Afraid

by Jack Kilborn

  When they’d hiked to the clearing earlier that afternoon, the woods had been dark. There were so many trees the canopy blocked out most of the sun. Now, at midnight, it was darker than anything Sara had ever experienced. The blackness enveloped them, thick as ink, and the fading Maglite barely pierced it more than a few yards.

  “Be easy getting lost out here,” Laneesha said.

  Sara played the light across the trees, looking for the red ribbon. They’d tied dozens of ribbons around trunks, in a line leading from the campsite to the shore, so anyone who got lost could find their way back. But in this total darkness every tree looked the same, and she couldn’t find a single ribbon. Sara had a very real fear that if they traveled too far into the woods, they wouldn’t be able to find their way back to the rest of the group. After only a dozen steps she could no longer see the campfire behind them.

  “Tyrone, Cindy, can you guys hear me?” she called out.

  “We hear you! You find any cannibals yet?”

  Neither Sara nor Laneesha shared in the ensuing chuckles. They trekked onward, dead leaves and branches crunching underfoot, an owl hooting somewhere in the distance.

  Sara had always been ambivalent about camping, having only gone a few times in her life. But now she realized she hated it. Hated camping, hated the woods, and hated the dark.

  But she had hated the dark for a very long time. And with damn good reason.

  “Martin,” Sara said, projecting into the woods, “this isn’t funny. It’s stupid, and dangerous.”

  She waited for a reply.

  No reply came.

  “I like Martin,” Laneesha said, “but fuck ’em. I’m a city girl. I don’t do creeping ’round the forest at night. This is a total bad idea.”

  Sara agreed. There was no hole or trench around here he could have fallen into, and if Martin hit his head he’d be lying nearby.

  Still, if this was a prank, it was being taken too far. It wasn’t funny anymore. It was just plain mean.

  And then Sara understood what was happening, and she felt her face flush.

  Her husband was doing this because he was angry.

  Is this how it’s going to be? Sara thought. Rather than act like the caring adult she fell in love with, he’s going to start behaving like a jerk?

  Well, two could play that game.

  “You can stay out there!” she yelled.

  Her voice echoed through the trees, fading and dying. Then …

  “elll …”

  The sound was faint, coming from far ahead of them.

  “Wassat Martin?” Laneesha asked.

  Sara squinted, crinkling her nose. “I’m not sure. Could have been an animal.”

  “Sounded like help. Know any animals that call for help?”

  “Martin!” Sara shouted into the trees.

  There was no answer. Laneesha moved closer to Sara, so close Sara could feel the girl shivering.

  “We should go back.”

  “What if it’s Martin? He could need help.”

  “You the social worker. Y’all good at helping people. I’m a single mom. I gotta take care of myself for my baby’s sake. ’Sides, prolly just an animal.”

  “help …” The voice was still faint, but there was no mistaking it.

  Martin. And he didn’t sound angry. He sounded scared.

  Sara began to walk toward the voice. “You go back to camp,” she said to Laneesha. “Martin! I’m coming!”

  The trees were so thick Sara couldn’t walk in a straight line for more than a few steps. Even worse, the Maglite was getting dimmer. How far ahead could he be? Fifty yards? A hundred? The woods seemed to be closing in, swallowing her up. There was no red ribbon anywhere.

  She stopped, trying to get her bearings. Sara couldn’t even be sure this was the right direction anymore.

  A rustling noise, to her left. Sara turned.

  “Martin?”

  Then something tackled Sara, something strong enough to knock the wind right out of her lungs. Before Sara could see what it was, the flashlight went flying and winked out.