Under The Oak Tree Novel Spoiler Novels & Stories

Robert replied. The high beams cut through the dust on the road. Kat could see the drive was lined with thick trees. “It is going to be impossible to find Jude in here if he wonders off.” She glanced worried at Robert and back at the barbequed covered boy. “Don’t worry babe. There’s a gate around the property itself.” He rubbed her shoulder. “Well this isn’t creepy or anything.” Ray snarked. “Its only creepy because its dark RayRay. Things always look different in the dark. It’s just new, new always feels uncertain, until it’s not new anymore.” Kat smiled back at Ray through the rear view.

Trecking up to an old oak tree on the old outer walls. Everyone knew this was the tree that Thomas Black had harvested an oak tree seed and planted it in the village. But I had no idea that it was even more woven into the Black family history than that. “You see,” Steph had told me, excitement evident in her voice, “It wasn’t until Granny had said about the Oak tree that I began to think. She mentioned that the tree in the ruins was planted by Melinda Black, sown from a seed of an oak in her hometown.” She gentured to the massive oak that towered about us. Its lush green canopy stretching out at all angles.

“Glee . . . shit.” Another tremor jolted them, and the centuries-old cottonwood tree—the only thing left out there—twisted and leaned, losing its foothold on the remainder of the crumbling bank. Slipping away. Richard felt something at his elbow. This time it was Owen tugging at him, a clogged warning in his throat. Pulling him back from the decimated park area. Toward the waiting vehicle. “Daddeee . . . ” Katie fretted. Richard took heed and went.

As soon as the car stopped rolling, Dominic gave Leesa a quick thumbs up—the signal they had agreed on that she should proceed as planned. She grabbed the ivory box from her bag and got out of the car. After waiting for a truck to flash by, she hurried across the road and found the spot Dominic had described to her. The old oak tree—almost twice as thick as any of its neighbors—was just barely visible from the highway. Its gnarled branches spread wide in every direction, and Leesa could imagine the huge canopy of shade they would provide when the leaves grew back. She imagined the tree had probably been left standing sometime far back in the past while its neighbors were felled for lumber an

The canopy overhead swallowed most of the moonlight, leaving us moving through patches of silver and shadow. And then I saw it. A break in the trees up ahead. A clearing. But not just any clearing. The ground was blackened, scorched like a fire had raged through here long ago. At the center stood a single, twisted tree—its bark charred, its branches bare. The fire inside me pulsed wildly. This was it. “The next flame is here,” I said, stepping forward. Lena gave me a skeptical look. “Where? Because all I see is a creepy dead tree.”

The oak tree was older than the Hale fortune, its branches gnarled and thick, stretching over the stone wall like reaching fingers. I didn’t think about the physics of it. I didn’t think about the silk-blend sweater or the way the rough bark bit into my palms, scraping away the "pampered" layer of my skin to reveal the girl underneath who used to climb fire escapes to get to the roof of her apartment. I shoved my foot into a notch in the trunk, my breath hitching as a sharp pain bloomed in my side. Not now, I thought, pressing a hand to my stomach. Just a little further.

I fought to untie myself until late into the night, so much so that my hands had turned a terrifying shade of purple from poor circulation. As if sensing my despair, the thick branch of the old cypress tree broke. I held onto that final sliver of hope and called Vivian. The moment the call connected, her cold voice came through. "Allen, haven't you learned your lesson yet? You frightened Earl today, so I need to keep him company. Don't bother me unless you're dying." Then, Earl's affectionate voice rang out. "Vivian, it's your turn to shower." Trembling, I hung up and lay on the ground, letting my tears soak the earth beneath me.

He lunged for my hand. The Oak moved first. One of its dead branches, thick as a man’s leg, creaked and dropped fast between us, slamming into the ground right at his knees, kicking up dead leaves in a violent spray. Kaden scrambled back, terrified. No, a voice said. Not Mara’s. Deeper. Older. The tree itself, vibrating up through my feet, through my hair, through the mark on my neck. No second mark in my circle. Mara nodded, like this was expected.

He carried me through. “Okay?” Naomi says through gritted teeth. Starlight erupts above her head, and large, spindling, guttingly familiar trees fan out all around us, trembling in a brisk, cool autumn breeze. “Is she–” “She’s alive. Look, she’s looking up at us. Hello, Oakley. We’re kidnapping you for a moment. I’m so sorry,” Naomi says hurriedly. Then she snaps her gaze up at her companion. “My turn. Ready?”

The place was abandoned when my dads used to bring me here to play and from the dust and debris littering the place and the leaves blowing in through a broken window, it looks like it always has been. Feeling dejected at the lack of clues, I decide a walk down memory lane is exactly what I need to cheer me up and I’m excited to share a piece of my childhood with Ellie and Mason. They follow silently as I lead them down to the lake and the old oak tree standing sentinel over it. Only when we reach the spot, the tree isn’t standing at all. “What the fuck?” Aspen gasps. The tree is rolled in on itself like a cinnamon roll with the branches kissing the ground. It’s a completely unnatural occurre