Alexis and Taylor inconspicuously left their Eugene, Oregon home on a crisp spring morning headed for the Willamette National Forest due just 25 miles east. The day had finally arrived, the call to action put forth and the boys were unambiguous in their commitment to the plan.
In the hybrid car ride to their GPS coordinates, Alexis drove, humming along to the indie-folk Sirius XM station, while Taylor gazed out the window, moving his lips, seeming to count some blurry things that past their window.
“When do we post the video?” asked Alexis in between songs.
“Nine a.m. our time,” answered Taylor. “Really, Alexis, I thought you would have remembered everything. We’ve talked about it enough, haven’t we?”
Alexis said nothing in reply but glanced at his boyfriend with a look that said, ‘I was just trying to fill the perpetual emptiness of our relationship, you dolt.’ Despite Taylor’s sharp jawline and sinewy muscles, Alexis had lost much of his initial attraction to the man in his passenger seat. It seemed a lifetime ago that they had met through a dating smartphone app and found themselves laughing at the same juvenile jokes from the bartender.
“Have you checked your phone?” asked Alexis a few minutes later. “Has the media been leaked our plans?”
Taylor tapped away at his screen and told him “negative.”
“Good.”
They drove on in further silence until the entrance to the park loomed ahead. Taylor declined paying for parking, saying the personnel would soon have bigger fish to fry. Alexis’ phone said the walk would take an additional 30 minutes. Their initial route took them on a marked trail, winding its way deeper into the sanguine landscape. The Breitenbush River crackled near their crunching footsteps. Taylor lead the way, having mapped out the path repeatedly beforehand on his home computer. Alexis was keeping an eye out for the endangered northern spotted owl, whose full wingspan could reach 42 inches. He was a lover of animals and nature, fermenting his motivation in their current objective.
The boys spoke sparingly but did not cross paths with any other persons. After 20 minutes or so, Taylor halted and said this is where they were to make their own way into the forest. Their pant legs brushed past ivy and low bushes. Soon they arrived at their given coordinates.
“Do you think it’s strange we didn’t see anyone else?” asked Alexis.
“What do you mean?” asked Taylor.
“Well, we aren’t the only to take this on. Firebeard’s message said this would require everyone’s cooperation to be successful. I thought we would see others.”
“Firebeard knows what he’s doing. He wants to keep us separate and anonymous. Are you doubting the integrity of our mission?”
“No. No, it’s not that.” But his frown betrayed a hint of skepticism.
The Willamette National Forest contains stands of old-growth forest, some of which are over 300 feet tall, among the tallest trees in the world, with diameters ranging from 3 to 8 feet. In addition, Alexis spotted western redcedar, incense-cedar, western white pine, ponderosa pine, Pacific yew, western hemlock, mountain hemlock, and several species of fir. He checked his watch. They had 10 minutes to dawdle before 9:00 a.m. He threw his bag on the forest floor, unzipped the sack and took out two axes. They had a chainsaw at home, but had long agreed the thing was too clumsy to carry this far into the forest.
Taylor, meanwhile, was setting up the tripod for his phone. He tuned into the Timber app and turned on the live camera. Alexis handed him the smaller axe, its head sharpened diligently and repeatedly. They found their posed position and Taylor sighed, righting himself for the most important speech of his life.
When the video when live, Taylor jumped into position and Alexis began speaking.
“Welcome to Timber,” he began. On the screen, a filter on his and Taylor’s faces covered any discerning features, giving them long ginger beards, large plastic protective glasses used in factories and baseball caps. His voice was also skewed with a deep, grainy feature.
Alexis continued, “On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four. In fact, rainforests are responsible for roughly one-third of the Earth’s oxygen. Now, this is not a rainforest,” he said, gesturing around, “but it certainly contributes to our planet and species’ wellbeing. And how have we treated our precious resources? With contempt and derision. There’s no instant reward system for trees. Yet, our existence is explicitly tied to theirs. We’d like to test that phenomena. It is high time for a reconciliation. Perhaps we will be reborn in a sort of amniotic, embryonic fluid. It’s up to you to breach the chrysalis. With scarcer resources, we also expect there to be fewer populace. And we’re quite ok with that.”
Taylor, still on camera, who had been leaning against his axe, took the thing to a nearby giant western pine, the face filter somehow continuing to stay on him consistently. As he began swinging the thing, wood particles flying and a dewy smell erupting into the air, Alexis continued speaking, “There are 422 trees for each person on the planet. What happens when we halve that number?” Alexis turned and watched Taylor continue to swing the large axe head, his powerful arms rippling with each blow. Due to their practice, he took just under 10 minutes to complete the task. The giant teetered, then fell quickly with a massive thud to the floor, shaking their feet and the tripod.
Returning to stand with Alexis at the camera, Taylor stood stoic and unshaken by his deed. Alexis finished the speech. “People worldwide are joining our cause today. Humans are already logging our forests to death. We just accelerated the process.”
They both disappeared from the lens’ field and turned off the stream.
“What now?” asked Alexis, whose blonde hair was plastered on his forehead with sweat despite having not swung his own axe yet.
“We continue,” answered Taylor. They had 199 trees to down before the end of the day. The volatile organic compounds normally absorbed by the perennial plants would soon be clogging lungs and organs worldwide. At least allergies would drop.