DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
A Sexual Adventure in a Fantasy World
Chapter VII -- Losing Substance and Gaining Data
Scarlet was full of energy, a bit hungry, but still feeling good. Even if the trees and undergrowth were relentless and never-ending, the path was somehow easy to navigate. The forest was not a dreadful place, certainly not tropical, being only a tad too warm and moist but not overly hot, sticky wet, and there were no biting insects. Perhaps if they were in the sun, it would be hot, but the shade of the forest was perennial. It might have felt oppressive if it had not been for the strangeness and the sensory overload. She had to work even to begin to comprehend what she was seeing.
The vast greenness was Amazon-like, except there were many more multi-colored flowers in the undergrowth and hanging from the trees. The strangest sight was the bizarre fungi, large and small, and in as many colors as the flowers, including bright blue. Every once and a while, they would come across a mushroom the size of a recliner, and once in the distance, they saw one that looked to be ten feet tall. Ferns and large asparagus-like plants, a few taller than Alan, took up much of the space in the undergrowth not occupied by mushrooms and trees. The place smelled of an earthy floral forest--a mixture of tree and decaying vegetation with various floral scents sprinkled in. The smell was the most familiar aspect of the place and was quite pleasant. The sounds were similar to places she had been, but the specific sources were unrecognizable. Abundant insects and birds, none of which were readily identifiable, were suspects, but perhaps there were unseen amphibians and reptiles that contributed to the cacophony.
The general terrain was hilly and hummocky, and they seemed to be gently gaining elevation while passing between rises. They had come across springs along the path and had risked drinking from them without ill effect. It was like the path was routed to provide travelers with fresh water. Food was another story. They had yet to risk eating any of the plentiful fruits and berries they had come across, and none of the mushrooms were recognizable.
Botany was something she had a rudimentary knowledge of, having taken a couple of classes; it was helpful during her Ph.D. when studying the foraging habits of ancient hominids. At that moment, Scarlet wished that it had been a larger part of her curriculum. Although she doubted that in this strange place, it would have provided her with any more certainty as to what was safe to eat and what was not. Only Nicolet recently had introductory botany and was a little more conversant on the subject. Perhaps it was just as well. If they had a botanist with them, they would be stopping to examine every new plant. As it was, they were pausing way too often to gawk at their surroundings.
During a couple of their breaks, she examined the pillars that marked the trail. Most were so encased in moss that little detail could be made out, but sometimes, the moss would peel off with a tug. Underneath were carved symbols that were unlike anything she had seen before, modern or ancient. Surely, they were distance markers or had information about the path's route, but they meant nothing to her or Alan. Nonetheless, if it were not for the path lined by the pillars, travel through the forest would have been vexing. The path was not well-traveled and was only defined by the pillars spaced every few hundred feet and a tread of spongy green vegetation. Walking was easy on their feet, but the slight sponginess was a bit like sand, and the others complained of the extra exercise. She was the only one without sore calves and who was completely enjoying the trek along the mysterious path.
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They spent the night in a wide spot along the path and woke hungry and stiff, and Alan still felt like he was in a dream; he hoped it wasn't a nightmare. They had walked miles the previous day with no signs of people; the identically shaped, eight-foot-high pillars were the only sign of any intelligent beings in the forest. While it was fascinating at first, the strangeness of the forest was becoming tedious. He would welcome a change. One change he didn't want to see was any predators. So far, they had only seen up to rat-sized animals. Like everything else, some of these were strange, but others just looked like rats. That certainly had not made it any easier to sleep on the ground without protection from the creepy crawlies.
Fifty feet down the trail, Sean said, "Hmm, guys. Are we going the right way?"
"Of course we are," said Scarlet. "It's the only way, the path that follows the pillars."
"How do you know?" asked Alan, now understanding the reason for Sean's question, suddenly feeling disoriented. Something a caver did not often feel. "Are we going in the right direction? I seem to remember that you and I went off the right side of the trail and Sean and Nicolet to the left. From our perspective, facing the trail, we arrived from the right and just now started on the trail again and went left. I'm only about sixty percent sure that is correct, however."
"That feels like we went the right direction," said Nicolet, "but I'm not positive."
"It's all just so much the same," said Alan. "I feel like we are going the way we came from, but for no good reason, and I would hate to end up where we started. Do you have a particular reason for the direction you chose when you started off, Scarlet?"
"It feels right. We had just passed a pillar before we stopped and shouldn't pass one again for a little ways. If we pass one just up here, we could be going in the wrong direction, I guess."
"There is no certainty in that. Ever since we left the cave, the spacing has been irregular. Generally, they have become less frequent further away from the cave, but every once in a while, there are two relatively close together."
"I stand by the direction I choose," said Scarlet, "and I don't think we should turn around."
"I don't either," replied Alan, "but from now on, we should make an arrow out of sticks or something before we bed down."
For miles, Alan was bothered by the lack of confirmation that they had gone in the right direction and were not backtracking. His gut told him it was the right direction, but his analytical mind lacked data and verification. The only clue was the absence of the pillar close to where they had slept--the pillar that only Scarlet remembered passing by.
When they had passed one of the pillars, Scarlet was reasonably sure it was not the same one. Soon, they passed another, then another. Finally, the pillars led them to something new. Alan's uneasy feeling they would find some sign that they had retraced their steps vanquished, but it bothered him that they had gotten turned around.
Now, the new terrain he faced presented a new problem. The way forward was not clear. The path looked like it ended at a barrier of some new kind of plant that formed a dense hedge. On closer inspection, there was a gap where the path should be. And through an opening in the wall of brush, they saw a meadow. The brush was stiff, with sharp, grabby twigs covered in small leaves and small, nondescript flowers. They pushed through a gap into the unimpeded sunshine. It was the first time they had a clear view of the sky, and the light and warmth were welcome.
For Alan and Scarlet, cavers through and through, the forest had not been that different from an environment they were accustomed to. Nicolet, however, was used to wide open spaces of the Great Plains, and the meadow was wonderful. The feeling of being submerged was gone, and her mood lightened. Breathing in, she pulled in the energy of the place and looked around at the sky and the life around her. On closer inspection, however, the meadow was as strange as the forest.
The sun was wrong, too big, maybe not quite the right color, perhaps a little too red, she wasn't sure. Like so many places they had seen, the meadow was full of flowers, unlike any she knew. Nor did any of the others recognize them when she asked. In general, they were knee-high or taller, and the colors were more pastel than those at home: light blues, pinks, whites, and light purple. The most recognizable plant looked like plain old grass. There were low grasses and tall, chest-high grasses that generally grew in clumps. The meadow was also full of strange birds, many of which flew like hummingbirds but were larger, and insects of all sizes. None of the insects bothered them; they were all too busy with the flowers. It was a strange sight, not right, but very beautiful.
