25 Wrong turn [25]

A few minutes later, I spotted Cee and Zach on the trail again. Lucas was just behind me but I never talked to him, neither did he. I was still spooked by his mind talking. . . if it was real. We were walking in complete silence, unlike Zach and Cee who seemed enthusiastic about the whole thing. Cee was leading the way, being an actual guide, spotting out each and every tree we crossed. We took a break when we reached the Balch creek.

"This . . ." Cee pointed to the running water, "is the Balch creek."

The narrow creek ran parallel to the trail. The water was dark grey, even in the sunlight. The ends of the creek were lined up with ferns, sprawling along the creek, and moss covered black grey stones. The creek was strewn with huge green cedar and fir trees and many other trees which I could not recognize. The drooped branches created a green arch above our heads. It was so peaceful and relaxing. The green light fell on the water making it sparkle light diamonds. We sat on the bank of the creek watching the water flow away in the direction we came from.

"It's a tributary of the Willamette river." She said, playing with a fern. After a moment's pause she again spoke, "Want to know the backstory of this place?"

"Sure . . . go ahead." Zach agreed.

"The creek is named after Danford Balch, who once owned this land. . . also the first man in Portland who was hanged for murder."

Zach raised his brows in surprise, "Who did he murder?"

"Mortimer Stump, who married his eldest daughter against his wish and eloped with her later. Upon their return to Portland, he shot Stump. After that Balch was tried for the murder. But before he was hanged, he claimed that his wife was a witch and bewitched him into killing Stump, so her daughter could be by her side."

"Yikes" Zach exclaimed.

"It is also said that the ghost of Balch and Stump haunt this area and continue their immortal feud."

"Scary ehh!"

"Some people have even reported paranormal activity there, claiming to feel uneasy upon setting foot into the place. Some even claim to have seen apparitions during the night time, which appear as if they were in some sort of war against each other. . . probably the ghosts of Balch and Stump." Cee leaned, placing her hands on a rock and looking at the green arch above our heads.

"Some people even say that the place was home to a Witch's coven or satanic cult." I said, "Maybe whatever you guys heard about Portland and the witches, must have been related to this." I suggested.

"Well . . . the outsiders never mentioned any incident like this." Lucas answered, his gaze was fixed on the water as if he could see more than just water there. "They simply termed the city as Witch city."

"Well, apart from this story, there's nothing else related to witches in Portland. Maybe the outsiders were just badmouthing about Portland."

"Who knows. . . maybe the rumors are true." Lucas insisted. He didn't let go of that possibility, neither did Zach. It made me wonder if what they heard was actually true and what had happened in the past was related to it.

"We should finish hiking before the sun sets down because who knows we might actually encounter a ghost in the dark." Cee said.

We all laughed in unison and continued our hike to the witch's castle. As we went deeper inside the forest, it grew more darker and lush with foliage. The sunlight infiltrating through the thick canopy became scarce and it grew colder the denser the forest grew.

After about ten minutes of hiking further into the forest, we finally reached the witch's castle. I've lived my entire life in Portland but this was my first time too coming here. Before this I've only heard stories about this place. The structure was smaller than it looked in pictures. It was an abandoned stone ruin surrounded by overgrown vegetation of lichen, moss and ivy. A huge fallen log rested on its front staircase. The walls were covered in moss and lichen while some of them were covered in graffiti. The structure looked sinister as the forest where it stood was denser and only a little light reached it.

"It's smaller than I thought." Zach spoke and walked towards the stairs.

"Yeah, it was a public restroom after all."

"Really?" Zach asked in surprise.

"What were you expecting. . . a huge, creepy castle." Cee giggled. "Come let's have a look inside."

We ascended the stairs, climbing over the log that rested upon them. Being granted the tall height, it was easier for the boys to climb over the log. Zach helped Cee while Lucas pulled me by my elbow and placed me back on my feet in one swift attempt as if I was as light as a fragile paper. Once inside we advanced further into it.

"What's with all this graffiti?" Zach pointed to the front wall that was totally covered in graffiti.

"Local highschoolers come to party here sometimes during weekends. It's all their doing." Cee explained.

The roof of the front face was collapsed. The stone walls were weather-worn, stained by mold and mildew. Inside it was dark and dusty with the cobwebbed ceiling. The ground was uneven with broken rock underfoot. Earthy scents of moist dirt and dead leaves combined with chalky dust was all inside the place.

"Did you see any ghost?" I heard Cee' voice right in my ear.

"Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes.

"This place is definitely creepy." Cee said, looking around.

"Why did you feel anything . . . strange?" It was my turn to tease now.

"Not yet, but. . . who knows?" She giggled.

"Where are Zach and Lucas?" They were nowhere in sight.

"Right here!" Zach came inside, Lucas was by his side.

"Felt anything straannnggeeee." Cee asked in a playful voice.

"This place is spooky . . .but not that scary." Lucas said in a flat tone.

"I agree." Zach placed a hand around Lucas's shoulder and smirked at Cee.

"That's cause we haven't come here during night."

"Are you challenging us to stay here until dark?" Lucas smiled.

"I wish I could stay that late. My mom wants me home before ten." She whined.

"Yeah I can't stay that late either." I said.

"Excuses. . .Are you girls already scared?" Zach teased and both of them broke into laughter.

"Come on. . . this is not fair." Cee pouted.

We walked out of the place and noticed that the forest was even darker now as the sun was advancing to set.

"Let's get out of here. The sun's about to set. I know a shortcut back to the opening of the trail." Cee said.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah." Cee confirmed.

We picked our way from within the forest this time. It was darker than it had been before. Ferns and other plants which grew there scraped our legs as we bushwhacked through them. The sense of unease grew further as the time grew longer than we expected. It had been twenty minutes and we still haven't reached our destination. Cee was leading the way for us, as she was the only one who knew this path. But the longer the time passed, the lesser faith I had in her. And then with an abruptness, we pushed through a low arch made by two vine maples.

Three things happened simultaneously. First, Cee screamed frantically before falling on the forest floor. Zach rushed to her and held her. Second, Lucas was instantly in front of me, veiling my view and halting me from moving further with his iron grip on my shoulders. I struggled in his grip, trying to look past him and when I finally got a view, my blood froze. A lifeless corpse of a woman was crucified to a tree. Her throat was slashed and blood was gushing out of it. Third, I noticed Zach and Lucas shared a lingering look which had me thinking they knew something about it.

* * * * * 

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