October 4th – walks in the forest

I may be running behind on these…very far behind, but I’m determined to have a piece of writing for every prompt I found for each day this month. I’ve been watching a lot of cheesy ghost shows lately and they make me nostalgic for those days spent home sick watching “A Haunting”. This one was inspired by my fear of what lies in the dark.

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They meant to make it to the trailhead well before the sun began its slow descent from the sky. The trees had already shed some of their leaves and the branches reached out into the gray sky like bony, gnarled fingers. 

It was quiet in this part of the mountains, and every snap beneath a boot or breath seemed to disappear into a vacuum once you stepped into the forest. Sam and Cassidy exited the car and pulled their bulging backpacks over their shoulders. The hike to the camp site was only a few hours; they had gone on longer journeys before in more relentless weather. Though the sky was overcast, the warmth of the sun could still be felt through the haze of clouds blocking out the blue.

“You two planning to stay the night?” A scruff looking man asked as he chewed on a lump of tobacco. He startled them, popping out of nowhere, appearing as if he’d just spent a week in the belly of the forest sleeping out in the open amongst the stars. 

“We’re hiking out to our campsite then staying a few nights,” Sam replied, clicking the two ends of the buckle on his pack together across his chest. 

The man nodded his head silently, turning to the side to spit.

“Remember, this land is older than you and me. If you hear somethin’ in there, no you didn’t. Keep your eyes on the trail and don’t wander off.”

Sam and Cassidy exchanged worried and confused glances, turn back to watch the man drift away down the path leading back to the main road. 

“What the hell was that about?” Sam asked as they crossed into the tree line.

“People around here have a lot of superstitions, you know, like spirits in the woods. Lore runs deep in these parts of the world; everyone has some story passed down a few generations.” Cassidy tried to shrug off the eery feeling permeating her skin, but Sam noticed how her body stiffened at the mention of spirits. 

“You mean like fairies and stuff?”

“Not exactly.”

Sam dropped the conversation, sensing it had come to an abrupt end. It was all tall tales, or at least that’s what he thought to himself as the sight of the parking lot moved further and further from view. He made a mental note to stop and double check his pack inventory before they traveled too far. The two of them had done this at least a dozen times, hiking through some of the most beautiful, remote parks in the country. The first few miles ticked by in near total silence.

“How far out are we?” Cassidy was the first one to break the silence.

Sam fished the folded map out from the side pocket of his backpack, turning it right side up to inspect their route, marked in red. 

“At this pace we should get to the camp site by five or six o′clock. Hopefully closer to five so we can get the tent up and cook dinner before the sun goes down.”

They slipped back into a not quite comfortable silence as Sam tucked the map back into its place. The woods were a peaceful escape for Cassidy, a place where the loudness of the world faded away for a little while. It was the disconnection from all those small things that chip away at you that drew her into the solitude of the woods. She hadn’t grown up with superstitious parents or distant family with tales of strange happenings, yet the old man’s words rattled around in her mind still. This land is older than you and me.

Sam’s watch read 4:52pm by the time they slid off their backpacks and began unloading their gear for the night. Cassidy got to work on the tent while Sam scanned the forest floor for firewood, working against the clock to secure a fire before the sunlight dwindled and the moon made her ascent into the sky. Sam had a tune stuck in his head, something his father used to sing around the house when he was young. It started as a hum while he worked and suddenly he was whistling along to the music in his head as he wandered further from camp in search of dry wood. 

“Hey Cassidy.”

She heard Sam somewhere close to her, not bothering to look up from her work. 

“Do you remember the first time we went camping together? You were so excited to show me the ropes because you didn’t realize I wasn’t new to all this, and I let you try to impress me.” Cassidy let out a small chuckle. A few moments passed with no response; she turned around to look for Sam and realized he wasn’t there. Her heart thumped up into her throat and got stuck there; she could feel every pulse all the way up into her ears. A twig snapped loudly somewhere near the campsite sending every hair on her body standing up on end. She got the distinct feeling there was someone out in the woods watching her.

“Cass, are you okay? It sounded like you were talking to someone.”

Sam’s sudden reappearance shook Cassidy. Her eyes went wide and her body was wracked with shivers.

“I got spooked being here on my own, it’s nothing,” she lied. 

They finished setting up camp before dusk, taking the peppers and meat they prepped earlier out of Sam’s pack to make dinner. The temperature dropped into the fifties by night fall as they sat around the fire with their hands wrapped around mugs of hot cider. The darkness of the forest when the last remnants of daylight had gone was not something that had ever bothered either of them in the past. The tree canopy still sported tufts of leaves here and there, blotting out most of the moonlight. Cassidy couldn’t pull her eyes away from the blackness, searching for whatever was making her stomach turn sour. 

“You haven’t stopped looking into those trees since we sat down to eat.” Sam took another sip of cider and trained his eyes on Cassidy, hoping to coax the truth out of her.

“Earlier, when you were looking for wood, I heard your voice when I was putting the tent together. It sounded like you were right next to me, but when I turned around you weren’t there. Whatever is was, it sounded just like you.” Cassidy shrunk in her chair, pulling the blanket she’d wrapped around herself tighter as if making a cocoon.

“What do you mean whatever it was?” Sam gathered up the courage to ask the question he’d been rolling around on his tongue. “You’ve been thinking about what that old man said haven’t you?”

Cassidy nodded. It didn’t matter if all the stories of creatures roaming the woods were just that, stories, because the fear welling in Cassidy’s stomach was very real. She caught herself thinking of all the impossible things that turned out to be possible, and wondered what the odds were the same applied to elements of the supernatural. She didn’t want to find out.

When the embers of the fire burned down to a dim glow they decided it was time for bed. Sam doused the warm coals with water and listened for the hiss to die out before joining Cassidy in the tent. It was so dark inside he nearly tripped, cursing and clicking on the camping lantern.

“No, turn it out.” Cassidy frantically reached for the switch on the lantern to extinguish the light.

“What has gotten into you?” Sam zipped the tent closed and cozied into the sleeping bag.

“I was laying here while you were putting out the fire and I heard something.” Sam stared at Cassidy in the dark, and for the first time he noticed the silence outside. The woods were devoid of the sounds of chirping crickets and nocturnal critters rustling about through the leaves. Something brushed up against the nylon, circling the tent slowly. 

“Sam, I’ve missed you.” A male voice sounded from the other side.

Sam swallowed and nearly choked. 

“Who is that?” Cassidy asked, tightening the death grip she had on Sam’s hand.

“It sounds like my brother. He died five years ago.”