The Ink Well Writing Prize | Transcendental Axe

Morning quietness stopped. Hopeless forest trembled once more when its enemy arrived early. Every step of the man on the dead leaves floor caused horror all around. He spitted, came closer and touched the only one remaining big orange tree in the forest and few birds flew away desperately towards sunlight. The feared woodcutter walked back to take his big axe out from his bag, but he saw a mysterious shining thing among the leaves. He first thought it was a piece of gold but after a sudden pinch in his neck, he realized it was just a orange-trap put by the most unexpected hunters ever.

The woodcutter had fallen into a child's trap and was now waking up in the dark in some unknown place. Several wild noises have been his alarm and he seemed to have woken up from a nightmare. Indeed, many fireflies began to flutter and the woodcutter could see all kinds of animals in the place. He tried to take his axe to attack, but there was nothing.

From one moment to the next, there was a subtle fluttering sound and a serious voice that said:

—Woodcutter Ludwig, you must collaborate with us.

Who the hell is there?—asked the ambushed man.

A round face with enormous eyes peeped out among the fluorescent fireflies. This animal twisted its neck slightly and said:

—We are the animals that have no home because of you and your people.

Ludwig was startled on the ground by an owl and after wearing his straw hat on again, he said:

—Venice no longer finds anything to put in my coffee. Blessed is the day I married her, Jesus.

The serious voice spoke again:

—Pay attention to us. Time is running out.

Ludwig stood up and said strongly:

—Ha! I don't listen to big-eyed big ugly birds like you.

So he wanted to get out of there through the half-light and the dancing fireflies. However, a pair of big legs slowed him down and returned him to where he was. Ludwig saw two huge brown bears guarding him and he was surprised. But even more astonishing was when two silver wolves came out of the group of animals. One of them said:

—Do you remember us? We fought once at the foot of the mountains.

Then the other wolf added:

—Your face says you do remember us. My brother's scar on his ear and mine on my muzzle were made with the same axe with which you have cut everything.

What do want from me, you two stinking dogs?— shouted Ludwig nervously.

The wolves answered in unison:

—All of us are at risk, including you, and that is why we need your help.

—Beasts, but if I've done so much damage, how can I help you? I don't think I'm useful. I'm leaving.

But Ludwig had taken no more than three steps, when a flock of crows started pecking him everywhere. So with his clothes full of holes, he began to hear:

—We need you because your daughter is about to destroy the last forest in existence, the Yellowrick Forest, our forest... and naturally, to destroy us, too.

My daughter? Naw, impossible. She left town years ago wanting to be... How do you say? Oh, yes, a conservationist. Impossible, I say.

Before this stubbornness, a very elegant fox jumped out from the wild crowd:

—Your daughter was so disappointed with you and those who claimed to be seeking the good of all, that she made the worst decision. She decided that if there is no future for her generation and the wild creatures, then there will be no future for anyone. She and her squad are destroying everything in their path.

Ludwig bowed his head. Then he looked at the fox and the other animals very strangely.

Aren't you making a fool of my old ugly beard?— asked the woodcutter.

The fox stood up and answered:

—No, sir. There is no need to play with our future. She is coming here soon and there will be nothing but confrontation.

—And what can I do, a poor woodcutter, now worse than a one-hundred years scarecrow?

The wolf brothers answered him:

—You are her father, her beloved father.

—You are the last hope to change the will of her heart.

Ludwig scratched his beard, as if considering the whole matter, and soon said:

—I am going to help. I reaaally will. I am going to find my foolish woodcutters peers to fight, but first give me my axe, you beasts.

This statement was a great joy to the animals. And it happened. A big explosion happened in the cave that everyone was in. A landslide was heard and the birds flew, the small rodents hid and the heavy mammals fell. A great commotion echoed in the place.

Ludwig stumbled upon every animal as he tried to escape. And, when he almost gave up, he saw little beams of light. Shortly after, the bisons, led by the fox, headbutted the rocks to clear away everything that was blocking the entrance of the cave.

The animals and Ludwig came out, of course, as if they had achieved a great victory. But this excitement turned off as soon as it turned on. Ten people, dressed all in black, pointed at the survivors with different types of weapons. Ludwig put his hands up and one of the ten people broke ranks, and at that moment said in a vengeful tone:

—So you were hiding here. It is time for you to say goodbye.

Ludwig pleaded:

—Naw, don't kill me. I don't know'em and they don't know me.

Then the fox replied:

—Treacherous woodcutter. They are your enemies, too. Moreover, the one who threatens us now is your daughter.

The leader of the group ignored this and proclaimed:

—We are the Regeneration Squad. Our mission? To make Earth an equal place for all. Fire!

Such a war cry not only provoked the action of her team, but also encouraged the stampede of all the animals still lying alive.

In a few seconds the surrounding snow turned red and countless wild and mechanical noises mixed together. The great bears fell and a couple of men also died. The moose and bisons served as shields for wild boars and intrepid coatis, while another of the squad withdrew one of their own from the battlefield. The euphoria went up and up and the leader of Regeneration wanted to unload all her anger. She then aimed at the man she saw crouching and shaking in the middle of the battle, pulled the trigger and when she was about to execute him, a camouflaged snow leopard jumped from nowhere and hit the Regeneration's leader armed arm. Her shot went into the snow that covered the mountain and caused a small avalanche to take place. Ludwig noticed this and ran as fast as he could, but he was eventually caught by the white wave.

Ludwig woke up agitated because he felt something in front of him and when he pulled his head out of the snow, he saw the one the animals said was his daughter, his beloved Abigail, who was now walking around without a ski mask and googles.

—Abi.. Abigail! Sweetie, is that you?

The muscular, angry-faced young woman heard these words as if she was in a dream.

Abigail, daughter, what have you become? Let me give you a hug— Ludwig begged, opening his arms.

But Abigail clasped her hand and punched her father in the nose before saying:

—You wretch! All you cared about was feeding your ego of being the best woodcutter ever. Neither the wildlife nor I mattered to you. Now don't come and make fun of me to my face.

Ludwig held his nose as if it would fall off. Still he said:

Listen, Abigail. I know I don't deserve you. I've been a horrible father. I am not asking you to forgive me, but I'm asking you to remember who you were and your true purpose.

You never paid any attention to me, how would you know who I am, you idiot?— she asked.

Look around you, daughter— Ludwig emphasized, death and despair. Nothing else. There is nothing to be proud of. Do not follow the example of those who have done you wrong. Rather follow the example of Nature.

—What are you talking about? Shut up, you sick old man!

These animals that now lie dead have sought me out to put a stop to you, to stop this nonsense that is cutting into your heart more and more. If you go on, there will be neither them nor you left—warned Ludwig.

Abigail was silent for the first time and Ludwig took the opportunity to take something out of his pocket. It was the shining orange that had been a trap before. He took it tightly and stretched out his arm to give it to Abigail:

—From this orange take out the seeds that will bloom in your li..

A dry sound interrupted the scene: a bullet pierced Ludwig's chest. It left him dead immediately.

Nooo!— Abigail shouted with tears in her eyes.

It was not she who fired, but one of her men. The leader realized this in no time and had no other reaction, but to shoot back at the one who killed his father and the rest of the squad. Some died there; others escaped.

Abigail stayed with her father, crying inconsolably. A light snowfall began to fall. The fox and the other few surviving wounded animals approached her to calm her sadness on that cold day.

***
Two days later, Ludwig's orange was shining on the table of Abigail's old house. There, her mother, Mrs. Venice, had received her and the animals advised her on how to recover the Yellowrick Forest and the other forests.

—Daughter, I love you so much. Your father would be proud to see you back to your conservationist side.

—I, the fox, in the name of the animal world, support you in order to recover our beloved world. All our skills at your disposal, you the last conservationist on Earth.

These words motivated Abigail. She took the orange and with her father's knife she cut it in half. Then from both portions she extracted the seeds that would later serve to water the life that so many spaces and species had long needed.

Declaration
I certify that my entry to the The Ink Well Writing Prize is my own original work and has been published exclusively to The Ink Well and my Hive profile. I understand that my entry may be excluded from the Writing Prize if I have not met the Rules of Entry and the Community Rules. The Ink Well and the Writing Prize is supported by the @ocd Communities Incubation Programme and the @curie curation initiative.