"Aah!" I screamed and stepped back, tripping over a stone but regained my balance before I could fall. I looked over the bushes where, now I knew, those birds hid. I picked up a stone at threw at the bushes. A huge group of them came out, echoing through the forest as their movement caused rustling. They flew over my head, only half a feet above. I bent on my knees and placed my hands over my head to protect myself.
As soon as they left, I heard the footsteps again. This time they were slow and laggard. I looked back for a moment and the next I was staring into a pair of silver orbs. For some reason, I didn't look back or ran, I stared right into them. I could not see the face of the person in the dark but the silver color was definitely making them stand out. I took a step to get closer and heard a snarl from the opposite direction. I looked and saw other silver eyes staring at me. It felt like they were trying to read me, penetrate me. I gulped as they proceeded further. They were predators but I wasn't ready to be their prey.
I ran towards in a safer direction. The trees were making it difficult to focus on one route. But on my mind, there was only one thing: save your life. Too much was happening and my mind was taking in nothing. I took out my phone again and called Brody, my footsteps never stopping. He didn't pick. "Shit," I cursed.
I looked back and breathed with relief on finding that those guys were not following me. Whoever they were, they were definitely creepy. I had to get out of here fast, but after finding those three. I slowed my pace and tried to call Mom but even she didn't pick. Now what had happened to her? I called the Millers and their phones were unreachable too.
I made a mistake, a terrible one by gluing my eyes to the phone and not looking ahead of me because the very next second I greeted the ground. I had lost counts of how many times I fell tonight. My body did not just stop when it made contact with the ground, rather it slipped. The forest got steep from here and gravity was pulling me. The ground seemed wet. The muddy soil stuck to my hands and my clothes. I clutched my phone tightly in one hand and placed the other on my pocket which now held the oeskas. My jaw was clenched tightly and I gritted my teeth to prevent any noise from the impact. If I screamed or shout, they would know and they would definitely find me again. I couldn't always run and hide.
My body came to a sudden halt before it was pushed again. Landing hard on my butt, I almost whimpered with the impact of force. This nightmare needed to end. Fast. The selfish part in me asked me to return and let them rot here but I knew better. They stood by me and I would stand by their side, no matter what. I was taught better than to leave my friends in danger.
I got up as I recovered from the shock and dusted off my clothes. I searched for any kind of injury and luckily there was none. What should I do now? I did not know the path and decided to walk straight ahead wherever the way led me to.
Although I had no injury, my body was still throbbing with pain. I took the support of the trees and moved very slowly. I didn't have much choice. I hoped that my ankle would not twist on the roots of the trees. I thought about climbing the tree and looking at the forest boundaries but dropped the idea when I saw its height and girth. It was impossible to climb that high with pain all over me. Besides, the idea was implausible and the darkness added to my problem.
Further, there was a canopy ahead of me. I breathed deep. What else did this forest hide? I had no enthusiasm for going in but I went after all I had no choice.
I stepped in and cringed a little when the leaves crunched loudly beneath, much louder than they did before. I kept walking. It was way too dark here. So, I turned on the flashlight of my phone – why did this idea not come before? – and hoped that I was not giving an open invitation to people to come and kill me. Suddenly I felt something drop down and go past my shoulder. I cursed but thanked my stars. Had it not fallen past my shoulder, I would be having another injury. I shrugged the thing off labeling it as an animal. But do animals or birds fall down the canopy like this? That was a pathetic thought.
Something fell again. Okay, that was getting too much. I jerked my phone's light up to see what it was and regretted it instantly.
I screamed when my eyes followed my phone's flashlight. On the head of the canopy, instead of plants and leaves, there were bones. I could not quite decipher which animal exactly it was. I moved the flashlight further and saw the different kinds of bones. The covering was not of plants, it was of bones which were covered with the leaves. This wasn't a canopy. This was something else. If that wasn't scary, the thought that these bones might just belong to a human further crept me.
I was about to fall again but caught myself. I looked below to see the huge stone which I had hit. Instead, I saw a human skull. I shrieked out of fear and surprise. Those people – whoever they were – were murderers. They had had visitors before, unwanted visitors who had been killed. We were one of them. I was afraid to meet the same fate but I was more concerned more those three.
I continued walking into their territory with nothing but my phone and oeskas.
After five minutes of walking, I was finally seeing an exit. I didn't dare look up. How many bones were there in a canopy so long? I fastened my steps, almost running. As my hand flew to take the support of the trees, something stuck to my hand. There was something on the bark of the trees. I brought up my phone to see and got another heart attack. It was blood, real red blood. It was still wet, signaling that it was fresh. Fear set right into me. No. No. No. I couldn't lose anybody of them. I told myself to calm down. Maybe it wasn't theirs. Whoever's it was, the person was close.
I slowly looked ahead in every direction to catch any sign of life. I had a feeling that they were somewhere near. I called Brody again and then I heard it. His phone was ringing and it was very close. I followed the course of the voice. Brody's phone was lying among the stones near a huge tree, bigger than any I had seen till now. I picked up his phone. The screen guard was broken. It had cracks, but luckily the phone was working.
"Brody?" I loudly called out his name.
"Brody, where are you guys? Seriously, this is no joke. The place is getting scarier. We need to leave. Brody!" My worry increased as the silence stretched.
I bit my lip, stopping myself from crying. "Where are you?" I whispered.
A shadow caught my attention near the tree. I brought my phone up to see and yelped. Brody lay there, his back with the tree. His face was covered with blood.
"Brody," I went to him, wiping the blood with my bare hands. I shook him lightly, hoping he would say something. I could feel his heartbeat. That gave me some relief. His lips moved. I leaned in to hear him properly.
"Eric," he said quietly.
"Where's Eric? Do you know? Where is he?"
He didn't reply. I felt his hand move. He pointed at the tree. I frowned and followed the direction. From a branch, a lifeless body was hanging. I gulped and put the flashlight there, fearing what I might see.
"No," I whispered. "No." Eric's lifeless body hung there. I couldn't control it then. Tears rolled down my face. It was too high for me to reach. My body was trembling with shock and fear.
"Where's Erin?" I asked Brody.
He didn't reply, just breathed heavily.
I looked around like crazies. I had to do something. I called Mom. She had to know now. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Hello Roe," she said. "Darling, the connection got lost earlier. Sorry about that."
My throat felt dry, "Mom, I'm...I'm –"
I was trying to speak but nothing came out.
"Roe, is everything okay? It sounds like you're crying.""
I was about to reply when I heard the rustling again. They had found me. Those men who had done this to Eric and Brody had found me.
Brody's hand touched my hand. I looked at him.
"Go," he mumbled.
I shook my head. "No," I managed to say between my tears. "Not without you."
I tried to pick him up before those men caught us. He fell back. "Go," he said again. I tried to pull him along with me but he resisted.
"Roe?" Mom said.
"I'm...I'm here," I replied, sobbing while my gaze was fixated at Brody who gestured me to go. The footsteps grew closer. I looked at the canopy and back at Brody.
"I'm sorry," I said and ran.
"What are you sorry for, sweetie?" Mom asked. I cut the call.
I ran towards the canopy, and turned to look at Brody. He laid there in silence, his eyes shut and his hands were by his side, motionless. I cried harder but didn't stop. Once out of the canopy, I hid behind a tree. I sat there with my knees next to my chest, trying to shrink. I could hear the footsteps approaching me. My sobbing grew louder as Eric's sight never faded away. I placed my hand on my mouth to control my voice. I could not run. I could not let them find me. I was stuck.
I saw their figures moving past me and anger filled me. I wanted to get up and threw the can of oeskas at them but I didn't let my anger control me. I was not sure if they were the same people I fought with in the morning. They could be someone else, something much more dangerous. Just as I thought they had lost me, my phone rang. The men turned and the silver eyes stared into mine. I saw one of them smirk. I was going to die. I got up and ran wherever my senses were taking me. I looked at my phone screen and groaned. Why did Mom choose to call back? Did she think I was crazy who cut the line?
I took out oeskas and opened the can. I stopped and positioned myself behind a tree.
"You can't hide, girl. Your friends are all dead. You'd suffer the same," I heard one of them said. He sounded familiar. I turned and my breath was caught in my throat when I was one of them standing right next to me. The other one joined him. His hand flew to my throat.
I kicked him in the groin and threw the contents of the can at them. They jerked back before getting straight again. What? Did it not work?
The memory after that was all a blur. I felt my body falling down on the hard ground. Maybe, I was dead. My phone kept on ringing as I started to lose consciousness. I tried to reach for the phone but it was too late.
I hoped that Erin was safe.