Crash

14: I'm going crazy

"I-I...." I stammered and looked over my shoulder, trying to see the laughing girl.

"Didn't you......didn't you hear that?" I asked him. How could he not have? It was clear as day.

Baine stood erect at my side, his ears and eyes on the other side of the ravine.

"Hear what?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"The-the giggling, the laughing... I chased her. She was saying 'follow' over and over," I said quietly, stunned.

"Lyra you know as well as I do that there is no one out here," his hands fell from my shoulders to my hands.

"But she was here! Baine saw her too! Look at him!" I pointed at my wolf, who still hadn't budged from his lookout position.

"He's probably looking at a rabbit or something," Nathan shook his head.

"No! I saw her! Nathan I swear! She, she had a dress on. I think she was barefoot. Her hair, um, her hair was dark and wavy. She was like my age I guess, but her voice was so soft. I could hear her so clearly but she was so quiet," I protested and desperately tried to describe the girl to him.

He gave me a weird look and I growled in frustration, "I'm not insane, Baine and I saw a girl and we chased her."

"You're telling me that you basically saw a ghost girl?" He asked in all seriousness.

I didn't know what she was, "Hell, I don't know! But she was there and I saw her, please believe me."

Nathan was quiet for a moment, then to my amazement, he nodded, "I can't find a reason to verify why you'd lie or prank me. And I don't know anyone who would run so fast and so far for no good reason. I don't know what you saw but I believe that you were after something."

"How fast was I going? She seemed to be just fricking bounding through the woods so easily," I grinned at him as he pulled me away from the edge.

"Well I saw you run through the crack in the wall. I followed you because you looked like you were after something. Damn, you were moving. I had to sprint hard to catch up. I never did see that girl but I did hear you yelling," he chuckled.

"She was twenty feet in front of me," I said.

"And you couldn't catch up?" He asked as we started walking back.

"No," I shook my head.

Looking around, I saw Baine wasn't next to me like he usually was. I turned around to see him still at the edge of the ravine.

"Baine," I called and he reluctantly turned to lope over to us.

"I think he's a little freaked out," I admitted, chuckling.

"I would be too if I saw a ghost girl running through the remote forest," Nathan chuckled.

We stopped by my rabbit snares, picked up one rabbit and unset the rest of the snares.

I was going to start alternating with my food so tomorrow, I wouldn't need any rabbits.

"You know, there's mink and surely squirrels in these woods. We could trap them too," Nathan suggested.

"I don't know how to trap mink. I know the basics but nothing too advanced," I shrugged as I set to gutting the rabbit a ways away so I didn't scare off other rabbits. Considering all the rabbits I got, there was probably a warren somewhere.

"I know a way we can try," he smiled.

"Will you teach me? I'd love a variety for winter," I said and tossed the intestines to Baine.