by Raven Snow
“I don’t know,” Rowen admitted. “I’ve never been isolated when I get one of these feelings. Normally, I get the feeling and something happens somewhere in Lainswich. I have no reason to think something terrible is going to happen here.”
“Are you sure about that?” asked Ben. “You know, you can tell me if—” The phone began to cut out.
Rowen removed the phone from her ear for a moment. She was back down to one bar. “C’mon.” She took a few steps downward, hopeful that would help.
“-wen, are- still there?” Ben’s voice came back in, albeit a little choppy.
“Yeah, sorry. You’re kind of breaking up. I don’t get great reception out here. What were you saying?”
“Just call me if anything happens, got that? Do some digging around out there, keep an eye out. If you see anything unusual or get a vision or a bad feeling or whatever, you call me, all right?”
“Why do you think I’m calling you now, huh? Keep an eye on Eric for me, will you? Don’t tell him what I told you, though. I don’t want to worry him.”
“Fine,” said Ben, though he sounded reluctant. “But if I don’t hear from you in—”
The phone cut out. Rowen looked down at the screen. The bars were gone. The call had been dropped entirely. What was it he had been about to say? Rowen took a couple of steps down the hill and looked at her phone. No bars. She took a few more steps. No bars.
Rowen looked over her shoulder. The cabin was back in that direction, but she could no longer see it. Twilight had given way to nighttime. The moon was nearly full and the sky was mostly cloudless. The stars were bright this far away from the lights of the town. Rowen could find her way back to the cabin, but that might not be true if she wandered much deeper into the woods.
Rowen dropped her phone to her side and turned on her heel. She could always try again later. Her family would probably be wondering where she had slipped off to. Willow, Peony, and those new friends of hers might be especially worried given all she had said earlier. She was starting back uphill when the sound of voices caught her attention.
The sounds weren’t coming from the direction of the cabin. That had been Rowen’s first assumption, that everyone was back at the cabin for their sleeping bags and such. But, no. The voices Rowen heard were coming from somewhere behind her and off to the right. She needed to get back to the cabin, but curiosity had the better of her. Ben had told her to keep an eye out. She wasn’t sure he would approve of her potentially getting lost in the woods to go spy on complete strangers, but he wasn’t there to reprimand her. No one was there to reprimand her, except her own common sense.
“Get back to the cabin,” said the voice of reason in Rowen’s head. Ignoring that voice was a skill Rowen had honed through years of practice. She pressed deeper into the woods.
“Stop it.”
Rowen could make out words now. It was a woman’s voice. Who it belonged to, she couldn’t say for sure just yet.
“I said stop it.” Whoever was talking, they didn’t sound too convincing. Their objections were half-hearted. “We need to go. She’s going to realize we’re missing.”
“So?” A man’s voice.
“So, I need this paycheck.”
“C’mon.”
All talk ceased then. There were some occasional noises that drifted Rowen’s way, laughter, a gross slurping sound like the two were hungrily making out. Rowen moved around some underbrush and finally spotted what she was looking for. There was a lantern on the forest floor about thirty feet away. Beside it sat a flashlight that looked to have been dropped haphazardly. Its beam bounced around as it was jostled. Two people were sitting next to it. They were difficult to make out. All Rowen could really see was two shadowy figures intertwined. The slurping sounds intensified.
Rowen didn’t dare move any closer. She didn’t want to call attention to herself. Instead she watched like a weirdo voyeur and tried to figure out who she was looking at based on what she had just heard.
There was a man and a woman. They had probably come from the retreat given their proximity to the camp and what the woman had said. She didn’t want to lose her paycheck. Crystal Spruce was the big boss of the retreat. She was guaranteed to be paid. That only left… Veronica? Even though it was the obvious answer to the mystery in front of her, Rowen didn’t believe it. Veronica just didn’t seem like the type.
The guy had to be Phoenix. Who else could it be? There was only one other guy at the retreat, and Rowen didn’t picture anyone hooking up with the “wizard” any time soon.
So, Veronica and Phoenix. Rowen hadn’t seen that coming, especially not with how annoyed Veronica had seemed with him earlier that very day. What kind of relationship did they have? Was it out in the open? Probably not if they had come all the way out there. Then again, maybe they were in an established relationship and just felt pressured to keep it on the down low while on the clock. Given her limited knowledge of Veronica’s personality, that seemed like a possibility.
“We need to go.” The silhouette of Veronica pulled back from Phoenix.
Phoenix replied, but Rowen was only partly listening to his continued objections. She needed to get going as well. As interesting as this discovery was, it didn’t actually mean anything. Who cared if they were involved? Well, Crystal might, but it was certainly none of Rowen’s business. All she had gained for her nosiness was some information that might be fun to gossip about later.
Before Veronica could convince Phoenix that they really did need to get going, Rowen turned and headed back for the cabin. Or at least she hoped she was heading toward the cabin. With how dark it was, she couldn’t be completely sure.
Chapter Five
Rowen ended up finding her way back because of how loud the housewives were. She followed their obnoxious laughter and squealing to the relative safety of the cabin. It seemed that one of them had smuggled in some boxed wine. They were enjoying it on the front steps when Rowen got there.
“Oh, look what we have here.” Paris regarded Rowen over the top of an open water bottle that almost certainly did not contain water. “Hello, Miss Greensmithy. Out communing with nature?”
Rowen wasn’t sure how to take that. The way Paris said anything to her sounded like a slight. Aside from getting her name wrong, there hadn’t been anything particularly cutting or humorous about what she’d just said. Rowen decided to take it in stride. If something bad did happen at the camp, something told her Paris would be difficult to deal with. There was no point in giving her a reason to be nasty. “It’s Rowen Greensmith actually, and no.” She smiled, trying to imply that there were no hard feelings in case Paris had meant to be snippy. She raised her cell phone so that it was visible. “I was just trying to get service so I could make a call. I think that’s the polar opposite of communing with nature.”
“Did you get it to work?” one of the other housewives asked. Rowen didn’t remember her name, but there was a hopeful expression on her face.
“For a minute or two.” Rowen lowered her phone. “Excuse me.” She picked her way up the stairs to retrieve her sleeping bag. Through the window she could see at least three housewives entering the woods. She wondered if they would stumble upon Veronica and Phoenix. She wondered if one of them would trip and break their neck or get lost and eaten by bears. Maybe, in trying to prevent a death, she had inadvertently caused said death to happen. That was a pretty dark idea.
***
Rowen didn’t sleep well that night. Part of it had to do with the idea of a tragedy on the horizon. Aside from that? Aside from that, sleeping outside was just plain uncomfortable. The ground was uneven and rocky. They hadn’t bothered to put down so much as a tarp. The grass made Rowen’s throat itch, and there was some sort of flying bug that kept trying to fly up her nose.
By the time morning came, she was anything but well rested. “Rise and shine, camp-goers!” rang out Crystal Spruce’s voice, eliciting quite a few groans from everyone still trying their best to sleep.
Rowen sat up. Aside from a few women from Paris’ clique, there were only Gary, Tasha, Erin, Willow, and Peony still inside of their respective sleeping bags. It looked like a lot of the group was already up and about, Lydia and Nadine included. Rowen could see the outline of where their sleeping bags had been laid out in the grass.
“We have breakfast being served in the pavilion,” Crystal announced brightly. There was a mug of something steaming in her hands. Rowen prayed it was coffee but didn’t bother getting her hopes up. “Make sure you go get some. There’s a lot planned for today. You’ll need your energy!”
Rowen scrubbed the sleep from her eyes reluctantly. It felt like she had only managed to get to sleep a few minutes ago. She was already trying to figure out how she could manage to sneak away at some point and take a power nap in the cabin again. The horrible plastic mattress was looking more and more heavenly by the moment.
“Come on. Wake up you two.” Rowen gave both Willow and Peony a gentle kick as soon as she was finished rolling up her own sleeping bag. “It’s time to get up.”
Peony groaned and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. “This is a nature retreat,” Willow responded blearily. “There are no alarm clocks in nature. Go away.”
Rowen reached down and tugged Peony’s pillow out from under her head. “Hey!” Peony shouted, her head face down in the grass.
“Consider me your alarm clock.” Rowen wasn’t going to leave them behind to sleep on their own, not when she still wasn’t sure when and where that “something bad” was going to happen. She would never forgive herself if something happened to one of her cousins.
Willow and Peony both got up, albeit grumbling the whole while. They walked to breakfast as a group. “I didn’t sleep all that well last night,” Erin said around a yawn.
“Me neither,” said Tasha with a sniffle. “I think I’m allergic to something that grows out here.”
Gary didn’t say anything at all. He simply trudged along, head down. He looked to be asleep on his feet. Wizards needed their beauty rest too, it seemed.
***
Breakfast was about as satisfying as dinner had been. It too was vegetarian. There was veggie bacon, fruit, and seeds. The hot sauce was passed around for the veggie bacon. The fruit wasn’t particularly good. It was all overripe and tasteless, like it had come to them second hand from someone’s fruit basket. The breakfast itself seemed a bit odd, like it hadn’t been planned out very well. Say what you would about the dinner the night before, at least you could feasibly say that someone had tried. There had been a balanced meal there, even if it had tasted like hot garbage.
“This came out of a box,” said Erin, turning her veggie bacon in front of her face to inspect it. “I mean, that’s not a bad thing. I like this brand, but…”
“Someone burnt the heck out of it,” Tasha finished for her, tapping her charred “bacon” on the corner of the picnic table. The blackened end of it crumbled right off. “Not even hot sauce can salvage this.”
Rowen looked around. Crystal was standing near the table of food, her mug still in hand. She didn’t see anyone else with or around her, not Veronica and not Phoenix. Had Crystal prepared breakfast herself? That would explain a lot. It also worried Rowen. “Hey,” she said, getting her table’s attention. “Did anyone see Veronica or Phoenix on the way over here?”
“Veronica?” Tasha repeated.
“Yeah. Works here? Holds a clipboard a lot? Black hair?”
“Oh, right. Naw, haven’t seen her. Why?” Tasha shoved the rest of her veggie bacon in her mouth and grimaced.
“No reason. It’s probably fine.”
Erin’s eyes widened slowly. “Do you think something happened to her? Do you think she could be the one you got a bad feeling about?”
“It’s probably fine,” Rowen said again, emphasizing the words more. “Seriously, I’m probably overthinking things.”
“Phoenix too,” Willow reminded everyone. “He’s not here either. Maybe both of them got killed.”
“Hush,” Peony hissed, glancing around in hopes that no one beyond the table had heard. It was a weird thing to be theorizing about over breakfast. Besides, it really was too early to say if anyone was actually missing. It wasn’t like three people were enough to properly run a retreat. For all Rowen knew, breakfast was just bad today. That seemed like a reasonable explanation.
“Well, good morning, sleepyheads.” Aunt Nadine came up behind her daughters. In one hand she had a steaming mug, and knowing her, it was tea. She ruffled Peony’s hair with her free hand.
“It’s still super early,” Willow grumbled. “It’s not like we slept in.” Without a watch on her, she had no way of knowing that. With how high the sun was in the sky, it was probably later than the hour they left for work. Not that it felt that way.
“We’re going on a hike today.” Nadine sat down on the edge of the bench, next to Peony who was seated at the end. Peony scooted down some to give her more room. “Should be fun.”
“Hikes are… okay.” Rowen was trying to be positive. She offered her aunt a smile, which she returned.
“I thought this was a magical retreat or whatever,” grumbled Willow. “Isn’t hiking, like… a normal camp activity?”
“Hikes can be very powerful magical experiences,” reprimanded Nadine. “You know that.” Nadine loved nature. She hiked often. Rowen had lost count of the hikes she had been dragged along for as a child. She imagined Willow and Peony had been on even more. “I haven’t been hiking out here before and neither have you. I’m sure it’ll be illuminating.”
“Where’s Aunt Lydia?” asked Rowen.
Nadine nodded to Crystal. “We just got back from the showers.” She indicated her still-damp hair.
Sure enough, Lydia was standing next to Crystal. She had a mug of her own in her hands and was talking up a storm. Crystal didn’t look like she was paying very close attention. She looked distracted, her eyes on the walkie talkie in her hand. “Is everything okay?” asked Rowen.
“I think so.” Nadine observed Crystal in silence for a moment. “Why? Did something happen?”
“No,” Rowen said quickly.
“She got a bad feeling,” Peony blurted at the same time. Rowen glared at her cousin, but Peony simply shrugged, clearly not regretful. “What? You did.”
“What kind of feeling?” Nadine looked to Rowen, her brow creasing with concern.
There wasn’t a way around it, not one that Rowen could see anyway. “You know… just a feeling.”
“Do you think someone is in danger? Rowen, why didn’t you say something?”
“I don’t even know that it’s here that something is gonna happen. I didn’t want to bug you with it. You guys have been looking forward to this for so long”
“You shouldn’t keep things like this from us.” Nadine shook her head. It was only then that she seemed to notice they weren’t alone. “Oh! Let me think… Erin and Tasha, right?”
“Right,” said Tasha with a warm but awkward smile.
“Nice to meet you,” said Erin.
“And you as well.” Nadine smiled back to the both of them. “It’s nice to see all my girls making friends… If you’ll, ah, excuse me…” She stood and went toward Aunt Lydia, pulling her aside. So much for Rowen keeping her premonition away from those two.
“These feelings of yours are serious stuff, huh?” Tasha was watching Nadine and Lydia as well.
“She said they were last night.” Erin rolled her eyes at her friend. “Keep up.”
“It’s fine. I’m pretty skeptical of stuff like that, myself.” Rowen was less skeptical than most, sure, but it still paid to be skeptical of some things. “I really hope it’s all in my head this time.”
“You warned Crystal though, right?” asked Erin.
Rowen nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think she believed me. That’s why it took me so long yesterday. I, ah… I went into the woods to see if I could get a signal.”
Ta
sha perked up at that. “Did you?”
“Only for, like, a minute. I called Ben,” said Rowen. For Erin and Tasha’s benefit, she added, “He’s my brother in-law.”
“He’s also the Chief of Police,” said Willow.
“And what did he think?” asked Tasha.
“He took me seriously, if that’s what you’re asking. My gut feelings have a decent track record of being right, so he doesn’t dismiss them. He used to, but not anymore.”
Tasha gave a low whistle. “Well, now I’m getting nervous.”
“Sorry.”
“I hope Phoenix and Veronica are all right,” said Erin, renewed concern in her voice as well.
“Actually…” Rowen looked around, making sure no one was close enough to overhear. She lowered her voice and leaned in, pushing her plate away to fold her arms on the table. “After I lost signal, I heard a sound.”
“When?” asked Peony. “In the woods last night?”
Rowen nodded. “I went to go check it out.”
“Nope.” Tasha shook her head. “That’s how you get caught by an axe murderer or something. Never investigate strange noises in the woods.”
“Anyway.” Rowen began again. “I heard a noise and followed it. Turns out it was a couple of people doing… you know.” She inclined her head.
“You’re kidding.” Tasha sounded less annoyed about her following the sound. “Who was— Oh, wow. Veronica and that Phoenix guy?”
“It sure sounded like it.”
Tasha clapped her hands together, making Rowen jump and a few people at surrounding picnic tables glance over. “That’s crazy. I wouldn’t have guessed that, not in a million years.”
“Neither would I,” Rowen agreed. “I didn’t think they even liked each other.”
“Maybe they don’t,” suggested Willow. “Maybe it’s just a physical thing while they’re here.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you think that’s where they might be now?” asked Erin. “Maybe they’re off in the woods getting frisky. Maybe they lost track of time.”
“I hope so.” To Rowen, that sounded like the best case scenario.