The Forest God
An original cli-fi horror story
Editor’s note: In honor of Earth Day, I issued a challenge in this week’s Macabre Monday newsletter for readers to share their best climate fiction (or cli-fi) horror tales. The story below is my own dark postcard fiction (250-word story) tale I created as part of that challenge.
All the trees and trails were an indistinguishable maze. Sticking near the river offered Colt his most realistic chance to make it back to civilization unscathed.
Churning and bubbling water echoed off the gorge walls. Hopefully, the extra noise would make finding him more difficult. The villagers warned him not to anger Tapio before he dismissed their tales of the forest god as pure nonsense.
“I don’t believe in fairy tales,” he scoffed.
Colt counted himself as a firm believer now.
Tapio singled him out as a trespasser who brought a bow and arrows where they didn't belong. An angry face with a lichen beard and moss eyebrows emerged from the trunk of a silver birch after he released his string.
“Your arrow took a life without my blessing,” Tapio said. “For this sin, you will never lay eyes on your own kind again.”
Colt fled one animal after another the forest god sent forth. Sweat drenched his clothes. His feet and knees ached. Still, he kept moving.
Maybe this was the punishment Tapio intended. Colt would collapse if he kept going at this pace much longer. He needed sleep, water, and food — life’s basic ingredients.
The river pressed southward toward the village. Colt did the same until lungs and legs both surrendered. He staggered to the nearest boulder and collapsed.
A doe and her fawn emerged from a thicket of trees. Two sets of dark eyes pierced him.
Colt never imagined this would be how he’d meet his end.
If you enjoyed this horror story, browse my other short stories in the Strange New Worlds archives. Please check out the Deer Falls horror series as well, available at Amazon and other major booksellers.
Please also help me create additional stories by leaving me a small tip.
I like it. I'm a big fan of short horror and this one pulls you in and runs with it.
The themes of this are dear to me <ahem>