Chapter Six

"I thought it was obvious," Lilibeth said as she kept her files in her bag. With one sweeping look at her arranged office table she grabbed her bag with her left hand, hoisted it up on her shoulder, and walked out, closing the door behind her. She waved at a teacher who waved back in reply and she walked out of the premises.

"Lily, you aren't taking this stuff as seriously as you need to." Said the person at the other end of the receiver.

"I am taking it seriously Marcus that's why I told you about it." She said as she got into her car and closed the door. She winded down and relaxed on the driver's seat with a sigh.

"You should be apprehensive, after all, you don't know this woman," Marcus said. He was probably the only one worried.

Lily rubbed her face and said, "Marcus, I don't know who that woman is or why she said such to me but believe me if things get serious, I'll be out of here on the first flight before you even realize."

There was nothing much holding her back, her students were in their final semester and she can easily find a job as a teacher in another university and even if she didn't want to, she can take a long leave during the school's vacation and travel, maybe go visit her parents.

Marcus easily understood her line of thought, "Lily, I don't even know what to say to you but stay safe, please. Keep your doors and windows locked and avoid going out at night.

Keep your phone close by and turned on at all times, any slight suspicious and you call me or the police," he cautioned worriedly "okay?"

Lily sighed," I will do as you've said, Marcus, I'll be fine. Don't worry too much." she said to him.

" Don't use the phone while driving and when you alight, let me know you got home safely."Marcus exhorted softly.

"I will" Lily answered as she started the ignition. She ended the call and tossed the phone to the passenger seat.

She had easily been scared when she was threatened by that woman some days back but the fear had ebbed and she had tossed it to the back of her mind. Furthermore, she had spoken to her friend, Marcus who had assured her and told her to file a report. After thinking it through, she was very sure she didn't have anything that will interest anybody and surely didn't want to live in fear because of anyone.

*

Loud whistling sounds reverberated in the thick darkness. The sound echoed together cultivating an eerie atmosphere. Large trees encircled the area making it impossible for even a little moonlight to shine through and causing the temperature to drop which rose goosebumps across the skin.

Fidal footed the wet soil in careful and heavy steps as the soil constantly gave way and her legs sank underneath. With a quiet huff, she hoisted her right leg over a large fallen tree and used it to support herself as she climbed atop it. The soil gave way and her footprints appeared but they barely lasted a minute as the soil swamped back and flattened. She looked at the thick forest in Infront of her with a confused expression. Her brows were crinkled. It was impossible to see the other end as vast darkness spread through and the trees although still standing were brown and dead looking.

From her cloth, she pulled out a circular gold necklace that had four glowing green stones inside which indicated the four cardinal points. The green stone in front glowed white in direction of the north but only an endless expanse of trees, wet soil, and darkness span through. she climbed down from the fallen tree carefully and the soil rapidly gave in, almost reaching her knee.

"The dead trees are as they are called, they are trees which no longer hold spirit essence and are being held onto the land by the wet soil to serve as cover to protect the whisperers from the prying eyes of people and other creatures." Barrie had said to her before she left.

The mission was comprehensive, she needed to find the spirit lantern which was one of the most cherished treasures of the whisperers.

The lantern held part of a broken orb which she needed to get a hold of and make her way out without getting caught.

Fidal took in a deep breath and controlled her heartbeat as the dead trees stretched out their roots. Branches coiled themselves around her hands and legs, drawing her into them. keep calm and hold your breath she repeated in her head she was swallowed by the tree and the stench of decay assaulted her sense of smell. Before she could adapt, she felt herself falling and her heart dropped as she landed on dry leaves with a thud. She winced at the sound, so much for being stealthy.

She got on her feet, pulled a mask over her face, and looked around. The land was quiet and barren, devoid of any life, except for the presence of wet moldy wooden boxes placed haphazardly in different areas. She knew enough to not open any of the boxes or knock over them as she walked quietly. The whisperers lived inside them. They liked their dwelling cold and dark and the stench of decay was welcome to them.

The whisperers were spirits who preferred the dark and stayed hidden. They were migrators who fed on the spirit essence of trees and anything with life, leaving it in decay before moving on. There was nothing more appealing to them than the face of death lingering around their victims and their greed was insurmountable.

The idea of a spirit lantern to them was somewhere they could store all the excess souls they've harnessed for later consumption.

Barrie had told her to search for a tree and Fidal felt she's been walking around for a while without coming in contact with a tree.

Instead, she found a small pond of water. She sighed from under her mask as she stretched out her hand to touch the pond. Her hand felt weird and she pulled it out instantly only to realize it was dry.

She looked at her dry hand and then back at the pond, it was unusual. After a minute, it dawned on her, that it wasn't water, it was a protective barrier in the form of water. Without hesitation, she lowered herself and slipped into the barrier. She felt like the world turned upside down as she landed on dry ground with her feet. she stabilized herself and looked around.

A huge tree stood with crystals hanging on it from every stretched-out branch. The tree was shining with crystals and each had either black, white, or grey colors.

The black crystals were the souls of adults. They either suffered accidents, misfortune, or illness which attracted the whisperers to them and finally led to their deaths.

The white crystals contained the souls of children who died early for some reason or another and the grey crystals contained the souls of old people.

The spirit lantern she wanted was right in the middle of the tree. With measured breathing, she walked towards it avoiding the souls as they carried memories of the life they'd lived. She rubbed the top of the lantern and warm heat ran through her body as her hand dug in and she clasped the piece of orb before pulling it out.

She examined the orb, it was dull in color and only a part of a whole. She carefully wrapped it and kept it in the small sling bag she came with.

A loud ear-piercing whistle suddenly rang and caused the crystals to shake. She covered her ears at the sharpness of the sound and turned, her eyes widened, rows of whisperers, surrounding her and preventing escape.

"Well Shit" she muttered at her situation.