Page 12 of While They Watch

“Looking for me? What are you talking about? You disappeared! I was standing in this exact spot just moments ago.”

“Weird. We must have just missed each other. It’s easy to get mixed up out here,” he says like it makes all the sense in the world.

“I was calling you. I was yelling. Didn’t you hear me?” I take a step back from him, needing space as I feel myself getting mad at his lack of concern. He hasn’t even stopped smiling. Why can’t he see how messed up this is?

“I didn’t, Babe. I was looking at the map for one second and then the next, you vanished. I searched for you for probably 15 minutes before you found me.” He looks confused and hurt by my reaction. “I’m sorry.” I take a few moments, internally composing myself. I can tell he is feeling disoriented and upset, and I don’t want to add to that.

“You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t do anything. I just… got scared.” I reach out and take his hand. “But what IS that?” I point my light back over to the tree.

“I don’t really know but it’s cool. I assume some kind of animal has dug itself a nice home,” he shrugs.

“Cool is not the word I would use, and did you see all the stick figures in the trees? Just like the one from the porch. It’s super creepy.” Luke chuckles softly, ignoring what I said.

“If we come back in the morning, I bet we would find a ton of cigarette butts and beer cans littered around. This is the exact sort of thing I would have loved to find as a kid and turn into a fort.” He looks excited by the thought.

“Okay. Well, teens like you described earlier aren’t building forts.”

“No, but I can’t think of a better spot to hide partying contraband,” he says with a wink. “Maybe we should see what’s in there. Might find something interesting.” He turns toward the tree and starts patting his jacket pockets. “Shit, I can’t find my flashlight. I must have dropped it in all the chaos. I could have sworn I was still holding it.”

“That's okay. It’s a good thing I still have mine.” I hold up my flashlight. “Did you figure out how to get us out of here? I really want to get back to the cabin now.” I become eerily aware of our surroundings again and look around. He gets serious again with a nod as he pats his pocket again. His eyes go wide for a moment.

“I don’t have the map either.”

“What do you mean? Where is it?”

“I… I don’t know. I had the map and flashlight just a moment ago. I don’t know!” He paces around for a moment before stopping right in front of me. “It’s fine. Before you disappeared I had figured out the cabin should be east from here. So let’s go east.”

“Well, which way is that?” He stares at me and chuckles a little.

“Oh my God, Hanna. The sun sets in the west… so…” He motions for me to take over.

“Are you really judging me right now? I’m stressed. Plus… have I not made it abundantly clear that I’m directionally challenged. That’s why I have you.” He laughs again and takes my hand, leading me away from this haunted feeling spot.

We only walk a few steps before I hear another whisper. This time it’s not calling me. Fast and repeating, I hear, “Luke, Luke, Luke…” When I glance behind me, I see two small orbs floating in the darkness but before I can take a breath, they’re gone. I swallow hard, turning back around and tighten my grip on Luke’s arm like a vice. He pats my hand gently.

“I got you.”

_____

When we finally make it back to the cabin, my nerves are hanging by a thread. The darker it got, the more paranoid I became over every little noise. Luke, on the other hand, stayed calm the entire time and while that probably should’ve helped me, it made me feel like I was losing my mind. Being that deep into the woods started playing tricks on my mind and I knew they were tricks because Luke never seemed to notice the whispers in the wind, the shadows in the trees or even the bugs crawling on our skin. It was all I could do to not scream and start running through the woods like a wild animal, but I was determined to not do anything to further complicate things, so I did my best to ignore my chaotic mind and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

When we eventually find the clearing, I hear Luke let out a big sigh before laughing. “I told you I would get us out. I can’t believe you doubted me.” He looks back over his shoulder and winks.

“I never doubted you. Although, that sigh makes me feel like maybe I should’ve been.” He laughs, flipping me off before walking toward the cabin. The energy shifts as he steps away and I realize how close I’m still lingering to the tree line.

When I go to take a step forward my head snaps back, my hair catching on something. I try to turn my head to see what it is, but it’s caught in such a way that all I can do is reach back. I lift my arms and grab my ponytail, slowly feeling down to the ends of my hair. When I get near the ends, I can feel that it’s tangled in some sort of branch. I give a light tug, but it doesn’t come free. I then try to unwind the pieces that are caught, but the branch is holding on tight. After the evening I just had, I get frustrated fast. I grab frantically at the branch, trying to break myself free, no longer worried about the damage I might do to my hair as my panic rises. Suddenly, I’m falling forward, my hair no longer caught.

I look back to where I was standing as a shadow steps back into the dense forest. I close my eyes, frozen in confusion and terror, not knowing what to do, not even knowing if anything I’m seeing is real. “This is bullshit,” I whisper to myself. When I open my eyes, they are still glued to the same spot, but this time the trees are standing alone. I pick myself up and take a deep breath before running to catch up with Luke. It all happened so fast he hasn’t even made it to the cabin yet. It doesn’t seem like he noticed anything at all.

I didn’t realize how cold I was until we take a step inside. The warm air makes the creepiness of the cabin disappear, especially when compared with the atmosphere that has built up outside. All I see at this moment is a cozy cabin with locks on the doors. I drop my bag and walk into the kitchen, feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. I gulp down a full glass of water and hop up to sit on the counter with a bag of chips. By the time Luke follows me into the kitchen, I’ve inhaled half the bag. I guess I also didn’t realize that I was starving.

“Hungry?” He asks with a chuckle. I only nod, too busy chewing as he walks over, taking the chips from me and popping a few in his mouth. I feel him looking at me and when I make eye contact with him, he is smiling at me.

“What?” I ask with my mouth half full. He reaches out and smooths down my hair.

“Did you get hit by lightning when I wasn’t looking?”

“Ha ha. My stupid hair got caught in a branch. My knight in shining armor wasn’t paying attention, so I was left helpless and alone…. I almost died actually. You should feel bad.” I can tell he is holding back a laugh so I glare at him. “Don’t make fun of me.”