My boyfriend, Ralph, and I often go into nature when we want to get away from everything. When we met, I was an avid hiker, and he was a zip line instructor.
It had been a couple of years since our daughter was born and we finally decided to use my January birthday as an excuse to take a step back and visit nature during a time it wasn’t likely to be busy. Neither of us minded winter hiking and relished the thought of being snowed in together.
So, we packed up and headed to Tygart Lake, West Virginia. We spent the small bit of time prior to check in playing around the half-frozen lake and running to Walmart for snacks, cheap beer, and playing cards before the incoming snow prevented us from doing so.
The snow had just begun to come down in big soft clumps, as we made our way back to the lodge. I exchanged a glance with him, both of us beginning to grin like school children. Knowing it was only a matter of time before we would have a sleepy blanket of white to play in.
We carried in the things we bought and began to put them away while I texted back and forth with my mom about the weather. Knowing that our daughter was safe and sound sipping cocoa at grandmas made me all the more excited to enjoy the opportunity to explore. Once the beers were chilling and the snacks had found their way to the table, we headed to the small restaurant in the lodge. I picked us a table next to giant windows overlooking the lake so we could watch the snowfall at sunset with our dinner.
“We should go for a walk after this.” I gesture outside with a French fry.
Ralph leans back dramatically and pats his stomach, “Ok, but I am taking a beer with me.”
We pay for our food and take the leftovers back to the room. Savoring every second of quiet. Each of us grabbed some warmer layers. Ralph comes up behind me and slides a beer into my hand, kissing my fingers. Ding! My phone went off in my pocket. A text from mom with a picture of our sleeping child. It was so nice to know that she had a full and relaxing day as well. I realized I was just standing there, smiling at my phone and turned to show him the picture. He’s no longer behind me. I look to the door and see him just beyond the threshold, looking toward the road. Confused, I threw my phone back into my pocket and followed him out the door.
The snow had forced a pocket of stillness over the area. Stepping outside was like stepping into a void. The parking lot and surrounding area were pitch black. So quiet, all you could hear was our boots crunching on the fresh snow.
Making our way down the road, he comments quietly how the snowfall has made everything eerily quiet. Ding! We both chuckle at the irony of the obnoxious noise. But his laugh sounds…forced.
I pull my phone from my pocket and notice it’s just the alert for the battery. I show Ralph the alert, illuminating his smiling face with my phone screen.
But as I pull the phone away, I feel my heart jump to my throat. There was something wrong with his face. He was looking past me, his smile feigned and lifeless. I tried to swallow my panic, stretching my hands over my head and yawning. What was wrong with him?
He put his hands in his pockets stiffly and began to walk in the direction we had been. Away from the lodge. My heart started pounding as the darkness of the woods that lingered just passed the shoulder of the road started to feel suffocating.
“Hey, let’s head back. It’s way colder out than I thought.” I take a tentative step backwards to the building.
“No.” his voice was firm and threatening. Nothing like I had grown accustomed to. My golden retriever gamer boy turned…gruff.
I tried to make my voice as playful as possible, “Well you can freeze on your own then.” With every ounce of courage that I had; I turned my back on him. Making determined steps toward the lodge.
Ding! I felt his eyes on me. I could hear the slow footsteps following casually behind me.
My phone. Id forgotten my dying phone. Maybe I could casually call my mom on the way back. Maybe I was overreacting and just feeling freaked out by the darkness and quiet. But his face, his smile seemed as though it was slipping down. His eyes had…pinpoints for pupils. I could feel “him” roughly ten feet behind me. Every step sending pin prickles all over my body.
I pulled out my phone and what was on the screen sent a chill to my core.
A text from Ralph, “Where did you go? I go to the bathroom, and you just ditch me in the room? :p “
I stared at the phone, feeling my dinner threatening to make a return appearance. Willing my feet to move faster than this casual walk. To run. I could still feel it looking at me. That’s when I heard the footsteps behind me break into a sprint.