Pluck (The Woodswalker Novels)

by Emilia S. Morrow

  PLUCK

  A woodswalker novel

  Emilia S Morrow

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 Emilia S. Morrow

  All rights reserved.

  https://emiliasmorrow.wixsite.com/emiliasmorrow

  Second anniversary edition

  PROLOGUE

  Slightly Off

  This Owl Would Eat Her

  Blood and Bones and Cotton

  Bitter Leaves and

  Charred Meat

  Hello

  Prey Instincts

  Blowing Out a Candle

  The Wisdom Behind It

  Honey From Comb

  How Feral?

  Instead of a Berry, a Thorn

  Thump Thump Thump

  New Dark

  Bucket of Rot

  Missing Girl

  Remember the Rope

  The Moth on the Ceiling

  Nesting

  Staying Forever

  Heading Somewhere

  As Soothing as a Naked Man

  Sharp Enough

  Boiling

  Likely Passing

  Take Care of It

  EPILOGUE

  Prologue

  A Word From the Author

  PROLOGUE

  A man walked down the weathered pavement winding its way amongst the spindly trees. The only light came from dwindling fires, almost asleep in their metal cribs. He did not need their light to walk the path. The world was moist, rain having visited this place before him.

  He silently walked to one of the dormant sites. He looked through the different belongings left under a sagging tarp. He snatched a dirty knife, fish guts still clinging to it’s dull blade. He wiped the knife clean against his bare thigh.

  Another cluster of sleeping life caught his attention. It was almost too much, being around all of this feverish humanity. He hurried along to inspect their camp site. They were more trusting than others, food and supplies spread out across their rented space. Or maybe they just really wished to see a bear, he thought.

  He snatched a small green camping stove from a slick wooden picnic bench. The metal scraped loudly against the wood. His heart pounded as he held the stove against his chest. The previous owners do not wake up. He wandered back onto the path, pushing deeper into the campgrounds.

  Here the tents became less frequent, spread further apart as they headed into thicker woods. As he approached the thin creak soft moans mingled with rushing waters. The man crouched besides the silver tent that held them. He was only separated from their joy by thin sheets of plastic. He wanted to touch them.

  A zipper loudly opened in the next tent over, snapping him from his desires. His brilliant eyes flickered over to the intrusion. Someone was awake. He did not move, letting the inky night do the work of hiding him in stillness. His wide chest heaved with excitement and dread.

  A woman crawled out of the cramped orange tent, a small flashlight clutched in her fist. An annoyed whisper carried across the distance. The woman let out a hushed apology. She smacked the flashlight against her hand, willing more light to come from its weak bulb.

  It was her. He almost dropped his stolen bounty. He did not expect her here, not after she had left him waiting. The air was getting colder by the day. By now she was usually long gone.

  As she joined him on the pavement she did not glance in the direction of the figure. Something still does not sit right with her. She swept the weak beam of light in a half circle ahead. The man silently stepped just behind her.

  His mouth twitched into a smile as she hurried her steps. She had nothing to fear from him. He followed behind, near invisible on this moonless night. His bare toes smashed daddy long legs as she crossed the damp leaves off of the designated path.

  He tried to hold back. He could not help it, something about seeing her sent him forward with rushed steps. Her flickering beam landed further ahead on a long, squat building. Her posture relaxed at the sight of it ahead of her.

  If she turned back at this very moment she would surely see him. He didn’t know what he would do if she did. Would she be as excited by the sight of him, as he was of her? He wished she would smile, even if he did not cause it.

  She opened the door to the outhouse building. Moths scattered into the chilly air at the sudden intrusion of the automated lights. He slipped back into the shadows of the trees surrounding it. She looked back at the campgrounds with the new light from the building. With the harsh lights backlighting her, he cannot see her face. He was disappointed when she turned away and shut the door behind her.

  He circled the building, waiting for her to come back out. There was something electric about seeing her when he did not expect to. He wanted another hit. He knew he was pushing his luck. When she came back she seemed a little more relaxed, stopping briefly just outside to watch a firefly lazily drift in front of her. She reached out a delicate hand to cup it closer. He followed her back across the still forest, watching the glow between her fingers. Just outside her tent she let it fly away.

  She crawled back inside with shaking legs. He watched the small beam of light bob inside the tent until another angry whisper made her shut it off. He drew closer, crouching next to her shelter. He can almost feel her just inside, wrapped up in her sleeping bag but most certainly not sleeping. Was she thinking of him? Did he have a place in her imagination like she did in his?

  “Briar,” he whispered just under his breath. He could hear her breathing halt.

  It would be dawn soon enough, and he had a lot of travel ahead of him to make it home. He pulled away from her tent, wishing he could stay till she fell back asleep. What did she dream about? There was so much life here, so many humans all breathing deeply. He wished he could stay to watch them wake and leave their tents.

  Slightly Off

  An alarm beeped in the tight space. Briar opened her tired eyes. She was not sure if she ever really slept. She did not feel rested, at least.

  “Why do you even bring that thing?” Aster asked. She attempted to throw her pillow blindly in the direction of ‘that thing’. Briar shut off the small black alarm clock.

  She quickly pulled off her thick grey pajamas. She put on her favorite pair of dark wash jeans, a thick plaid shirt, and a thin jacket. Aster opened her watery eyes, searching the floor with one lazy hand for her glasses.

  “Are you telling me you would have woken up this early by choice?” Briar asked, “We won’t make it back to the car by dark if we don’t leave soon, you know that.”

  “Go get me my coffee,” she grumbled. She turned back over in her sleeping bag, although she did not have her pillow to rest on.

  Briar stepped out into the foggy morning with Aster’s keys in hand. She opened the trunk of the small red car. She gathered their mugs, a jug of water, and the jar of what could only pass for coffee if you did not drink it. Briar loved coffee too much to enjoy instant powder, but it was better than nothing.

  Aster left the tent for the promise of fresh coffee, her dark brunette hair sticking out at all ends. Briar’s hair was nearly the same shade, but her color was bought at her local drug store. Briar pulled their chairs out of the overflowing trunk, setting them up facing the rest of the campground.

  As they sat with their coffee in hand the pair from the tent next door stepped out. Briar grinned, hiding her face behind her cat print mug. The redhead looked over briefly, face red. Briar gave a cheery wave.

  “Oh, do you know them?”
Aster asked, waving along. The woman turned even brighter, crawling back into the tent.

  “Nope,” Briar said, lowering her voice further. “When I went to the bathroom last night they were having sex.”

  Aster laughed as quietly as she could manage, sinking further into her chair. “Oh my god.”

  Something tickled the edge of her consciousness. Last night. Her fingers curled around the hem of her shirt. She was tempted to crawl back into their tent and forget today. She wished she had brought her anxiety medication.

  “One of these days that might be one of us,” Briar said. Although Briar had not yet met anyone she would want to bring to her favorite place. Aster got more comfortable in her chair, gulping more of her instant coffee down with a grimace.

  “I would never bring a boyfriend here,” Aster said, swatting at a gnat on Briar’s leg.

  “I wouldn’t mind, really,” Briar insisted, “I know you are getting pretty serious with Jason. We would just have to bring two tents. And two very far apart campgrounds.”

  “I didn’t say that for you,” she countered. “Camping is stressful, especially the first few times. Brings out the anger in a lot of people.”

  She raised her thinly plucked eyebrow at her. “Yeah, if he's anything like you maybe it wouldn’t be such a good idea,” Briar teased.

  “Why, I have no idea what you are talking about,” Aster said.

  ***

  They had to cross through the majority of the park to get to the trail they were tackling. The thin road weaved its way past wide mountain rivers, sheer cliffs, thick forests. Briars ears popped for the second time this trip.

  She fumbled with the radio dial for slivers of songs crashing through the mountain range. She wanted something, anything to fill the silence. The anxiety of the previous night threatened to swallow her whole. It was as if she had dreamed of some ominous prophecy, but could not remember in time to heed the warning. Aster shot her a look between winding roads. Briar shut off the radio.

  “You should have brought your CDs,” Aster said.

  “I thought if we stuffed the car with anything else we wouldn’t be able to drive uphill,” she said. Aster rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t think a CD or two would have mattered,” she said. “We could have traded for one of the many extra cans of beans you thought were worth bringing.”

  “Hey, if you don’t like my packing strategy, you pack next year,” Briar said. Aster grinned, briefly taking her eyes off the road.

  “Hell yeah,” Aster said. “No beans at all next year.”

  A five point buck darted into the road a few feet ahead of them. Aster slammed on the brakes, cursing the buck, his mother, and everyone within screaming distance. The buck turned to watch them, it’s gaunt face expressionless.

  “Move!” Aster yelled, honking her horn. The buck stood his ground, his hooves still on the uneven pavement.

  “Just go around him,” Briar whispered, as if talking at a normal volume would anger him. She could not help but stare.

  Aster stood her ground. “I’m not letting some dumb animal make me go the wrong way on a stupid mountain road. Move!” She honked longer, staring the beast down.

  Aster opened the door, leaning her head out of the car.

  “What are you going to do, chase him off?” Briar asked, her voice raised in panic. “He could gore you with those antlers.”

  It seemed to be thinking, its eyes roving between the two of them. The forest held its breath. Finally, the beast turned and disappeared into the forest. Aster smirked, closing the car door.

  “I won,” she said. Her hands shook as she put the car into drive.

  ***

  “Everything is just slightly off,” Briar said.

  The trail was an old friend of hers, as familiar to her as her own backyard. If she had one in her shitty apartment, that is. It was a difficult hike for her, even after all of these years. When they were children they whined the entire hike there, only shutting up when they reached the dazzling waterfall it boasted at its endpoint. That at least had more or less stayed the same.

  The air was harsher than she was used to, her thin jacket barely touching the cold. The foliage along the path was thinner. Everything was a slightly duller shade of green than she had always encountered. She hoped the waterfall was not too far changed, or she would have more than usual to complain about on the hike back down.

  “Freaky, right? Who knew a few months would make such a difference,” Aster replied from further ahead.

  Her and Briar were cousins, only a few months apart in age. The family resemblance was not strong. When Briar’s older brother used to take the two out to the mall people would assume Aster was the sister, and Briar a friend. Strangers would not assume they were related unless they heard the same obnoxious laughter, or saw the same anger streak when challenged.

  Usually, the pair had to take their annual camping trip when their classes were on break. This year they were both fresh university graduates, so they had a much more open schedule ahead of them. Deciding some change was good, they scheduled their trip much later in the year without changing much else.

  “How is uncle Chris? And Trudy?” Briar asked as she panted up the next steep level. “I haven’t visited since last Christmas break.”

  Aster grimaced. “Honestly I haven’t either.” She slowed her pace for once when she saw how far behind her cousin was. “My last term killed me, then the job hunt…”

  “If it makes you feel better I haven’t visited my parents since college started,” Briar said. “Not when it was my idea, at least.”

  “No, that doesn’t make me feel better,” she said. “I actually like my parents.”

  “Well hey, they are on the way to my place.” Briar said. “We can stop by on the way back home.”

  “Or we could not,” Aster said.

  The silence stretched on between them. Briar tried not to be disappointed. Since her and Aster had less contact these days, Briar had even less contact with her Uncle.

  “I have to pee,” Briar grumbled.

  She stared back the way they came. She had heard movement behind them a few times as they made their way up the dreary mountain side. Aster looked back at her with an annoyed tension in her jaw.

  “We haven’t seen anyone for miles,” Aster complained. It’s true, they hadn’t actually seen anyone behind them. Briar tried to see the logic in that. She waited a few more seconds, staring behind them in concern.

  “Just go,” Aster whined.

  Aster sat on an overturned tree on the side of the trail. She was very much a ‘rip the bandaid off fast’ kind of person. She practically sprinted up the trails to get to the beautiful spot at the end.

  Briar walked off the side of the trail, trying to find a tree thick enough to give her some privacy. “Don’t listen to me pee.” She called out as she pulled down her pants against the rough bark.

  “Nasty.” Aster replied from behind her. Briar closed her eyes, trying to imagine she wasn’t in the middle of the forest trying not to get pee on her overpriced hiking boots.

  As Briar turned around, she felt lightning go down her spine. The forest she turned to face was not the one she had left. She had only gone a few feet from the trail. She took disoriented steps away from her tree of choice, not quite understanding the magnitude of the change.

  She wandered a few more feet ahead of her, noting the sudden growth in the trees around her. Everything was more feral than before.

  “Aster?” She called out, hoping at once this was all a horrible mistake. A dream, maybe.

  Briar turned in a slow circle. Nothing looked like the gentle forest she was used to. The emotions of these woods were all wrong, raising the hair on her arms. All at once fight or flight battled there. There was nothing to fight, at least that she could see. Taking one final panicked look over her shoulder, Briar ran off into the darkening forest.

  ***

  Briar only slowed when the feeling subsided. She
had come to a stop at a large boulder amongst a clearing of ancient trees. They were larger still than any she had seen before. Perhaps they had escaped the logging that took most of the trees of their size.

  She pulled off her pack to check her supplies. She didn’t have much in the way of backpacking equipment. The thought of being out there in the middle of the wilderness as the sun set sent panic through her. Briar had to emotionally prepare for walking to the bathroom at night. At least then there was a path to follow.

  Aster, she thought. At least she would be smart enough to go get a ranger when Briar did not return. Even still she did not understand what drove her to run.

  She had begun to hear voices in the distance. As clear as day, someone was talking at the bottom of the slope in front of her. She could not make out what they were saying. For a moment she just sat there, unable to will her limbs to move.

  She could hear her heart pound in her chest. She was filled with dread, although she did not truly understand why. This may be her only shot at rescue before she was alone in the freezing dark until morning.

  “Hello? I’m lost.”

  But nothing responded. As soft as ever she heard footsteps in the crunching leaves at the bottom of the slope. But something was wrong. They were going in the wrong direction. Maybe they didn’t hear her? Maybe they were doing things in these woods they should not do.

  “Please, I don’t know where I am,” she shouted. But again, no response from the whispered voices.

  Seeing no other option, she grabbed her pack and started down the slope. Her legs were much more sore now that she had given them some brief rest. When she made her way on shaky legs to the bottom she could hear the voice further along. They were definitely trying to get away from her. Although she still could not make out what they were saying, they sounded closer.

  She took off running in the direction of the voices. Visibility was difficult in the twilight and she found herself almost running straight into a tree more than once. Anger boiled in her veins. She would not let them leave her here. They could not do this to her.