by Tara Maya, Elle Casey, J L Bryan, Anthea Sharp, Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Alexia Purdy (epub)
Niles and Ivar walked away, leaving us alone in the clearing.
"Hey! Wait a minute! You can't just leave us out here!" I shouted at their retreating forms.
They ignored me and kept going.
"Should we go after them?" asked Tony.
I didn't know what to say. I had a feeling they'd be zero help if we did. And I had this sharp stick in my hand and was itching to use it on Ivar, so it was probably better if we didn't.
"No, let's just try to figure out where the hell we are and where we're going."
Tony put his sack on the ground and bent down to open it up. "Well, the good news is, we're not lost."
I laughed bitterly. "Of course we're lost. What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nope. We're not." He looked up at me and grinned, pulling a map out of his bag. "See? We have a map."
I bent down and gathered Tony in the biggest, strongest bear hug I could muster. No matter what happened in these fucked up woods, I had my map-toting best friend Tony Green with me.
Chapter Twelve
We all moved to the center of the clearing, gathering around the weapons table that was now bare. I emptied out my backpack to see what was inside. My flags were purple. Cool ... my favorite color. Everyone else dumped their bags out too. Tony's flags were green, which was both hilarious and spooky since there was no way Tony Green could have known which bag had those flags in it. This forest situation just got creepier and creepier every minute. Chase had blue flags, Jared yellow, Finn red, Spike black, and Becky orange. We also had the supplies Niles had mentioned: flint, map, army-style food packets, two bottles of water each, a mini-flashlight, and a big candle. I guessed that was the flare.
"How are we supposed to light these damn flares, anyway?" I asked.
"The flint," answered Jared.
"Yeah ... the flint ... now why didn't I know that?" I looked at Jared suspiciously. I guess I wasn't hiding my feelings very well, because I felt Tony nudge me in the back.
Jared brushed my comment off. "So, we have an obstacle course to get through," he looked over at me but I refused to be flattered, "and I suggest we stick together, like we discussed."
I turned, pulling Tony a little off to the side. "Are we going to do this with them or are we going it alone?"
"This is a pretty big forest, Jayne. Maybe we'd be better off if we stuck together."
I sighed. He was right. Still, I wasn't all that excited about hanging out with Jared and now maybe Chase either. I just wasn't sure that I trusted them. They seemed pretty unaffected by all of this. Anyone who wasn't freaking out right now, in my opinion, was either a stone-cold badass or in on this scheme somehow; and I didn't think Jared was all that badass - maybe Chase, but not him.
Tony and I went back to the table, and I said, "We're in for now. We'll take it as it comes; I can't guarantee we'll stay with the group for the entire test, though."
"Fair enough," said Jared. "What about the rest of you guys?"
Everyone nodded, so Jared pulled out his map and laid it on the table. Niles had been nice enough to mark a red spot on it, a type of 'you are here' marker. The first waypoint was to the northeast. There was no scale or legend, so it was impossible to know how far away our first stop was. I was no map expert, but even I knew that this one sucked.
"We're here, at this red dot. We need to get here, to the first waypoint. That means we have to go that way." Jared pointed off in the distance.
Tony and I quickly agreed. The final rays of the setting sun that I had noticed earlier gave us a good reference for the compass points. "Man, do I wish I had a compass right now," I said to no one in particular.
Spike happened to be walking by me at the time. "Well, you kind of have one."
"Oh yeah? Where?"
"On the trees; rumor has it that moss grows more on the north side of the tree than the south side." He winked before walking ahead of Tony and me.
"Is that true, Tony?"
Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I've heard that before, but I'm not sure if it's true. We need to find the North Star for our night walking. We can use the sun during the day."
"I think we should sleep at night - it's pretty friggin' dark in here." It wasn't even totally nightfall yet and I could barely see ten feet in front of me.
Jared left the clearing, the rest of us gathering up our stuff and following not far behind.
I hurried to catch up to Chase, since his form was quickly disappearing into the thick trees ahead. I could hear Becky struggling behind us. Finn was staying close by her, I think to make sure she didn't get left behind. I could hear him encouraging her along.
There were fallen trees and low-hanging branches everywhere. I had thought this was going to be a leisurely stroll through the forest, but I soon learned differently. Everywhere we stepped it was tough going. Where are all the damn paths in this place, anyway?
A breeze moved through the trees, pushing some branches aside. I thought I caught a glimpse of ... Yes! It was a path of some sort.
"Hey, guys! I think there's a path over here!" I pointed through the trees.
Tony looked around the branch that was in our way. "Yeah, she's right - there is a path here. This would be a lot easier to follow, I think. It seems to be going in the same direction."
Jared came back to where we were standing and looked for himself. He smiled absently, confusion momentarily flitting across his face before he nodded at me. "Good job, Jayne." He looked over his shoulder, encouraging us to follow. "Come on, everyone, let's go this way. Tony's right; it's going in the direction we want."
Spike and Chase easily kept up with his pace, but the rest of us fell behind. Tony was looking at the ground as we walked. He didn't see some branches in front of him and so they hit him in the face. As they swung back, they barely missed whipping into me.
"Pay attention to where you're walking, Tony," I said, irritated.
"Sorry ... I'm just ... do you notice anything weird about this path?" he asked.
"Weird? No, what do you mean?"
"I mean, it's not really a path. There's no trail on the ground. It's just some branches that have been shoved aside. But look down ... "
I looked at the ground to see what he was talking about. Sure enough, there was no trail under our feet. We were still walking over fallen branches, rocks, and other things - not what you would expect to see on a path that was well-traveled. But the way the branches were well away from the area, it seemed as though it could have been used quite a bit.
"Weird," was all I could think to say. Maybe whatever used the path didn't have feet. Or legs. I laughed nervously with the direction my mind was going. "Is it my imagination, or is this place glowing green?" I was feeling like I was going to see some fairies jump out at us at any second.
Tony laughed. "No, the only things glowing green right now are my teeth. I feel like I haven't brushed them in three days."
"I know, right? My teeth totally have fur on them right now."
"What're you guys talkin' 'bout?" asked Finn, coming up behind us.
"Oh nothing - just furry teeth and enchanted pathways. What's up with you?"
"Nothin'. Just tryin' not to trip and fall on my keester."
"Hey, guys! Wait up!" said Becky from behind us.
The three of us stopped to wait for her. She was short, so it was hard for her to climb over the bigger branches - unlike me, graceful gazelle that I was. Okay, maybe not so graceful or so much like a gazelle, but I had at least four inches on Becky, and I wasn't tall by any means. Everything about her was tiny. Even her tiny head had tiny ears attached to it. She wasn't a dwarf - more like a miniature person. Perfectly proportioned, but extra, extra, extra small. She probably had to shop in the little kids' department.
She finally caught up after scrambling over a particularly large log. "Where are we? Are we almost there yet?"
"I have no idea," I answered. I hadn't even taken my map out yet. "Let's go ask Jared."
"Whe
re'd he go?" asked Finn.
We looked up ahead at the path in front of us. It was dark now, and I couldn't see anything but some trees and then blackness.
"Shit, we've lost them," I said, pissed that those turds had left us behind. "Dammit, this isn't a race! Why didn't they wait?"
"Maybe they didn't realize they'd lost us," offered Tony.
I made a very inelegant sound in response. Tony was always giving people the benefit of the doubt. I knew if I were in front, I would make sure the people behind me were still behind me, especially in a dark creepy forest filled with friggin 'obstacles', whatever those were going to be.
"Let's just keep moving ahead on the path and see if we can catch up to them," suggested Tony.
Tony took the lead, turning on his flashlight, and we followed - first me, then Becky, then Finn. We didn't want to risk losing Becky the way we'd been lost already, so we kept her between us.
We were walking along for several minutes, with no sign of Jared, Chase, or Spike, when we heard shouting and screaming up ahead. The shouting was human; the screaming ... not so much. We all stopped dead in our tracks.
Tony shut off his flashlight.
My heart quit beating for a second and then rushed to catch up to its now accelerated rhythm. "What the fuck was that?" I asked, whispering loudly, totally freaking out.
Becky's eyes were practically the size of saucers. I could see them easily in the dark, glowing beacons coming from her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
Tony grabbed my arm, squeezing as hard as he could.
I slapped his hand away and shot him a dirty look.
He apologized silently, just moving his lips.
Finn was staring ahead of us into the darkness, probably wishing he could see like a cat so he could figure out what was waiting for us up ahead.
I was seeing okay here in the dark, more so than I did back home - probably the moonlight was helping. It was brighter here or something.
We heard another shout then and a scream. I recognized the voice. "It's Chase!" I whispered loudly, desperation in my voice. We couldn't just sit here while Chase, Spike, and Jared were getting their asses kicked. "Come on, we have to go see what's going on." I gestured for them to follow me, but Finn and Tony rushed to get in front. Frustrated with their uncoordinated chivalry that inadvertently knocked me to the side, I grabbed Becky's hand to drag her along and make sure she didn't get left behind.
We rushed up the path as quickly as we could, not worrying about the sounds we might be making as we crashed through the undergrowth. Chase and whoever else was up there were creating enough noise to cover the evidence of our arrival. I could tell we were getting closer now because we could hear grunts too - the sounds of men fighting in close contact.
Suddenly, a shot rang out.
Chase! The vision of his gun sitting on that weapons table and him putting it in his backpack rushed through my mind. I never considered that he'd actually use the stupid thing. My next thought nearly stopped me cold: What the fuck am I gonna do with a sharp stick?! I had no time to worry about that now, though. We had arrived at the scene.
None of us were prepared for what we saw.
Chapter Thirteen
We had reached a small opening in the trees. It was dark, but the moon was nearly full and shining brightly across the clearing, making it seem like there was a streetlight above our heads. It was enough for us to make out the form of Chase lying on his back, Spike's dark figure hunched over him.
"Chase!" I yelled, rushing to get to him, shoving Tony and Finn out of my way. I was anxious to bend down next to Spike and see if he was okay.
"Jayne, stop!" yelled Tony, panic in his voice. It didn't register with me for a split second, but by the time it did, it was too late. The dark figure that was crouching over Chase straightened up, and I immediately understood why Tony had called out anxiously to me.
It wasn't Spike. And whoever it was, he wasn't checking to see if Chase was okay. He was a little too close to Chase's bloody neck to be doing that.
I froze in my tracks, five feet away from the creature. He turned around to face me, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. I saw the glistening streak of crimson left behind as he slowly lowered his arm down to his side.
"Well, hello there, you sweet, ferocious thing. Nice of you to stop by. Are you here to rescue me?" He simpered when he talked, exactly like my flamingly gay music teacher from tenth grade who used to wear red pants and pink shirts to school. The creature smiled at me, and I could see blood on his teeth. Chase's blood.
So this is what a so-called 'obstacle' looks like. Shiiiiiit.
I was torn between the desire to jump on him and smash that smile off his face, and the urge to run away as fast as I could while screaming like a girl on fire. The look in his eyes reminded me of the big wildcats Tony and I would watch on Animal Planet ... crouched down and waiting, totally still, for the perfect moment to pounce on their prey and tear it to itty bitty bloody pieces.
A more subdued form of self-preservation won out - I walked backwards slowly, trying not to get him too excited about chasing me.
I heard Finn speaking quietly off to my left, a little behind me. "Jayne, take a step to your right ... slowly ... "
He didn't have to tell me twice. I stepped to my right and back, hoping it would put me between Tony and Mr. Tall, Dark, and Bloody. One more step and I was even with Finn on my left.
He had his bow up, arrow notched and ready to go.
Now that I was out of the way, our mystery man ... creature ... whatever he was, saw Finn too.
"Oooh, scary. A bow and arrow." He put his hand up to his mouth in mock fear. "Whatever am I going to do?"
Before the word 'do' was completely out of his mouth, he was standing three feet in front of Finn. I didn't even see him begin to move and then suddenly he was just there. "Hello, sweetheart. I ... " The rest of the cruel taunt he was in the process of lisping at Finn was suddenly cut off when Finn let the arrow fly, embedding it in the creature's chest cavity.
Finn slowly lowered the bow to his side as we all stared, stunned, at the arrow now protruding halfway out of the creature's chest and partway out of its back.
"Take that, shit-fer-brains," said Finn.
The creature was breathing heavily, the simpering smile wiped from his face. "Dammit ... a wooden arrow? Who gave that dangerous toy to you, little boy?"
And then he was gone ... poof ... like he'd never even been there in the first place.
Finn let out the breath he'd been holding in one big whoosh, bending over and holding his hand over his heart.
I totally understood what he was going through. I was having a small heart attack myself, and I hadn't just stuck a blood-sucking creature from my worst nightmares through the chest with a stupid arrow, unlike Finn.
Tony looked over at our hero, his own face so white it looked nearly blue. "Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"
Finn stood up and shrugged his shoulders. "I come from a long line o' rednecks; we bowhunt all kinda crazy shit in Central Florida. Nothin' like that, though."
I decided right then and there that I was never going to mock or disrespect a redneck ever again, for as long as I lived. He'd just saved all our bacon.
I put my hand on his shoulder. "Finn, my friend, you have nerves of absolute steel. I almost peed my pants when that gargoyle just appeared in front of you like that. I didn't even see him move."
"He reminded me of a rattler. Just waitin' to strike. We got lots of rattlers out where I'm from."
My newfound admiration for Finn's redneckery was interrupted by the sound of Chase's moaning. In all the excitement I had kind of forgotten the poor guy. Thank God he was still alive. My brain was not ready to accept death yet. Anyone's. Not even that freaky deaky monstrosity that had just vanished into thin air. It's not that I minded him being dead, so much as I just didn't want to have to look at him anymore; and if he had died, he'd still be here
with us, as a reminder of how the deep the shit was that we were in right now. I don't think they make wading boots tall enough.
Becky was the first to reach Chase. She knelt down, peering at his face, careful not to touch him. "Hey, Chase. You okay?"
I wasn't so worried about the touching part. I bent down and tapped his cheek a couple times. "Hey, Chase ... you in there?" I figured he'd appreciate the tough love approach more than the fawning and sniveling stuff.
His dry lips parted a little and he said weakly, "Yeah ... barely."
"Can you open your eyes?"
He opened them, and I couldn't help but gasp in surprise. The light of the moon was shining down onto his face, almost as bright as a flashlight. What were once the brightest cornflower-blue eyes I'd ever seen, were now a dark and dull ... I don't know ... blah. If 'empty' could be a color, this is what it would look like. "Holy shit, Chase ... your eyes."
"I can't see anything in this light," said Becky, pulling her flashlight out of her bag and shining it in Chase's face. As soon as she saw what I was talking about, her eyes got even buggier than they already were, welling up with tears. She snapped off her flashlight and turned her head to quickly brush them away.
Chase struggled to sit up, blinking the remnants of the brightness away. "I can see fine, but it is a little dark."
Tony and Finn came up to see what the big deal was. They both got on either side of Chase to help him stand. He swayed a little on his feet at first, but then he seemed to get his equilibrium back.
"Dizzy ... "
"Still a man of few words, I see," I said, jokingly. It was time to get some positive vibes back into this group, so I was determined not to start shrieking and having a total mental breakdown, even though that seemed like the natural thing to be doing.
Becky choked, laughing and crying at the same time. "Sorry," she said, embarrassed about her tears. I thought she was the only one having a normal reaction right now though, so I patted her on the shoulder to make her feel better.
Tony and Finn leaned in and got a closer look at Chase's eyes. Finn shined his flashlight on Chase's face. "Dude, what color are your eyes s'posed to be?"