As she was lofted up, Nej screamed, and the rest of us answered with a piercing cry. We watched, stunned, as she floated up among the branches, paused for a moment, then spun around and flew off into the depths of the forest.
“Nej!” Nulla called, beginning to run after her as she disappeared into the trees. The rest of us followed.
But she was flying too fast and we couldn’t keep up. Her screams faded into the distance as we lost sight of her.
“Neeeeej!” Nulla called again, but she was gone.
So who’ll be next? Who’s next to die?
Whoever it is won’t simply fly.
This time’ll be slower, with lots more pain!
You’ll suffer and suffer, then you’ll perish in vain!
It was Adju’s turn to offer a tune, though she clearly had no more idea what she was singing than we’d had. Tears were running down her face, and perhaps she had simply opened her mouth to weep aloud and this hideous song came out.
Inte begged her to stop, but as the song came to an end she floated up into the air just as Nej had a moment ago. She let out a horrible scream and then, right before our eyes, the little bare legs dangling below Adju’s skirt were snapped off at the knees. Blood spurted out, drenching us as we stood looking up at her, and we scattered, our mouths gaping open in horror.
Adju’s body drifted up. We heard a few whimpering sounds and then it, too, soared off into the forest. This time, though, no one made a move to follow.
A plopping sound echoed behind us, and we turned to see Adju’s severed legs settling to earth; but strangely, horribly, they landed on their feet and stood planted together as though Adju were still with them. Then they began to run toward us.
We scattered again, terrified, but the legs seemed to have no interest in us, running straight past and into the forest in the same direction her body had gone. Clip, clop, clip, clop, clip, clop…until they vanished from sight.
We stood there stunned, unable to take in what was happening. I knew only that I deeply regretted having come into this forest. I was all but certain I would never see Olle again, and now Nej and Adju were gone too. And I had no idea how the rest of us would ever get out.
Hejdanatt stood next to me, clutching my hand and trembling. All at once her mouth opened as though she were about to say something. No! I thought. But it was too late.
The next one to go will suffer still more!
The next will suffer a lot!
You’ll pray to die faster, but faster’s a bore,
Get ready to suffer, to suffer still more!
I looked at Nulla and Inte, and they looked back at me. Inte’s mouth opened as though to beg for help, but nothing came out. Then he spat out a single word: “Me!”
Yet nothing happened to him.
“You have to say a name,” Nulla said.
“Quiet, Nulla!” Inte said, but before our minds could even register what he’d done, Nulla floated into the air. We heard him yell “No!” as he sailed high up among the fir branches. Then, as he paused a moment directly above us, both arms and both legs were torn from his body; and before he could even scream, what was left of him shot away through the trees. The arms and legs fell to earth and went chasing after.
We stood staring, unable even to breathe.
Hejdanatt’s eyes were closed and her body had gone rigid. Inte’s expression was blank and he was shaking uncontrollably, but he struggled to his feet, sobbed aloud for a moment, and then very quietly said his own name. “Inte.”
Instantly he rose up in the air and his arms and legs came away from his body. His torso gave a violent twist and ripped apart at the waist, spilling out his blood and the full length of his intestines onto the earth below. Plop, plop, plop! When they were emptied out, his head and torso sailed off into the forest, and his arms and legs followed after on the ground.
That left just Hejdanatt and me. She was weeping loudly, but I got her attention and put my finger to my lips to signal that we should keep quiet. Our voices were clearly not our own here in the forest, so the only thing we could do was stop using them.
Soon she fell silent. I nodded to her and then started to walk in the opposite direction from the point where our friends had disappeared. Hejdanatt, clutching my hand, followed close behind.
The forest floor was rough and made for hard going. The roots and branches and fallen twigs seemed to grasp at our feet and do everything they could to prevent us from making progress.
Then, before we had gone very far at all, Hejdanatt stepped on a dried branch, and the cracking sound seemed to become a voice, saying:
Well then…
Startled, we stopped short. I was on the point of crying out, and I could only imagine that Hejdanatt was too. She put her hand up to cover her mouth, and carefully lifted her foot from the branch. Instead of another crunch, we heard:
Who’s next?
Whatever it was—the monster or this horrible forest itself—it seemed to have control of every possible sound.
Hejdanatt shook her head back and forth and then started to run, her hand still clasped to her mouth. Each twig she stepped on, each pebble she dislodged, each branch she pushed out of the way made a slight sound, and I soon understood that together they had become a new song.
Well then, who’s next?
Well then, who’s next?
Well then, who’ll be the next one to die?
Who would be best?
And what should you do?
Yes, what should you do?
Since the last one to go
Will be suffering for two!
It was the most horrible song yet. But if we held our tongues, if we did
