Short Story & Art by Phil H.
The Fruitless Escape:
A Garret Gray Adventure
Garret Gray sprinted as fast as he could. Branches and vines tore at his arms and face. There was no time to slow down, let alone worry about scratches. He wasn't as young as he'd once been, but he was still fit and fairly agile. However, all the agility in the world wouldn't save him from the pursuing monster if he didn't find the exit to the clearing soon.
"This was such a bad decision." Garret muttered through his labored breathing.
A terrifying howl pierced the dark forest behind him. Garret turned his head ever so slightly to look and that was all it took. His foot caught a tangle of vines, and he went down. He tumbled and rolled before coming to an abrupt stop against a tree.
Garret shook his head then pulled himself up. He knew this was going to hurt later. If there was a later. He started to run but realized he'd dropped the No Fruit he'd been carrying. It was the entire reason he was here and running for his life.
He knew when he was hired to retrieve a single No Fruit from the dark forest it would be tough, but when the client told him how much he was willing to pay, then he knew it could be deadly. In the end if he was going to pay rent and buy food, he didn't have much choice. So now here he was, exhausted, hurting, and fruitless.
After urgently searching, he found the round purple fruit and snatched it up. There was a crashing of branches close by, but he didn't bother looking. He sprinted off even faster than before.
Relief flooded into him as he saw a hint of light ahead. "Oh, thank goodness!" he cried out. The sunlight was streaming through a large opening in the forest.
He smiled as he neared it because he knew the monster wouldn't follow into the sunlight. Then just as he was about to exit into the bright opening, he felt something grab hold of his cloak. It was enough to send him crashing down again. This time he tumbled and came to stop lying flat on his back, staring up at the bright sun. He slowly climbed back to his feet and turned around to see a large wolf-like monster standing just inside the dark forest.
"Nice try!" He shouted while raising his hand to wave goodbye. It was then he realized the No Fruit was gone. He desperately began looking around for it. With his eyes he followed the trail of trampled undergrowth from where he'd laid, back to the dark forest.
The monster growled and raised his lips in a snarl. It was then Garret saw it. The No Fruit was clenched between the creature's sharp teeth. It almost looked as if it was laughing at him.
Garret pointed at the creature and shouted. "Now wait just a minute. That's my rent and food for the next month!" With a snort the monster turned and disappeared back into the darkness.
"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." Garret shook his head as he spoke. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of paper. He gently unfolded it, then stared at it intently. After concentrating deeply he smiled as he spoke, "Here goes nothing.". Then he vanished. All that was left was the piece of paper slowly floating to the ground.
The End… for now.
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