Forest Guardians Chronicles: A Matter of Humanity by Beth Roose (smart ebook reader TXT) 📗

members: Tas and Vue. Both had their lips curled over their sharp teeth and their stance was ready to pounce. Instantly, the hair on her arms stood up and goosebumps appeared all over her body. She peered back down at Bitty, attempting to hide her confusion at the Hairy Men’s response, and told her how much she missed her. Trying to keep her eyes on the questionable tribesmen, Bev gave a quick glance up at Vue and Tas. Both had ugly snarls and were emitting low grumbles. She knew she had better say goodbye to Bitty for now, sensing that the danger being displayed was not something she could negotiate with. “What was their deal?” she wondered to herself. She had never been greeted by the Hairy Tribe this way.

Tas stepped closer to the log and tugged aggressively on Bitty’s arm. “Let’s go,” said Tas, more firmly than usual. Bitty, ignorant of the current situation, waved goodbye at Bev as the two men pulled her away. Tas, Vue and Bitty grabbed the four bushels of corn silk and vanished into the forest. Bev turned and walked towards the edge of the clearing, very confused at the recent events. She wondered what that whole thing was all about. Why would they snarl at her? Had she done something wrong? She would need to address this with Cleg.

***

Cleg told the tribe that they would need more bamboo platforms for the food storage caves. He sent everyone except Tas and Vue to collect more material for the food caves. “Stay,” Cleg commanded to the pair, “I have something else for you two to do.” He cleared his throat and addressed the men, “Tas and Vue, we need to chat.” Cleg stood very still, waiting as both men made their way across the clearing. Arriving in front of his feet, wide-eyed and concerned, Tas and Vue knew that they were in trouble. Cleg continued, “I spoke with my dear friend Bev today as I picked up more corn silk for the shelters.” He paused, radiating a stare that even the strongest of the Hairy Tribe members would cower under. “Anything you need to tell me?” Cleg peered back and forth between the two nervous hairy men.

Suddenly, Tas lurched forward, letting out a very loud infrasound scream, threatening Cleg. The Hairy Tribe leader grabbed Tas’ neck, restraining the crazed beast instantly. Vue decided to stay back, slowly making his way to the edge of the meadow clearing. Cleg let out a roar of anger that could be heard across the entire Cuyahoga Valley. Bev, hearing the screams echo through the entire town, sat up in bed quickly, startled by the ruckus. She gazed over at the clock and it was only 9:30 at night. She thought about getting dressed; however, she decided that it would not be a good idea to go out this late, especially after the angry encounter with the two Bigfoot’s earlier in the day.

The tribe members ran urgently to the clearing and were greeted by a blur of wrestling fur and ferocious growling. The roars vibrated through the thick trees and the thuds of bodily contact to the earth shook the dirt floor vigorously. Zonga, wide-eyed and startled by the sight in front of him, knew something bad had happened and did the only thing he knew to do. He retrieved a glowing silver arrow from his quill and shot it into the air, summoning Princess Celia, the guardian of all of the forests.  As the arrow flew into the starry night sky, Princess Celia instantly appeared in her famous beam of light, bringing not only herself, but her father, Zeus, the great Titan of the sky. Zeus aggressively threw a bolt of lightning into the night sky, knocking Cleg and Tas apart, sending them flying in opposite directions. Tas collided with a giant, prickly pine tree and Cleg, lucky as can be, landed firmly on his feet at the edge of the clearing, appearing unscathed from the powerful bolt of lightning. A frightening scream came out of Cleg’s mouth, followed by an infrasound roar.

Princess Celia bravely stood in the center of the Clearing holding her light scepter high in the air. She spoke in a rage, “Hairy Tribe of the Forest! Stop everything you are doing this instant and gather at the center of the clearing.” The princess wore an expression of disgust as the tribe members gathered in a huddle. Cleg, taking no notice of the infuriated Princess, moved boldly into the center of the clearing, staking his claim as tribe leader. Tas, still recovering from his collision with the tree, got up and glared at Cleg with contempt. Suddenly, Tas took off running, with Vue following closely behind him. The escape did not go unnoticed by the princess, but she knew it was best for the fighting culprits to get as much distance between them as possible.

“Princess Celia,” Cleg began to speak, “I am ashamed of myself. We acted like animals.” The princess gave her most knee-knocking glare to the Hairy Tribe leader.

She spoke in a scarily quiet voice, “There is just no excuse for not working through disagreements in a civil manner.” Cleg was chastened by the princess.

Finally, relieving some tension from the situation at hand, Zeus chimed in. “Cleg, do you know what bothered Tas and Vue to warrant such reactions?”

Cleg sighed and ran his giant hand over his fur covered face. “I believe it has to do with the closeness of the humans to the tribal territory. Tas and Vue have displayed a great dislike toward humans, and I fear we may have a big issue brewing. I did not see this challenge coming from them; but I assure you, there is trouble on the horizon.”

The Princess and Zeus took this new piece of information into consideration. If the Hairy Tribe and the humans could not co-exist, then what would happen? Cleg was right, there was danger ahead, and it needed to be quelled rather