Chapter 5: Intrepid Explorers to the Rescue

The group waited in anticipation, the silence pregnant with possibility and the tension rising, but heard nothing else. They looked around at each other, exchanging shrugs and raised eyebrows. The night air was filled with the sound of crickets and the low rush of a light breeze drifting through the trees.

Joshua spoke up first, “That sounded pretty close, I-” He was interrupted by a much louder crash and a groan, though this sounded further away. His face contorted with concern and confusion. “Did that sound like a person to you all?”

Furrowing her brow, Ada nodded. “It did.”

Joshua and Ada shared a look, seeming to communicate almost telepathically. Joshua grabbed a stick from the fire and they ran into the woods in the direction of the noise.

Ophelia, as unsettled as she was, couldn’t help but laugh at the duo, scampering into the trees with a makeshift torch, like cavemen investigating the wilderness outside the safety of their rocky abode.

Her laughter broke the tension and prompted the others to join in. Daphne was the first to speak, “Sooo…” she glanced around at the faces of her friends, illuminated by the cracking flames of the fire Ada had worked so hard to start, “we should… go after them, right?”

The group was quiet for a moment. Antoinette broke the silence with a chuckle. “Probably. But, what are the chances they were just looking for an excuse to run off on their own and get down and dirty? You know how they get after competing with each other.”

The others reacted to this statement with various levels of disgust, though no one spoke up to refute it. Ophelia did have to admit, those two would be the type. You wouldn’t know it at first but the more time you spent around Joshua and Ada the more you realized they were completely obsessed with each other.

They reminded her of Beatrice and Benedick, from Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. At each other's throats half the time, so much so you’d think they didn’t like each other, but the other half was spent furiously making out. The two were basically inseparable and, while Ophelia thought their relationship seemed exhausting, seemed to be very happy with each other.

The silence was broken when Ada’s voice echoed out from the depths of the forest, “Guys? Joshua dropped the torch. We’re sort of stranded out here and-”

She was cut off by a high-pitched squeal, which elicited snickers from the rest of the group. “He tripped over a root. Could you guys come find us?” Ophelia noted how far away Ada’s voice sounded, chuckling to herself.

Antoinette seemed to pick up on the same thing. “She sounded really far away. Did they just sprint until he dropped the stick?”

Laughing again, louder this time, Ophelia added her two cents, “I wouldn’t be surprised. We should probably go find them.”

Daphne sighed, standing up from her spot on the log and helping Marisol to her feet. “Those idiots.” She shook her head and rummaged through a bag on the ground, pulling out two flashlights. “I’ve got these but I don’t know how long the batteries will last. I haven’t changed them in a bit.”

She handed one to Marisol and another to Elijah, one of the people Ophelia didn’t know as well, who had been standing and talking to the other two people in the group around the cooler, both of whom opted to stay behind and watch the fire.

Daphne led the way, marching confidently into the trees with her flashlight scanning the area ahead of her. The rest of the group trickled behind her, spreading out as they entered the forest, those without flashlights using their phones to guide the way.

They called out for Ada and Joshua but got no response. Antoinette looked at Ophelia worriedly. “Lia?”

Ophelia stopped and turned to face her friend, the others continuing in the direction they last heard Ada’s voice. She raised an eyebrow at Antoinette, who broke eye contact to look at the ground. “What… What if the,” her voice dropped even quieter, so quiet Ophelia could barely hear her over the breeze rustling the leaves around them, “creature got them? Do you think that’s what might have happened?”

Finally understanding the nervous energy her friend was emitting, Ophelia placed her hands gently on Antoinette’s upper arms. “Hey, look at me.”

Nettie obliged so she continued, “They’re fine. Ada is more than capable of handling herself out here and they were loud enough to startle any animals for miles. That… thing, whatever it was, you said yourself it’s not a threat. It’s never harmed anyone-”

“That we know of.”

Ophelia rolled her eyes and pressed on, squeezing Antoinette’s arms lightly, “That we know of. But come on, if it had been targeting people there’d be a lot more missing persons cases around here. I bet they just found the source of that original noise. Judging by the commotion and that groan I bet someone twisted an ankle or something. They’re probably just busy helping whichever unfortunate tourist decided to take a nighttime hike. Or they’re f*cking with us. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

Antoinette nodded slowly, glancing at the sky and then back at Ophelia with a mischievous grin. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She sighed, turning determinedly in the direction their friends went. “We should catch up to them.”

Gesturing ahead of them with an open arm, Ophelia spoke, “Lead the way.”

Catching a glimpse of light on the trees deeper into the forest, Antoinette picked up her pace. Ophelia laughed softly and made to follow her when she heard a strange sound coming from the darkness to the left of her.

It was a hum, almost mournful, that struck a chord with her. She found herself following the sound, her feet moving without her permission. For some reason, this sound resonated with her and she was unable to resist its draw.

She wondered briefly if this was the way Odysseus felt when he listened to the sweet song of the sirens. Except she wasn’t tied to a mast surrounded by loyal friends who would hinder her from the fate she was tempting. No, she was traipsing through the underbrush with no regard for the danger she may be approaching and without mentioning her expedition to anyone.

She was sure Antoinette would notice her absence soon enough, but she wasn’t sure her friend would be able to find her.

The sound was so sorrowful and alluring, she felt it had to be something beyond her previous knowledge of the world. Maybe this was one of those magical experiences her father always talked about. The ethereal flowing energy of the world and how it manifested in ways humans could hardly comprehend. She felt as though she was about to stumble upon something sacred, something she and she alone was meant to see.

Turning off her flashlight, she stepped carefully over the tangle of roots that threatened to catch her unaware and tilted her ear in the direction of the hum. It was gradually getting louder, but only marginally. She thought, for a moment, how strange it was that she had heard it from so far away. She had already been trekking through the darkness for what felt like ten minutes and it still sounded a good distance away.

Nevertheless, she pressed on, guided by the light of the stars and a particularly luminescent crescent moon. Passively, she noticed the forest was unnaturally quiet aside from this hum. It was growing significantly louder now and she knew she was close to finding the elusive source of that beautiful melancholy sound.

She was getting closer to the base of the mountain now, her friends long since forgotten in the depths of the woods. The noise was much clearer now, and even more heart-wrenching. Almost as though someone was in grief and could only express their sorrow through their hums. Pushing through a thicket of bushes she found herself in a small clearing, nearly a perfect circle, the forest floor carpeted with wildflowers.

Feeling as though she had stumbled through a portal to another realm she stood in awe and took in the splendor before her. Enthralled, she bent down to smell the flowers, her heartbeat speeding up as she got closer and realized that there were a wide variety of columbines, pockets of birdtooth violets, and spatterings of tufted evening primroses. She recognized a plethora of other flowers but those three held her attention to such a degree that she did not notice the hum had stopped. Not immediately.

Running her fingers over the petals of a particularly picturesque blue columbine, she startled, the cessation of the sound dawning on her and anxiety creeping up her spine. She whipped her head around the clearing, scanning the darkness for any hint of another living soul or the source of the hum, whatever it may have been.

Ophelia carefully walked around the clearing, conscious to avoid trampling any of the flowers. This may or may not be the unofficial garden of the mysterious person who left her the bouquet, either way, she wasn’t going to risk angering them by disrespecting the space. Plus her parents raised her to have a certain level of reverence and respect for nature, in all its forms, and stepping on such beautiful blossoms was a cardinal sin in her mind.

Exploring the edge of the clearing she found nothing to indicate the source of the sound, or even that there was anyone there aside from her. She sighed, a bit disheartened, and sat on the stump that marked the ‘entrance’ she had found to the clearing.

Well, even if this little adventure didn’t amount to what she had hoped, she’d have to take note of this place. It had a soothing energy to it, despite her fears that it was the property of her anonymous… stalker? Admirer? Whatever the case, she wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect of walking straight into the lair of a secret someone with a vested interest in her. And now that the sound had stopped she had nothing to keep her there.

But it was peaceful in the clearing. The shimmering moonlight danced on the petals of the flowers. Though the air was still, the flowers themselves seemed to sway ever so slightly, happily drinking up the silver nectar that shined on them from above. Ophelia sighed contentedly, her heartbeat returning to normal, and the anxiety that burrowed under her skin like beetles were easing its way out of her body.

She took a deep breath, relishing the freshness of the air and the soothing aroma of the little garden. Closing her eyes for a moment, she leaned back, tilting her head toward the sky and letting herself embrace the energy of this mysterious clearing.

Ophelia opened her eyes and scanned the stars above her, noting how bright they were and feeling her heart warm at the beauty of them all. Dropping her line of sight to the trees she gasped and froze in place. Up in the foliage of one of the trees on the edge of the clearing, two eyes shone down at her, reflecting the light of the moon, wide and unblinking.