The Early Morning Mists

It held there in the silence of the early morning mists, like some ghost of a wood, like some foggy silhouette of what it could become. The ground was wet and the grass, bracken and other scrubby plants hung heavy with moisture. It was as though the clouds had become too heavy with rain and had fallen from the sky to cover everything. The air itself seemed heavy with moisture and a cold damp smell that made breathing seem difficult.

There was no birdsong, no sounds of animals in the distance and no rustles in the undergrowth as we made our way towards the woods. The silence seemed heavy too.

The first few trees emerged from the grey gloom with a suddenness that took us by surprise. One moment, one step, and there was nothing but a darker grey mass amongst the greyness. The next moment, the next step, there were the black trunks of the first trees, their branches weighed down with the weight of the rain heavy on their leaves.

The path curled towards and into those trees, into the mystery of the mists. There was a sudden hesitance to our step. We knew that if anything were to happen, it would be amongst those trees. Who knew what lurked and waited there? It could be anything from savage beasts to villains to... to... anything, anything at all.

We hesitated, looked at each other and felt for the comfort of our weapons. They did not reassure all that much. We knew the old stories and we'd heard the traveller’s tales of what could lurk, awaiting the unwary traveller, some of which would be beyond the power of mere mortal weapons, creatures that could do far more than just wound, maim and kill.

However, we knew what was behind us, on our trail, and what would happen when they caught up with us. We could not delay. No matter what lay in wait for us, we knew that what lay behind us, racing to catch up with us, would be just as bad, if not worse than anything lurking in those misty woods.

We had to go on.