[i]As if on cue, maniacal laughter cascaded through the foliage, shattering the quiet like thin ice. It dipped and swooped in maddening pitch, as if some cross between a loon and a hyena were screaming down a distorted tunnel. The caterwaul would descend into hysterical, burbling sobs, the likes of which would raise the hackles on the back of any half-sane man. Nothing on this green Earth or on any other could have, [b]should[/b] have made such a noise. 

It was far, but not more than a mile. Like likely far less. Absolutely no other life stirred. No bugs nor birds or bears. Nothing. The trees seemed to lean in as if to stare down on the foreigner. They would not be Higen's allies. They would block and obscure his sight, slow down his progress. This was gonna suck.[/i]