Into the Forest Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page B

as
to the direction. They headed towards the forest at an angle she
didn't like at all.
    The land dipped into a shallow valley, the
blue shimmer of a large lake in the distance. Nearby would be
Grandma's house. A transparent grasping tentacle of fog reached up,
dissipated into nothing as the shuttle flew through it.
    But the air held an odd quality. The very
seat she was sitting in felt different. Along the top edge of the
window portal a small filament of blue electricity danced along the
edge. Kate leaned as far away from it as possible. Blue arcs lit up
the computer panels at the front of the shuttle. One of the engines
coughed, going silent.
    Kate held her breath. Another engine cough
and the cabin filled with a high-pitched whine. The nose pitched
down.
    "We're going down!" Ayden shouted.
    The automated computer voice began reciting
emergency instructions. All items stowed, safety harnesses
tightened, emergency exits. It wasn't easy to hear over the
engines.
    Mixed in with the fear came anger. She didn't
like the idea of dropping out of the sky like a rock, especially
before she had a chance at Uncle Travis.
    Green and red leaves grew larger and brighter
as the shuttle descended. The next moment colors flashed past the
other side of the portal as they entered the forest canopy. Heavy
branches and limbs scraped at the side of the shuttle. The engines
screamed even louder.
    The sudden impact with the ground threw her
forward against the safety harness.
    The following silence made her ears ring.
Kate took a deep breath. She could breath. This was good.
    She slowly lifted her head. No pain there,
either. In fact no pain anywhere except her shoulders from the
harness.
    A familiar forest emerged from the other side
of the portal. Dirt and debris covered the forest floor up to the
nearest trees. Clods of soil hung in the fronds of giant ferns.
    Ayden partially turned in his seat. "Are you
all right?"
    Kate found her voice, "Yes, I'm fine."
    "Good, then get up." Ayden released his
harness and stood up. He reached up to the overhead bins to grab a
dark brown backpack. He swung the backpack onto his back and
clipped it tight at his waist, causing Bunbun to appear at his neck
above the top button.
    Kate unhooked the harness and let it retract
into the seat. She pulled the basket out from under the seat in
front of her. "Well, that was exciting. We should call in to tell
them we landed safely."
    "No electronics on this tub are working now.
Not after the fog," Ayden said.
    He went to the door and tried the panel. When
nothing happened he pulled open the manual release. The door didn't
open at his prodding. The cover to the manual release hit the other
side of the interior as he ripped it off.
    Kate stood up quickly as he yanked on the
hand-release, "What's the problem?"
    The door popped open. "Let's go."
    Kate eyed the forest beyond the door, it no
longer appearing familiar. The trees and colors were different than
Grandma's orchard and didn't look at all friendly. "Go where?"
    "We don't have time for this." Ayden took the
few steps towards her and grabbed her arm. Kate found herself
yanked down the aisle and dragged to the door.
    She jerked back, yanking her arm out of his
hand. "What do you think you are doing? The safest place to be is
with the shuttle!"
    "Not right now it isn't." Ayden regained
possession of her arm and dragged her out the door. The lack of a
ramp caused her to stumble several paces before regaining her
balance. He stopped, looking around. With a set expression he
turned away from the shuttle and walked quickly away, taking her
with him.
    Kate struggled to get her arm out of his iron
grasp, "You've gone crazy!"
    "And I'm not about to die because some city
girl doesn't know when to stop talking and to start listening!"
Ayden said, pulling her towards the trees.
    "If you haven't noticed, we're on the ground,
the engines are shut down. It isn't as if they are going to
explode."
    Ayden laughed, "You think I'm worried