Chapter Nine #2
We only walk a few steps before I hear another whisper.
This time it’s not calling me. Fast and repeating, I hear, “Luke, Luke, Luke…” When I glance behind me, I see two small orbs floating in the darkness but before I can take a breath, they’re gone.
I swallow hard, turning back around and tighten my grip on Luke’s arm like a vice. He pats my hand gently.
“I got you.”
_____
When we finally make it back to the cabin, my nerves are hanging by a thread.
The darker it got, the more paranoid I became over every little noise.
Luke, on the other hand, stayed calm the entire time and while that probably should’ve helped me, it made me feel like I was losing my mind.
Being that deep into the woods started playing tricks on my mind and I knew they were tricks because Luke never seemed to notice the whispers in the wind, the shadows in the trees or even the bugs crawling on our skin.
It was all I could do to not scream and start running through the woods like a wild animal, but I was determined to not do anything to further complicate things, so I did my best to ignore my chaotic mind and keep putting one foot in front of the other.
When we eventually find the clearing, I hear Luke let out a big sigh before laughing. “I told you I would get us out. I can’t believe you doubted me.” He looks back over his shoulder and winks.
“I never doubted you. Although, that sigh makes me feel like maybe I should’ve been.” He laughs, flipping me off before walking toward the cabin. The energy shifts as he steps away and I realize how close I’m still lingering to the tree line.
When I go to take a step forward my head snaps back, my hair catching on something.
I try to turn my head to see what it is, but it’s caught in such a way that all I can do is reach back.
I lift my arms and grab my ponytail, slowly feeling down to the ends of my hair.
When I get near the ends, I can feel that it’s tangled in some sort of branch.
I give a light tug, but it doesn’t come free.
I then try to unwind the pieces that are caught, but the branch is holding on tight.
After the evening I just had, I get frustrated fast. I grab frantically at the branch, trying to break myself free, no longer worried about the damage I might do to my hair as my panic rises.
Suddenly, I’m falling forward, my hair no longer caught.
I look back to where I was standing as a shadow steps back into the dense forest. I close my eyes, frozen in confusion and terror, not knowing what to do, not even knowing if anything I’m seeing is real.
“This is bullshit,” I whisper to myself.
When I open my eyes, they are still glued to the same spot, but this time the trees are standing alone.
I pick myself up and take a deep breath before running to catch up with Luke.
It all happened so fast he hasn’t even made it to the cabin yet.
It doesn’t seem like he noticed anything at all.
I didn’t realize how cold I was until we take a step inside.
The warm air makes the creepiness of the cabin disappear, especially when compared with the atmosphere that has built up outside.
All I see at this moment is a cozy cabin with locks on the doors.
I drop my bag and walk into the kitchen, feeling emotionally and physically exhausted.
I gulp down a full glass of water and hop up to sit on the counter with a bag of chips.
By the time Luke follows me into the kitchen, I’ve inhaled half the bag.
I guess I also didn’t realize that I was starving.
“Hungry?” He asks with a chuckle. I only nod, too busy chewing as he walks over, taking the chips from me and popping a few in his mouth. I feel him looking at me and when I make eye contact with him, he is smiling at me.
“What?” I ask with my mouth half full. He reaches out and smooths down my hair.
“Did you get hit by lightning when I wasn’t looking?”
“Ha ha. My stupid hair got caught in a branch. My knight in shining armor wasn’t paying attention, so I was left helpless and alone…. I almost died actually. You should feel bad.” I can tell he is holding back a laugh so I glare at him. “Don’t make fun of me.”
“I would never! I was just thinking…” he pauses, closing the bag of chips and setting them to the side. “How does pizza sound?”
“Oh my god, yes!” I had completely forgotten that we stopped at a local pizza place and had them make us a few to go.
_____
We go and take a shower while waiting for the pizza to warm up.
Afterwards, I put on my coziest sweater and some thick wool socks, hoping they will keep the warm, peaceful feelings flowing.
Luke was out of the shower before me and is already downstairs.
By the time I make it back to the kitchen, he is already carrying the pizzas to the dining room.
I follow him to where he has set a table with plates and wine glasses.
“Look what I found, who would have thought this old place would have such fancy tableware?” He glances up at me.
“I thought we could sit and have a proper meal at a table. It’s been a while.
” He isn’t wrong. We tend to be the type of people that eat fast food or frozen meals, curled up on the couch.
Even though I crave that comfort tonight, he is putting in effort on this trip and I need to remember to do my part.
So, I give him a big smile and go sit in the chair he is holding out for me.
“Sounds wonderful.”
After finishing almost an entire pizza myself and half a bottle of wine, I’m in a much better mood. Luke and I are laughing about the day, lightheartedly talking about how weird this place is.
“One day, when we buy our own place, I think we should decorate it just like this, even down to the cobwebs in every corner. Really lean into the ‘witch in the woods’ vibe.”
He smiles and says back, “Agreed. You can be the witch, and I’ll be a strapping prince who stumbles on the wrong house and gets taken as a slave… a sex slave.” He winks at me, leaning across the table slowly. I roll my eyes and place my hand on his face, stopping him.
“Oh my god. You’re perverted.” He laughs, crossing his arms in fake annoyance. I get up and plop myself onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Okay, but how about instead, I’ll be a beautiful, seductive, forest siren who lures men out into the forest so I can capture them and feast on their souls? You're my first victim.” I lean in and kiss him.
“I don’t think that’s a thing…. But I’ll let you feast on me anytime you want.” I ignore the last comment.
“Oh, sure it is. My grandma used to tell me stories of spirits and witches to watch out for if I ever found myself lost in the forest.”
“That’s not scary at all,” he says with some light sarcasm. “And this grandma liked you?” I swat him and laugh a little, settling into his arms more. Now that I’m on this side of the table, I notice a tall bookshelf on the wall across from us.
As relaxed as I feel, I jump up excitedly.
“Look! There are books! How haven’t I noticed this was here?
” I walk over quickly and start scanning through them, randomly pulling out some and examining them.
There are a lot of options but none that look like they came from this century.
Books on mythologies, plants, medicines, and a dictionary.
My eyes are drawn to a thick, red, leather spine with no title.
I pull it out, unsure what to expect. It’s worn and feels as if it could fall apart if I make one wrong move.
Carefully, I open the cover as I turn around to face Luke.
“I think I found a Bible.” I start gently, flipping through the pages where I find intense illustrations of angels and demons scattered throughout.
Some of them are beautiful but most of the depictions are terrifying.
“It’s filled with pictures. I’ve never seen a Bible like this.
” I bring it over to him, leaning down so he can see as I keep looking through the pages, even reading some of the passages that have been marked.
What catches me off guard is that a lot of scriptures have been completely crossed out, almost gouged through.
“For or against, whoever this Bible belonged to was passionate about it.” As I flip to another page, I find a bunch of handwritten notes placed inside.
I pull them out and start sorting through them, stopping when I get to one that’s filled with depictions of disfigured, grotesque looking animals.
When I flip it to the other side, there are more drawings but this time of the same stick figures we have been seeing.
At the bottom is written “They’re watching. ”