It was a good hour's drive before we arrived at the four-hundred-acre park. Everything was the same as the first time I'd seen it and mixed emotions began to stir in me. I was more than a little daunted.
"Ell, you okay?" Martin asked while readjusting his backpack into a more comfortable position as we got supplies out from the trunk of the car.
"I'm fine," I said, shoving aside my nerves. I have to face this. "Let's try to find the spot where Dr. Lin found me."
"Do you remember seeing any signs?"
"Yeah, Dr. Lin found me by an exit sign, three miles from here."
"So, let's keep following the path and we should find it eventually." He sounded optimistic. "Katie, is Gwendolyn ready?"
Katie placed her doll with long, blond hair into the side pocket of her backpack, making sure that the doll's head and arms peeked out neatly. She nodded enthusiastically.
"Gwendolyn?"
"Cute name, eh?" Martin winked at me, he then put a yellow hoodie in Katie's backpack. "And you got your map?"
Katie proudly held up the Hemley Park map pamphlet.
"Alright," I said. "Let's go!"
Katie skipped happily several feet ahead while Martin and I walked on the cement path. It was nice to see her enjoying this little adventure even though a part of me felt uneasy about revisiting the park. I was glad Martin was here with me.
I inhaled deeply and the earthy scent of pine and cedar filled my nostrils. Hemley Park was sheltered in the shadow of tall evergreen trees that flanked the path on either side. Many of the trees towered hundreds of feet over us and their trunks were easily ten feet in diameter. I marveled at their sturdiness and imagined them to be majestic sentinels standing guard over the park.
Beads of sweat formed on my brow and the nape of my neck as we walked in the summer heat. I swiped my hand across my brow then slid my hand under the nape of my hair. As I mopped my neck, I grazed by the burn mark. I decided to mention it.
"Martin," I said.
"Yeah?" He put the cap back on his water bottle after taking a swig.
"A while back I found some kind of weird marking on me."
"We all have bruises, babe."
"No, I mean look..." I showed him the burn mark on the back of my neck.
"Did you have a tattoo removed?"
"I don't know. Oh, and you know what else? I don't have any other scars on my body. None."
"I don't think that's possible."
"I checked everywhere."
"Maybe you weren't thorough enough," he teased. I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore him, and looked ahead to see Katie standing in front of a sign that indicated a fork in the road.
"What did you find?" I asked Katie. She turned around and pointed to the sign. The left side of it read Hemley Park Bird Sanctuary; the right side read Hemley Park Lake.
"So which way do we go?" asked Martin.
"We're not going to the Bird Sanctuary—that's for sure."
"Cause you're afraid of birds?" Martin laughed, as did Katie.
"Yeah, that's right." I straightened my back, almost puffing up my chest. I had no trouble owning that fact. "Can't stand them. All they do is swoop, poop, and peck at things."
"They'll be in cages, Ell."
"Okay fine, but that's not the point. The point is that I know I didn't come from that direction that night."
"All right, all right," he relented, holding his hands out to pacify me.
We strolled for close to an hour before I started to recognize the place. And there it was. The exit sign.
"There!" I shouted. "The first thing I ever read."
"'Hemley Park Exit, three miles,'" Martin read with a smirk. "That's great, Ell. So, this is your furthest memory?"
"No. It was a while before I wandered here."
"You could have come from anywhere."
I looked at the sign and distinctly remembered grabbing on to it as I stumbled out of the woods.
I positioned myself by the pole, reenacting the way I stumbled out. "That way. I was in the woods before I got here." I decided, pointing behind me.
"There isn't a path back there, Ell." He ruffled his hair, and just at that moment we all heard a loud, ominous thunder.
I looked to Martin. "Storm?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I checked the weather forecast before leaving—no storm."
"That sounded like thunder."
"I know it sounded like thunder, but I checked the forecast, and there's no chance of rain."
"Who are you gonna believe, my ears or the forecast?" My hands were locked on my hips now.
"Come on, Ell." Martin encouraged. I glanced over at Katie and saw the eagerness in her eyes. She really wanted to go on this expedition.
"Fine." I hesitantly agreed, and Katie's face lit up with excitement.
The three of us treaded toward the woods, and almost as soon as I had agreed, I regretted my decision. But I couldn't go back on my word then, especially since Katie seemed so excited.
Martin took the lead, I was in the middle, and Katie followed behind us. I liked being in the middle, neither first nor last and always protected.
Here, the foliage grew wild and untended, so we had to walk carefully, slowing our pace to adjust to the uneven terrain. The tall evergreen trees towered over us and provided much needed shade. The sound of dry twigs snapping beneath our feet energized me and any worries I had about the brewing storm vanished. We continued on this way for some time before I noticed that the sun was setting.
"Martin, it's starting to get dark," I said.
"We've got flashlights, babe." He reached behind him and casually rolled two flashlights off his backpack and placed them on the ground. "See? Two of them—right here."
"Great, you take one since you're in the front, and Katie can—" I was interrupted by a high-pitched shriek from behind us.
A ghastly bird, dark as night, swooped down at Katie, who ran shielding her head and face from the onslaught of beak and talons.
My head started spinning, and everything started moving in slow motion.
It's going to get me!
I crouched down low and gasped for breaths—I was hyperventilating. That wasn't the worst of it. Out of nowhere, another bird from hell swooped over and fiercely tried to rip Katie's map out of her hands.
I can do nothing. I can't. I can't.
I was completely crippled by fear as I held my legs tight and curled on the ground, struggling to breathe. I wanted to help, I should help, but I couldn't. My paralyzed state made it impossible for me to do anything else other than cower.
In a blur, Martin fearlessly dashed over to Katie's side, but struggled to reach the bird in time before it flew off with the map in its large beak.
"Katie! Katie, are you okay?" Martin had his hands cusped around his sister's face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She nodded. "Ell, stop freaking out and get over here!"
I sat upright—still on the ground.
"Ellis Ann Moore, the bird is gone already," he said sternly.
I forced myself to stand, then walked over. I stood next to Martin and Katie, a little unstable and saying nothing at all. Katie had nearly been mauled, and I was too caught up in my own fears to help.
"I'm sorry," I said. "That bird was attacking and, I just... You see why I don't like them? I knew birds were crazy."
"They were just crows. We're probably in their territory; maybe they have a nest nearby."
"Crows, seagulls, sparrows are all the same," I said under my breath. I cleared my throat, then continued, "You guys want to start heading back?"
I looked at Katie, who was mopping the tears off her flushed cheeks with the sleeve of her jacket. After a final sniffle, she turned to Martin and shook her head. Her bravery was admirable.
"If she doesn't wanna give up, let's keep going." Martin beamed proudly at Katie. "You wanna be in the middle this time, Katie? Let Ellis be in the back to defend you from the crows?"
My face must have lost its color when he said that, because they both started laughing. Katie stood behind me, holding my hand.
"Looks like Katie is gonna protect you, Ell."
"Thanks," I squeezed her hand, as she valiantly flashed her pearly whites at me.
***
By now, the flashlights were our main source of light. Martin led the way, while I could see the beam of Katie's flashlight bouncing merrily over the ground.
"Hey guys, look!" Martin exclaimed.
Before us was an odd-looking patch in the middle of the woods. There were no trees, no shrubs, and no grass. It was a circular patch of dirt the size of a small theater auditorium.
I scrunched my nose at the scent of upturned earth, intermingled with an acrid burnt smell. I dragged the back of my hand across my nose as if it would make the smell go away.
Martin walked to the middle of the patch and I followed closely behind him.
"What is this?" he whispered. He shone his flashlight around the edges of the clearing. "See the surrounding trees? The sides of them have been sheared where the clearing ends."
"Why would anyone do that in the middle of the forest?"
"Couldn't tell ya'."
I wanted a better look at it, and I found myself squinting to see. "We need more light. I can barely see—"
I stopped abruptly and all I could hear was the rustling of leaves overhead.
It was too quiet.
Martin and I realized that we hadn't seen Katie's beam of light for a while. We spun around to where Katie had been standing, but she was gone. A distant, grim caw sent a sinking feeling to the pit of my stomach.
"Katie!" Martin yelled.
"She must have gone after the crow, to get the map."
"Stay right here, Ell." Martin dropped his backpack on the ground beside me and bolted into the woods.
I stood alone in the darkness for only a few seconds before I followed.
"Martin, wait!" I cried.
"Katie! Answer me!" he hollered even louder.
I was out of breath by the time I caught up to him.
"Martin, do you even know where you're going?"
He didn't answer. He turned around, holding Gwendolyn in his shaking hand.
My mouth fell open, but I quickly recovered and thought of something encouraging to say. "She's nearby. She's got to be nearby," I said. "Katie!" I looked around and realized I had no idea where we were.
"She'd never leave Gwendolyn behind," he said. "Katie!"
"That's it. I'm calling the cops." I took out my phone and was met by a 'no service' notification. "There's no service on mine. Try yours," I said.
Martin pulled his phone out of his pocket, but his had the same issue.
"How could both of them be out of service? It's not like we've left the country," he fumed. After a few curse words, he exhaled with a heavy sigh. "All right, let's get back on track. We'll return to the clearing, and we'll go from there. Maybe she went back there to find us." He spoke calmly, but I knew that his mind was probably a mess.
"I don't know which way we came from."
Martin clenched his jaw. "I do."
There was a crackle in the air and the rumble of thunder just as we started heading back to the clearing. It was as if someone was playing a twisted, contrived joke on us, when heavy rain began to fall in a continuous bucketful-assault.
We trudged through the increasingly muddy forest and the sound of the leaves rustling was drowned out by the heavy barrage of rain. As we continued, I began to hear branches snapping behind us. At first, I ignored it. Perhaps it was just the rain hitting the ground—the storm was certainly loud enough.
But then it got closer.
And louder.
No, this snapping was too heavy and much too calculated.
Someone was following us.