The Order of the Trees (7 page)

Jimmy's black Camaro sat idling in the hospital turnaround. Unbelievable! The kid who was never on time for a class in his life was on time for the getaway. Maybe he knew a serious situation when he heard one.

Phillip opened the door and got in the back seat.

“Everything all right dude?”

Phillip pushed his glasses up on his nose. “No. My friend should be out here any minute. We got separated.”

“Okay,” Jimmy eyed him in the rearview mirror and whistled, “Man, what have you gotten yourself into?”

It was 12:04. Phillip watched in pain as the minutes went by. Jimmy sighed a few times and turned up the music. Phillip kept picturing them finding Cedar, and dragging her back to her room. Calling her parents, giving her medication to make her
sleepy and sedated. Taking the life right out of her. Tears sprouted in his eyes and he looked away from Jimmy. Maybe this was a colossal mistake. He could hear his heart hammering in his chest, pounding in his ears.

“Dude, I can't wait here all night.”

“Just a couple minutes, Jimmy, please. I'll give you more money.”

“How much?”

“Ten more bucks?” That's all Phillip had in his pocket.

Jimmy shrugged.

Just then the automatic double doors burst open, and there was Cedar, brown mane of hair flapping behind her. She was running, like a pale ghost in the dark night. Right behind her was the orange-lipsticked nurse, her bun coming undone, huffing after her. Phillip threw open the back door and Cedar dove in.

“GO! GO! GO!” Phillip yelled, pulling Cedar's door closed. She had flung herself across the back seat, and now lay there, eyes closed, breath rapidly rising and falling.

“Oh Jesus,” Jimmy said as they sped away from the nurse, who stood waving and yelling.

“Cedar, Cedar are you okay? I didn't know what to do back there. I wasn't sure if I should leave you or go back. I didn't want to blow your cover and I didn't know where you'd gone.”

“Dude, slow down, she's okay. Just give her a minute. I can't believe you guys.” Jimmy shook his head. In all of his class-skipping days, he'd never had a getaway that close before.

Cedar's breathing slowed. Her skin was even paler then before, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead. “I'm okay,” she said, sitting up slightly. “I hid in a storage closet until those people went by. Once I was down in the lobby that lady started asking me questions and I just made a break for it.”

“You guys, the cops will be after you now. You better hope that you can do whatever it is you need to do before they find you.”

Phillip gulped. This was the voice of an expert. Of course the nurse would call the cops. Once they found Cedar's room empty, they'd have two runaway minors on the loose. And a witness to them actually leaving. Phillip's gut wrenched. What if the cops got
to them first? Would they go to jail? Would they send them off to juvenile boot camp school forever? Phillip tried to push these thoughts from his head as he looked back at Cedar.

She hunched there, her body worn, but her eyes were strong and as steady, like an ancient forest. She knew what they had to do. Of course. She was braver then he'd ever be.

Jimmy turned his lights off as they drove down Bear Swamp Road. He didn't want Phillip's or Cedar's family to see his car if they were awake and had already been called by the hospital. Phillip knew it wouldn't be long before they would figure out where they went. He just hoped that they could stage the protest for a little while before they hauled him off.

It was now after 1
A.M
. They had only six hours until Cedar's life, their future and the future of the Worcester Woods would be determined forever.

Jimmy opened the door to a symphony of night sounds. He leaned over and said, “Are you sure you guys will be all right?” He motioned into the deep woods. “Cuz it's really dark out there.”

“We'll be fine, Jimmy, thanks.”

“Okay. Good luck, dude.” Jimmy reached out and shook Phillip's hand. Phillip saw the surprise in Jimmy's eyes, the new respect he had for him.

The door pulled shut, and the Camaro's tires crunched slowly down the road. Phillip watched the taillights fade until they were down the hill and out of sight. Now they were in total darkness. Cedar's eyes were barely open, her presence seemed tiny and fragile. A sliver moon gave off the thinnest of light to see by.

They walked silently down the trail, Phillip feeling disconnected from his body. Once they were engulfed in the trees, and the moonlight did not reach
them, Phillip stopped and bent over his backpack. He pulled out a flashlight.

“No, Phillip.” Cedar's hand went to his. “We need our eyes to get used to the dark, for them to get adjusted, then we'll be fine. This way we'll be able to see more.”

“Are you crazy? Then anything can sneak up on us! A bear, a coyote.”

“Shhhh! Phillip, its okay. Nothing will hurt us out here, I promise. All the animals are well aware of our presence. They mean no harm and want to be left alone.” He nodded his okay.

Phillip walked ahead, crunching leaves under his feet. Noises ahead on the trail stopped as they neared. The chorus of crickets silenced as they walked by. Phillip's heart hammered against his chest. He tried not to turn around to check if anything was following them. The sliver of moon appeared over the trees. The temperature cooled, and Phillip realized the chattering he heard was coming from Cedar.

“Take my jacket. Why didn't you tell me you were cold?” He slid his fleece around her shoulders and felt her spine through her thin hospital gown.
He looked at Cedar, who was barely awake. Her long brown hair, matted and knotted, flew behind her. She walked in her hospital gown and now Phillip's thick fleece. Her long, deer-like legs were pale and smooth in the moonlight. It was amazing that this little person had so much strength, so much will. He flushed as he thought about her frail, beautiful body.

Before them rose Stella, the great Cedar, almost glowing in the moonlight. Cedar walked right over to her, to the curved roots that cradled her long ago, and lay down. Phillip followed, putting down his pack and taking out a sleeping bag and blankets he had packed. Cedar curled up in the blankets and leaned back. Her eyes closed immediately.

Phillip sat partially covered with the blanket. He didn't want to invade her space, but he was not comfortable at all. His mind raced with the possibilities of all the things that could be happening at this very moment. Police cars looking for them. Calls being made to their houses, their parents alarmed and worried. Phillip pushed his glasses up his nose, looking around. The trees stood silent, their orange ribbons bobbing gently in the night breeze. A stillness
settled around them, and he looked over at Cedar.

She lay curled on one side, her back cradled in the reaching, curving roots of Stella, the mighty Cedar. Her face looked almost translucent, glowing, and utterly peaceful. Her lips were curled up in a small smile, and she looked more at home and comfortable than Phillip had ever seen her. And more beautiful.

It was crazy, what they were doing, and he knew it. But deep down in his soul he knew it was the right thing to do. He couldn't explain why. It was like how you know when someone is looking at you, even before you see him or her. The plan
had
to work. He hadn't thought about what would happen if it didn't. If Cedar became gravely ill, or worse—he couldn't even begin to imagine.

He stared at her for a long time, before she sighed lightly and moved a bit. He jumped out of embarrassment and fright and nearly screamed. It took him several moments to recover his normal breathing. Even then, he never fully recovered. The woods were Cedar's home, not his. Sure, he learned to like it, but he didn't feel comfortable, or
safe, especially on this night when he knew many people would be looking for them soon.

Phillip looked around. The crescent moon provided just enough filtered, milky light to see the varying shapes of the reaching, towering trees around them. From the ground the branches hung over them like a maze, and stars peeked through the holes, twinkling. The trees, Phillip had learned, were sugar maples, cedars, white pines, beech and birch, and were all valuable for their wood.

But their value was so much more than that.

As he watched her sleep, he knew that these trees were worth everything he and Cedar had done. They'd given oxygen, homes to animals, life to the forest, and to Cedar. Their value was so much greater than a mere dollar amount. Phillip had learned that a Cedar tree, in Latin, means “tree of life.” This was certainly true for Cedar. Not just that, but Cedars had been used for centuries for the medicinal properties of their sap, bark and twigs. This tree, all trees really, held magic, medicine, and life. How could he explain this? How would anyone ever understand?

Would anyone come?

He had sent emails to every TV station for miles around, to every student at Chester school, even to local politicians whom he found on the Internet. What if they all laughed it off as some stupid kids acting out a fantasy they created? What then?

Phillip's stomach rumbled loudly. He hadn't been able to eat anything at dinner, and now he felt intermittently hungry and nauseous. He dug around as quietly as he could in his pack, searching for some forgotten snack, a crushed-up energy bar, crackers, something.

And that's when he heard it.

A squeal and a yip pierced the night, shooting fear like an electric shock throughout Phillip's body. From deep in the woods came more yips, squeals, and then eventually, a howl.

They weren't alone.

While Cedar snoozed on, serenely tucked into her birth tree, Phillip thought his heart would burst. He popped up, squinting into the cool night. Of course he could see nothing. Even with his headlamp, the beam didn't go far very into the night. Only a few feet of forest floor were illuminated.

Coyotes. Would they come for him? For Cedar? He shivered, gulped.

But then he turned and looked back at Cedar. She was almost glowing under the soft moonlight, tucked in around her tree. So comfortable. So trusting.

She had said that the animals knew when humans
are present—all the time. They are more scared of us then we are of them. Right now, he wasn't so sure about that. He walked back over and sat right next to Cedar. As he heard more yips and howls he sunk in next to her, trying to slow his breathing. They were together, in these woods tonight. He never thought he could do anything like he did that day. No one could take this away, no matter what.

At any moment, they could be coming for them. Police, doctors, their parents, or teachers. As the howls in the distance called on, Phillip just tried to listen. They were electric, alive, fierce. Just as he was on this night. Every cell of him felt awake, open, waiting.

He reached over and took Cedar's hand. He wouldn't sleep. He wanted to be ready for what happened next. The fall night danced around him—cool, crisp air, owls calling, coyotes in the distance. And he was a part of it.

Sometime in between the worlds of day and night—the gray time when shapes move from behind shadows, Phillip fell asleep.

That is, until leaves crunched and a twig snapped. Someone was coming. And both Cedar and Phillip slept sweetly under Stella, barely visible in the grey and dawning light.

Phillip's eyes popped open, his brain trying to clear the fog of sleep and see in the veiled dawn light. Feet on leaves, moving closer.

Phillip jumped to his feet. He had an urge to run and hide, but as he looked at Cedar, still fast asleep, he knew he could not leave her. He needed to face what was coming.

Then he wanted to fight. For some reason, each cell in his being wanted to run up and tackle whoever was coming closer. Just knock him or her right over, and show who was boss.

He shook his head. That didn't make any sense. So he crouched, and waited as the light leaked brighter by the second.

A shrugging silhouette appeared, looking not much larger than Phillip. And as he approached, a digital light glowed, showing some of his face.

Phillip relaxed back into the tree. Not an enemy. Not at all.

“Dude. That is one beautiful tree,” he whispered as he approached, awestruck.

His classmate Dan Bloom had showed up. And he was taking streaming video.

While Cedar slept, Dan interviewed Phillip about the forest, about Cedar, The Order, and the development. Phillip didn't hold anything back. In the morning light, he told Dan everything that had happened, about their harrowing escape, and about how Cedar looked so much healthier now that she was home with her tree—and that they had to save this very forest to keep her alive.

Dan sat down afterward and Cedar slowly came to. She rubbed her eyes, and even though she had been so sick, her light was back, and the blistering intensity of her eyes shined on Dan and Phillip seated under Stella.

“How are you feeling?” Phillip asked, eyebrows pinched together in concern.

“So much better here. Thank you, Phillip,” she looked toward Dan, “and welcome to my home,
Dan, so glad you could make it. You may very well be the only other member of our protest.”

“Oh, I don't think so,” Dan said, smirking.

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the little red light recording Cedar's awakening, her giant eyes shining.

“The world knows you now. Or they soon will.”

Dan clicked on his laptop in the morning light.

He was busy writing a blog post all about the morning: biking to the trailhead, finding Cedar and Phillip in the dawn, learning about the Order, about Cedar's connection and how it was linked to the development. In a few minutes, it was live, online, with embedded video.

“What happens now?” Phillip asked.