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It took a moment for Charlie to answer before she sighed. “I saw Skyler at the grocery store this morning.”
“Uh oh.” Sadie grinned, resting her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward. “That’s what you get for going to the store so early. You know his routine.” She would have to text Skyler later—he knew she was moving out of her sister’s place, but she hadn’t told him where just yet. It was going to be a surprise.
“It’s fine,” Charlie rushed the words out. “I turned around and left after he spotted me.”
“Without finishing your grocery shopping?” Sadie laughed.
“I mean, I’m going back later to do it.”
Sadie rolled her eyes. “I think you need to talk to him. It’s clear you still have feelings for him and Skyler is one of the nicest guys ever.”
“Of course, you’re—” Charlie’s voice cut off and the call dropped. Sadie tried to ring her sister back, but the phone signal was down. No Wi-Fi for the laptop, no phone—it was as if she was completely cut off from society.
Her gaze locked on River’s painting above the fireplace. “You would’ve liked this if you were here, my vicious dream,” she murmured.
Biting her lip, Sadie stared at the laptop one more time before deciding on a distraction. She polished off the hot chocolate, then slipped on her boots and headed out the door.
The sun sat bright in the sky, its rays piercing through the trees. The porch creaked as she went down the steps onto the sparse grass. Besides her footsteps, the world was quiet, so quiet, the woods still. The wind remained dead and not even the buzzing of insects stirred. Only the silence. It wasn’t like this the day or night before when the woods had been alive.
Sadie stared out at a tall pine tree, a vine dangling from it … like a noose. Her heart lodged in her throat as she inched closer. The image of River drifted through her mind, his dead body hanging not from the ceiling beam in their old home, but here in this vine, swinging.
Hand shaking, she wrapped her fingers around the vine. Even though it wasn’t made of rope and there wasn’t a noose at the end of it, she still yanked the vine down. That desperate emotion crawled through her, where she blamed herself for what she hadn’t done, how she hadn’t been there for him… Sometimes she wished she could’ve shaken his dead body for answers, a feeling she’d kept to herself.
Tangling her fingers in her hair and tugging, she lowered herself in front of the tree. “Stop it,” Sadie whispered to herself. She wasn’t the only one to have ever lost someone they loved more than life itself, to have lost someone in such a grim way. But it hurt. It hurt like fucking hell. And she didn’t think these catastrophic waves of emotions crashing inside her would ever stop. Tears beaded her lashes, and she shoved them away.
He’s gone, and he isn’t ever coming back.
Sadie pushed off the ground and went back to the cabin to try and do something productive. Instead, she paced inside, outside, then sat on the porch in her new swing chair, only venturing into the cabin a few times to grab something to eat. She couldn’t think and just wanted to sit outside and stare at the woods, to pretend as if everything was all right. Her sister and Skyler had messaged her, and even though her phone signal was working again, she couldn’t bring herself to text them back. She didn’t want to talk to anyone.
A gust of wind rustled the leaves, caressing its invisible hands across the branches, the first sound she’d heard since being outdoors. Sadie opened her eyes, taking a deep breath. At some point, she must’ve drifted off. The sun was no longer glowing but, instead, was replaced by the night—the stars freckled the dark sky, and a werewolf moon shone brightly above. If River were beside her, he would’ve howled at that moment. As though hearing her thoughts, a wolf howled in the distance.
The chilly night air blew, making her shiver. She tucked her hands into her jacket and listened for more sounds. Not too far away, a dark silhouette glided from one of the trunks toward her. As it crept closer, she gasped, squinting to get a better view.
“Hello?” Sadie called, standing from the swing chair. “Good one. Call a vicious animal to your cabin.”
But then the silhouette sunk into the ground, vanishing. Or maybe it was a ghost…
With wide eyes, she stepped to the edge of her porch, peering at where the silhouette had been. Floorboards creaked behind her, and she whirled around, her gaze meeting nothing but darkness. Her heart pounded, and even though she would’ve liked the adrenaline rush on any other day, she still wasn’t in the right mental state.
It’s all right to be a coward sometimes. Sadie darted inside the cabin, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She looked through the window and past the light from the porch—only nothing was there, not even shadows from the trees.
Sadie grabbed the knife and brought it to the bedroom, where she put on a record from River’s collection, letting the music calm her nerves. As the music drifted through the space, she sifted through the DVDs, contemplating which one to watch to get her out of this strange mood. No matter how many times she’d seen them, they always helped, even if only temporarily. They weren’t just for pleasure but also research, mostly guiding her to decide what not to do in a story. In this case, not go out into the woods tonight, even if her curiosity blossomed.
After she found a 1930s film she hadn’t seen in a while, Sadie started the movie on her laptop in the living room. She settled onto the futon and drew the blanket to her chin as she watched the black and white screen. Halfway through the film, when the man was terrorizing people in his invisible form, her eyes fell shut. She started to slip away when she could’ve sworn footsteps sounded near the front door.
Sadie jerked up, sweeping her gaze across the small area and finding no one but herself. It might’ve been the movie still playing, her imagination, or … maybe the rumors were coming to fruition, and the haunted gateway of the woods was starting to open.
Chapter Six
“And then the quiet of the woods came to life.”
Thick fog cloaked the woods as Sadie left her cabin and trekked through it, clutching the container of red velvet cupcakes to her chest. With each step, the fog grew heavier, and she was unable to make out any of the trees, only the cloud of white surrounding her.
Chilly water droplets collected on her bare arms, and she shivered while continuing to walk, searching.
“River!” Sadie called out, her voice echoing, his name never ceasing. “You didn’t eat your cupcakes.” His name fell from her lips again, repeating until the sound of her voice morphed into something else. Multiple voices shouting his name, the word becoming more drawn out, slower, deeper, the sound not of this world.
Through the fog, spots of white darkened to swirling black until shadows began to form, crawling forward, horns curving from their elongated heads, their details obscured.
