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Oliver almost immediately felt grimy and itchy as he stepped into the woods ahead of Dave. Just a few yards in along the narrow path, it became noticeably darker, almost alarmingly so. Bugs circled their heads and faces and moths batted at the lights, forcing both of them to wave their hands to ward off attacks and swat anything that managed to land on exposed skin.
“I’m getting eaten to the bone back here,” Dave said, then swore as he smacked himself. “If there is anyone else out here, ghost or human, these fucking bugs have either devoured them or driven them crazy.”
“Yeah, this feels pointless. Let’s go back to the room,” Oliver said. “We’re just a bug buffet out here.”
They stopped and turned in place, then looked at each other.
“Back this way, right?” Dave held up the lantern to expose the thin line of the path snaking away through the undergrowth. His stance, arm up and shoulders back, made him look to Oliver like the dashing hero of an old movie, the one who took a lantern out onto the moors to search for the damsel after some monster had carted her away. And that was the perfect description for Dave.
If Oliver ever went missing, he knew Dave would search until he’d been found, and that knowledge made his heart beat faster and his face feel warm. Dave had really encouraged him to keep the faith over his blog the last couple of years. And he’d jumped on board right away when Oliver had suggested this road trip. Hell, Dave had even organized all the camping equipment, packed the car, and driven the whole way here. If that wasn’t a supportive and loving boyfriend, he didn’t know what else was.
“Not to sound like the guy from a horror movie who always points out the bad shit,” Dave said, squinting as he peered around them. “But which way is the motel?”
A chill went through Oliver as he realized he wasn’t certain himself. Then he noticed how much darker the woods had become in the last few minutes, and the chill turned to a full-fledged shiver. He did a complete turn, moving slowly, shining the flashlight into the trees. Had something moved out of sight a few yards away? He squinted, trying to see better in the feeble glow of the flashlight beam, but all was still. And he wasn’t about to step off the barely perceptible trail to investigate.
“Pretty sure it’s that way.” Oliver pointed, hoping he had indicated the way they’d come.
“Pretty sure or certain?” Dave asked, slapping at another bug before muttering, “Fucking vampires.”
“I’m certain. Mostly. Let’s go.”
Oliver turned Dave on the path and gave him a gentle push to get him walking, then followed, hoping he’d made the right decision. As Oliver walked behind Dave, he let his mind wander, gathering details about the environment around them so he could add it into the blog post to make it more enticing. Word choices in his writing over the years, geared toward search engine optimizations, or SEO, had made his site more clickable, but he tried to put all that aside and focus on the actual setting. The dampness of the air pressing against him. The unrelenting swarms of bugs. Branches trailing over them, dangerously close to taking out an eye or leaving a scratch that would well with blood and attract even more bugs. The sound of the frogs and nighttime insects.
Only, the frogs and insects weren’t as loud anymore. Had their passage along the trail caused them to fall silent? Or had something else moving through the woods done it?
“Hey, you were right,” Dave said, quickening his pace and leaving Oliver behind. “There’s the motel.”
Oliver paused to look back along the trail, playing the flashlight beam over the ferns, bracken, and trees. Bugs spun through the ray of light and followed it back to Oliver where they circled him like a living cloud. He waved a hand to ward them off then turned to hurry after Dave.
“I think I swallowed at least a dozen bugs,” Oliver said as he moved quickly out of the trees. “And a bunch flew up my nose, too.”
“They’re going to lay eggs in your sinuses,” Dave said.
Oliver glared. “That’s not funny.”
“Happened to a kid we grew up with.”
“It did not.”
Dave shrugged. “Okay, guess you were there and know the truth.” He looked away, but not before Oliver saw his grin.
“You’re a jerk, just like your brother.”
“Which one?”
“All four of them.” Oliver walked past him toward the motel. “I’m going back to the room and clean up.”
“You know the water doesn’t work, right?”
“I’ll figure something out.” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “I feel like they’re all over me.”
“I think I saw some crawling into your ear.”
“Oh my God, you’re the worst.”
Oliver stopped and stared at the partially open door to the motel room where they’d set up camp.
“Whoa,” Dave said, sidestepping quickly to avoid running him down. “Why’d you stop so fast?”
