by S. E. Akers
I came upon a massive oak tree and decided to pause for a moment to secure my shoestrings. I propped my foot on a large root that trailed away from its trunk.
There, nice and tight, I thought as I pulled back on the loops. I raised my head up quickly to find myself face-to-face with a large bird resting on one of the low hanging limbs. I jumped back and grabbed my chest as the bird “squawked” and stretched both its wings.
Make that THREE TIMES today, I noted mentally.
Perched on the branch sat a rather large brown and gold falcon. It made no attempt to fly away, let alone be startled by me in any way. The magnificent bird appeared to be cautiously checking me out. I’d never seen a falcon up close before. Hawks plenty of times, but never a falcon.
“Is this your home, pretty bird?” I found myself casually asking the fowl. “Can I listen in on your thoughts?” I joked.
The falcon raised his wings, let out an ear-piercing “squawk”, and then soared straight up into the air.
I’ll take that as a “NO”, I thought as I turned around to continue on my quest.
Immediately I froze. My body started to tremble and my eyes widened at an alarming rate as soon as I realized why my feathery-friend had flown the coop. Just inches from my face, a silhouette of “something” was hovering — something that appeared to be a mass of translucent black mist. My breaths became heavier, and my heart started to race. In spite of the fact that the unearthly fog didn’t have any visible “eyes”, I could feel it watching me, like it had years ago, waiting for me to make some sort of movement. My nostrils flared as I took in a deep breath of air. There it was, the same foul scent of sulfur. A small tear rolled out of the corner of my eye as the emotions of that harrowing day came rushing back to me, just like they had in my dream.
A black hand formed from the murky fog and smudged the tear on my cheek. An excruciating pain stung the left side of my face, forcing me to jerk back. The hazy hand paused, taunting me for a moment, and then slowly retracted.
Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid, I kept telling myself. You’re not a little girl anymore and there’s no need to be afraid. One of Daddy’s favorite adages popped into my mind to comfort me: “It’s more afraid of you, than you are of it”.
Yeah… Let’s hope that load of crap is true, THIS TIME, I thought nervously, wary of what was sure to happen next.
Unexpectedly, the fog began to roll away from me, almost like it was starting to dissipate. Could whatever this “thing” is, be leaving? It seemed to be disappearing with every second that passed. It’s almost gone… Just a little more, I assured myself. I clutched my oval locket and found myself trying to “wish it away” like when I was five.
Without warning, a monstrous growl roared out of the fog. The mist thickened into a billowy black cloud and then two murky arms lunged towards me with a vengeance.
Frantically, I tried to turn and run, but the crafty hands had already wrapped around my neck. The fiendish black mist hurled me towards the massive oak. I heard the sound of the tree’s bark cracking as my body hit its trunk — hard. The hands were choking me, and I couldn’t catch my breath. I tried my best to pull the dense fog away from my neck, but its hold was too strong and it felt just as painful as I’d remembered. Its piercing touch burned hot, like a jolt of biting electricity that had been set ablaze. The pain was becoming more than I could bear. I flailed about and tried to scream, but my vocal cords were constricted. The only sounds I made were of me, gasping desperately for air. There was nothing I could do but wait until the dark, sadistic hand of death choked my last breath out of me.
In the midst of my losing struggle, I thought I heard something rustling above my head somewhere up in the tree. The next thing I knew, the curious and apparently feisty falcon was diving into the fog amid a pillow of mystical golden smoke. It appeared to be pecking at it, attacking it somehow. The murky fog’s taut grip loosened up enough that I was able to free myself. I fell to the ground while the eerie haze savagely struck back at the falcon.
Quickly, I sprang to my feet and took off through the woods, assuredly running for my life. Though I felt extremely grateful to the falcon for helping me get away, I couldn’t shake my fear that this fight would be its last.
I ran so fast that I wasn’t paying a bit of attention to where I was going, and my nerves were so frazzled, I didn’t have a clue where I was either. All I could hear were the sounds of the falcon squawking and what seemed like an endless stream of horrific roars blaring in the distance. I couldn’t stop, but I knew I had to look back to see if anything was on my tail. Keeping my stride at its present pace, I turned my head for a second to check my rear. There wasn’t anything behind me. I felt a sense of relief as I turned my head back around. Then all of a sudden, “Bam!” I hit something — and I’d hit it HARD. Whatever it was that I’d crashed into had stopped me dead in my tracks, and I was still fused to it.
Crap! I must’ve run into a tree. It had knocked the wind right out of me. My eyes were winced shut, but as my body continued to press against it, something moved and locked onto my arms. My nerve receptors sent a clear signal to my brain. This wasn’t the rough bark of a tree I was clinging to. It was strangely supple — and warm. An overwhelming sense of serenity flooded every cell in my body. I felt like I was floating on a cloud peacefully, without a care in the world.
I opened my eyes. It appeared I was clinging to someone’s chest — a man’s chest — a warm and incredibly firm man’s chest, to be exact. As my arms gripped the sleeves of the man’s leather jacket, I slowly lifted my head. There before me, I gazed into a set of wide hazel eyes that were handsomely framed by locks of brown hair with gleaming golden flecks flowing down from his widow’s peak. He just stood there and stared back at me, willingly. I felt like nothing could harm me in this stranger’s arms. My eyes traveled around his face like Magellan surveying a map. He was handsome and rugged, yet he had a soft boyish look about him, though clearly he was no boy. I could tell that just from the way his smoldering eyes creased as he looked at me, and by the way his finely toned biceps tightened slightly as my arms gripped them. But mostly, I could feel it by the way he stood there — holding me. A smile crept across my face, uncontrollably.
“Miss? Are you okay?” the stranger asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” I murmured, transfixed on the bewitching stranger. Unexplainably, my thoughts began to drift into an arousing state of bliss the longer I stared into his hypnotic eyes.
Slowly, I released myself from his soul-stirring embrace. Then all of a sudden, I became overwhelmed with fear. Anxiously, I panned the forest in all directions. The terrifying reason why I’d run into this man had resurfaced.
“I have to get out of here,” I declared panic-stricken. “I mean — get home. Have you seen anything in the woods? What are you doing here?” My questions were as about as erratic as my sudden mood shift.
“I thought you said you were ‘fine’?” The beautiful stranger looked me up one side and down the other. “You don’t seem that ‘fine’ to me?” he replied as he crossed his arms.
“You didn’t answer me. Have you seen anything out here on the ridge?” I demanded as I kept one eye on him and the other on my surroundings.
“I’ve been out here for the past few hours collecting samples, and the only thing I’ve happened upon is a scared little girl in the woods,” he replied with a slick grin.
I was too rattled by the fog creature that could possibly still be lurking nearby to scoff at the stranger’s “scared little girl” crack. I was more interested in why he was out here.
“Samples? For what?” I asked as I continued to survey the woods. He was standing beside an apparatus that appeared to be some sort of drill.
“Samples of the earth, no doubt,” he replied suavely as he flipped a switch that started up the machine.
“So you’re the one who’s been making that noise,” I noted with surprise.
“Guilty,” he replied as he rais
ed both of his hands in an apparent surrender. He began to gather up some tools lying on the ground.
I scanned the stranger from head to toe. By the way he was dressed and carried himself, it was obvious he wasn’t from around here.
“Are you with Xcavare Enterprises?” I asked cautiously.
“I’m not with them, exactly,” he replied defensively. “But I do consulting work for them on occasion. My expertise was needed on this particular acquisition.”
I watched suspiciously while he collected all of his samples and placed them into a canvas backpack, still confused by his presence on the ridge.
“Why do they have you working out here and not down at the mine?”
“Mr. Xcavare insists that all the surrounding areas be checked for additional resources. I enjoy that part. I tend to like the exploration that my field work allows, more than the mundane technical duties of my job.” He turned off the drill and swiftly rose to his feet. “Now, answer my question,” the stranger demanded as he stepped closer, locking his eyes with mine. “What should I have seen out here?”
There was no way I was telling him the truth, so I decided to sidestep his question.
“I live on the other side of the ridge. I heard a strange sound, and I came out here to check it out. Now I know, so I’ll be on my way. Sorry for running into you like that,” I stated abruptly with a direct nod and whipped around to get my bearings.
I started to walk off and then stopped. I turned around and headed in the opposite direction, only to pause again.
“What’s wrong, Gretel? Can’t find your breadcrumbs?” he chuckled as he packed up his equipment. “For someone who claims they live nearby, you sure don’t seem to know your way around — if you ask me.”
“I do live nearby! I just don’t come out here…very much. But I’ll find my way back,” I snapped.
“I see. Well, I have a compass if you need it, or I could accompany you home. You really shouldn’t be out here alone in the woods…seeing how the light is beginning to fade. Little girls tend to be scared of the dark,” he quipped.
My eyes narrowed. “Humph! I’m not alone — You’re out here,” I replied like a smart-ass and smiled.
He grinned. “Good point…But I’d feel better if I saw you home, and I won’t take ‘No’ for an answer. No matter how stubborn you are . . . little girl.”
Even though his “little girl” reference was starting to piss me off, his persistence was comforting. After all, I’d just been running for my life a few minutes ago. Maybe whatever attacked me would steer clear of two people walking through the woods? Safety in numbers, I thought.
He grabbed his backpack and motioned that he was ready to go. I noticed he hadn’t packed up his drill.
“Are you just going to leave that out here?” I asked as I pointed to the piece of machinery that had gotten me into this mess in the first place.
“My core drill? It’ll be fine. It’s a pain to disassemble…and anyway, I’ll be back to collect more samples tomorrow. There’s nothing out here that could bother it, now is there?” he inquired suspiciously, staring at my neck.
I consciously tugged my sweatshirt up closer to my chin. “No. There’s not,” I insisted with my best poker-face.
He stood there scrutinizing me for a moment, head firmly cocked with one of his brows arched high enough to scrape a daggone cloud. “Well, you are quivering,” he remarked as he removed his weathered leather jacket. “So you must be chilly,” he added with a subtle grin and then draped it around my shoulders.
The beautiful stranger was right about my “shaky” appearance, but it certainly wasn’t from the temperature. As soon as I felt his arm around my back, that euphoric feeling started to pulse through me again. I didn’t know what it was about him, but I felt like nothing could harm me with him around. As we walked through the woods, I found myself getting lost in every peaceful thought I could imagine. When I gazed over at the stranger, I noticed a slight twinkle in his eyes and for just a moment, I could have sworn that I’d seen a few flecks of purple sparkling in the midst of the two hazel pools, like facets on a gem. Instantly, I felt blood rushing to my face. I quickly looked away, before it became apparent that I was blushing.
How embarrassing.
It didn’t take long for my surroundings to become more familiar. Within minutes, we were at the tree line that bordered my backyard. He pushed back several pine limbs.
“Is this it, Miss?” he asked.
“Yes. Thank you,” I replied, grateful for the stranger’s kindness.
All of a sudden, something buzzed over our heads. We ducked in unison. Soaring in the sky above was the brown and golden falcon that had fended off my demonic attacker. I was more than relieved to see that it was okay.
“Thank goodness,” accidently slipped out of my mouth, right along with my sigh.
“Friend of yours?” the stranger quizzed.
I shook my head as I hopped over the fence and proceeded to walk towards the house. “No. I prefer my friends not so feathery,” I teased.
“Hey, I didn’t catch your name?” he called out.
I realized I was still wearing his jacket, which I quickly peeled off and hurled over the fence to him.
“I didn’t throw it,” I cracked with a grin.
I looked towards the house to spot Daddy blazing a hot & heavy trail straight for me.
“Who was that, Shiloh?” Daddy asked, his eyes never leaving the stranger receding back into the trees.
“Some guy who works for Xcavare. He surveys or does something like that for them. He was out on the ridge collecting soil samples.”
“What were YOU doing out on Shiloh Ridge?” Daddy asked, seeming flustered.
“I heard a noise coming from out there, so I went to check it out.”
“Shiloh, that’s dangerous! Anyone could’ve been out there. Where’s your head at today?” Daddy fussed.
If you only knew the half of it, I pondered to myself.
“You’re right, Daddy. I’m sorry. I got a little lost, and that guy was nice enough to walk me home.” I saw no need in telling him about being strangled by the big, black cloud of death that had attacked me out there. My intention was to stay the Hell away from there and NEVER go back!
Daddy gave me a lingering hug as we walked towards his workshop. “You were really hard at it, weren’t you?” he asked proudly as he peeked inside.
“You told me to clean it up. I still have to bag some of the scrap wood and sweep up,” I added.
“Just leave it…It looks great,” Daddy praised. “I didn’t expect you to get this much done.”
I finally spied some delight on his face. I hadn’t seen that old cheeky smile of his since this morning at breakfast.
“Let’s go inside,” Daddy ordered with a playful nudge. “It’s getting kind of late, and you’ve worked really hard today.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I wanted back inside more than he could have ever known. I still wasn’t sure what that “thing” was out there in the woods, or why “it” wanted to hurt “me”. Just get me the heck inside!
“Did you show them around the mine?” I asked coolly as we stepped into the house through the back door.
“There’ll be plenty of time to talk about Xcavare Enterprises, Shi. I really don’t want to jaw about the mine…Not tonight. I just want to relax and enjoy my family this evenin’,” Daddy insisted as we sat down at the kitchen table. He took my hand in his and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
I guess he’s not upset about my behavior anymore, and if he doesn’t want to talk about Lazarus Xcavare…fine by me.
Suddenly, Chloe burst into the kitchen with Charlotte trailing behind her, sipping on her half-empty glass of wine. By the looks of it, I’d say she was on her fourth.
“Daddy, do you like my dress? Isn’t it beautiful!” Chloe was clearly making a statement of fact and not a “general inquiry”.
“You look lovely, honey,” Daddy bragged. “
Those seniors on the court had better watch out. The students might just give the crown to you at halftime.”
“I know, Daddy. That’s sooo true,” Chloe beamed. “I can’t wait for Mike to see me in it!”
I found myself rolling my eyes, knowing Chloe’s vanity was about to get the best of me, yet again. Unfortunately, Charlotte noticed my gesture, so I had to adjust my expression immediately.
Charlotte sneered at me, covertly. “Shiloh,” my mother announced in a sugary tone, “Why don’t you go try on your dress for your father?”
“I’m a sweaty mess,” I sighed. “Chloe, just go get it and bring it in here. It’ll be on me soon enough. Daddy can see me in it then.”
Chloe threw our mother “a look”, almost like she needed her permission.
“Well, go get it for her, sweetie,” Charlotte urged with a nod. Chloe bustled out of the room not a second later.
At that moment, all I wanted was to take a long, hot bath and wash the stench of Shiloh Ridge off my body. I could still smell a hint of sulfur around my neck. I rubbed my hand across the areas where the black fog had grabbed me. My neck was throbbing, but thankfully it wasn’t the excruciating pain I’d felt earlier.
Chloe emerged without delay, carrying a long black garment bag.
“Are you ready?” my sister asked.
“Yes,” I mumbled indifferently.
“Here it is,” Chloe announced as she unzipped the bag and whipped out the mystery dress.
My right eye began to twitch, uncontrollably. My jaw dropped as a sinking feeling set in the pit of my stomach. She’s done it…She’s really done it this time! I’ve never seen a more hideous dress in all of my life! It was yellow — puke yellow — with some sort of black cording for straps, and a band of black trim around the bottom. I have no remnants of a summer tan left, and she would have me show up to a school dance looking like a daggone washed-out, sick-ass bumblebee?