Chapter 6: Strangers in the Night
Branches whipping at her face, Antoinette got a mouthful of leaves and sputtered as she tried to spit them out, stumbling into a body in the process. The body turned around and she was blinded by the flashlight in her face.
It was quickly aimed away from her though as the body, apparently Marisol, recognized her and began to profusely apologize. Antoinette laughed it off, blinking rapidly as her eyes readjusted to the night. As she regained her vision, she realized she had found the rest of her group, plus two people she had never seen before.
Ada, who had been talking to one of the new people, turned to Antoinette. “Oh, hey. So, we found the source of that sound.”
One of the new people, a heavy-set man in a flannel, waved sheepishly from where he was sitting on the ground. Ada spoke again. “This is Charlie,” she gestured at the man on the ground, “and Kevin,” she gestured to the other new person, a bespectacled man with a sour expression on his face. “They’re vloggers who specialize in local legends. They were scoping out the area trying to get some footage of the vampire everyone always talks about when Charlie tripped and rolled his ankle.”
At that, Charlie winced and shrugged apologetically. Kevin spoke up, his face schooled into a more neutral expression but his tone betrayed his displeasure with the situation. “You’d THINK the one with perfect vision would be capable of hiking in the woods at night but alas, here we are.”
It seemed odd to Antoinette, the disdain that he expressed for his partner. She supposed it could be chalked up to the stress of the situation, but there was something about these men, Kevin in particular, that made her wary.
Nevertheless, she plastered on a smile. “Well, accidents happen. I’ve been here my whole life and I fell just the other day while hiking. No shame in that, especially when it's this dark.”
That response earned her a glare from Kevin, though he was quick to hide his initial reaction before anyone else could catch it. “I suppose you’re right. Things happen.” Antoinette wondered if anyone else could hear the barely concealed vitriol that simmered under the surface of his words.
She resolved to keep an eye on him, at least for now. She surveyed the area, taking note of the others. Joshua was standing near Ada, who was now entirely focused on helping Charlie sort his injured ankle out. Marisol stood about five feet away from Kevin, eying him suspiciously. Antoinette felt a spark of relief knowing she wasn’t the only one thrown off by this man. Daphne and Elijah were leaning against the trees and talking.
Antoinette turned back to Ada. “How is he? Can he walk?”
The brunette looked up from her spot on the ground, her lips pursed. “I think so. Not on his own, but with a little support he should be right as rain.”
Elijah walked over and offered Charlie his hand, helping him to his feet. Now that he was standing, albeit not to his full height, Antoinette realized he was quite the imposing figure, or would be if he wasn’t whimpering. Elijah wrapped his arm around the larger man’s back while Ada took his other side.
Joshua stood in front of them and clapped his hands together decisively. “All right, so should we head back? We did leave a lovely fire behind.”
Kevin seemed perturbed at the idea of spending more time with them but Charlie took a moment to thank everyone for their help. The group gathered around and began the trek back in what Joshua confidently said was the direction of the campground. Antoinette looked around and realized with a start that Ophelia was no longer with them.
She whipped her head around, eyes wide and heart racing. Daphne noticed her panic. “Woah, did you hear something?”
Antoinette grabbed her arm, whispering frantically, “Where is Ophelia? She was right behind me earlier but I don’t know where she went.”
Understanding her friend’s distress, Daphne nodded and took a moment to think. With a resolute nod, she made her decision, raising her voice so the entire group could hear her. “HEY!”
The party stopped, everyone aside from Charlie and his two assistants turning to look at Daphne who continued, “So, Ophelia is missing. I propose that all of you,” she pointed at the frontmost half of the group, “go back to the bonfire and help Charlie get situated while Antoinette, Marisol, and I will search the woods for Ophelia. It hasn’t been that long, she couldn’t have gotten far.”
Joshua voiced his agreement, “That sounds like a good plan. If you need help, send someone back to get us.”
Antoinette nodded frantically and grabbed the other two women by the hands, dragging them deeper into the woods as she called out for Ophelia, her voice cracking a bit with emotion. Marisol squeezed her hand and started to call Ophelia’s name too, scanning the trees with her flashlight.
***
Two radiant beacons in the night, Ophelia was transfixed. At first, she was terrified as this must be the creature she and Antoinette had seen the last two nights. But as she sat, unmoving, and stared into those wide eyes, she felt her body relaxing. The fear seeped out of her and into the forest floor, dissolving into the flowers. Looking into those eyes she saw the same anxiety she so often felt.
It was afraid. It was more afraid than she was.
Her face softened and she tilted her head in thought, keeping eye contact all the while. The creature mirrored her movements and she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her mouth. She couldn’t see any details of its face as it was still tucked away in the shadows of the tree's leaves but those eyes were enchanting enough on their own. She sensed a loneliness in them, though she supposed that would make sense. The creature’s existence sounded like quite the lonely one.
She felt her heart melt a little at the thought and decided in that moment that she would befriend the creature. If it was willing and able that is. She wasn’t sure if it had human levels of intelligence or if it could even speak but it seemed to be at least as sentient as any of the animals she had befriended throughout her life. She laughed again, a subtle breathy chuckle, and the eyes blinked rapidly in response.
Mustering up the little courage she required, Ophelia initiated contact with the creature. She raised her hands slowly, to indicate she was no threat. She then spoke, attempting to find the necessary balance between projecting enough to be heard across the clearing and being gentle enough not to spook the being, “Hi there.”
The eyes widened and blinked once, retreating back into the shadows a bit more. The small smile on Ophelia’s face dropped as she tried to reassure the creature that she meant no harm. “Woah don’t go. I won’t hurt you.”
This seemed to work, as the eyes grew a bit brighter, indicating to her that the creature was coming a little closer, though she still couldn’t see anything other than the vague mass of its silhouette. She continued, “You must be lonely out here on your own. Would you like a friend?” Of course, she expected no response but she always talked to animals as if they could understand her, so why should this be any different?
Another blink, and movement. A nod. Wait. A nod? She couldn’t help the confusion that plastered her face. “Hold on, can you… can you understand me?”
Another nod. She couldn’t believe it. Not only had she now met the creature of local legend but it can understand English? Her mouth fell open and she looked down at the flowers, taking a moment to process the situation. She pinched herself. ‘Not dreaming’, she thought. ‘Well, why not roll with it?’
She cleared her throat and looked back to the tree, only to see that the eyes had vanished. She searched the branches but saw no trace of the form that had been there only moments before. Looking around her frantically and finding nothing, she called out again, “I didn’t mean to upset you. Please come back.”
Scanning the treetops, she caught a glimpse of movement in a tree roughly five feet closer to her than the previous one. The eyes appeared again, cutting through the darkness and stealing her breath away. She smiled gently. “Hello, again.”
Ophelia paused for a moment, considering her next words. She didn’t want to startle the creature again. Having made a decision, she opened her mouth and softly said, “I’ll be your friend. My name is Ophelia. What can I call you?”
She half expected a howl, or a hiss, or a bark of some kind in response. What she didn’t expect was a deep voice, silky smooth and twinged with nervousness. “My name is Takoda. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ophelia.”
Her eyes widened and she felt frozen in time yet again. Hearing her name in that voice sent a shiver down her spine. She shook her head, breaking herself out of the daze she had fallen in. How could one being be so incredibly transfixing? Racking her brain for a response, she found she had forgotten the entirety of the English language. “Uhhh… um… you can talk.”
A chuckle, deep and full and altogether overwhelming for Ophelia, emanated from the shadows and those striking eyes crinkled up in amusement. “Yes. I can. My sincerest apologies if I startled you.”
Ophelia shook her head but found herself still at a loss for words.
Takoda continued, “Tonight… or any other night. It was never my intention to frighten you.”
She nodded now, finding her voice again, “So it was you we saw the other night, out near the road.”
He sighed. “Yes, truly, my humblest of apologies. I am usually quite adept at… flying under the radar. I did not think I would bother you.”
A laugh escaped her lips, remembering Antoinette’s words from before, about seducing the creature. She would be losing her mind if she knew what was happening, that Ophelia hadn’t even seen the creature and she already felt like a schoolgirl.
This was unusual for her and she wasn’t sure how to manage the feelings. A wave of anxiety hit her but it didn’t feel like her own. It felt almost as though it was radiating from Takoda.
His voice carved through the air again, a ship parting indigo waves as it silently moves through the ocean. “I really am sorry.”
His voice, as alluring and melodic as it was, held a twinge of fear in it and Ophelia realized he was genuinely worried he had upset her. She laughed again, a bit louder this time. “Don’t worry about it. We were just surprised, really. In fact, Nettie, the other woman who was with me, wanted to share a beer with you sometime.”
The eyes lit up with an emotion Ophelia couldn’t quite place, excitement and maybe a bit of sadness. Takoda spoke again and as he did, Ophelia got a tiny glimpse of sharp white teeth reflected in the moonlight, “Oh? I have heard of these beers. You drink them to ‘let loose’, yes?”
Caught off guard by that response, Ophelia couldn’t help but let out a hearty guffaw. “Yes, yes we do. You’ve been watching people for quite a long time haven’t you?”
Takoda nodded again. “People have gotten much more interesting over the years.”
Ophelia furrowed her brows at the odd statement, though she supposed Takoda had been around long enough to become a local legend so he must’ve seen all forms of humanity. She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to know about him.
Thinking about it for a moment, she decided that finding out what Takoda looked like was as good a place as any to start. As she opened her mouth to ask him to step into the light or come down and join her in the clearing she heard her name from the direction she originally came from. Antoinette. Her disappearance had been noted it seemed and now she could hear Daphne and Marisol calling out for her as well.
She heard a small sigh from Takoda. “It seems your friends are looking for you. You should go to them.”
Worrying her lip between her teeth she glanced back at the trees where her friends were slowly approaching and back to Takoda. “I suppose you are right. I hope to see you again?”
A light chuckle, earthy and somehow sweet, came from the tree. “Most assuredly. It has been a pleasure, Ophelia.”
Ophelia felt her cheeks flush, something about the way he said her name seemed to do that to her, and hoped Takoda’s eyesight wasn’t keen enough for him to pick up on it. Flustered, she nodded and made her way out of the clearing.
Before entering the bushes she had pushed through to find the clearing in the first place she turned around, connecting her gaze with the two eyes that were still watching her from above. She smiled and gave him a tiny wave as she departed.