wednesday night.

No, her parents weren’t onto her. Rather, Donna's father was having difficulty sleeping. He walked about the house and watched TV throughout the night. Donna felt it wouldn’t be a good idea to sneak out the window with Father up and about. And like mentioned before, Stan was never able to call Donna on the phone or come to her door to see how things were. The two would have to be patient and try again in a couple of nights.

Stan returned on Friday—exactly one week after the cardboard adventure. On this night, Donna stood at the side of her house, waiting for Stan to meet her. Stan confirmed from Donna that there was, in fact, a problem. He was okay with this, of course. And as Stan would soon inform Donna, this awkward and inconvenient phase of their relationship would soon end.

On the ride to the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, Stan excitedly explained to Donna about the job interview that he had at the auto parts manufacturing plant. Father followed through with his promise and landed an interview for his son. "It looks really good for me.” he described. “They seemed to like me, and my Dad knows the manager who is a higher-up. My Dad’s friend is pulling some strings, and he's going to get me hired. Donna, I'll be able to move out and get a place of my own. We will be able to live together. Maybe we could get married."

Donna was a bit uncomfortable with the sudden mention of moving in with Stan and getting married. "Oh, Stan; I wouldn’t rush into things so quickly. And I would prefer to have a proper Catholic wedding. My parents would expect it of me."

Stan argued, "But Donna, don’t you remember; the whole point of this act of your symbolic death is so that you can leave your life behind. You will no longer have an obligation to have a good and proper Catholic wedding. And anytime you are ready to live with me—I suggest you do that as soon as possible—the place will be ready for you.”

Donna remained silent. She wasn’t sure what gave Stan the notion that she would leave her family behind. As for a good and proper Catholic wedding, Donna really wanted this.

Stan sensed that Donna wasn’t fully receptive to the idea just yet. “Well if anything, at least I will have my own place. And we don't have to do it all at once. You don't have to hurry up and move in with me once I get my own place. You can start off by visiting me on a regular basis, and see if you like it.”

Stan pulled into the Berry Bush Forest Preserve. It was a beautiful night, early August.  Long past curfew; any kids who would have been there necking had gone home for the evening. All alone, Stan and Donna exited the vehicle, proceeded to walk towards the main trail. They continued until reaching the place where they could deviate off the main trail, do some bush waking, and hike their way down the steep ravine to the magickal valley of Donna's spirit mother.

On this particular night, Stan had a surprise for Donna. Last time there was a cardboard box that waited for this. This time, Stan had assembled an actual wooden box. It was a makeshift, nothing perfect. It was made of plywood with some two by fours hammered together with nails. The box was really nothing spectacular, but it did the job. It was about the same size and shape of a coffin, and would ultimately be the wooden box that Donna would be buried in. Just like the cardboard box, the wooden version was large enough to accommodate her.

Stan and Donna held hands while walking up to it. Stan looked over and declared, "This is your coffin. This is where you will be laid to rest when we finally put you in the ground. Do you want to try it out?"

Surprisingly, Donna didn’t hesitate. "Sure..."

Stan lifted the plywood lid off the box. Keep in mind that there wasn't anything fancy; the lid didn't include hinges. It was simply a sheet of plywood that was cut to fit over the top, to be nailed shut before burying Donna in the ground. As for nails; there hadn't been an agreement, just yet, as to whether or not he should nail the lid shut; or if Stan should leave the lid un-nailed so that he could get to Donna faster if in the event that something went wrong during the burial. But then Stan theorized that maybe it would be better to nail the wooden box shut to prevent any shifting during the burial which could potentially cause tons of Earth to crush Donna to death. A secure lid could save her life. Stan hadn't explained these things to Donna just yet. For now he simply wanted her to try out the coffin like in the previous cardboard box exercise.

"Are you ready?” Stan asked.

Donna said nothing; simply climbed into the box, lay down and closed her eyes with hands resting on her chest.

"Very good." congratulated Stan. You are getting good at this. And just like last time, I will lay a bouquet of flowers on your chest.”  After doing so, he stood back and looked in the wooden box. Donna certainly appeared dead.

"Okay, I'm going to put the lid on." Stan announced. "This time we are going to increase the time to 45 minutes. Do you think you can handle being in the box for 45 minutes?"

There was no answer.

"Donna?"

Still no answer.

Stan checked Donna's face which was still warm. He placed his finger underneath her nose in which air could be felt; confirmation that she was still breathing. "Okay, you're just doing a really good job at playing dead. Being that you are not saying anything, I'm just going to assume that you will be okay staying in there for 45 minutes. And just like we agreed before, if there is a problem—feel like you are panicking or running out of air—simply push the lid off. It's light enough. It won't be a problem. This is all just training and conditioning for the real thing."

Stan laid the lid over the wooden box and looked at the hands on his watch. By then it was ten minutes after one o’clock in the morning. He would wait for 45 minutes.

And so Stan sat on the ground with back resting against the box, just listening to the surrounding forest; crickets chirping and animals rustling around. It was very peaceful. In these moments, Stan let his mind wander off to the night when he would finally have a hole dug in the ground and a coffin lowered in with Donna sealed shut beneath the Earth. Stan was so fortunate to have Donna to play this game with. She knew how to play dead so well, and could continue looking beautiful. Finally Stan's fantasy of unearthing a beautiful woman and brining her back from the dead could be experienced. Stan had been waiting for a moment like this for most of his life. Consider that when Lisa had been killed in that car crash; Stan's morbid fantasies had been so overwhelming, that he actually hopped the fence over to the cemetery late at night, to defile her grave in a moment of fantasy love making.

This time, however, with Donna; it would be real. Again, Donna would play dead so very well. And Stan would physically make love to her as she lay in the coffin which had been unearthed. And in that moment, she would come back to life and belong to Stan one hundred percent, forever.

Stan waited for about twenty minutes while sitting against the wooden box. From what he could determine, there didn't appear to be any problems for Donna. But then Stan actually began to worry. He worried that maybe Donna might have begun suffocating while falling asleep in the dark, wooden box. She wouldn't have been aware of what was happening and might have died in that box. Stan was so close to actually lifting the lid off that box to see if she was okay. But then something—maybe Donna’s spirit mother—urged Stan to wait; wait out the entire 45 minutes before lifting the lid. Part of the conditioning, after all, was for Stan to learn how to relax and not worry; just let everything happen.

Fortunately, Stan brought with him a pack of cigarettes. He walked over to the running stream that once had Donna's blood flowing through it. He lit up a cigarette, took a few drags and relaxed. He stood there for some twenty minutes, and actually smoked a couple of cigarettes. When smoked down to the filters, Stan merely flicked them into the fresh running water stream. (Nice!)

After smoking his last cigarette, Stan returned to the wooden box where he just stared at it in deep contemplation. It was then that his morbid fetishes began to get control of his worries. What if Donna really were dead?  How would he react? Of course he would be devastated, but then he could live out the ultimate thrill of making love to real, live (actually dead) female corpse. He might even pass out from excitement overload; perhaps die of heart attack to join his precious Donna in the afterlife. It would be the ultimate ending to a happy love story.

Stan could no longer control himself. With one minute remaining he figured Donna had been laying in that box long enough. Donna wouldn't have known the difference anyway if it were a minute early—that is if she were still alive. He lifted the lid and looked inside. Donna lay still and lifeless with eyes closed and hands resting on her chest. She hadn't moved from that position since Stan saw her last. Could she... could she possibly have been dead?

With hands trembling and a mixture of emotions that ranged from horror, sadness, intrigue and sexual excitation; Stan felt Donna's cheek.

It was warm to the touch.

But what if the warmth merely remained from the several moments after her heart stopped beating? Still unsure, Stan place his finger under Donna's nose.

Air moved in and out. Donna was still alive!

Morbid fetishes along with the thrill of fantasy that nearly came true overcame Stan. He nearly leapt into the wooden box on top of his beloved Donna.

Donna screamed in the darkness and then giggled as Stan kissed her.

"This probably has to be the most exciting thing I've ever done!" declared Stan while momentarily pulling away from the kiss.

And Donna had to admit, it was equally exciting for her. It was like something straight of out Sleeping Beauty; she lay in eternal sleep before her handsome prince kissed her back to life.

***

This just so happened to be the weekend when Fredrick would finally come home from the war. And as you surely know by now, Fredrick was being honorably discharged because of his crippling injury. As mentioned before, his right leg had been blown off by a land mine.

So on a Saturday morning in August he was escorted through town by a parade of police cars that trailed behind an ambulance. There were flags hung throughout town as well as banners that welcomed Fredrick home. Keep in mind that this was the early to mid 60s. Hippies and Vietnam War protesters weren't so prevalent at that time just yet, so Fredrick did get somewhat of a proper small town homecoming.

Donna and her parents waited in the front of Fredrick's house with the rest of Fredrick’s family as they watched the small parade lead into the drive. And like mentioned before, it was an ambulance that first pulled into his driveway with Fredrick in the back.

Now just as Stan's father had predicted, Donna's old feelings for Fredrick would quickly resurface. Upon initially seeing him being wheeled out of the ambulance, her heart was back to where it was a year ago before Fredrick left for the war. She was so happy to see him. She started to cry out of joy from finally being reunited as well as sadness due to his condition.

It was Fredrick's mother and father, of course, who greeted their son first. "Welcome home son." said Father with tears in his eyes and hugging him. The remainder of his family rushed in to greet and welcome him as well. Then, finally, Donna had her turn. She was being proper and observed the fact that family had to come first. This is why she saw to it that she was last. After all, for the time being, Donna was simply a girlfriend.

Donna approached the wheelchair; hugged and kissed him. "I'm so glad that you returned."

Immediately, Mother and Father wheeled Fredrick into the house as the paramedics proceeded to unload medical supplies from the ambulance. Fredrick was brought into the family room where Donna would finally have a better chance to talk with him some more.

But not much longer after Fredrick had been wheeled into the house, the paramedics entered with the medical supplies—IV bags, boxes of medicines, bandages, and the likes. There was plenty of pain medication along with morphine to be administered intravenously. This was one of the purposes of the IV. Fredrick was in so much pain, that he required regular doses of morphine. And he was on plenty of it at the moment.

"So did you miss me?" asked Fredrick to Donna as the paramedic set up the nearby IV.

“Of course I missed you. I missed you very much.”

But then Fredrick was suddenly not the kind, young gentleman that Donna remembered. He nearly snapped, "Well then why the hell did you stop writing me?"

Donna was taken aback. Deep down inside, she knew what he meant. The letters from her had gotten far and few between in frequency in recent months. But she never thought that Stan would go so far as to point this out when reuniting. It was, of course, the conflict of interest that Donna had with Stan. And this very moment was suddenly a very confusing moment for her. Donna was in love with Stan, but now Fredrick had come home and her old feelings for him had resurfaced. Those feelings soon included guilt for being unfaithful to Fredrick while he was away at war.

Now Fredrick was beginning to ask questions. He wanted an explanation; wanted to know if there was some correlation between the rumor of Donna and Stan and her sudden reduction in frequency of letters. “Go ahead!” nearly demanded Fredrick. "How come you stopped writing?"

"There-there, Fredrick." reassured Fredrick's father while patting him on the back. “The doctor said that the pain medications and morphine could cause your mind to act funny sometimes—maybe hallucinate. Donna is here with you, now. Doesn't that account for something?”

But Fredrick said nothing; he just looked at Donna with an expression of bitterness and disgust. It was then that Donna suddenly noticed that Fredrick looked drastically different from the last time she saw him. Fredrick was a young man—soldier—who was going off to war some months ago. Now he had returned with a long beard; his hair was somewhat longer and dirty-appearing. His face was worn. And of course he was missing a leg—confined to a wheelchair. And now he was very angry—almost resentful—towards Donna for not writing him as much while away at war; maybe almost hinting that she no longer loved him.

"Ugh! This pain!" suddenly complained Fredrick to his father. "Could you give me some more medication; some more morphine?"

One of the nearby paramedics reminded Fredrick's father, "There is a maximum amount of morphine that he should receive. Limited amounts are to be given to him. You are expected to abide by the recommended doses." Then the paramedic looked at Fredrick, "You really need to wait, Sir."

Fredrick actually used profanity at that moment in front of his parents, family, Donna and her parents while challenging the paramedic. "How do you know how I feel right now? Do you have any idea how much pain I am in? My leg was blown-off by a land mine!"

"I understand that, Sir." tried to reason the paramedic. "But there is only so much of this you can use for duration of time. This morphine is addicting, and you need to be careful." With that, the paramedic walked out of the house.

Father nodded his head in agreement. "I think the paramedic is right.”

Fredrick shook his head in disbelief. "I had no idea that it would get to this. Look at the state I'm in. I'm in terrible pain; not to mention I can't even mobilize myself. What kind of life do I have to look forward to?"

Mother patted her son on his back, "Try not to worry. Things will get better. We have a rehabilitator scheduled to come to the house throughout the week so that you can finally start moving around. You'll probably be fitted with a prosthetic leg so that you can walk."

After some moments, Donna’s father informed, “Donna has been very worried about you. Ever since she heard you were injured, she was very concerned whether or not you would be okay—whether or not you would come home alive.”

Donna didn't appreciate the way Father had somewhat exaggerated her concern for Fredrick. She wasn’t that worried. But she understood that Father meant well. He meant it as a way to put Fredrick at ease, and reassure that Donna truly loved him.

Fredrick, however, didn't seem to care at the moment. He yelped out in pain. "Gosh! I wish I could have some more morphine!

"For the love of God!" exclaimed Father. "Just give him some more. Dump some more into that bag. Can't you see he's in pain?" While saying this, he opened a dosage of morphine and poured it into the IV bag.

Within minutes, Fredrick began to appear sleepy; soon to dose off.

"We should probably leave him alone for now." announced Donna's father. "Why don't we go; let him get his rest, and let his family properly re-unite. You'll have plenty of time later to be with Fredrick."

Donna nodded and agreed. "Okay…” Funny thing: While leaving the house, Donna began to question whether or not she still loved Fredrick. A life with him in such a condition would be so miserable.

***

And so late that Saturday night, Donna had another date with Stan. On this night, Stan had an even greater surprise in the forest than last time. Tonight, there large was a four-foot-deep hole dug in the ground with the coffin-like box sitting at the bottom. Stan announced as both he and Donna stood by the old tree that tonight would be the night that she would say farewell to the life she currently lived. Tonight would be the night that Donna would be buried underground, then to be unearthed and made reborn.

Donna had to admit; in the previous times of playing the game, she was becoming increasingly devoted to the point of looking forward to the real thing. But tonight, Donna had a bad feeling. There just wasn’t something right. She felt as if something would go terribly wrong.

"If you love me you would do this for me.” Insisted Stan. “I mean you would see how much I want this. Can't you do this one thing for me? It won't be as bad as you think."

No man is that important; but Donna was young. She felt that it was time to fully surrender to Stan, and complete the game as a symbolic act of being 100% his. Still hesitant, Donna stepped down into the hole containing the wooden box that was large enough to accommodate her lying down. She assumed the restful position and gazed up into the dark forest, and the shadowy face of her twisted lover.

"That's it; oh, you're beautiful lying there. Close your eyes and put your hands on your chest."

She did as he asked.

This time a collection of dried-up flowers were placed on her chest. In his morbid nature, Stan wished to make it seem like Donna had been dead for some time. Then he put cover was put on the box. Donna could hear the dirt thrown on top while Stan continued to take his fantasy to the extreme.

"And we commit her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust..."

Donna was so close in that moment to changing her mind. She might still have had a chance to push the lid off, stand up and announce, "Game over!” But she wanted to please Stan who was certainly most deserving of fulfilling this desire of his. She would let him fill the hole with dirt, place a headstone at her mock grave and then wait for him to dig her out to make love. Donna had played the dead game a couple of times. She knew she could be in that box for some time before running out of air.

Back above ground: Once the hole had been filled, Stan looked for a large stone to place at the head of the mock grave. He had considered purchasing a marble headstone, named and dated just for the occasion; but wasn't sure if it would have raised some red flags being that there were no funerals in town for a young woman named Donna.

Before digging up Donna, Stan reached for a cigarette in shirt pocket. So proud of this moment, he figured he’d savor every moment of his fantasy by smoking a cigarette over Donna’s grave; pretend to contemplate whether or not to follow through with the shameful act of unearthing a corpse. 

But what was this?

“Blast-it anyway!” Stan cried out while stomping his foot in annoyance. He forgot his cigarettes; probably left them in his car. But then Stan started thinking; why should he feel so stressed out? He had a corpse (a pretend one) buried under ground. This pretend corpse was Donna; and she had been trained in recent times to endure being sealed shut in the box for lengthy periods of time. Donna was well aware that it could be hours before running out of air so she was fine. Stan could now relax, and enjoy his fantasy. But first, he needed a cigarette. And to do this, Stan would leave the valley of Donna’s spirit mother; the place where Donna was now buried by the old tree.

Stan hiked all the way back to the parking area. A couple of times he started to feel guilty that Donna was left underground longer than promised. Could she have heard what was taking place above ground and known that Stan walked away? But Stan quickly fought off those feelings of guilt while reassuring himself that Donna would be fine. 

Stan opened the car door."Now where are those cigarettes?" If Stan didn’t have his cigarettes and matches in his shirt pocket, he would most surely keep them on the dashboard. But they weren't there! Maybe they fell out of the car while exiting with Donna. He looked around his car and walked along the parking lot. It was then that he finally remembered that he actually left his cigarettes and matches on the dresser at home.

Stan shrugged his shoulders and thought nothing of it while starting up the engine and backing out of the parking spot. The Texaco gas station where he worked in town was only 5 minutes from the Berry Bush Forest Preserve. He really deserved a cigarette!

Upon reaching the gas station, Stan encountered some acquaintances, two old schoolmates who were out for the evening. And they just so happened to be people who were friends with Fredrick. They apparently had the same idea that Stan had; get some late night cigarettes from the vending machine.

“So it looks like this is the only place in town for people to get cigarettes late at night.” cited Stan.

“It looks like you’re right about that.” agreed one of the old schoolmates. Then he asked, “So I don’t know if you heard the news, but Fredrick is back in town, now.”

“Yeah?” answered Stan.

“Oh, now, don’t try and pretend! You know all about it. You were with his girlfriend, Donna, all those months. Surely she told you that he was injured and home.”

Stan shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, sure, I’ll admit. I’ve been with Donna all these months. It’s no big secret. But I don’t know if you realize that Donna and Fredrick are old news—ancient history. She’s mine now.”

Both old classmates laughed. “How do you figure?”

“You can believe whatever you want.” calmly answered Stan. “I tell you she’s all mine. Get this: I dug a 4 foot hole, made a wooden box and lowered it in. Donna agreed to play a game of dig up the grave! She's in the box and buried. Once I get my cigarettes, I’m going back to dig her up. It’s one of the greatest acts of devotion and subservience. What do you say about that?”

“You’re crazy!” declared one of the old classmates. “You’ve always been crazy. And I don’t believe your story one bit. If I were you, I’d be worried right now—probably even leave town. Once Fredrick’s war buddies come around to visit, you’ll probably get beaten up really good.”

Stan shook his head in disbelief and walked back to his car. He lit up a cigarette and drove off.  Should he have worried about Fredrick’s war buddies coming to beat him up? Maybe he and Donna should start a new life together in a new city.

The road that leads to Berry Bush Forest Preserve is on an incline. Once reaching the top of the incline, the entrance to Berry Bush Forest Preserve can be seen. On this particular night, however, there was something new that would be waiting for him before reaching the entrance. You see, there was a flat stretch of road that cut through the forested region with a rapidly approaching trucker who had been traveling many hours and feeling the effects of exhaustion. The semi truck drifted in and out of the opposite lane several times until the trucker could no longer hold consciousness. But the truck remained traveling close to 60 MPH in the opposite lane—the very lane that Stan was traveling uphill on.  Since Stan was traveling up an incline, he couldn't see the danger that was rapidly approaching.

There was a split second of impact when Stan had one, final thought of the importance of reaching Donna. Some part of him realized what happened, despite how quickly the tragedy came. He knew for certain that he would never reach his precious love that lay terrified and confined to a mock grave.

***

News spread of the deadly accident involving Stan and the sleepy trucker. And paired up with the news was the mysterious disappearance of Donna, who hadn't been seen for over two days. The acquaintances of Stan, who saw him at the Texaco gas station on his final night alive, realized that he may very well have buried Donna alive; and hadn't reached her before the fatal accident. This realization was conveyed to law enforcement officials who launched a large-scale search for a possible mock grave in the woods.

But Donna was never found!

The End!

The Dead Forest--chapter five

Hello All:

"This is a very, special week at The Literary World of Tom Raimbault; for this is Halloween week! And like we do every year, new stories written just for the holiday are featured throughout the week. This year we roll out a new novella titled The Dead Forest. Be sure to visit Monday through Friday of this week as well as next Monday (Halloween) for each new installment.

As a side-note: the novella has yet to be properly divided into chapters. I simply counted the amount of pages in the manuscript and then divided by six to feature throughout this week and next Monday (Halloween). Being the case, I will sometimes leave the reader with unfinished sentences to be completed the following day. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

The Dead Forest--chapter five

"Why not?" nearly demanded Stan.

"I feel like you're mad at me." answered Donna.

"Well why would I be mad at you?"

Donna sighed, "I don't know..." Then she opened the passenger door and stepped out.

Before exiting the vehicle, Stan reached into the glove compartment for a flashlight because he knew it would be dark in the woods. He switched it on and shined it at the ground. "We'll need this."

Donna said nothing; just stood there as-if she really didn't want to be there while waiting for Stan.

It was about 40 degrees that night. Throughout much of the week, the temperature had reached considerably above freezing along with a couple of days of sunshine. These conditions resulted in just about all of the snow being melted from the trail and the woods. There were a couple of patches of slush and even some late-night ice. But the trail was mostly walkable that dark night in March.

Unlike the first visit to the forest back in October, Stan didn't put his arm around Donna to keep her warm. And really she didn't want him to at that moment. Donna partly had some negative feelings towards Stan at that moment along with feelings of guilt for being unfaithful to Fredrick.

About halfway into the hike which was guided by the illumination of the flashlight, Stan finally called out, "Donna?"

"What?" She responded with subtle bitterness in her voice.

"Are you mad me?"

"No!" answered Donna.

"Well I'm sorry, but you've never spoken to me like this before. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" nearly snapped Donna.

Stan finally ordered, "Stop! We are not going anywhere until we solve this."

Reluctantly, Donna stopped walking as ordered.

Stan put both his hands on Donna's shoulders and looked into her eyes—at least as well as he could in the dark. "Now what is wrong? We agreed to come out here once the snow melted, and we both agreed that this the valley is our special place. Do you really want to go down there in this frame of mind?"

Stan couldn't see it in the dark, but tears began to well in Donna's eyes. "I'm sorry, it's just that I have some things to think about—some things to sort out in my mind." she answered.

"Like what?" demanded Stan.

"Well there's Fredrick; remember, my boyfriend who promised to marry me once he came home from the war? I was supposed to be faithful to him?"

"But, Donna, what about us?" argued Stan. "What are we? And don't I deserve some loyalty?"

"Well yes..." answered Donna. "It's just that... well..."

"Go on!" encouraged Stan with a note of anger in his voice.

"I guess, originally, this was like an affair. I was cheating on Fredrick, and I still am."

"Oh, so I'm the bad guy!" concluded Stan. "I'm the guy who you're cheating with or—as you word it—having an affair with. Never mind all the time we've spent together and the feelings we've shared. None of those things matter. You get a letter from Fredrick, and you suddenly forget about us?"

"I'm sorry, Stan..." apologized Donna while starting to crying.

"Well are you sure you still want to go visit the valley?" questioned Stan. "Or would that be cheating on Fredrick?"

Donna was unsure as to why; but despite how controlling and overly-emotional Stan had gotten, she still wanted to visit the valley. It was as-if some unseen force were coaxing her to press onwards to reach the valley. "Yes, I still want to go." she affirmed. "I hope that means something to you."

Without saying a word, Stan resumed walking towards the direction of the valley.

Donna followed his lead and walked beside him. She sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes. Donna wanted so bad to turn around and head back to the car; order that Stan take her home and never come back to see her again. But there was the mysterious force that seemed to have control over her decisions and her persistence to continue walking with Stan to the valley where the old tree stood.

Soon Stan and Donna reached the spot where they could deviate off the main trail and do some unpleasant bushwhacking before hiking down the somewhat steep ravine to the valley below. All the while doing this, Donna resented every second. The bushes and thicket were wet and surely made her coat dirty. Although partly frozen from the late-night temperature, the ground was muddy. And the illumination of Stan's flashlight made it possible to see only three feet in front of them. Still, Donna obeyed the mysterious force which seemed to consume her while following Stan's lead.

Once reaching the valley, the babbling sound of a nearby stream could be heard.

"You hear that?" asked Stan. "You hear that water flowing?"

"Yes..." acknowledged Donna.

"It's coming from over there." he shined the flashlight in the direction of the sound. "Let's find it."

Nearly crazy, Stan briskly walked towards the direction of the stream until he could see it.

Donna stayed behind and watched Stan in disbelief.

 "I found it!" he exclaimed. "I found the stream!" Then he ordered, "Come over here and look!"

Reluctantly and very nervously, Donna walked towards the direction of where Stan stood with the flashlight. She stopped a few feet away from him.

"Well come on!" continued to order Stan. "Take a look!" He just about manhandled Donna and guided her in the direction of the bank of the small stream where she shined the flashlight in. "See that?" he asked. "See all that running water?"

"Yes..." answered Donna.

That's from all the melting snow in this forest preserve. That snow had accumulated since November of last year, right around the time when you and I were falling in love."

Donna could hardly believe that Stan used the word love to describe their relationship. She really liked him, but never considered that perhaps she loved Stan. Love was to be reserved for Fredrick.

"Now I know what you're thinking." continued Stan. "Our relationship started as—your choice words—an affair. But it's a new year, and the birth of spring is in the air. Those old feelings of guilt are melting and washing away." He violently shook Donna, "You're going to let go of it all, aren't you? You're going to start your new life!"

Terribly frightened, Donna began to sob. What happened to Stan? Why was he so nearly-psychotic?

"Yes! Good!" Stan congratulated. "Make tears! Let them fall into the stream to wash away with last year's snow." Stan used the back of his hand, and wiped a large amount of tears from Donna's cheek, and then flicked them into the water. "All those feelings for Fredrick from last year; they flow out and wash away into the stream... our stream... the stream belonging to the valley of Donna's spirit mother!" Stan shook Donna all the more to make her sob and run more tears into the stream.

Satisfied that the initial stage of the ritual had been completed, Stan next manhandled Donna towards the direction of the old tree. "Come! Let us visit your spirit mother! May she help you remember!" Stan shined the flashlight at the old tree. As they approached, the bark appeared wet and cold.

"Touch her!" ordered Stan. "Reach out with your hand and touch the spirit mother."

Donna hadn't the slightest idea as to why Stan continued to refer to the tree as her spirit mother. But she did as ordered and touched it. The tree felt exactly how it looked, wet and cold.

Stan once again manhandled Donna and spun her around. Then he pushed her against the tree before shouting in Donna's face, "Wake up! Wake up spirit mother! Reveal yourself to me!"

Held against the tree by Stan's strong hands and nowhere to go, Donna began to cry, "Stan, why are you doing this? Why have you turned so crazy?"

Stan paused for a few seconds and stared at Donna. Then he seemed to turn sympathetic. "I'm so sorry..." He hugged Donna and kissed her cheek. "I'm so sorry. I just realized that in the winter you go to sleep with the forest. He pulled back and looked into Donna's face. "Forgive me, oh Donna's spirit mother. Forgive me for my lack of consideration. I didn't mean to wake you before the birth of spring."

Donna was baffled and equally frightened. Had Stan completely lost touch with reality?

"Let me put you back to sleep oh wise and ancient woman." Stan's face moved close to Donna and then kissed her lips. But it was more than a kiss. It was one... two... three... followed by prolonged locking of lips.

Donna turned her face away, "No!" Unlike the first time in the valley, Donna wouldn't grace Stan with the privilege of kissing her.

But Stan was crazy and terribly forceful on that night. He wouldn't take no for an answer. He simply grabbed a fistful from the back of Donna's long and beautiful, raven-black hair so that her face remained where it needed to be. He continued to kiss her so crazy and so passionately.

Donna cried, and the tears ran down her face. But as far as Stan was concerned, the tears now belonged to him. Donna's emotions from last year had flown out and run into the stream to be washed away in Stan's ritual of purification.

Emotionally drained and nearing exhaustion, a new frame of mind overcame Donna. She suddenly felt like the goddess who had once again manifested herself into the physical world. The human mortal who she once graced with the privilege of kissing her was now insane with his devotion. So consumed with jealousy, he fought others who might try to charm and win her favor.

"I love you!" declared Stan every few seconds when pausing between the kissing. "Don't you understand? I love you! And you love me too!" He kissed Donna on the lips to see if the feelings had returned. If Stan didn't know any better, there definitely was something. "Say it!" he demanded. "Say that you love me!"

"I love you Stan!" finally cried out Donna. "It's true; I love you!"

Stan celebrated with more kissing before pulling back and declaring, "In one week it will be the first day of spring. We will return and unify our love! Say you will be here with me! Say it!"

"I will join you Stan!" cried out Donna.

Stan continued to hold Donna against the tree and kissed her all the more. By then a freezing rain began to fall from the sky and through the bare trees. They remained there, kissing for a long time until the freezing rain stopped.

By the time Donna returned that Sunday morning at 4:00, she looked into the mirror. She was wet, dirty, exhausted and emotionally drained.

***

The Moon was full on the Tuesday that followed that very strange and fateful Saturday night in the woods. In the days that followed, Stan remained in his semi-psychotic state. He was relentless in his quest to finally make Donna all his. He already forced Donna to profess her love for him in the woods that Saturday night, but it wasn't enough. Stan needed more. Even if he were able to call Donna on the telephone, or go to her house to hear her say those words again; it wouldn't satisfy what Stan required as true love and loyalty to him. And the fact that Stan couldn't call Donna on the phone or go to her house didn't help matters. It fueled Stan’s desperation, jealousy and anger. How dare Donna's mother and father deem Stan unworthy to be in love with their daughter?

And all day Tuesday, Stan remained entranced while at work in a plan as to how he would finally seal the love and devotion between him and Donna.

"Hey, are you okay today???" griped the owner of the Texaco gas station to Stan who noticed that his employee just wasn't "with it".

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Well then what is taking so long with these oil changes?" asked the owner.

"Sorry, I just didn't sleep very well last night." explained Stan.

"Well make sure you get some sleep before coming into work!" scolded the owner while walking away.

Stan had only a couple of more hours to go before quitting time. From there he could stop at Mr. Green's dime store on the ride home for what he needed. From what Stan remembered there were a couple of them behind the counter for sale when he used to work there. Surely they hadn't been sold.

And what was this item that Stan needed?

At quarter after five that Tuesday afternoon, Stan walked through the front door of Mr. Green's dime store. It was Mr. Green who worked behind the cash register.

"Well hi, Stan!" greeted Mr. Green. "Nice to see you. What brings you here? You're not looking for your old job back, are you?"

"No sir." answered Stan. "I just wanted to buy something that I hope you still have. I remember you used to have them."

"And what might that be?" asked Mr. Green.

By now, Stan was at the front counter and studied the merchandise wall behind Mr. Green. "There it is." he excitedly announced. "It looks like you still have one left, the double-edged dagger with sheath."

Mr. Green turned around and reached for the dagger off the merchandise wall which was stored in a soft leather sheath. He removed the blade--five inches in length--from the sheath and set both objects on the counter before Stan. "This? You want to buy this?"

Stan nervously picked up the dagger and gently tested the blade with his finger. As expected, it was razor sharp. "Oh, yes, I definitely want to buy this."

For some reason, Mr. Green did not have a good feeling about selling the double edged dagger to Stan. He remembered Stan, and recalled that he was a bit odd. What in the world did he have in mind to do with a razor sharp dagger? "You don't mind if I ask what you need that for, do you?"

Stan nervously swallowed before answering. "I just want to use it at work... you know, for cutting fan belts and stuff."

"Well you could use a regular pocket knife for something like that." suggested Mr. Green. "A dagger like this is often used for hunting and fishing."

"It's funny you mention that." began Stan. "I made some friends at the gas station who want to go on a hunting and fishing trip. I'd like to take this dagger with me."

"A hunting and fishing trip?" repeated Mr. Green. "Where will this be?"

"We haven't really decided yet." answered Stan.

At that point there wasn't anything that Mr. Green could do. Stan was a customer at the dime store to make a legitimate purchase for an item that was clearly for sale. Reluctantly, Mr. Green entered the sales price and tax into the cash register as Stan reached into his wallet for money. Mr. Green wished he could have denied Stan the purchase of that dagger, for he knew it would be used for a not-so-good purpose.

And what did he do with the razor-sharp, double-edged dagger? What could it have possibly been used for when it came to winning the true love and loyalty from Donna?

Late Saturday night of that week, which just so happened to be Spring Equinox, with the Moon in a waning gibbous stage--its light shining from the sky to provide plenty of illumination to the ground below; Stan drove through Donna's subdivision and parked four houses down to observe the usual protocol when picking Donna up.

As for Donna, she was in a most unusual frame of mind. You see, she really didn't want to be with Stan out of fear of what had happened the previous Saturday. But in Stan's moment of apparent psychosis, he declared that they would return the following week which would be the first day of spring. There, the two would continue whatever had been started on that dark night in the forest to "unify their love". Donna was forced to promise that she would return. And to avoid any disturbance at home which would surely alarm Mother and Father to what had been happening in recent months, Donna had no choice but to bundle up, climb out her bedroom window and wait for Stan on the side of the house.

But there was even more to Donna's peculiar frame of mind. Since the episode of the previous Saturday night, Donna had been unable to pick up the recent letter from her beloved Fredrick and read it. She felt an overwhelming amount of shame and guilt for doing so. She nearly wished to tear the letter into shreds and throw it into the wastepaper basket. And whenever attempting to write a letter in return--a letter that would reassure Fredrick that the rumor of her and Stan to be untrue--Donna could not bring herself to do it. As the days passed, she realized that the more she waited, the more it would have appeared that there truly was something going on between Donna and Stan.

She stood there on the side of the house and under a moonlit sky. Soon Stan appeared and waved her on.

Reluctantly she followed Stan back to his car and rode off with him. It was the first the two had spoken to each other since the strange experience in the forest.

"So how was your week?" asked Stan.

"It was fine." answered Donna. "And you?"

"I've been thinking about you all week." answered Stan.

This caused Donna's stomach to nearly turn. "So are we still returning to the valley in the woods by the old tree?" she asked.

"Of course!" affirmed Stan. "It's the perfect night to bring closure and finally unify our love."

"And just what did you have in mind?" nervously asked Donna.

"Trust me..." reassured Stan. "Everything is going to be alright. I love you, and what I have planned is special."

Donna said nothing in return.

"What about you?" asked Stan. "Don't you love me?"

"Yes, I love you." affirmed Donna.

"What about Fredrick?" probed Stan. "Have you received any more letters from Fredrick? Is he still asking about us?"

"No, I haven't received anything from him." answered Donna.

"Well did you write him back?" further probed Stan.

Donna sighed, "Stan, I actually tore up his letter and threw it into the wastepaper basket. [She lied--very beside Donna's nature.] You are right, it's time to let go of him and accept what you and I have become."

"And what's that?" encouraged Stan.

"Lovers..." simply answered Donna. She hated saying this, but there wasn't much Donna could do or argue when in the presence of Stan.

Soon, Stan and Donna reached the lot of Berry Bush Forest Preserve. Stan parked his car, turned off the engine and exited. While Donna stepped out of the vehicle and had her back turned, Stan reached under the driver seat for the unsheathed double-edged dagger, and tucked it under the sleeve of his coat. Then he walked towards the direction of the trail

Donna followed Stan's lead. Not a word was spoken as the two pressed onwards.

The entire forest that night was illuminated by the Moon which shined through the skeletal trees that were still bare of any leaves. Eventually Stan and Donna made it to the point where they could deviate off the trail and work their way to the valley below.

Once touching the bottom, Stan immediately head towards the small stream and encouraged Donna to follow. "Come, let us see the flowing stream which continues to wash away the life and memories of last year."

But what was this? It had to be a hallucination, or an illusion brought on by--perhaps--the moonlight. What flowed in that stream was no longer the rain and melted snow from winter, but blood. Yes, the stream was now blood red!

"Well would you look at that." commented Stan.

Donna gasped. "Blood?"

"Yes! Blood!" answered Stan. "It's your blood that now flows through this stream. Just like your thoughts and feelings from last October--your tears--that were carried away the last time we were here, the life you lived before the birth of spring is also being washed away. Very interesting!"

Donna suddenly felt squeamish. She imagined her blood flowing out of a gaping wound and being sucked out via the running stream. The squeamishness was soon accompanied by a feeling of needing to pass out.

But Stan wasn't the least bit concerned for Donna. He simply announced, "And now let's pay your spirit mother a visit. Let's see if she's awoken in this birth of spring..." He continued by shouting, "AWOKEN to observe her Earthly daughter join with me in our unification of love!" Stan manhandled weak and squeamish Donna over to the old tree and then pushed her back against the trunk. There hadn't been any rain in the past couple of days, so the trunk for the most part was dry. It was, however, cold being that the outside temperature was about fifty degrees.

About a foot from her face, Stan looked into Donna's eyes.

Donna looked away and observed the surrounding forest. Skeletal trees bathed by the moonlight; the valley yet to have turned green; a nearby stream of flowing blood; it was all nothing short of a hellish realm that would exist in an evening's series of nightmares that the subconscious mind would choose to forget before awakening.

With his right hand Stan raised Donna's left above her head and then held it against the tree trunk. It wasn't much of a fight because Donna was very weak in that moment. With his other hand, Stan grasped a fistful of hair from the back of Donna's head and guided her lips back to his. Stan lay three kisses to her lips and then announced, "And now, oh Earthly daughter of her spirit mother--the spirit mother who resides in this magickal valley--we open our flesh and draw the blood of exchange, the exchange that will forever unite us as one.”

Donna felt a sharp sting on the palm of her left hand. Stan was using something--a blade of some sort--to cut her hand open. Unbeknown to Donna, it was the double-edged dagger wedged between Stan and Donna's palm. She screamed out of fright and then pleaded, "What are you doing??? Please stop!!!"

But Stan wouldn't hear the pleas. Satisfied that he had sliced open both his and her palms with the dagger, he removed his right hand from the handle and left the blade in place of both wounds so that by simply squeezing Donna's hand it would slice open more tissue to draw more blood. Stan's other hand resumed grasping a fistful of Donna's hair, and guided her lips back to his. He kissed her lovingly with all of the desire in his heart.

So weak, all that Donna could do was close her eyes and not resist Stan's kisses. And then the feeling of being consumed by an external spirit returned. Donna was no longer Donna. She was the goddess who returned to Earth to be with her most devotee who drew the blood of exchange to be eternally unified in love. The sweet and warm blood ran down her arm and under her Earthly garments. And then the Earthly mortal who had been graced not once, twice, but three times to kiss her; had finally lowered her bleeding palm. The double-edged dagger remained wedged into both wounds.

Our unified blood spills onto the ground of this sacred valley. May it bring life and renewal to the spirit mother... Donna's spirit mother... And now my spirit mother, too, as it is my blood unified with your Earthly daughter which runs into the ground at the birth of spring.

Stan looked up at the sky and could see the Moon and visible stars shining through the skeletal trees. It was confirmation and acceptance from the spirit world of Stan and Donna's unification. He looked over to Donna and announced, "And now my sister, let us depart from this place as united in love.”

***

Although Donna received a nasty cut to the palm of her hand, she actually managed to hide it so that it was never seen by Mother and Father. They never saw the wide, gaping, open wound that Donna feared would become badly infected. Through time it managed to heal so that by the middle of spring it was simply a line on her hand that really wasn't that recognizable.

As for Donna and Stan, the relationship between them was a bit turbulent for a while. I mean let's face it, Stan had been abusive of Donna; took her out into the woods, forced her to proclaim that she loved him, and then gave her a serious cut to her hand with a dagger. Feeling she had no choice in the matter--forced into this so-called loving relationship with Stan--there was some lingering bitterness and resentment in the air throughout the spring months. Then, as the cut on her hand healed into a barely recognizable scar, the loving relationship resumed between the two of them. Donna actually strongly desired to be with Stan and sought of ways to be with him on other nights of the week in addition to Friday and Saturday.

In that renewed phase of their relationship, Donna would sneak out the window on--say-- a Wednesday night so that she and Stan could venture to the Berry Bush Forest Preserve to simply be with the tree that was responsible for causing the two to fall in love. Stan would bring a blanket and some food in a picnic basket for a romantic late night dinner. By then there were plenty of leaves on the trees throughout Berry Bush Forest Preserve. On moonlit nights, the magickal valley of Donna's spirit mother was absolutely beautiful. And the spirit in the tree was definitely present as her two children were very much in love with each other. Donna and Stan would just sit there while talking, cuddling and making out. In fact, these days were probably the happiest days of Stan and Donna's life.

But then came a fateful day in late July when Donna's beloved Frederick had received an injury in battle to his right leg. It had been blown off by a land mine. Fredrick had written to Donna, informing her of the injury and that he would soon be coming home.

BE SURE TO RETURN MONDAY (HALLOWEEN) FOR THE CONCLUSION OF OUR NEW NOVELLA, THE DEAD FOREST!

The Dead Forest--chapter four

Hello All:

"This is a very, special week at The Literary World of Tom Raimbault; for this is Halloween week! And like we do every year, new stories written just for the holiday are featured throughout the week. This year we roll out a new novella titled The Dead Forest. Be sure to visit Monday through Friday of this week as well as next Monday (Halloween) for each new installment.

As a side-note: the novella has yet to be properly divided into chapters. I simply counted the amount of pages in the manuscript and then divided by six to feature throughout this week and next Monday (Halloween). Being the case, I will sometimes leave the reader with unfinished sentences to be completed the following day. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

The Dead Forest--chapter four

By Friday night of that week, the Moon had reached the waning gibbous stage meaning that it was beginning to reduce back to a crescent before disappearing from the sky. And there is something else about the Moon in this stage; it rises late in the evening so that by morning it can be seen in western sky. This provides illumination to the ground in the midnight hours and throughout predawn.

By the time Stan drove into Donna's subdivision, the Moon was well into the sky which, again, caused him concern that maybe he would be detected by neighbors or Donna's parents. Stan parked four houses away and softly pushed the driver side door shut before walking across the grass in the parkways. When reaching Donna's house, he was about to walk around the side and into the backyard.

But what was this?

Donna stood at the side of the house in a coat. She smiled when initially seeing Stan and then raised her index finger to her lips.

Stan knew what she was doing. Without saying a word, he led her out onto the sidewalk where they quickly crossed the parkways of the four houses until reaching the car. When finally inside Stan asked, "What are you doing? Where are we going?" He started the car and then idled some distance past Donna's house before driving off.

"My Mother heard us last week." explained Donna. "She doesn't want you coming back."

"Really...? Wow!" exclaimed Stan. He never would have expected Donna to resort to this. "So where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Where do you think?" answered Donna. "I want to see the tree."

And so Stan drove through town that Friday night which was mostly void of motorists and pedestrians. You see, it was after midnight which meant that most of the world had gone to sleep. And by the time they reached the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, there were no cars parked in spots with kids necking. It was probably best that no one was around to take notice of Stan and Donna (who was supposed to be faithful to her Fredrick while he was away at war) enter the woods late at night. Such a thing would surely appear suspicious.

Donna shivered while walking the trail next to Stan. "It's so cold..."

"Well you have a long coat on." pointed Stan.

"I know... but still..."

Stan seized the much-wished-for opportunity to put his arm around Donna's shoulders and pull her close. "There, there... I'll keep you warm." Her long, raven-black hair smelled so good. And funny thing; Donna really didn't mind being close to Stan. She didn't mind the subtle move made on her. It felt good.

Stan rubbed the side of Donna's shoulder in an attempt to provide heat. "We just walk a ways down the path, and we'll be able to see the actual tree." he explained.

"I can't wait." answered Donna.

About seven minutes later, Stan and Donna finally reached the location where it was possible to deviate off the main path. It would only be necessary to do some bushwhacking and climb down the somewhat steep ravine until reaching the valley. For now, from a distance, the old tree could be seen bathing in the moonlight.

"There it is." announced Stan.

"Oh, it's beautiful." exclaimed Donna. "I've never been to the woods at night, and I have to admit that at first I thought you were a little crazy for doing this. But I can see everything down below. You are right. It looks so magickal." There was silence for the next ten seconds before Donna asked, “But how does the tree remind you of me?"

"We would have to get closer to the tree." answered Stan. "You probably don't want to go down there because..."

Donna cut him off. "Oh yes I do! Stan, I want to go down there!" It was almost as-if Donna were suddenly possessed by some unseen force.

"Are you sure?" checked Stan. "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely!" affirmed Donna.

And so the two deviated off the main trail and followed a bit of unpleasant bushwhacking, and then somewhat of a steep descent down the ravine. A couple of time Donna almost lost her balance. But that was okay. She was bound and determined to reach the valley which—unbeknown to her—was the magickal valley of her spirit mother. When finally there, she nearly pulled Stan over to the tree.

"Oh, it's so beautiful." declared Donna. They were some twenty feet away and marveled as the branches and the colored leaves of autumn softly glowed in the moonlight. "This tree must be many years old."

"Hundreds." added Stan.

Donna approached the tree until she was close enough to touch it.

"Can you finally see why the tree reminds me of you?" asked Stan.

Donna turned to face Stan. In doing so, she rested her back against the large trunk. She smiled, somewhat mischievously and answered, "You'll have to explain that to me."

"Well..." began Stan while carefully approaching. "It really reminded me of you because it’s so beautiful… like you."

Donna could feel herself blushing and hoped that the partial darkness would cover it.

Stan continued, "But now that you are here with it, the tree looks all the more beautiful." Stan was now a foot away from Donna's face. He took a chance, and leaned in for a kiss.

Donna softly moaned a cry. This was not supposed to happen. She never intended to allow Stan to take their friendship to this sort of level. Perhaps this is what Mother meant by insisting that a friendship with a boy could lead to anything. Too bad Donna didn't heed the warning, for Stan continued to kiss her with her back up against the tree. It was un-ladylike in those days for a woman to fight, squirm and resist. Aside from that, Donna was all alone in the forest with him. All she could do was allow Stan to have his way and kiss her more and more. He really liked her; Donna could feel this. It was as-if Stan were in love with Donna.

And then the magick happened. Donna felt deeply rooted in that place with the tree where Stan nearly worshipped and adored her. Donna suddenly felt like a goddess who graced an Earthly mortal with the ability to kiss her lips. On this magickal autumn night of her valley engulfed by the moonlight, she opened herself up and allowed Stan the simple and long-awaited pleasure of kissing her.

The two stayed for nearly three hours just making out against the old tree. As Donna's spirit mother promised, Donna would completely surrender to Stan and belong to him. On that fateful night it finally happened.

"I really need to get home." Donna finally said. "Remember I sneaked out of the window to be with you? I don't want to get in trouble."

"Oh, that's right." acknowledged Stan. "Yes, we better get you home."

Now so much in love with one another, Stan and Donna hiked arm-in-arm back to the car. Not much was said on the ride home. But unlike the last time Stan drove Donna home, the two kissed before Donna exited the vehicle.

"Next week?—Friday?" suggested Stan.

Donna turned and smiled, "I'll be waiting in the same place for you."

"Just after midnight." instructed Stan.

You see, plans needed to be made right then and there. Stan would have never been able to call Donna's house and ask for her. Surely it would have been Mother or Father who answered. And in those days if a boy called for a girl, he had to identify himself and state his intentions. Stan didn't want to alarm Donna's parents of their new relationship.

***

After that fateful night in the valley of Donna's spirit mother, the weather had turned so that it was too cold to go walking in the woods at night. The weekend that followed would have been Halloween—a Saturday. The night before Halloween—which was a Friday—there was a strong wind that brought with it a wintery chill. Would Donna really be waiting for Stan on the side of her house as promised?

"I don't know..." cried out Stan with a sigh. "She's not going to be there. It's too cold." The windows of Stan's car were rolled up and the heat was on. He wore a winter coat and drove through Donna's subdivision. Like the previous times, Stan parked four houses down and observed the usual procedure of softly closing the door and walking on the grass of the parkways to avoid the sound of shoes against the sidewalk. But with the howling wind, who would have heard?

Stan could hardly believe it as he made his way around the side of Donna's house. There, bundled up in a heavy coat, scarf and woman's hat; Donna huddled near the brick to avoid as much wind as possible.

Stan waved Donna over. "Come-on, let's get back to the car. I have heat." he urged. The two ran down the street until reaching the car. And even though Stan was anxious to get in himself, he was sure to be a gentleman and open the door for Donna. Moments later, the two drove through town with the heat on while listening to late night music.

"I don't think you want to go back to the tree." cited Stan.

"It's too cold." confirmed Donna.

"There's not much to do in this town." said Stan. "Everything closes after eleven o'clock. I guess we could park at the Berry Bush Forest Preserve and just hang out. All the kids should be home because it's past curfew."

Just to make sure that his Donna wouldn't start to think that he only went out with her on Friday nights to neck, he instructed Donna, "Hey, go in the glove compartment. I've got something for you."

Donna did as instructed. Inside was a bag from Dog-n-Suds. "Is this for me?" she asked.

"Yes it is." affirmed Stan. "I got us a couple of hot dogs and some fries. I figured it would be nice to have some sort of dinner together. I would have gotten a root beer in a frosty mug, but that would have been hard to drive around with. Instead, I have a couple of bottles of soda in the backseat."

"Oh Stan, that's so nice of you." exclaimed Donna. As the car pulled into the parking lot of Berry Bush Forest Preserve, Donna opened the bag and reached for a couple of French fries. "No wonder the car smelled like food." she commented.

Stan put the transmission in park and turned off the lights. "I suppose we should leave the engine running for heat. I filled the tank before the gas station closed, so we should have plenty of gas. I'll keep an eye on the needle."

Donna and Stan unwrapped their hot dogs. Stan reached in the backseat for the two glass bottles of root beer. "I've got a church key." he announced. Back in those days, a church key was a bottle opener that one conveniently kept on the key ring if ever needing to open a beer or soda. He used this to remove the tops from both bottles.

While the two enjoyed their late night dinner, Stan used the opportunity to bring out into the open a couple of issues with his new relationship with Donna. "So I was thinking." began Stan. "I know we have to keep everything a secret from everyone. I know your parents wouldn't be happy knowing that I'm taking you out late at night. I know that we can't let too many people out here see me with you because anyone might tell Fredrick. I guess we just have to think of clever ways to do things together... you know... like go out on dates and enjoy our time together without anyone seeing? You like being with me, don't you?"

"Of course I do." reassured Donna. "You're a very nice guy, and very interesting. I don't know anyone who would have ever taken me to the middle of the woods late at night and make it seem so beautiful. And it shouldn't be too difficult to go out. We could always plan dates where you meet Barbara and me at the movie theater and stuff. Just make it look like an accident. I trust Barbara. And besides, I think she's onto us. But don’t worry. She won't tell Fredrick or anyone."

***

So throughout the late autumn and winter months, Stan and Donna improvised ways of being together to enjoy one another's company. Many Friday and Saturday nights they simply parked at the Berry Bush Forest Preserve (when it wasn't snowing) and sat in the car with the heat running; enjoying a meal of hamburgers, pizza, or hotdogs that had been packed up in the glove compartment. Afterwards, the two would just talk—sometimes for a few hours—followed by some necking that often ended up in the backseat. Of course some nights the two didn't feel like overdoing it with the making out. They simply laid in the backseat, Donna resting against Stan, while listening to late night radio and sometimes dozing off. A couple of times a patrolling officer who spotted the car in the parking lot tapped on the back window and ordered Stan to roll down the window. The officer was only concerned that maybe Stan and Donna were a couple of kids who were out past curfew. When realizing that they were young adults and over the age of eighteen, he was confused as to why they would prefer to sit in a car late at night in the forest preserve.

"Listen, I really wish you wouldn't sit here late at night." urged the officer. "You're not breaking any laws, and I can't make you leave. But it might not be too safe out here late at night."

"We were just getting ready to leave, officer." reassured Stan. And that was the end of the date for that particular night. But then Stan and Donna would return some nights later for some more time together.

As suggested by Donna, there were a few occasions in which Stan "accidentally" encountered her and Barbara at the movie theater on a Friday night. Since Stan knew Donna and Barbara, it wasn't too unreasonable for him to sit with the young women in the movie theater. Stan was a nice guy and he would treat them both to popcorn and soda. And what was so wrong with enjoying a late night meal at the local Dog-n-Suds before everyone went home for the night?

There were a couple of other occasions when Stan "accidentally" encountered Donna and Barbara at a late night coffee house where local jazz musicians performed and beatniks were known to recite poetry in front of the audience. By then, Barbara had received her driver's license and would pick Donna up at her house on Friday and Saturday nights. How long would this arrangement last before Barbara would find a young man who courted her and no longer had time to hang out with Donna and her secret boyfriend?

And speaking of secrets; despite how Stan and Donna tried to keep their relationship a secret, people who knew them eventually figured out that the "accidental" encounters in public weren't so accidental. There was definitely something funny going on between Stan and Donna. And of course, the rumors began to fly throughout town.

***

One Saturday night, in February—Ground Hog's Day—parked at the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, as Donna lay her head on Stan's shoulder in the backseat of the car; the two engaged in a most interesting conversation. Stan and Donna learned that night that they shared a mutual fascination with the dead, and with life beyond the grave—although the two of them might have had slightly different perceptions. Death wasn't so morbid as the rest of the population might have believed. Stan and Donna both believed that death and the world beyond the grave was a new beginning. It was birthing into a new existence, a higher level of existence that transcends the physical world. And maybe it was possible for those who move on to return in a physical sense.

It was Donna who triggered the conversation by initially talking about church. She originally intended on gauging whether or not Stan believed in God, and was serious about his faith. She did, after all, see Stan and his family on many occasions at mass. "...I mean sometimes when I'm praying to Mary or the saints, I can feel their presence. I feel like I can reach out and touch them; reach for their hands. Many times I feel like there is some sort of invisible wall that can easily be penetrated. If you can get past this wall, you can visit Heaven for a short time."

"I think I know what you mean." acknowledged Stan. "Did you ever look at a dead person in a coffin? Did you ever wonder if it is truly the end for that person? What if there were a way to simply touch that dead person and wake them up?"

"Nobody can do that." rejected Donna. "The only person who was ever able to do that was Christ. And it isn't the end for that dead person, either. They simply go to Heaven, provided they lived a good life."

"Well what about doctors in the emergency room who bring a dead patient back to life?" argued Stan. "They've done it plenty of times. And some of those patients swear that they spent a brief moment in Heaven. How do you explain that?"

"I've read about that before." answered Donna. "That's always fascinated me."

Stan continued, "I guess my point is: can a person be called back to their body after being dead for some time?"

"That's a very difficult question." pointed Donna. "As for that person who is brought back to life, maybe their purpose wasn't fulfilled yet."

Stan introduced a new subject to their conversation, “Hey, do you remember that girl in town who was killed in a car crash? I still remember her name, Lisa. This would have been in '59."

"Oh yes, I remember her." answered Donna. "We actually went to her funeral.—friend of the family. It was so sad."

"Well the cemetery where she's buried is actually right in my backyard." continued Stan. "Her grave is right near the fence. I actually watched them lower her into the ground. And then a day or so later I saw her picture in the newspaper. I'm sort of embarrassed to admit, but I guess as a boy that age, I actually thought she was pretty. I felt bad that a girl so pretty had to die. And that's when I got the strange idea of visiting her grave at night. I simply hopped the fence over and sat down near her gravestone to be with her. [Stan wouldn't dare confess to his defilement of Lisa's grave.] I don't know what possessed me to do it. But I remember wondering if it were possible to bring her back to life—you know, call her back to this world so she could be alive again." At that point, Stan was conveniently re-inventing the course of events from that night in 1959 at the cemetery. Interesting thing: although Stan's intention as a young boy was simply to defile the grave a fresh, young woman; his re-invention of the course of events from that night reflected a subconscious purpose, one that Stan certainly wouldn't have been able to understand as a young boy. So for all practical purposes, Stan wasn't exactly lying to Donna in that moment. Rather, he was reaching a moment of epiphany.

There were several seconds of silence before Donna answered. "I don't think I've ever met someone who did that. So you were so affected by the death of Lisa that you visited her grave at night as a boy?"

"Yes..." admitted Stan.

"That was so nice of you." cited Donna. "I guess that's what makes you a nice guy. And you wanted to bring her back to life?"

"Yes..." further admitted Stan.

"Well maybe you can't bring the dead back to life, but you can talk to the dead." pointed Donna.

"You can?" asked Stan.

"Yes; they listen to you just like the saints, angels and Mary. And in a way, that's what you were doing as a boy. You visited Lisa's grave and told her how sad you felt that she was gone. It probably meant a lot to her that you thought she was pretty."

"I hope so..." commented Stan while remembering the night of Lisa's defilement. As he recalled, he saw in his imagination the young woman screaming out for help, but was unable to make a sound because she was dead. There was someone definitely there with Stan on that night in 1959, and he believed it was the tormented soul of Lisa who had to endure the fantasy rape of her dead body.

Stan confessed some more, "I used to come to these woods, a lot, and think about the dead." With this statement he remembered the morbid game that he played with the doll—unburying it from the ground where it was kept sealed in a metal toolbox. "I guess in a way, these woods are somewhat special to me."

Donna smiled for she knew that she was a part of Stan's "special" woods."

Stan continued "And then I saw the tree out there in the valley that reminded me of you. That valley in the forest is all the more special. It's alive. There's some sort of spirit in that valley.

"Yes, I know what you mean." agreed Donna. "I felt it there on the night that I was there with you."

"I think it wants us to be together." suggested Stan. "I think the spirit is trying to tell us that you and I are meant to be."

Donna momentarily recalled the night that she stood with her back against the tree while feeling like a goddess who had materialized on Earth to grace a mortal the privilege of kissing her. She wondered if this spirit had consumed her in those moments. It was frightening to consider because such an occurrence could very well hint to possession. But it was equally fascinating; so fascinating that she announced, "I want to go back there, Stan.”

"I don't think we can." answered Stan. "At least for tonight... at least until spring when the snow melts. They plow the parking lot whenever it snows, but I doubt they plow the trail."

"In the spring can we go back?" nearly begged Donna.

"Yes, of course." reassured Stan. "And when we get there, we should probably do something special; some sort of tradition that would make it officially ours. Whenever we go there, it would forever be considered our place."

Donna cuddled closer to Stan. She couldn't wait to return to the valley.

***

Stan had a very cyclical nature to him. In late summer and throughout autumn he would experience those morbid fetishes which wouldn't subside until around late November. Then, come early spring, he suffered from what modern day psychologists would identify as neurosis. This is simply an unusual frequency of heavy emotions. For Stan these emotions ranged anywhere from sadness to anger to jealousy to an unfounded mistrust of people. In that particular spring of 1965, Stan was in his relationship with Donna. It was his first love, and he wasn't exactly prepared for challenges.

"We've had a lot of melting of snow this past week." said Stan to Donna on a late Saturday night after picking her up under the usual protocol. "And I know you want to visit the valley in the woods."

Donna shrugged her shoulders. "Sure..."

Stan could sense that there was something wrong, something troubling Donna.

"What's wrong?" probed Stan.

"Oh nothing..." answered Donna. Then she sighed.

Stan insisted, "Oh, come-on. I know there is something bothering you."

"I got a letter from Fredrick." finally answered Donna.

"Yeah? What did he say?"

"Well, someone out there must have noticed us together and put two and two together. I don't know who did it, but someone wrote Fredrick a letter and told him that I might be cheating on him with you."

"What???" exclaimed Stan. "Do you have the letter? Can I see it?"

"No, I don't want to show you." answered Donna. "He wrote some personal things in there. But when talking about you and me, he said that he heard a crazy rumor that we were together. He reassured me that he doesn't believe the rumor, but was a bit bothered by it."

It was like glass shattering for Stan. That's the only way to describe what he felt in that moment. Since October—actually September—of last year he had fallen in love with Donna and felt like they were meant to be. Stan truly believed that the feeling was mutual between him and Donna, and that it would only be a matter of time before she forgot about Fredrick. But now she was showing rekindled feelings for Fredrick along with guilt for being unfaithful to him. Aside from that, Donna clearly had more loyalty to Fredrick with her refusal to show Stan the letter. Stan's voice turned low and almost lifeless at that moment. "Gee... I don't know what to say..." He continued driving and made his way to the Berry Bush Forest Preserve.

Now this particular night in 1965 was March 13th. The Moon was a waxing gibbous, and had set below the western horizon by the time Stan and Donna reached the forest preserve. Additionally, the sky was cloudy so that not even starlight could be seen. The woods, obviously, were very dark that night. But that wasn't what caused Donna to be initially resistant to exiting Stan's car. She sat there motionless in the passenger seat after Stan had turned the engine off.

Stan stared at her for a few seconds before asking, "Are we going?"

Donna hesitated. "I don't know if I should."

 BE SURE TO RETURN TOMORROW FOR MORE OF THIS WEEK’S NEW NOVELLA, THE DEAD FOREST!