Beings of the Forest (Other Realm Beings #4)

Chapter 1

“Krueger, wake up.”

My sister's words combined with her light shaking pried me from the throes of slumber as I felt the entire cab of the truck shake as we hit bumpy terrain.

I hadn't meant to fall asleep, but clearly I'd been more worn out from the day of driving.

Clearing the sleep from my eyes, I tried to refocus on our new surroundings.

We'd made it to the Phoebe RV Park, or so the sign said as we passed it.

A lush display of red and orange and green came into view from the trees, along with the various recreational vehicles and tents and other means of temporary housing.

There were a myriad of humans and Orbs mingling together around the designated space.

The creatures that had come out of the hiding spots of society, collectively referred to as Orbs because the first humans to witness them over twenty years ago thought they looked like 'other realm beings', were fully integrated into the world at this point.

It was nice to see pockets of the world where no one cared about what species you were and just cohabited together.

I'd always loved learning about and meeting Orbs.

Since they'd come out of the shadows over twenty years ago, there'd been a lot of progress in making them a part of society.

I'd heard about some instances on the east coast that didn't bode well for Orbs, but I loved seeing that at least in Phoebe, North Carolina, at this RV park, everyone could co-mingle and exist with one another.

I looked at my sister with shock visible on my face, noticing the amount of light still left in the sky. “Damn, Myers. I thought you said we wouldn't make it until nightfall?”

Myers shrugged her shoulders with a smirk full of lead. “What can I say? I'm that good. Now hop out of the truck and help me park.”

Abiding by my sister's plea, I fell out of the truck and helped her navigate parking the RV attached to the truck's hitch into the designated spot allotted.

It felt nice to help her park, if for nothing else than to get out of the semi-permanent sitting position we'd been in and being able to stretch my legs.

I couldn't remember the last time we'd stopped for gas, but I figured I could blame that on the brain fog since I'd just been stirred awake not all that long ago.

As I directed Myers, I took in the surrounding of autumnal trees that littered the RV park.

The orange and reds of the trees perfectly reflected the time of year as we settled into the middle of October.

When we'd planned this trip around the country, it was all to spend Halloween in Phoebe.

They were known for their love of the spooky season, and Myers and I wanted to properly celebrate our favorite holiday.

I was looking forward to exploring the town and seeing what other spooky nods they had to offer my tourist heart.

She finished parking the RV into its spot, a vacant lot with another RV on the left side and another vacant lot on the right.

No sooner had Myers hopped out of the truck from parking it, a human couple piled out of the RV beside us, presenting us with their friendly smiles as my sister joined my side.

“Hi there!” The middle aged woman said, waving as she offered us her hand. “Welcome to the Phoebe RV Park! I'm Darlene.” Her delightfully southern accent rang through the air, my hand connecting with her aim in a friendly greeting.

“And I'm her husband, Gerald.” The balding man wore a matching Hawaiian shirt with his wife, and they shared a similarly vibrant smile. “I guess we'll be neighbors!”

Their immediate welcome was a little overwhelming to take in, but it was all in good nature.

Myers and I were used to meeting new people quickly since our excursion to travel across the country in the RV.

We'd pooled our money together in order to purchase it, so we'd grown fairly accustomed to pivoting toward a more cordial and extroverted demeanor.

Gerald and Darlene were opposing mirrors of one another. Darlene was the aging blonde to his receding brunette. He was tall and wiry while she was short and plump. And where she had blue eyes that paired well with her light hair, Gerald's eyes were as dark as what was left of his hair.

Myers and I were brunettes, like Gerald. We even shared the same hazel eyes, but Myers kept her hair long and usually in a ponytail, while I kept mine pretty short. Honestly, Darlene and Gerald could've been relatives of ours if someone saw us from afar.

I smiled back at the couple. “Looks that way, doesn't it? Nice to meet you guys. I'm Krueger, and this is my sister, Myers.”

We took turns shaking their hands, but their smiles wavered at the uttering of our names.

“My, what...interesting names you two have.” Darlene did her best to put it kindly, but you could still tell that she was put off by our names.

Myers finished shaking Gerald's hand and regarded her comment as their handshake finished. “Our parents are huge horror fans, so they named us after two iconic horror staples.”

“Very interesting.” Gerald was a little bit better at hiding how weird he thought it was, pairing his words with a smile that didn't quite have me convinced.

“Well, we're glad to have you!” Darlene was really trying to save the conversation and adjust the shift in energy. “Are you guys visiting Phoebe for long?”

“We're here for the Halloween festival we've heard so much about,” Myers grinned. “So we'll be here about two weeks or so.”

“Ahh, Hell-O-Ween.” Gerald chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. “The local kids go crazy for that stuff. Phoebe's big on Halloween.”

“We hope so, because that's the whole reason we wanted to visit.” I said back with a smirk.

I really wanted Phoebe to live up to the hype that Myers and I had researched when we were looking for where to spend Halloween. From our search, we were promised we wouldn't be let down if we spent the weeks leading up to Halloween in Phoebe.

“Well, welcome to the park.” Gerald smiled again.

“A bunch of us are having a bonfire in a bit, now that the sun is going down,” Darlene explained. “We're gonna cook some food and enjoy each other's company if you two wanna join!”

“No pressure! We're a bit of a community around here and didn't want to exclude you.”

Myers and I shared a glance, speaking volumes without having to exchange words with one another. I knew we both wanted to settle in first, but neither of us wanted to get on the bad side of any of the locals.

“That sounds great.” I offered back with a low wattage grin.

“We'll check in and settle a few things in the RV and then we can join you.” Myers added.

“Perfection!”

Gerald chuckled to himself at his wife's jovial reaction.

“It's just down the block here.” He pointed down the line of RVs and tents that we'd joined, gesturing toward a huge fire pit in the center of the grassy lawn that already had a few people and chairs gathering by it.

“Just pull up a chair whenever you guys are ready.”

“Will do.” I stated. “Thanks so much for the warm welcome.”

Darlene giggled inwardly, sounding so saccharine and much younger than she actually was. “See you soon!”

As Darlene and Gerald departed, I gave my sister a sideways glance as we continued to watch them recede from view.

“That was...quite the introduction into the Phoebe townspeople.” Myers scoffed with a wide beam of a smile.

“Yeah...let's just check in and get the RV set up before we steel ourselves for more Geralds and Darlenes.”

Laughing at my statement, Myers led the way to the little building where we needed to register our previously discussed lot.

We wasted no time in checking in and making sure we were clear to stay as long as we'd determined when we'd called beforehand as well as getting the a-okay to get the hookups for electric, water, and sewage ready for the RV.

I helped my sister with the hookups and then we both decided to just take a shower in order to eliminate the grime we'd accumulated from the all day drive. It wasn't until it was my turn in the cramped RV shower that my thoughts began to turn.

Since we'd started this journey across the country back in January, I never would have imagined we'd actually stick to it the way we had.

We'd told our parents the plan to travel across America in an RV over the holidays, and while they'd been supportive in the end, we'd gotten some pushback from them.

Myers was a few years younger than me, so they weren't as hard on her for dropping everything and wanting to travel.

She didn't have an established job like I did, since she had just graduated from grad school with a degree in mortuary science, so she'd been living at home.

Me on the other hand? I'd been working at my soul sucking insurance job for the past six years after graduating with a BA in creative writing with nothing to show for it.

So when my sister had brought up the adventure of a lifetime, I'd decided to quit my dead-end job and finally pursue my dream of being a writer.

I'd never thought I could make it happen because being a writer wasn't the most lucrative of careers to choose, but it's what I'd always done in my spare time even while working at the insurance company.

And after a breakup with my ex-girlfriend, once Myers had proposed the adventure, I'd finally decided to pull the plug on delaying my dreams and decided to actively try and make them a reality.

I swiftly made my way out of the shower and dressed before joining Myers in the living area.

The best part of the particular RV we'd purchased was the fact that we each had a room with a queen sized bed.

Both of us weren't willing to sacrifice too much space and privacy when we had set out to spend most of the year traveling by our chosen motor home.

Standing before my sister as she moseyed on her phone from the dinette booth.

I took a seat on the couch across from the booth.

As I ran a hand through my damp brown waves, I felt a vibrating gaze from my sister. When we locked eyes, her mouth slipped in the beginnings of a conversation.

“Hey, before we go, are you good?”

“Why wouldn't I be?”

Nerves throbbed around Myers' reaction to my investigative recoil. “I know it's been a long day, but I remembered that it's her birthday.” She didn't need to add Jenna's name for me to know that she was the one being referenced. “I just wanted to check in with you about it.”

I sighed inwardly. I appreciated my sister's apprehension and awareness, but Jenna and I had broken up over a year ago.

The fact that it was her birthday today didn't even cross my mind until now.

But I didn't want Myers to feel bad about checking on me, so I steeled my gut reaction of wanting to sigh and tell her she was being too cautious over the situation.

She was my sister, my best friend, and I knew she was just doing her sibling duty of making sure I was good.

“Honestly, I forgot it was even her birthday.” I told her with a head tilt. “But I'm good. Thanks for asking.”

She watched me for a couple more seconds after I answered, assessing the truth in my words. When she didn't find any fallacies, she smiled. “Alright, good.”

I stood, sighing deeply but adding a smile to my face. “Bonfire time, I guess.”

“Ready to meet more eccentric locals?” Myers smirked.

I just nodded. “Let's see what other kinds of people Phoebe has to offer.”