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“Where No Man Walks” by Signatelli (part 1 of 2)
Escritor Forest is the perfect place for a long trek to clear your head… as long as you ignore the stories of a strange beast inhabiting it.
Today’s story is the first part of “Where No Man Walks” by Signatelli, who wrote this story after being inspired by an enchanting birthday art commission from his dear friend, Writer_Apprentice.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
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If you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with Khaki on Twitter or Telegram!
Transcript
You're listening to the voice of dog.
Khaki QOD:I'm cocky.
Khaki QOD:You're faithful, fireside companion.
Khaki QOD:And today's story is the first part of where no man walks by Cigna tally.
Khaki QOD:Who wrote this story after being inspired by an enchanting birthday art commission
Khaki QOD:from his dear friend writer apprentice.
Khaki QOD:Please enjoy.
Khaki QOD:Where no man walks by Cigna tele Ponte.
Khaki QOD:One of two.
Khaki QOD:There's a bright copper haze on the metal.
Khaki QOD:There's a bride.
Khaki QOD:Copper haze on the meadow.
Khaki QOD:Grayson's voice started out softly.
Khaki QOD:He couldn't put his whole diaphragm into his singing voice while struggling to
Khaki QOD:walk his tired legs through the brush.
Khaki QOD:He kept singing.
Khaki QOD:Local horn is as high as on elephant.
Khaki QOD:And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky.
Khaki QOD:Finding a good diaphragm rhythm.
Khaki QOD:He began to sing louder.
Khaki QOD:Oh, what a beautiful morning.
Khaki QOD:Oh, what a beautiful day.
Khaki QOD:I've got a beautiful feeling.
Khaki QOD:Everything's go in my way.
Khaki QOD:Grayson was lying to himself.
Khaki QOD:He wasn't in a meadow.
Khaki QOD:There was no corn insight.
Khaki QOD:And everything was most certainly not going his way.
Khaki QOD:He had no idea what direction, his way even was.
Khaki QOD:He glanced at his wristwatch.
Khaki QOD:Five hours and counting.
Khaki QOD:Of being hopelessly lost.
Khaki QOD:In excretory forest of all places.
Khaki QOD:A beautiful yet clearly dangerous location.
Khaki QOD:The foliage around him was so thick, only a tiny bit of the remaining sunlight
Khaki QOD:penetrated in an occasional clearing.
Khaki QOD:The light worried him.
Khaki QOD:It was getting late and soon it will be evening.
Khaki QOD:With his poor night vision, it was already hard enough to see the tree roots
Khaki QOD:tripping him every time he took a step.
Khaki QOD:Pretty soon, the only way he'd be able to identify the thick trees
Khaki QOD:lining his path would be by the white fungi growing on some of them.
Khaki QOD:Then there would be nothing but cold darkness Grayson shook his head.
Khaki QOD:Nope.
Khaki QOD:Get that thought out in your mind.
Khaki QOD:He told himself that's why you started singing in the first place.
Khaki QOD:He tried his best to return to his tune.
Khaki QOD:Oh, look, CAD laws standing like statues.
Khaki QOD:You lose all the cattle are standing like statue.
Khaki QOD:Who's he racked his brain, trying to remember the next mine.
Khaki QOD:It had been so long since he last sang this song.
Khaki QOD:So long since he'd last felt as stressed and hopeless as he did now.
Khaki QOD:Finding himself, frustratingly unable to dig the next line
Khaki QOD:from the recesses of his brain.
Khaki QOD:He resigned himself to repeating the lines in you from the beginning.
Khaki QOD:My now he was projecting his voice as loud as he possibly could.
Khaki QOD:Despite how tired he was from the nonstop walking.
Khaki QOD:And how dry his throat was since he'd run out of water an hour ago.
Khaki QOD:He needed to get his mind off of the negative thoughts creeping in.
Khaki QOD:. Besides, it's not like anyone would hear him aside from the blue
Khaki QOD:Jays loudly, scolding him as he passed under their nesting sites.
Khaki QOD:There was nobody around.
Khaki QOD:Who was truly listening to his strained yet?
Khaki QOD:Melodious cries for help.
Khaki QOD:Echoing against the endless rows of Oaks.
Khaki QOD:Or at least that's what he told himself to shake the feeling of being watched.
Khaki QOD:He kept telling himself that there was nothing in the forest.
Khaki QOD:I would find him interesting enough to be worth watching.
Khaki QOD:Any squirrels or deer that passed by would simply glance in the direction
Khaki QOD:of his voice before carrying on.
Khaki QOD:There was nothing out there that would follow him.
Khaki QOD:Of course.
Khaki QOD:Nothing at all.
Khaki QOD:Nope.
Khaki QOD:No, sir.
Khaki QOD:No Surry bulb.
Khaki QOD:Grayson was half right.
Khaki QOD:None of the creatures he was used to seeing would pay him any mind.
Khaki QOD:But he'd unwittingly attracted the attention of something.
Khaki QOD:Occula something that Grayson a logical and scientific
Khaki QOD:person would have scoffed at.
Khaki QOD:If someone were to mention its existence.
Khaki QOD:Yeah.
Khaki QOD:There at malls, silently prodding its way through its familiar forest territory.
Khaki QOD:Watching him from afar without his knowledge.
Khaki QOD:They knew how to follow him silently because they had lived
Khaki QOD:in the forest, their entire life.
Khaki QOD:However many thousand years that life had been, they had no need to pay
Khaki QOD:mind to exact numbers in any capacity.
Khaki QOD:They just had to focus on their duty of making sure their home
Khaki QOD:stayed healthy and blossoming.
Khaki QOD:And part of that duty involved, staking out any humans who happens to wander.
Khaki QOD:The appearance of humans in escalator was rare, but not unheard of.
Khaki QOD:And it usually meant trouble.
Khaki QOD:The creature was used to scaring off any hunters that entered their
Khaki QOD:territory, always finding it, rather amusing to give them an ego check.
Khaki QOD:Those hunters always saw themselves as powerful with their big and
Khaki QOD:intimidating weapons at their disposal,
Khaki QOD:but all the creature had to do was adopt a more intimidating form and
Khaki QOD:they'd run away faster than the deer they like to shoot at this time.
Khaki QOD:However, the creature didn't sense, any hostility from the human, with the
Khaki QOD:oddly enchanting voice, he didn't appear to have weapons on him, just a simple
Khaki QOD:t-shirt and canvas pants and the backpack far smaller than most hikers who wanted.
Khaki QOD:He was tall and lanky.
Khaki QOD:And as awkward steps through the terrain gave the impression of someone
Khaki QOD:far too inexperienced to be all the way out here as they came closer,
Khaki QOD:they could better tune their hearing to the sound of the human's voice.
Khaki QOD:It told a story of someone sad and discouraged yet trying
Khaki QOD:desperately to stay home.
Khaki QOD:They could hear a slide rasp at the back of the young man's throat as
Khaki QOD:well, clearly indicating that he hadn't drunk anything in quite some time.
Khaki QOD:Now that they understood this, the creature began to feel conflicted.
Khaki QOD:They could tell the young man was in need of help, but could
Khaki QOD:they really trust this human?
Khaki QOD:They still didn't know his reason for being in the forest.
Khaki QOD:And even if they could trust.
Khaki QOD:Well, the human even wants to see him or would he simply run away?
Khaki QOD:Like most dude, as soon as he saw them , and even if they could trust him
Khaki QOD:with the human even want to see him, or would he simply run away, like most did.
Khaki QOD:As soon as they saw them, they closed their glowing eyes and focused
Khaki QOD:more on the sound of the humans.
Khaki QOD:The voice was soft and gentle and had a hint of discipline to it.
Khaki QOD:The human didn't seem overconfident in his frankly pitiful tracking abilities.
Khaki QOD:He seemed to have a deep respect for the forest, like an authority
Khaki QOD:figure, far wiser than him, perhaps in his mind, he was remembering a time
Khaki QOD:from his childhood when his parents scolded him for something foolish.
Khaki QOD:Whether that was true or not.
Khaki QOD:He seemed acutely aware of how foolish he was now.
Khaki QOD:. They decided they should probably offer him some help.
Khaki QOD:Grayson continued on through the forest, trying his best to find
Khaki QOD:a path as he stumbled through the piles of bug infested rotting leaves.
Khaki QOD:My now he had given up trying to remember the lyrics to the Oklahoma
Khaki QOD:song and moved on to another song that he hoped would raise his spirits
Khaki QOD:, and nothing gonna break my stride.
Khaki QOD:Nobody gonna slow me down.
Khaki QOD:He sang proudly a dilly, stopped dead in his tracks.
Khaki QOD:Something was watching him.
Khaki QOD:It wasn't a hunch this time he could see it.
Khaki QOD:It was peering out from behind a tree, no less than 30 feet away from initially
Khaki QOD:it was the creatures, glowing green eyes that attracted Grayson's attention.
Khaki QOD:But before he could even process what he was looking at, it stepped
Khaki QOD:out into the clear and Grayson could see all of what it was.
Khaki QOD:It was a deer.
Khaki QOD:Thing.
Khaki QOD:No, not at the deer.
Khaki QOD:It seemed to have deer legs with ungulate hooves, and even had white
Khaki QOD:smarts on the sides, uh, that Grayson remembered seeing on baby deer.
Khaki QOD:But Grayson knew it wasn't a deer, no deer.
Khaki QOD:He knew of had dark blue for, or a skull for a head or whereabouts 10 feet.
Khaki QOD:It also had a tail, unlike any creatures he'd seen before stretching out far
Khaki QOD:behind it before eventually forming a sort of pink brush shape its arms and
Khaki QOD:chest were made of wood blending in almost perfectly to the trees surrounding it.
Khaki QOD:And its neck was surrounded by a large wreath of leaves and white
Khaki QOD:flowers that seem to be growing directly from its wooden chest.
Khaki QOD:But what struck Grayson the most was what it wore on its way.
Khaki QOD:What appeared to be a loincloth and some kind of small satchel
Khaki QOD:were wrapped around its body.
Khaki QOD:The thing was far more civilized than a regular animal.
Khaki QOD:This must have been some kind of mystical creature, a ghost, perhaps
Khaki QOD:it certainly seemed to have a fantastic appearance with a skull
Khaki QOD:head and glowing eyes, but it was too physically real to be a ghost or a Hulu.
Khaki QOD:It was completely OPEC and had dimensions and details too real to
Khaki QOD:be dreamed up by the imagination.
Khaki QOD:Grace knew that either he had gone insane or he had severely underestimated
Khaki QOD:the types of animals that lived here, Grayson and the creature stared at each
Khaki QOD:other for what seemed like an eternity.
Khaki QOD:Eventually the creature decided they should be the one to break the.
Khaki QOD:Am I correct in assuming that your lost grace and blinked, surprised
Khaki QOD:to hear the creature, speaking to him, um, immune to speak English.
Khaki QOD:He eventually replied back after an awkward pause.
Khaki QOD:I've picked up a bit of human language from the few who
Khaki QOD:wander all the way in here.
Khaki QOD:The creature responded, but I'm good at reading individuals by their voices alone.
Khaki QOD:Whether it's a human song or a Wolf's house or the squeak of a tiny chipmunk and
Khaki QOD:animal uses its voice to express its soul.
Khaki QOD:I've simply learned to accurately predict what they want to express and can
Khaki QOD:respond in whatever tongue is necessary.
Khaki QOD:The creature's voice.
Khaki QOD:Didn't sound, anything like Grayson expected it.
Khaki QOD:He was expecting a deep, booming voice for something so formidable,
Khaki QOD:but the creature's voice was soft and soothing Grayson.
Khaki QOD:Couldn't tell whether it was a man's or a woman's voice.
Khaki QOD:They'll perhaps supernatural beings like this had no need
Khaki QOD:for human concept, like gender.
Khaki QOD:Oh, that's cool.
Khaki QOD:Grayson said releasing some breath.
Khaki QOD:He didn't realize he was.
Khaki QOD:So like, are you a God or some kind of forest spirit or his voice trailed off?
Khaki QOD:Hmm.
Khaki QOD:I suppose you could think of me like that is my job to protect my
Khaki QOD:home from those who wish to do harm to Grayson's eyes, widened fear,
Khaki QOD:beginning to show on his face.
Khaki QOD:Again, the creature spot.
Khaki QOD:No, no, no, don't worry.
Khaki QOD:I've heard your voice.
Khaki QOD:And I know you're not a malicious individual.
Khaki QOD:You're last.
Khaki QOD:No, you seem tired and I'd like to help you Grayson Haven, another sign of relief.
Khaki QOD:Well, uh, I'm glad you don't think I'm bad.
Khaki QOD:I promise.
Khaki QOD:I mean, no harm.
Khaki QOD:I was just taking a hike through here for some peace of mind and
Khaki QOD:I ended up way over my head.
Khaki QOD:Oh, the creature spoke a hint of excitement in their voice.
Khaki QOD:Now, my forests brings you peace of mind as they spoke, they
Khaki QOD:approached Grayson, but strangely they didn't seem to change in size.
Khaki QOD:Grayson eventually realized that they were actually shrinking
Khaki QOD:in size as they approached him.
Khaki QOD:By the time they were within an arm's length, they were only about six and a
Khaki QOD:half feet tall, a few inches taller than.
Khaki QOD:Grace and wanted to ask about the creatures of Baron ability to change
Khaki QOD:in size, but felt it would be rude to derail the conversation despite
Khaki QOD:the creature seeming friendly.
Khaki QOD:He wasn't taking any chances when it came to potentially upsetting it.
Khaki QOD:Well, I'm not very experienced with hiking at all.
Khaki QOD:He started.
Khaki QOD:It's just the, my life recently has been so stressful with school
Khaki QOD:and work piling up and finding a new place to live as well.
Khaki QOD:I needed someplace to clear my head before I went back to the grind.
Khaki QOD:This was only supposed to be a short Trek through the outskirts of the
Khaki QOD:forest, but I guess I lost sight of the path and grace and gestured around the.
Khaki QOD:I guess I'm out of the outskirts and well in the, in skirts now,
Khaki QOD:and creature laughed a laugh, just a soothing as their voice, which
Khaki QOD:put Grayson even more at ease.
Khaki QOD:I mean, yes, I add the feeling you were in over your head, not to worry.
Khaki QOD:They pointed in a seemingly random direction toward a group
Khaki QOD:of trees that looked identical 20.
Khaki QOD:In that direction is a Creek that marks the edge of my territory.
Khaki QOD:A deer can make the trip in about 45 minutes.
Khaki QOD:So for you, I estimated would take about an hour Grayson, suddenly
Khaki QOD:perked up and Howard was nothing compared to how long he'd been
Khaki QOD:trotting along and finding a source of running water to satisfy his parts.
Khaki QOD:Thrilled sounded.
Khaki QOD:Oh, thank fuck.
Khaki QOD:Greyson cried out then cleared his throat second later.
Khaki QOD:Sorry.
Khaki QOD:I tend to swear a lot when I'm alone.
Khaki QOD:I mean, not that I am alone now, but it's just that I've
Khaki QOD:been alone in here for so long.
Khaki QOD:And like Grayson's nerves were once again, put at ease
Khaki QOD:as the deer, like spirits.
Khaki QOD:It's okay.
Khaki QOD:I could tell it was a sign of appreciation, grace and laughed
Khaki QOD:and return a sound, which the spirit found quite delightful.
Khaki QOD:They continued.
Khaki QOD:All you have to do is follow the trees through there until you find
Khaki QOD:a very big patch of geraniums.
Khaki QOD:Then you follow those flowers until you reach a small cliff side
Khaki QOD:with a cave built into the side.
Khaki QOD:At which point you follow another row of Cardinal flowers and then
Khaki QOD:proceed in that direction until they look back at the humans face, which
Khaki QOD:only showed apprehension, they had forgotten how out of his element he was.
Khaki QOD:They considered an easier way to phrase their directions before
Khaki QOD:they realized a simpler solution.
Khaki QOD:Actually, maybe it would be better if I lead the way for
Khaki QOD:y'all Grayson's face lit up.
Khaki QOD:Oh, I had appreciate that a lot.
Khaki QOD:He said, we, you.
Khaki QOD:But are you sure you can spare all that time for me?
Khaki QOD:I'm sure you must be busy with all your other duties and stuff.
Khaki QOD:Oh, don't worry.
Khaki QOD:The spirit replied I'd rather enjoy the unusual company for a little while.
Khaki QOD:Grayson was about to comment on the irony of a supernatural forest
Khaki QOD:spirits calling him unusable company.
Khaki QOD:But they continued speaking before he got the chance.
Khaki QOD:Now let's be on our way.
Khaki QOD:Sunset is approaching and I think the mosquitoes would
Khaki QOD:find you to be a tasty snack.
Khaki QOD:If you're not out soon enough, they began walking in the direction they
Khaki QOD:indicated before, suddenly turning around how Oh, I was silly of me.
Khaki QOD:I should know your name.
Khaki QOD:First.
Khaki QOD:Shouldn't die.
Khaki QOD:Grayson.
Khaki QOD:The young man replied with an appreciative smile.
Khaki QOD:And why do people call you?
Khaki QOD:Or I should say, what do animals call you the spirit stared off into space, huh?
Khaki QOD:I don't usually have a need for human concepts, like a name.
Khaki QOD:Most of the animals here are able to call from my help without
Khaki QOD:having to name me specifically.
Khaki QOD:But for what it's worth, I've heard some humans refer to me as the
Khaki QOD:forest Lord, can I call you Robyn Grayson asked with a small chuckle.
Khaki QOD:They looked at him with curiosity.
Khaki QOD:Is that a human name?
Khaki QOD:Do you think it fits me whole, um, grace and stammered for a second?
Khaki QOD:I don't know.
Khaki QOD:It just popped into my mind.
Khaki QOD:I thought it'd be funny for you to have a normal sounding name despite
Khaki QOD:being a spirit or God or whatever.
Khaki QOD:He let his voice trail off before regaining the confidence to speak again.
Khaki QOD:And Hey, it's kind of nature-y so I think.
Khaki QOD:The creature beamed.
Khaki QOD:I like it.
Khaki QOD:Maybe it would be nice to have a more personal name than
Khaki QOD:just forest Lord for a while.
Khaki QOD:And it would make conversing with you a lot easier.
Khaki QOD:Well, I meant it as a joke, but if you like it, then who am I to judge
Khaki QOD:Robin Grayson, quipped, smiling, widely Robin giggled, almost child.
Khaki QOD:Glad we sorted that out.
Khaki QOD:Now they draped their wooden arm of a grace and shoulders and wrap their
Khaki QOD:long tail around Grayson's waist, allowing him to feel the surprisingly
Khaki QOD:soft, further that covered it.
Khaki QOD:Let's be on our way to stay close by and be careful not to trample the flowers.
Khaki QOD:And with that, the pair began walking through Robbins, all too familiar.
Khaki QOD:Racing, almost immediately felt an intense rush of calmness washing over
Khaki QOD:him, knowing he was no longer in peril.
Khaki QOD:As he watched a BA zip through a patch of flowers on their path,
Khaki QOD:it dawned on him how safe he was already feeling sure a passer-by
Khaki QOD:who came upon this strange scene.
Khaki QOD:Might've tried to warn him that Robin was only leading him away
Khaki QOD:to be more than eaten, but somehow Grayson knew that modern day.
Khaki QOD:Something about the gentle yet protective way.
Khaki QOD:They held him close to them.
Khaki QOD:Body told Grayson that Robyn cared for his well-being Grayson looked into
Khaki QOD:Robin's glowing eyes and spoke up in an effort to break the long silence.
Khaki QOD:Thank you so much for doing this.
Khaki QOD:I'm not the best at seeming sincere, but I want you to know, I really do appreciate.
Khaki QOD:Robin looked back at him showing as much tenderness as they
Khaki QOD:could on their restrictive face.
Khaki QOD:Don't worry.
Khaki QOD:I sense.
Khaki QOD:You're a sincere person.
Khaki QOD:It's a very welcome change from all the other humans of coming here.
Khaki QOD:Your kind tends to see the forest as something to become current, not cherry.
Khaki QOD:Yeah, I hate hunters to Grayson replied, absentmindedly stroking.
Khaki QOD:The velvet differ of Robin's tale, hunter side of the worst group, but
Khaki QOD:some my curves aren't much better.
Khaki QOD:Robin continued stepping their big feet through a large patch of
Khaki QOD:entangled routes with gracefully.
Khaki QOD:They say the calm to admire the beauty of the forest, but I can tell from
Khaki QOD:their voices what they're really, after they come here to prove themselves, to
Khaki QOD:convince themselves that they're stronger than the formidable force of nature.
Khaki QOD:They don't appreciate my Elm.
Khaki QOD:They see it as an enemy.
Khaki QOD:I'm not one of those people.
Khaki QOD:Am I Grayson?
Khaki QOD:Perish the thought, if you were one of those people, I wouldn't have
Khaki QOD:considered leading the way for you.
Khaki QOD:Robin looked into grace and dies once again.
Khaki QOD:I like hearing you talk.
Khaki QOD:It's rare to find a human soul genuine Grayson left slightly a
Khaki QOD:bit, taken aback by the comment.
Khaki QOD:It didn't even realize he was blushing as he spoke.
Khaki QOD:I like your voice too.
Khaki QOD:It's soothing.
Khaki QOD:It lets me know you're trustworthy for lack of a better word and well
Khaki QOD:Grayson glanced around at the lush green surrounding the two of them.
Khaki QOD:I'm glad you can tell.
Khaki QOD:I like your home.
Khaki QOD:It's rare to find a place that feels so cut off from the
Khaki QOD:stresses of the human world.
Khaki QOD:He chuckled nervously again, unsure if that was the right term.
Khaki QOD:I only wish I'd gotten to appreciate it on a different circumstance.
Khaki QOD:Robin suddenly froze wheat.
Khaki QOD:Oh gosh, your legs must be at the breaking point by now.
Khaki QOD:How could I have forgotten?
Khaki QOD:Oh, yeah, they do kind of feel like jelly Grayson admitted.
Khaki QOD:Let it's only a short distance before I'm finally out of here.
Khaki QOD:It doesn't matter how short the distance is.
Khaki QOD:Robin retorted.
Khaki QOD:If you can't keep walking on your legs, then I insist you don't before Grayson
Khaki QOD:could interject Robin began to grow bigger right in front of his house.
Khaki QOD:Their entire body rapidly expanding until they were about 12 feet tall,
Khaki QOD:not counting the wooden antlers.
Khaki QOD:They were now just a bit shorter than the bottoms of the tree canopies
Khaki QOD:and almost double Grayson's height.
Khaki QOD:So you can change your size, Grayson remarked, fascinated.
Khaki QOD:I was meaning to ask about that.
Khaki QOD:Robin held there.
Khaki QOD:Wouldn't hand out to Grayson they're giant Palm open and ready to accommodate.
Khaki QOD:Grayson gladly took a seat without hesitation.
Khaki QOD:Normally he would have been more polite and insisted he was fine, and
Khaki QOD:he was far too exhausted to pass up an opportunity to give his legs or rest.
Khaki QOD:He sat down in the middle of Robin's Palm and Robin then cradled him
Khaki QOD:against their chest of blooming flowers, grace, and felt like a child
Khaki QOD:again, being carried around like.
Khaki QOD:Any passer-by would probably find the site even more strange than they already
Khaki QOD:would have, but Grayson didn't mind.
Khaki QOD:He felt perfectly content to let Robin carry him wherever he needed to go all
Khaki QOD:while listening to their soft voice and leading his weary back against their
Khaki QOD:chest, which heaved and vibrated gently as they spoke unbeknownst to Grayson,
Khaki QOD:Robin was feeling much the same about.
Khaki QOD:They loved the feeling of grace and lying against them.
Khaki QOD:Being able to hear his gentle voice so close by not to mention,
Khaki QOD:there's still a lot of ways to go.
Khaki QOD:And this was the first time Robin could get some completely
Khaki QOD:honest answers about human life.
Khaki QOD:They had a lot of questions ready for the long Hawk.
Khaki QOD:This was the first part of where no man walks by Cigna heli.
Khaki QOD:Read for you by cocky your faithful fireside companion tune.
Khaki QOD:In next time to find out more about the lives of our two heroes and learn what
Khaki QOD:fate lies in store for them at the end of that Creek, as always, you can find more
Khaki QOD:stories on the web@thevoice.dog, or find the show wherever you get your podcast.
Khaki QOD:Thank you for listening to the voice of dog.