by Gord Rollo
“‘Creepy’ is a better word,” Kim said, visibly uncomfortable but seeing as she was the new girl, trying to be a trooper and not cause a fuss.
“Oh come on, guys,” Rich said, laughing. “Before you even start freaking each other out, stop it. None of us are big-time woodsmen and we don’t have a clue what an old forest like this should or shouldn’t sound like. No one’s been through here in years…decades maybe if we’re lucky, so don’t you think if anyone is spooked here today it might be the animals? We’re the reason things are so quiet, all right? The birds and damn squirrels you’re listening for probably hightailed their asses out of here the minute we started stomping around. Makes sense to me, at least, so relax a little.”
“Rich is right,” Dan said. “Forget about it. The less noise the better. We’re not here on a nature hike. We’re here to find Miller’s Grove, and the best way to do that is to find the church, right? Let’s stop whining and get moving. We’ve gotta find the open fields and I think we need to keep heading north for that. Everyone all right with that? It’s still not too late to turn back.”
No one wanted to do that, although if push had come to shove, it looked to Kelly like Kim and Pat might have happily said good-bye. No one wanted to be the one to wimp out, especially so quickly, so together they carried on with Dan out front holding the compass and the rest following behind dodging the shadows.
The mood lightened up after an hour of hiking, with everyone (except perhaps Pat, who looked sour and was dragging his heels a little) joking around and pretending they weren’t getting tired and a bit discouraged. No one expected this to be easy, to just walk into the woods and somehow find a treasure chest full of gold, silver, and jewels just waiting for them out in the open, but the reality of what they were up against was starting to fully dawn on them. This was wild country, and there weren’t any man-made trails to follow anymore. Dan picked and weaved the group’s way as best he could, following the natural lay of land and trying to keep them heading north but it wasn’t easy. Another hour went by, and then one more, the group of friends determined to walk as far as they had to in order to get the job done.
The trees were enormous in this section of woods, and sometimes the path between them was choked solid by bushes and vines and years’ worth of fallen branches. There were a lot of rocks and stones to navigate over or around as well, all of which made walking not only strenuous and slow, but also potentially dangerous. One slip or misplaced step and one of them could easily twist an ankle or worse yet, break something, and what would they do then? The prospect of carrying someone back out to the cars didn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. Rich continually reminded everyone to watch their step, so much so that Lizzy eventually told him to shut the hell up. Rich was so tired he didn’t even have a smart comment to yell back to her. For a change, he just did what she said.
The long hike was getting to all of them. The jokes had stopped and hardly anyone was even talking anymore. Exhaustion and frustration were stealing away their earlier enthusiasm. Mile after grueling mile, nothing ever looked any different from the last. It was trees and rocks, bushes and vines, over and over, and to make matters worse, the deeper they headed into what had once been called Oak Valley, the thicker and denser the forest was becoming. There were times Dan couldn’t even find a way through the tangled vines and grown-together tree trunks, and they’d be forced to travel east or west to get around the untamed terrain. Eventually, probably more frustrated than he was showing, Dan called for a rest stop. It was almost 4:00 P.M. now, and although they’d rested several times and were drinking from their water flasks steadily, they’d never actually stopped for an official break. Maybe they’d all feel better if they got off their feet for a while and had something decent to eat? At the very least, the rest would help get them into a better mood.
They had sandwiches again, but this time they ate ham and cheese. They also passed around containers filled with pickles, carrots, and celery sticks. For dessert, they had apple slices and homemade chocolate brownies that Kim had brought along with her, an unexpected treat much to the delight of everyone. It wasn’t fine dining, but it was fast and delicious and just what they needed to get their strength back.
“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Kim whispered to Dan as the others were busy cleaning up and refilling their backpacks.
“I’d prefer you didn’t, to be honest,” Dan said, glancing around to see if Kelly was within earshot. Thankfully she was over gabbing with Lizzy at the moment, helping reroll a sleeping bag they’d used to sit on during lunch.
“Oh come on, Danny, there’s no need to be like that. You might want to—”
“No, I won’t. Stop it.”
“You don’t even know what I was gonna say,” Kim said, laughing and standing way too close to him, “accidentally” rubbing her firm breasts on his arm.
Dan sighed and took a half step backward. “Yes I do…and it’s not happening. Come on, Kim. You and I had some fun but I’m trying to put things right between Kelly and I. Besides, you’re here with Pat and he’s one of my best friends. You guys will get along great and we can hang out and all have some fun, but cut the shit, okay? Please? You can’t let Kelly know we…ah…nearly dated.”
Kim smiled and gave him a wink. “That what you’re calling it? No problem, lover boy. Just remember the offer is still open, least for a little while. You might want to give that some serious thought. Bet it gets mighty cold out here in the woods at night. Know what I mean?”
By 4:30 everything was packed away and they were once again ready to roll. Pat took a few group pictures to mark the occasion, then put his camera back in his bag. Kelly noticed he wasn’t quite as bubbly and chatty as usual and wondered if perhaps he was slipping into one of his depressed moods again. They didn’t come often, but when they did, Pat would go quiet and shut down emotionally on them. During their break, Kelly couldn’t remember Pat saying a word. He’d just sat and quietly ate his sandwich alone. That wasn’t a good sign, but she hoped he’d just been tired.
“You okay, Pat?” she confidentially asked him as they slipped on their packs.
“Sure. Why?”
“No reason. You’re just a little quiet, that’s all.”
“Oh…well, I’m fine. Maybe a little stressed.” Pat nodded in the direction of Kim, who was currently bent over retying her hiking boots, looking better than any woman had a right to look after hiking for this many hours. “I’m worried about her. She’s a bit out of my league, ya know?”
“No she’s not. She’s lucky to have you.”
Pat smiled. “Thanks, Kel. You’re a liar, but God love ya! Seriously…I’m okay.”
Kelly took him by the arm and they joined the rest of the gang. Everyone was huddled over by Dan, figuring out their next move.
“We gonna keep heading north?” Rich asked.
“I think so,” Dan said. “Another mile or two. Why?”
“Just asking. How many miles do you think we’ve already covered? Ten?”
“No way, not that much. On an open road, sure, but we’ve been moving at a snail’s pace and not always in a straight line. I’ll bet we’ve only walked about five. Maybe six.”
“Is that all?” Lizzy asked. “It might take days to find this place.”
“I don’t think so. According to Pat’s map, there’s another small town about ten or twelve miles north of here and if Miller’s Grove was near that, someone would have found it. Unless we’re way off base here and totally in the wrong woods, I think we’re going to hit it soon. Hope so anyway.”
“That’s great news,” Kelly said. “But we need more walking and less talking, right? So let’s get at it.”
“Yes, boss,” Dan said, and they all followed behind him and his compass again.
They’d only been walking for ten minutes when Pat cried out, “Hey, look at that!” and reached for his camera.
Everyone followed the direction of his lens and perched on a thick limb ten feet off
to their left was a huge jet-black bird, its dark eyes following their every step.
“What is it?” Kim asked. “A raven?”
“It’s a crow,” Rich said.
“Wow!” Lizzy said. “I didn’t realize they were that big. That thing’s huge.”
“I didn’t think they were that big either. Its wingspan’s gotta be about three feet. Here…watch. I’ll make it fly away.” Rich walked slowly over to the tree the bird was perched in, waving his arms in the air, attempting to scare the crow into taking flight. The silky black bird never moved. Didn’t even flinch. It just stared down at Rich, its eyes cold and unreadable, but never for a moment did it appear remotely frightened.
“Ah, maybe we’ll just leave it where it is,” Rich joked, joining the gang again. “Weird, huh? It’s not scared at all. Doesn’t give a damn about us.”
“That’s a good sign though,” Kelly said. “My grandpa kept talking about the crows around Miller’s Grove. He said there was a swarm of the damn things. They used to creep him out something fierce.”
“Maybe we’re getting close,” Lizzy said.
“Let’s keep moving, then,” Dan said, walking away.
Everyone followed, but couldn’t help but look back to see what the crow was doing. It hadn’t moved and was still silently watching them as they walked away. A chill ran down Kelly’s spine, and she turned away, refusing to look back. Without giving it much thought, she brought up her left hand and lightly kissed her grandfather’s ring and made the sign of the cross over her heart. She wasn’t overly religious and if pressed she wouldn’t even be able to explain why she’d done it, but it somehow felt right and made her feel just that tiny bit safer. She supposed that was reason enough.
The next hour was tough slugging, the forest closing in on them and making progress incredibly difficult. Just as everyone’s mood was starting to turn bitter, they suddenly came out of the trees into a wide-open field of corn. About the size of a football field, it wasn’t huge, but it was by far the biggest open space they’d stood in since entering the forest over five hours earlier. The sun was still shining in the western sky but clouds were drifting in, turning the heavens gray and dirty compared to the blue skies of this morning. It was definitely brighter and warmer here out from under the canopy of leaves; so much so Kelly considered removing her sweatshirt she’d been wearing but unzipped it instead, deciding it was too much of a pain removing her backpack and then having to gear up again. Besides, she was smart enough to know this temperature wasn’t going to last long. The sun was sliding toward the horizon and within a few hours it would be getting dark.
“We must be getting close,” Dan said, excited. “This must be one of their fields. There’s no church so it’s not the main one, but still. If this is here…and it wouldn’t be if there hadn’t been at least some settlement nearby in the past, it gives Kelly’s grandpa’s story more weight. I honestly think we’re getting really close!”
“Totally agree, man,” Rich said, walking over to high-five Dan. “Nothing’s gonna stop us now, guys!”
Everyone could feel the excitement building, adrenaline pumping back into their tired bodies after a long day of slugging around like packhorses, stumbling around in the shadow-shrouded forest without really knowing where they were going, using mostly hope as their guiding light.
“Anyone notice anything unusual about that corn?” Kelly asked, not wanting to disrupt everyone’s good mood but wondering why no one else was seeing what she was.
“What do you mean?” Lizzy asked. “Looks fine to me. What’s wrong with it?”
“Everything. The cornstalks are massive, way taller than normal corn, and look, there has to be eight or ten cobs on each stalk?”
“So?” Kim said. “How many are there supposed to be?”
“I don’t know but certainly not that many. I think only three or four. My grandfather said they were unnaturally bountiful, remember? Unnaturally healthy…and look at their color. They’re green.”
“All corn is green,” Dan said. “What’s the problem?”
“Sure, all cornfields are green…in the summer. This is October. Harvest time, right? All this corn should normally be picked by now and the stalks yellow and dying. This corn is still growing. That’s just not right. It’s…it’s well, unnatural, just like Malcolm said.” He’d also used the words “haunted” and “evil” when describing the cornfields but Kelly decided to keep that information to herself.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Kim said. “And now that you mention it, the trees around here look different too. When we first started walking, the leaves were turning colors and falling from the trees, right. We had to plow through them. There were also lots of dead branches and fallen trees, remember? Look around.” Everyone scanned the surrounding woods. All the trees were healthy and strong, the leaves as green as the cornstalks. “See what I mean?”
“Easy now,” Rich said. “Let’s not start with the spooky stuff again, okay? I’m sure the growing season’s just different out here in the middle of the forest. You know how the temperature always stays warmer near a lake ’cause the water heats the air a bit? It’s probably like that. The outer forest shields the fields and trees in here, keeping things a few degrees warmer. Probably extends the growing season here for an extra month.”
“I agree,” Dan said. “No offense, girls, but I don’t see what the big deal is. We’re talking about trees and cornstalks here. What difference does it make? We’re here to find Miller’s Grove, remember, and we’re losing sunlight the longer we stand here doing nothing. Let’s keep heading north and see if—”
“No, wait,” Pat said, interrupting.
“What’s the matter?”
“We need to head west, not north.”
“How do you know that?” Kim asked.
“Easy…look,” Pat said, pointing toward the setting sun.
All eyes turned that direction and nearly everyone gasped. Above the trees on that side of the field, a dark cloud was rising into the air, a swirling mass of shadows blotting out the sun. For a minute no one knew what to think, but then the mass spread out and started circling the entire area, including the field they were standing in.
“Crows!” Kelly shouted. “Hundreds of them.”
The murder of crows circled overhead, diving low to the ground and then climbing high again, a never-ending dance of black birds, hypnotic and beautiful to watch. Some of the braver birds swooped down to get a better look at the group of visitors, soaring past where they stood less than fifteen feet above their heads. Everyone screamed and ducked each time one came close, but there was never any real sense of danger. It was more out of excitement and wonder.
“My God!” Lizzy said. “Look how big they are too. Just as big as the one we saw back there in the woods, I’ll bet. Some might be even bigger!”
They watched the crows circle for about ten minutes, then suddenly, as if responding to a call or hearing a signal none of the humans had heard, all the birds flew back over the stretch of forest to the west and dove back down out of their line of sight. Kelly waited to see if the birds would take flight again, but they never did.
“My grandpa told me that the last time he was out here, the crows back then were all over Reverend Miller’s church and the main field. This could be it, guys. Dan, we gotta check out what’s on the other side of those trees.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dan said, a huge smile on his face. “Let’s go!”
They walked in single file between the fully loaded cornstalks, headed for the trees beyond, and once they made it their excitement grew even more. Directly in front of them was a path leading into the dense forest—a man-made path by the looks of it, the first such trail they’d seen in hours. Not proof positive yet, but definitely another sign they were getting close. A few minutes into the forest, they came to a circular clearing on the dirt path and had to walk around a large two-foot-high boulder placed in the middle of the trail. On the face of the s
tone was a weathered carving of the exact pentacle-and-triangle-shaped design as on Kelly’s ring. She showed everyone Malcolm’s ring on her hand and there was no doubt at all now that they were on the right track. Everyone was tired but it was all they could do not to sprint down the dirt trail, practically racing one another to see where the path would lead.
Then suddenly they were out of the trees again and looking down a gradual slope at a sight none of them could believe. Below them was the largest cornfield any of them had ever seen in their lives. It was so massive, in fact, they could have dropped five city blocks—the entire downtown core of Cedar Rapids—into the middle of it, and still had room for parking. It was incredible, all this untended crop out here in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the dense oak forest. Making the sight look all the more impressive was the corn itself. If they thought the last field had yielded a bountiful crop, it now seemed stunted and shriveled compared to this field. The cornstalks were gigantic, standing at least ten or eleven feet off the ground and covered in twenty or more massive cobs. It was a cornfield on steroids, bursting with life and an amazing abundance of food.
“Guess fall hasn’t made it to this part of the woods either, huh, Rich?” Kelly asked. She was only giving him a little dig, but once it was out of her mouth it made her once again realize just how unusual this place truly was. It was an abomination of nature, for sure—an eerie place undisturbed by man for decades yet still growing stronger than if it had been tended by a whole army of modern-day farmers. She felt a chill pass through her again, bringing goose bumps onto her arms, and at that moment she could totally understand how her grandfather had considered this field corrupted and haunted. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but something was just so…so wrong about all of this.
“Will you look at that!” Dan said in a quiet tone, awe in his voice.
Kelly thought he meant the endless rows of corn and was thinking the same strange things she was about it, but everyone was looking over the cornstalks and across the field to her right. When Kelly saw what they were looking at, she gasped, feeling like a fool for not noticing it immediately like the others. She needed to stop daydreaming and get her grandfather’s superstitions out of her head. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.