D. MacHale: The Reality Bug

I passed by the hole that led down to the flume and continued crawling with one hand out in front in case I hit a dead end. But that dead end never came. I kept crawling deeper and deeper into the tree. What I first thought was a small space was actually a tunnel that brought me into the very core of this behemoth tree. As I crawled along I saw that it was actually getting lighter. Of course that didn’t make sense, but when did something silly like “making sense” matter? I soon felt confidant enough that I no longer held my hand out in front of me. Up ahead, I saw light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. I hadn’t been crawling for that long, so there was no way I had gone all the way through to the other side of the tree. It was way too big for that. But I didn’t stop to wonder what to expect, I’d see for myself soon enough.

When I reached the mouth of the tunnel, I crawled out and stood up to view an incredible sight. The tree was hollow. Or at least, this part of it was. I found myself in a huge space that had been carved out of the core of the immense tree. I was kidding before about being able to live in this tree along with cookie-making elves, but this room proved it was possible. The walls were made of, well, wood. Duh. Light came in through cracks that ran up and down and all around, like veins. I’m not sure if the hollowing-out was natural or done by hand. If it was by hand, then it had to have been done a long time ago because everything looked aged, with bits of green moss growing everywhere. Looking straight up was like looking into the mouth of the flume. It disappeared into blackness. There was no ceiling. For all I knew, this tree was hollow all the way to the top. I saw multiple levels and ledges that led to other tunnels, like the one I just crawled out of. I wasn’t sure how you got from one level to the next. I suppose you could climb the vines that clung to the walls, but that would be tough for anybody but Spiderman.

Now that I was safe from the quig outside, I began to wonder who the people of Eelong were. By the look of that hairy guy who poked his head out of the hole, they didn’t exactly seem to be a race of advanced mathematicians. I figured they were a primitive, tribal society who lived in these incredible trees. If they were more advanced than that, they certainly didn’t prove it with the clothes they made. Besides, I had yet to see any sign of tools or buildings or anything else you’d expect to see from a society that had advanced beyond the stone age. I was beginning to think I would have to deal with cavemen. Or tree-men.

“Hello?” I called out, my voice echoing. “Anybody here?” All I got back was the gentle groaning of the tree. I glanced around, trying to figure out which tunnel I’d take to find another way out… when I was shoved from behind with such force, it nearly knocked me off my feet.

I spun around quickly and came face-to-face with the guy who had peeked out of the hole before. He was short, probably no more than five feet tall. His hair was long and tangled. So was his beard. In fact, I think his head hair was tangled up in his beard hair-not a good look. His skin was white and filthy, and he wore the same kind of rags that I did. The guy was crouched down low and breathing heavily. A line of drool ran from his mouth and down his gnarly beard. He may have looked human, but he was acting more like a wild animal.

“H-hello,” I said, trying to calm him. I held my hand out the way you hold your hand out to a dog when you want to show you’re not a threat. “My name is…”

Before I could say another word, my arm was grabbed and yanked to the side. I looked in surprise to see that a vine had been thrown around my arm like a lasso. Holding the other end was another person, looking just as hairy and gnarly as the first. I opened my mouth to say something, when another lasso of vine was thrown around my shoulders from behind. It pulled snug around me, locking my arms into my sides. I looked back to see a third guy yanking it tight. Another vine whipped around my ankles. This one was pulled so hard, it yanked my feet out from under me. I hit the ground, the wind knocked out of me.

“Wait… wait…” I gasped, trying to get air. I wanted to use my powers of Traveler mind-persuasion, but things were happening so fast, I couldn’t think straight. “I’m a friend!” was all I could get out. I know, not exactly convincing, but what else could I say? A second later it didn’t matter because one of the guys leapt at me and jammed a fistful of cloth into my mouth, making me gag. Not good. I didn’t think any of these dudes knew the Heimlich maneuver. I figured they must have seen me as a threat. An invader. I needed to show them I meant no harm, because they seemed ready to put some serious hurt on me.

The guy who jammed the cloth in my mouth sat on my chest, staring down at me. I was pinned, unable to move. I looked up into his eyes, and saw something that made any hope I had of reasoning with these people fly out the window. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but I didn’t. Now it was too late. The lizard-beast that attacked me outside may have been deadly. It may have been trying to eat me. But there was one thing that it wasn’t. Its eyes should have told me. Its eyes were red. Quigs didn’t have red eyes. Quigs had yellow eyes. And as I looked up at the guy who was sitting on my chest, I saw that his eyes were yellow. And vicious. He opened his mouth into a grotesque smile to reveal rows of sharp, bloodstained teeth. A thin line of drool ran down his lips and fell onto my cheek.

In that one instant, the horrible truth hit me: the quigs on Eelong were human.