looked at her. “What?”
“I was questioning you on what you think we should do.”
Me? I shrugged, pitching an idea out, “Maybe you can tell a scary story?”
Shannon snapped her fingers the way a cartoon character does after coming to a great decision. “That’s a stunning thought!” She glanced around the fire, “So who is going to blow us away with a tale only provided by the mysteries of life?”
“I have a story.” Travis held his head up. He scooted closer to the campfire, his glasses mirroring the burning flare. “So this story may sound very familiar. It’s about a group of teenagers that have nothing better to do than sit around in the woods.”
“Don’t start—” Shannon began, but was cut off.
“No. It gets better!” He hacked on for an exaggerated period of time. Obviously to clear his throat but he probably thought we weren’t getting the message. “Okay so these teens went to these woods to do this spectacular bonfire. And while they were drinking and having a ball a man approached them.
“But he was deathly sick, coughing out blood. He asked the kids to help him, but he looked so disgusting. His eyes were red and his mouth… some of the flesh has fallen off. It was disturbing. So of course the teens didn’t help. Why would they, they barely knew the guy. And being the selfish people we are, we help no one but ourselves.
“So the man eventually fell into the lake that was near the woods—kinda like this one here.” He implied the lake Shannon took me by. “Bad news is that water he fell into is the same water that the teens drink out of in the cabin they were staying at.”
“Cabin Fever you bastard!” Shannon shouted before he could continue on.
One of his eyebrows rose, “I thought I could tell any story.”
“Don’t steal a story! Come up with your own.”
Travis took this into consideration. “Oh. Then I’m out.” He waved his hands, retracting his head on the log.
“What a great story.” I could feel Aaron rolling his eyes within the tone.
“Oh shut up,” Travis said, “I don’t see you coming up with anything, Reed.”
“That’s because I’m not—”
“All right, all right, all right. You two, do yourselves a favor and shut up.” She pointed at Travis and Aaron. “I’ll tell a story.” She cleared her throat, just like Travis.
“It all begins with a man and his horse.”
“Why does that sound so familiar?”
“Well it’s not supposed to,” she said. “If anything, I’m coming up with it on the spot.”
“Continue,” I said, encouraging. She’s trying to have fun and no one else seems to care.
“The young man rode his horse into this dark forest. They were both tired, as they have been traveling all day long. So they sighted a glowing cabin in the forest—don’t interrupt me Travis—and the man humbly knocked on the wooden door. A young blond haired woman opened it. She smiled. ‘Hello, how may I help you?’ she asked.
The man said, ‘My horse and I are tired from our miles of traveling. Can you please spare some food and water?’
“She smiled even wider, showing her pearly white teeth. ‘How about you come in and get settled. I’ll get some tea for you and water for your horse.’
“When she left to go and get drinks, the man took in the surroundings. But before he could even go through some of her things, she was back in a flash with his cup of tea.
“‘Here,’ she said, but she was no longer smiling. The man started to think that she no longer wanted him in her house anymore, but she pushed a smile back on her face, sensing his discomfort. ‘Thank you for coming by my house.’
“‘It was the only house that I found.’ The young man confessed.
“The lady’s grin brightens up, ‘That’s nice of you to stop by, you could have just moved on.’
“Well why would I? The guy thought. The lady offered him to stay the night, which he agreed. But during the night he woke up with a cold fright of a nightmare. He grabbed his horse from her yard and ran off. But a railroad he ran into.
“And then the lady…the lady was glowing in the dark. That’s when the man knew she was no ordinary woman. As he gazed at her, she grew closer to him…taking him by the hand… and….” Shannon paused. The story fell out of place to her, no call of finishing.
“Well you suck.” Travis said.
Shannon made a face, “It’s not done.”
“Finish it.”
“I do NOT know what to do,” she said, her voice hinting annoyance. “All I do know is that there was really no railroad after all,” she said this as if it all came to her. “After that night at least. The lady and the man disappeared.”
“That story wasn’t your best,” Carter said.
“I’m not much of a story teller, though,” Shannon crinkled her nose. “The fire’s getting to me. Can you put it out?” She asked no one intentionally.
Then a large rumble of a snore came from my right. Aaron was sprawled on the ground asleep. Everyone snickered, even me. I couldn’t help it though. He looked like a cute little bear.
I woke up at dawn, the sky a light blue. It was most likely five in the morning.
I sat up from my sleeping bag, dazed. Everyone was there, but of course, all asleep. Even Eric, who might have grown accustom to Aaron’s powerful snoring. I also eyed toward Shannon and Travis who were sleeping rather close together. Carter slept off to his own space, clutching onto his phone like it was his lifeline.
And then it hit me. This was my chance. I can escape. They were all dead, and I breathe awake.
So I gradually stood up, careful not to make any louder sounds than Aaron, and trudged off into the green trees. Sure, I didn’t know where the hell I was going, but as long as it’s somewhere, I’m okay with no idea.
This must be fate waking me up before everyone else. Someone obviously cared for me, whether it’d be God or maybe another entity all around. I didn’t care. But something inside me said to stop. Said that I should go back and sleep. Why would I listen to the conclusive craziness my heart had been suggesting?
The crunching beneath my feet must have been the only sound out here. No birds cried out now, nor did the ground creatures from last night sprang along the pathway. And my fingers brushed through my messy hair as the cold wind attacked. This only made things more uncomforting than they already were.
I kept on walking into what seemed like oblivion of crowding oak trees. But then a sharp metal object on the floor caught my eye. I couldn’t pass it up. It made me come to an abrupt stop.
I bent down to brush the dirt of off of the glistening metal, jumping back in a yelp. That story was just made up, I thought. No way could Shannon’s story be real. Gleaming back at me were train tracks. Like a nasty sign, I could feel more wind shake me up.
All of a sudden, something dark caught my eye.
11. CRAMP
“I hope you’re not running away from me again.” Eric’s familiar voice wrapped around me like a warm fur coat.
I shrugged. “How can I not?” I said. I spread out my hands wide. “I’m free!” But Eric caught my wrists just as fast as he came into my view. I frowned but so did he. Neither of us liked this position.
“I have a rash there so be careful,” I hissed at him. He loosened his grip on me, but not enough to let me escape. “How did you find me?”
“I told you I’m a light sleeper, didn’t I?” He said while a slight smile formed on his lips.
I ignored that. “Is Shannon’s story real?”
Eric looked down at me, puzzled. “She said that she made it up.” But I looked at the train track and he followed my gaze. “Coincidence?”
“Yeah… maybe.” I didn’t realize how much the cold was affecting me. My teeth chattered and I couldn’t break out of it. Eric’s stupid jacket wasn’t enough to keep my body warm. And now seeing my breath just about ticked me off. Winters are not my season.
Then Eric did some
thing totally unnecessary, which I guess was necessary, since he watched my bothersome face.
He hugged me.
The hug only surprised me because I can only think of Shannon and Kade. Another thought entered my mind too: Eric never touched me besides my hands. But he only hugged me because I was cold. Eric just wanted to make me felt better, that’s it. We stood like statues in the middle of the tracks. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to let go first, though, we eventually let each other go.
All the while, Eric insisted on holding my hand (which is only because he doesn’t trust me). We landed back at the camping site, which I would have not known my way back without Eric.
Once the leaves crunched, Shannon’s head snapped up and she exclaimed, “Where have you guys been? We’ve been missing you!” By her obvious tone, I know that last remark was directly for me. Eric would never walk away without consulting the others.
“Shannon has this great idea, we should EAT OUT.” Aaron said in a suggesting way, wrapping up his sleeping bag. He pushed it down his backpack, grunting every so often.
“I said that before I became aware of the situation Eric has put himself in.” Shannon said, her eyes narrowing on him. “Yes. But we could eat at some restaurant around the park. There’s tons!”
“Not enough.” Eric shook his head. “But if you really want to….” He put his arm around her shoulder, his eyes boring into mine. I looked down to avoid it.
Shannon cleared her throat walking out of Eric’s grasp towards me. “I’m going to take Dorothy in my car!” She pointed at me.
“Your