Under The Oaktree Novels & Stories

We need to sneak around using the construction sights to keep under cover and when I mention that Sky takes the lead with me behind him. “There.” I point out to the grove of oak trees and to the largest tree with a treehouse hidden deep in the leaves. We are hidden in the half finish house of one of the residents staying in the hotels, the shadows keeping us safe while we wait to see if anyone is watching for us.

It’s like her nightmares coming to life but she took a leap and ran anyway. “Fuck!” The man kicked a tree and pulled a phone out of his jeans pocket. He was scrawny and wearing a flannel shirt and he was shivering and so was she. She was observing the man, trying to listen to what he was saying from under the tree roots that she crawled into.

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

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.

Mile back through woods, Old Oak that scattered me stood. Old Oak that scattered me was big, bigger than any tree in Wolf Creek, bigger than any tree in White Village woods, trunk as wide as three cabins, bark black not brown, roots above ground like white wolves sleeping, branches dead but not dead, reaching up to northern lights green pink white. Old Oak that scattered me had hole in middle where it threw me. Hole where it had thrown me into circle of white wolves who tore my fur dress and white circle burned Harlan. Hole that sealed behind me after I went through mile of frozen woods that should kill Guardians who break scatter.

He worked smooth, making his cut clean, his shoulders locked as he buried the blade deep into the heart of the tree. ​The giant oak groaned once, a sound like tearing iron, before its top tilted toward the creek. ​"Marcus! Pull!" Kaelen shouted over the roar of the saw. ​Marcus dropped the tractor into low gear, the logging chain snapping tight as the machine roared, its tires spitting chunks of wet turf behind it. With a loud crack that echoed off the rock faces of the quarry, the oak gave way, crashing down straight across the creek lane. Its heavy branches dug deep into the soft dirt of the far bank, completely blocking the trail with a wall of green branches and solid wood.

ALORA POV The mountain forest did not feel like the woods around Oakridge. In Oakridge, the trees were soft, open, and welcoming, bathed in gentle sunlight that filtered through green birch leaves. Here, deep within Sector 4 of the Shadow Ridge, the ancient white pines rose like gargantuan obsidian pillars, their thick, tangled canopies weaving together to choke out the pale autumn sky. A cold, suffocating mist crept along the damp earth, swallowing our boots in swirls of ghost-white vapor.

My mind was completely, wonderfully quiet. Leo sat down beside me, taking my hand in his. His fingers were warm and strong. "Where are we going now?" I asked softly, opening my eyes to look at him. Leo looked out the window toward the vast, green expanse of the outer forests stretching far beyond the old city walls—a place no citizen of Oakhaven had been allowed to see for fifty years. "Home," Leo said softly. "To build something new."

KARIN The ancient oak tree at the center of the Nightfall Pack grounds had stood for more than three hundred years. Its thick trunk was wide and uneven, carved by lightning, claws, and long-forgotten battles. I pressed my palm against the rough bark. It scratched my skin, solid and real. Beneath it, I felt the slow, steady movement of life. This tree had watched leaders rise, rule, and fall. It had seen loyalty turn into betrayal. It had seen hope fail and return again.

The accumulation of fifteen years of being together had made the arrangement more fully itself, not less. They stood under the oak. The June light came through the full canopy in the specific quality of the filtered summer light — green and warm and particular. The oak's trunk was wide — wider than Ernest could reach around, wider than two people could reach around together. The bark was rough, the texture of the old oak, the specific pattern of ridges and crevices that had formed over decades. The roots spread out from the base, some of them visible above the ground, the evidence of the tree's underground life.