2:40 PM, 19th of December, 1728.
Walking up to Aisha's house, Alexander noticed Jensen standing at their open door, deep in conversation with Aisha.
"I'd love to, but I actually have plans to hang out with Alex today."
Now standing just behind Jensen, Alexander decided to join the conversation. "What was going on?"
Looking over, Jensen looked over with surprise. "Oh, Alexander! I was asking Aisha for some help with something, but if you two already have plans, I wouldn't want to interrupt.
Alexander looked at Aisha, and after a confirming nod, he spoke. "Well, we didn't actually have anything specific to do in mind. If you could use some extra hands, we'd love to help."
"Great. Then, if you two would come with me, we have some wood to cut." Aisha quickly put on her shoes, and the three of them left for the lumber mill.
-
The lumber mill was rather small, with few powered tools, and a horse-drawn carriage positioned out front. Most of the work was done through physical labor. The city always needed to be liberal in its use of wood, as its forest was not nearly large enough for replanting to be efficient enough. The mill was placed just on the outskirts of the forest, the trees towering above it, though still minuscule when compared to the dome they were sheltered under. Today, the group would be chopping down a few trees for the workers to process.
With axes in hand, the trio walked further into the forest, scouting out which trees to be cut down. On the walk over, Alexander found the situation a little odd. "Why are you helping around at the lumber mill in the first place?"
"Cain asked me to. He said I should get some help too; they're running behind on the material needed for a new building."
"But why ask Aisha? Shouldn't the other peace officers be happy to help?"
"That was Cain's idea, too. Family bonding, I guess."
While looking into Nora's death and the book left behind by Dolon, Alexander hadn't been scared of potential consequences. Yet for the first time since they started, he felt a pang of worry in his gut. Cain would have no reason to request Aisha's help in a situation like this. What did he have planned?
At the first tree to cut down, Alexander made sure to be extra careful. They had to know which direction the tree would fall, and to be aware of at which strike it would be brought down. Jensen, who had obviously done this before, taught them the correct and safest way to do so.
After chopping away nearly a hundred times, the first tree was ready to fall. It creaked and groaned, as if giving off a warning to clear the way, before crashing down, breaking off the limbs of nearby trees on its way. As it landed, a thunderous roar echoed around them.
Alexander and Aisha looked at each other, obvious awe plastered on their faces. Amidst their awe, Jensen said. "If we all work on the same tree, this is gonna take a lot longer than it should. You two pair up, and I'll work on my own."
"Alright then." Though Alexander was still worried that Cain still had something planned, he couldn't make those worries known to Jensen, someone who worked directly for the man. After Jensen walked a suitable distance away, the two got started cutting down another tree.
Aisha was bringing her axe into the side of the tree, the wound nearly halfway through the trunk, when Alexander spoke up, a little worry in his voice. "Let me finish it off." His Authority had warned him a moment earlier, though the feeling was only slight. He positioned himself as far as possible from the tree, while still being able to strike it, ready to back away at a moment's notice. As his axe hit the wedge made in the tree, it began groaning, set to fall. Alexander slowly backed up, assessing whether it would really come crashing down, and gave it time if so.
The tree tilted in the direction of the wedge, away from the two, who were now standing together. Amidst its fall, it suddenly caught on vines that were previously invisible, hidden behind the leaves far out of their view, now stretched out between the trees, cradling the tree that was now disconnected from the ground.
Alexander's Authority began screaming at him. As fast as he could manage, he grabbed Aisha's arm and yanked her towards him, hiding them both behind a large tree. The tree flew by them, striking dozens of feet away, acting as if a giant had thrown a spear, each branch colliding and breaking against the tree they hid behind on its way. Debris from the branches exploded, hitting both Aisha and Alexander, leaving small but manageable wounds.
Aisha, pressed against Alexander, looked up at him, concern in her deep green eyes. "What the hell was that? Are you alright?"
Still in shock, Alexander couldn't utter a word. He looked around searching for anything else that would be a threat to them, even though his Authority issued no warnings. Quietly, Aisha began healing the both of them. The wood splinters in his face and arms were forced out, and the blood receded to his wounds before they closed themselves up.
Nearly a minute had passed after the healing had ended when Alexander finally spoke, his voice shaky. "We have to get out of here." He stood, helping Aisha up, and walked for about a minute in the direction Jensen had left before finding him.
"Sorry, but we're gonna leave."
"What, did something-" As he turned and saw the state of them, his face turned from confused to concerned. He walked up to Aisha, pulling out her arm to examine the tearing in her sleeves. "What happened? Are you two alright?"
"A tree we cut down got caught mid-fall and came back at us, but we're alright, it only cut up our clothes a bit, there's not even a drop of blood," Aisha said reassuringly.
"There couldn't not be any blood. Here, come with me, we're going back."
-
Exiting the dense forest and entering the clearing that housed the lumber mill, Alexander felt even more fear creep into his bones. Seated at a table just outside of one of the storage buildings were two people. One of them was Cain, and sitting next to him was the city's Doctor, Arthur. Meeting Cain's eyes, Alexander thought for a moment that he saw a hint of confusion before his gaze went back to the usual observant piercing.
Also having spotted them, Jensen called out, "Arthur, do you mind looking over these two? There was an accident in the forest, and they've been cut up."
After a quick glance toward Cain, Arthur stood and approached them, examining the skin under their torn clothing. "Well, it doesn't seem to have broken the skin, surprisingly. With how torn up your clothes are, you two ought to be thanking Order for protecting you." Out of the corner of his eye, Alexander saw Cain observing them intently.
What did he have to be confused about? Did he have something to do with what happened in the forest? He must have. Why else would he be waiting with the doctor? It was too coincidental.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?"
Arthur looked up at Alexander as he responded. "Cain wasn't feeling well today; he wanted me to accompany him as he checked on the progress here."
"Alright, if there's nothing else then, then we'll be leaving." He grabbed Aisha's hand and left the lumber mill. Only after reaching the main street did she speak.
"So we're both thinking the same thing, right? But how would he have planned something like that, and with Arthur there in town, it seems more like he wanted that to be a warning that trying to kill me."
Without saying anything, Alexander vowed to himself not to let anything get nearly that close to harming Aisha ever again.