21. Caspian
21
CASPIAN
M uscles pull tight across my back as I throw my legs out of bed and slowly sit up. Each breath grates slightly down my throat, and an incredible thirst pulses through my mouth. I’d been so invested in Emma that I hadn’t managed my water intake like usual.
Thankfully, despite the darkness, I can still make out shapes and lines of the door and items in the hallway as I trudge from the bedroom with a yawn. The kitchen is just down the hall and a glass of cool, clear, crisp water is already calling my name. Keeping one hand on the wall, I move through the darkness with slow blinks and a lazy yawn.
Each door I pass is closed except one. Emma’s. Her door is ajar and a bright streak of moonlight stretches across her empty bedspread, highlighting the ruffles in her bedsheets. Given her apparent desire to sleepwalk, I expect to find her in the kitchen and I plan to very carefully avoid her.
I’ve read enough stories about the dangers of waking a sleepwalker and don’t want to harm her.
The kitchen, however, is empty when I arrive. It’s just as dark as the rest of the cabin, and only a sliver of light makes it through the trees on this side. There’s no sign of Emma, though. Searching through the cupboards, I find a glass and quickly fill it with water. Three gulps later and the dryness in my mouth is soothed. Sleep-addled thoughts weave through my mind, replaying the fun we’ve been having with Emma; then a strange chill drifts over my bare feet.
I finish my water, set my glass aside and then, as I’m heading back to bed, something catches my eye. A slight glint of metal reflecting a hint of light. I turn toward it and as I get closer, I recognize the metal as part of the lock for the front door.
The front door to the cabin is wide open, and an infinite darkness stretches out to the trees surrounding this place. My heart punches up into my throat, and I hurry forward to close the door. With my eyes struggling to adjust to the low light, I catch movement out by the trees.
“Emma?” I call, growing more awake by the second.
Did she unlock the door and wander out here in her sleep?
“Emma!” It’s just a shadow, I think. Something is moving between the trees, but it’s so hard to see I can’t tell if it’s just my eyes playing tricks on me.
Stepping outside, woodchips stab weakly into the soles of my bare feet, and I ignore the chill of the cool night air rushing across my naked body. “Emma!”
There’s no answer. A still silence greets me, and not even the world around me appears to breathe. There’s just empty darkness, like a blanket that’s broken only by the occasional ruffle of leaves each time that cool breeze drifts by.
Wait…if Emma is out here and sleepwalking, then there’s no telling what could happen.
All of the sleepiness fades away and I dart back inside the cabin. Finn had shown me where some emergency flashlights were beside the door. I snatch one up from underneath the coat rack, turn it on and aim the beam outside, hoping to see Emma.
There’s nothing.
“Emma!” I call, stepping back outside and sweeping the tree line with the high-powered beam. The only thing I spot is a pair of eyes, too close together and too low to the ground to be Emma. Some sort of animal stares at me and then hurries away back into the forest. It’s too small to be the first shadow I saw, and after my quick search comes up empty, panic descends.
Hurrying back inside, I start turning on the lights and moving from room to room in search of Emma. In my moment of worry, I’d forgotten to consider that she could still be in the cabin and simply in someone else’s bed. But as I move from room to room, searching everywhere I can find, she’s not here.
Emma’s gone.
“Ahh—what the fuck!” Asher grumbles as I blind him with the light. He throws one arm over his face and turns into the pillow. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know, it’s late,” I reply quickly. “But get up, Emma’s gone.”
“What?!” His head shoots upward like an arrow, but I’m already moving to the last room, where Finn sleeps soundly. His bed is otherwise empty. There is definitely no Emma.
“Finn, get up. Get up!”
“Fuck—” Finn grumbles and rolls over slowly, then one hand shoots out in search of his glasses on the bedside table. “The fuck is going on?”
“Emma’s gone!”
“What?!”
There’s a rapid scramble for clothes, each of us making ourselves somewhat presentable and then we all meet in the lounge. Two pairs of worried eyes lock onto me.
“Caspian, what the hell is going on?”
“I got up for water and saw Emma’s door was open but her bed was empty. I thought she was sleepwalking but then the door—” I pointed toward the still open front door. “It was open, and I thought I saw someone outside but by the time I got the flashlight, whatever I saw was gone.”
“But I…” Finn’s mouth falls open. “I locked the door.”
“Are you sure?” Asher snaps.
“Yes,” Finn snaps back. “I locked the door. I know I did. Can you unlock a door while sleepwalking?”
A round of uncertain shrugs follows. No one knows the answer.
“It doesn’t matter right now,” Asher remarks. “Emma could be out there and we have to find her.”
“And we have to call the police or something, right?” I say, trying to work out how they would even get here.
Finn is already moving outside, flashlight in hand, so we both follow him.
“Emma!” Finn yells, his voice booming through the night air. Animals chitter and screech in the distance but that’s his only reply.
“What do we do?” Asher turns to Finn. “You were in the army. What do we do?”
“I fought in a war, I didn’t find missing people in a forest,” Finn snaps. “But she can’t have gone far. We split up, we walk in one direction and make sure you walk in a straight line, okay? We keep yelling and make sure you can hear each other. One sweep, and then we call the mountain rescue. Sound good?”
I’m not sure if it’s the fact we’re doing something or that Finn sounds so sure of himself while issuing these instructions, but the tight band of panic eases in my chest slightly.
“Got it.” I drag one hand through my hair, pulling slightly at the end of the strands.
“Twenty minutes,” Finn says. “We search for twenty then we call someone.”
Exchanging worried glances, we each share a nod and then we split up. I head toward where I saw the shadow. If I’m lucky, maybe I can find whatever it was that I saw.
Heading deeper into the forest with the high beam to lead the way, I weave the safest path I can find through the trees. Twigs and foliage crunch under my boots and like clockwork, Finn and Asher’s voices drift to me in the dark.
“Emma!”
“Where are you?!”
“Emma, can you hear me?”
“Emma!”
Like a runaway wagon, my mind takes on a mind of its own as I walk through the forest calling to her. What if she walked too far and fell down a ravine, breaking all the bones in her body? What if she wandered into the path of a really hungry bear or mountain lion that saw her as a threat to her cubs? What if she just kept walking, endlessly lost in the forest with no hope of ever making it back to civilization?
Those thoughts and more send chills down my spine, creating a cold tingle that doesn’t leave. Weaving through the trees, I scan the light back and forth but in truth, I have no idea what I’m looking for. I don’t know how to tell if a human or an animal has walked past here.
Finn and Asher’s voices gradually grow fainter as we all walk deeper into the forest. The longer Emma is missing, the more scared I get. And underneath the fear is a rising anger at Finn. Clearly, he didn’t lock the door properly and now poor Emma is out here, lost and alone.
“Emma!” I yell, coming to a stop above a small incline. Using the flashlight, I scan the area back and forth, but there’s no sign of any kind of disturbance or a person, and no sign of the shadow either.
Suddenly, twigs snap to my left. I spin around, aiming in the direction I’m sure I heard the noise but there’s nothing there. My heart kicks up a gear and begins to pound while I scan the trees. There’s nothing. No Emma, nothing.
It must have been an animal.
“I found her!” comes a distant cry that sends a pulse of warm, static relief through my entire chest. “I’ve found her!”
It sounds like Asher, so I turn and sprint back the way I came. There’s a moment while running where the darkness seems to stretch on forever, and I fear I’ve taken a wrong turn or gone off course accidentally. Thankfully the glow of the cabin comes into view within a few minutes of that scary thought entering my mind, and I sprint gratefully inside.
“Emma!”
Dropping to my knees in front of her, I clasp her bare calf. She sits on the couch next to Asher who has his arm around her. A blanket drapes over her shoulders, and Finn appears with a steaming cup of tea.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?” I ask, scanning every inch of her.
“I’m so sorry,” Finn says, handing Emma the tea. “I was so sure I locked the door.”
“I’m okay,” Emma says, wrapping her hands around the mug. “I was just sleepwalking, I think, and I’m not hurt. Other than a few scratches from twigs and things. I honestly…I don’t know. I had a weird dream and when I woke up, I was just in the middle of the forest.”
“Thank God you’re okay.” Asher pulls her in and presses a swift kiss to her temple. “Fuck, I was scared.”
“Me too,” I breathe out, running my hand up and down her bare calf. “Has this ever happened before? Opening locks and things?”
“No.” Emma shakes her head between sips. “I’d need a hundred extra locks on my front door if that was the case.”
“So you didn’t lock the door.” Asher shoots Finn a sharp, accusatory look.
“I did,” Finn snaps back, but the certainty on his face fades and he glances toward the now closed front door. “I’m sure I did.”
“Clearly not,” Asher snaps. “Fuck, Finn. How could you be so careless?”
“I’m not careless,” Finn remarks but despite the strength in his voice, there’s uncertainty in his eyes. Whether he remembers doing it or not, the door was definitely unlocked, and it seems unlikely that it was Emma.
“I’m sorry,” Emma says suddenly, drawing our attention back to her. “I didn’t mean to cause a fuss or anything. This sleepwalking is such a pain.”
“Hey.” I gently squeeze her calf, bringing her eyes down to mine. “This isn’t your fault. It’s just a terrible accident that, thankfully, we managed to avoid turning into a bigger one. You’re here and you’re fine. That’s all that matters.”
I glance pointedly at Asher who rolls his eyes but thankfully doesn’t reignite his argument with Finn.
“Come on, let’s get you into a hot shower and then back to bed.” Asher stands and guides Emma up with him. She flashes me an apologetic smile and then walks with Asher out of the room. Finn remains, one hand on his chin as he stares at the door. When I stand, he glances at me, and there’s an uncertain pain in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Finn says. “I swear I thought I locked it. I remember locking it but now the more I think about it, the more I’m not sure I’m just remembering the wrong thing.”
“Do you think we should be worried?” I ask in a low voice, approaching Finn. “You’re sure you locked the door and Emma was found on the complete other side of the cabin to where I saw that shadow.”
Finn’s brow pulls low. “How sure are you that you saw something?”
“About as sure as you are about locking the door.”
Finn nods slowly. “Maybe we’re just tired from all the fucking and our minds are playing tricks on us.” He drops his hand to his hips with a sigh. “Or…”
“Or?” I prompt when he falls silent, and I stare at him, trying to decipher what ideas are spilling through his mind.
“Or there’s something a lot more sinister that we’re just not seeing yet.”