#23 Swing Thing

Edward loved this spot. From atop the ridge he could follow the line of mountains until they disappeared into the horizon. Living and working in the rugged conditions didn't suit all men. Men like Edward were rare, indeed.

When he was young, Edward had to be dragged from the deep woods by his family. Parents, grandparents and siblings lived all under on roof in the forest village. Edward preferred talking to the trees and animals to anyone in the house.

So when he turned eighteen, his father held up his promise and brought him to the lumber mill. There they gave him the names of three different timber men that Edward could apprentice under and later become a lumberjack.

A man named Hendelsen hired Edward. He thought he might be a little thick but he was strong enough and half as young as the rest of his men..

"You know he'll sign waivers about injuries and death and such?" He said to Edward's father. He's responsible for his own medical aside from whatever first aid I can manage."
Edward thanked God that his mother hadn't come along. She'd never have let him go.

Twelve years passed. Edward enjoyed working with timber.The saws. The men who preferred solitude and some element of danger. The scenic vistas where they worked provided the most joy for him. Edward couldn't be happy anywhere than in these mountains unless he was in some other mountains that reminded him of these.

Then came the day it all changed. It started quietly at first. Edward thought he heard a ringing in his ears. The longer it persisted the louder it became. Until suddenly it was deafening. He tried to drown it out by starting his chainsaw and went to work on a fallen tree. He hoped to drown out the screaming in his head.

It didn't help. The wailing only intensified.

He silenced his chainsaw, lowering it to the ground. "Maybe that will clear it now," he thought while rubbing his temples. He stopped moving about and rubbed his temples.

The words. He could make them out now.It was the trees! They were rebelling against the cutting. Screaming out in their moment of grief. How come he never heard them before now? Behind him, the sound of grinding and crashing through the forest forced him to turn.

What he faced was impossible. A hallucination. Trees didn't walk! Or carry their own axes!