For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved the outdoors. Camping, hiking, backpacking, you name it. If it happens outdoors, I’m your man. Until very recently, I’ve always felt at home in the woods.
In my day to day life, I’m kind of a mess. I don’t really have any friends, and I live alone. Let’s just say I’m the kind of person you wouldn’t miss, if I were to suddenly disappear. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened. I don’t know exactly what will happen next, but it can’t be good. It’s a hard truth to swallow, realizing you may have doomed all of humanity. I’m getting ahead of myself though. My laptop is charged, and my coffee mug is full, and it could be days or years or never before we know what’s happening, so I may as well tell you the whole truth of the matter. Whether you choose to believe it or not.
Despite my love for the outdoors, I am terrible, and I mean just awful, with directions. I’m the kind of person who uses google maps to go to a place I’ve been dozens of times before. My ex girlfriend would always joke that I could get lost in my own apartment. And, I won’t lie, there were times I might exit my room and turn right, only to remember I needed to turn left to get to the kitchen. Whatever sense most other people are born with that let them know where they are and remember how to get places, I must have been born without it. Had I been born even a couple decades earlier I surely would not have made it out of childhood. Luckily, modern conveniences, make my particular weakness pretty easy to overcome. When I go hiking I always carry a fancy handheld GPS with me. I also carry a good old fashioned compass on a piece of paracord around my neck. When I go on longer treks I rent a PLB, or personal locator beacon. Luckily, I’ve never had to use one. These are merely precautions as I prefer to stick to well defined trails. Believe it or not, I’m rarely the only person on the trail. Sometimes I’ll just follow the people in front of me. You meet some pretty interesting folks on the trail, but that’s a story for another time.
A few weeks ago, I decided to take a weekend backpacking trip, through rugged terrain and beautiful wilderness. I live in Washington, the state, not the district, so there is no shortage of hiking trails. The one that interested me the most was located just outside of the small town of Calora Falls. The town itself is pretty unremarkable, but the surrounding area is breathtaking. I found out about the area during a day hike at popular location. It was a nice looped trail that was always pretty crowded. While I admired the view, I entertained myself by eavesdropping on other hikers, my version of socializing. Now, before you judge me too harshly, Brady was not exactly whispering. I don’t think anyone on the trail that day needed their bear bells with him drowning out the sounds of nature. He spoke loudly and often, rarely asking a question to the woman he was with. I speculated that this was some sort of date. It definitely wasn’t their first date, but her face told me it could be their last.
Just as I was about to pass them and find a more interesting group, something caught my attention.
“What’s the BEST hike you’ve ever been on?” Brady asked enthusiastically
The girl pushed some bright blue strands of hair out of her face before answering. “Well, last year…”
Brady interrupted her, “Oh babe, last year some of my bros and I found found this cherry spot.”
The girl winced. “Can you stop calling me babe, we just started dating?”
Brady, barely seemed to register what she said. “It’s outside this shitty little town, Calora Falls. Thirty five miles, we hiked it in two days, no big deal. Damn though, there’s this little lake though, about half way. It’s crazy beautiful.”
At the time it seemed strange, but the girl perked up when he mentioned it. “Wow, that’s my best hike too, did you see the ruins? Maybe we can go there together sometime?”
This was the first time I saw her really engage with him, and the first time I saw them touch. She intertwined her arm with his and pulled in close.
Brady seemed confused by her questions. “Nah we didn’t see any ruins, but like I said, we hiked it in two days. We camped at the lake the first night. Damn babe, I wish we took a zero the next day, but my boy Diego was all freaked out. He said he heard weird stuff, like voices. He doesn’t hike much though. The bugs and shit can be noisy as hell at night. I think he just smoked too much.”
She gripped Brady’s arm tightly and with more earnest asked, “Will you take me there? This weekend? Oh I’d love to go back there, I can show you the ruins.” then in a more sultry tone, “There’s no one I’d rather go with.”
They stopped walking all together and were just standing there in the middle of the trail. I stopped too, I stepped a few feet off the trail so they wouldn’t be able to see me spying, just a few yards behind them. My heart was pounding, I couldn’t tell if it was fear or excitement. I’d never gone this far to eavesdrop before, but at this point I was enthralled with their conversation. This place, Calora Falls, sounded amazing, a lake, ruins, enough trail for a long backing trip. I could barely contain my excitement.
Brady moved in for a kiss, but she held her finger up, blocking his path and raised her eyebrows. He grinned and said, “Of course we can go, babe, but you know I’m playing golf with my dad and the other C-Suite guys this weekend, and next weekend is Topher’s bachelor party. Vegas baby!”
She stared at him menacingly, before smiling and saying “Ok, three weeks it is.” They kissed, and as they did, she pressed her body against his. Then, she stopped, and said, “but if I have to wait, then so do you.” With that she pulled away from him and began walking down the trail again.
Brady grimaced, “You drive me nuts babe, that was fuckin’ hot”
I slowly made my way out of the brush, so I could stay behind them and get more details. That’s when I tripped. My foot got caught under a tree root. I let out a yelp as my knee twisted in a way it aught not twist, and hit the ground with a thud, landing mostly on my right side. Brady nearly jumped out of his skin, but the girl with the blue in her hair calmly swiveled her head toward where I had fallen. The way she looked at me was disconcerting to say the least. I was practically behind them, I don’t know how the hell she turned her head that far.
Brady was quick to play hero. He ran over and started helping me up. “Whoa, you ok bro? You need some help?”
The girl was not so kind. “What are you doing!? Are you following us!?”
I feigned indignation. “Following you? This is a public park and a public trail, there are dozens of other people on the trail besides me!”
She just stared at me, her neck contorted, the look chilled me to my core, and for a brief moment I could swear her pale brown eyes began to turn red. “None of those other people are creeping around behind me!”
There was a gravel in her voice that I hadn’t noticed before. I didn’t know what to do. I sat their mouth agog, unable to break my eye contact. I didn’t know what to do.
Luckily, the crunching of leaves and soft sounds of voices let us all know another group of hikers was approaching. She broke eye contact with me and looked at Brady. All the gravel in her voice dissolved into a saccharin tone. “Brady, take me to your place so we can talk about our trip.” She swiveled her head back around and briskly took off down the trail before any of the other hikers came into view.
Brady patted me on the back “duty calls, sorry bro”. Then winked at me and ran down the trail after her.
The other group of hikers helped me to my feet. My knee throbbed and my elbow was bleeding from the fall. I wanted to turn around and walk back to my car, but my anxiety kicked in. If I turned around now, with them ahead of me, I might run into them at the trail head, or in the parking area. I didn’t want to run into either of them again. I felt ashamed, I’d never gone that far before. I wasn’t some sort of voyeur. I was curious, that’s all, and I let it get the better of me. She was right to be angry, I’d been caught red handed. Just thinking about the look she gave me made my skin crawl. It felt raw, like she could see into my soul and pluck out every lie I’d ever told. I walked forward on a swollen knee for five more miles and finished the loop. My knee was on fire, I should have just turned around and risked seeing them again. Now I’d be limping for a week. I couldn’t wait to get home to an ice pack and a glass of gin.
By the time I made it home, I was exhausted. I plopped onto my couch with a glass of gin, two packages of strawberry pop-tarts, and a dreadfully old bag of frozen peas. I didn’t feel like cooking or even microwaving anything. The sharp coldness of the peas contrasted the hot red swelling of my knee in a sensation that was initially painfully but ultimately soothing. I let out a long groan and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. At least one good thing came out of this day. I pulled my laptop from the center cushion onto my lap. I opened my dinner and started searching for Calora Falls.
It didn’t long to find the area Brady was going on and on about, but there was no mention of any backpacking trails. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find out there weren’t any public lands. The whole area around Calora Falls seemed to belong to a few private companies from the logging and mining industries. There’s no way I was going to risk being arrested or falling down a mine shaft for a backpacking trip. I was about to give up when I found an old blog post on page two of the google results. An old post on someones long abandoned personal webpage. Apparently, not all that land was private after all, there was a reservation about ten miles outside of Calora Falls. The blogger wrote about their experiences and a little about the area.
This trail inside the Th’Lorei (pronounced Ta-lor-eye) Native American reservation is truly a hidden gem. Very little is known about the region other than it hold ruins important to the sacred rituals of the Th’Lorei. Sadly, there are very few native Th’Lorei left today, as such, none of the native peoples live on these lands. The local governement of Calora Falls (a bastardization of Th’Lorei Fae Lus) still maintain a long backpacking trail that loops through the region. In a rare instance of public and private cooperation, both the local government and industry leaders in the area agree the land should remain protected, despite the dwindling population of native Th’Lorei. The remaining tribal elders allow hikers to use this trail, and have only two requests: Respect the forest and its creatures. Never stray farther from the trail than you can see.
Underneath this post there was a crudely drawn map of the area, like someone took an aerial photo and then drew on a path using Microsoft Paint. The path looked almost like a balloon on the end of a curvy string. The path went north for a ways, before veering east and back to the west. Then split into two paths, which made up the looped part of the trail. A blue circle called out the location of the lake.
If you are looking for a secluded trail that offers amazing views, I’d definitely check it out. I won’t spoil all the cool things you can see on the trail, just know it does not take you to any of the ruins. I may have explored a bit on my own, off trail, but never saw any ruins. I didn’t want to be caught and risk getting banned!
I clicked a link to a photo album. The pictures showed an overgrown trail head marked by a large stone with a flat top. There was no parking area to speak of, just a small clearing at the end of a dirt road. For as secluded at the spot looked, the trail was surprisingly well maintained. When I saw the pictures of the lake I knew I had to visit this place. I moved my laptop and stood up, intent on inventorying my backpack and making a list of supplies. However, when I put pressure on my knee, it howled with pain. I must have twisted it worse than I thought. I figured a week would give me enough time to heal, and if I overheard everything correctly, I’d still be on the trail a week before Brady and his psycho girlfriend.
The next week and a half dragged on, all I could think about was my hiking adventure. When the day finally arrived, I left my apartment before sunrise and typed the coordinates into my GPS. I turned down an old dirt road just as the sun was coming up. It would have been perfect if not for the jeep already parked next to the overgrown trail head. I parked my car, ready to make nice and walked over to the jeep. It was empty. Taking a look around, I placed my hand on the hood. It was cold, this jeep must have been here since at least yesterday. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t even run into them during my adventure.
I grabbed my trekking pole and put on my backpack. I recognized the large rock from the website and pushed through the overgrowth of leaves and branches, and I was on the trail. After crossing the threshold I immediately felt like I’d entered another world. This was an old growth forest, pristine. The light filtered through the thick canopy in slender golden rays that illuminated the pollen and dust in the air. I couldn’t get over how beautiful and loud everything was. There was a cacophony of bird chirping and small animals skittering about. I had gotten so used to walking the well know trails, I had forgotten what true wilderness sounds like. I walked slowly, deliberately, I was trying to drink it all in. There were wildflowers and vines that were covered in pink and yellow flowers. Bright green moss clung to the sides of trees. I’d never seen anything like this.
After several hours, I reached the junction where the trail became a loop. I checked my GPS to see how far I’d come. The screen blinked and the image was distorted and scrambled. “Come on” I thought as I smacked it with my hand a couple of times. “Don’t do this too me now.” I’d never seen the screen scrambled like that before. A few moments later it went black. It was just my luck, the batteries had probably died. I took my phone from my pocket, but as would be expected there was no service. I should have turned around right then, but I remembered the map. This was a well maintained and clearly marked trail, there were twists and turns, but it was a loop none the less. I remember thinking to myself, “Not even I could get lost on a circular path.”
Confident in my assessment, I took the trail heading east and before long I could see a break in the trees. The refreshing smell of wet earth wafted through the trees, the sweet unmistakable mustiness of standing water brought back memories of summer camps and family lake trips. I began to walk faster excited to see the lake in person. As I neared the tree line the lake came into view, and that’s when heard them.
Brady’s familiar voice pierced the air. “Oh, babe, what did I tell you, isn’t this lake amaze-balls. Told you we needed to take a zero here.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “FUCK” I thought to myself. “Why were they here?”
I sneaked up to the tree line as quietly as I could. There they were about ten yards away from me, their tent was still set up, and a small fire was burning. It didn’t look like they were going anywhere soon. I couldn’t decide what to do. I couldn’t turn around, I’d come so far. I couldn’t go the other way around, I’d still meet them somewhere on the trail. So, I opted for my least favorite choice, I’d have to just great them and let them know I was here. It was going to be horribly uncomfortable, but I needed to get this over with. I walked out of the tree line and held my arm up, about to wave and greet them. Brady stood facing the water, drinking an energy drink. The girl with the blue in her hair sat on a rock a few feet from him. She was looking in the direction of Brady, both feet flat on the ground with perfect posture and both hands folded on her lap. It looked more like she was sitting for a portrait than having any fun. Before I could start my awkward introduction, she spoke in that all too saccharin voice.
“Brady, you said we would go see the ruins today. I know the way, I can show you. They’re not terribly far.”
Brady didn’t even turn around, “Babe, I told you I like the lake, I don’t want to look at some dumb old rocks in the woods or whatever. Maybe we can go tomorrow.”
Nonplussed the girl with the blue in her hair responded calmly. “Brady, I want you to look at me.”
Brady turned around and looked at her, a stupid smirk on his face. She didn’t move an inch, just stared at him. The smirk faded to a neutral expression, his eyes locked on hers. The dreadful gravel returned to her voice.
“I can’t keep doing this Brady, do you understand? I won’t have enough energy when we get to the ruins. You are by far the worst offering I’ve ever had to bring here!”
She was yelling now, in a deep inhuman voice, and I just stood there frozen. “I have LOST ALL MY PATIENCE WITH YOU! We will go to the ruins TODAY!”
When she finished talking she let out a gasp and slumped her shoulders, breathing heavily.
The smirk returned to Brady’s face, as if he didn’t even hear her, and said, “You know what babe, I changed my mind. Lets go see those ruins.” With that, he chugged what was left of his drink and threw the can toward the lake.
Before it even hit the water the girl had grabbed a log from the ground and closed the gap between them. There was a look of fury on her face, and her eyes turned bright red. She yelled in that inhuman voice again. “Why must you fools desecrate these hallowed grounds.”
I could see the fear in Brady’s face as the log contacted his head. He crumpled instantly to the ground.
I screamed in fear. I couldn’t help it.
The girl with red in her eyes snapped her head in my direction, and began running toward me.
It was terrifying and surreal all at the same time, she moved with astonishing speed, and those eyes. There was no long any white in her eyes, they were replaced by solid red orbs that dripped crimson tears of malice down her cheeks.
I turned and ran as fast as I could. I saw how fast she had moved before hitting Brady, there was no way I would outrun, whatever the hell she was. I had to try. I leaned forward and gripped the straps of my backpack as I dug in for the sprint of my life. I didn’t make it fifty feet past the tree line, when my knee exploded in pain. Electric bolts of torment radiated up my leg from the knee I had twisted.
I stumbled and almost fell. I was already panting and whimpering from the pain, I could feel hot tears running down my cheeks, and I felt sick to my stomach. “I don’t want to die! Please!” I screamed as I ran. Suddenly I came to an abrupt stop and was pulled backward. The creature with the solid red eyes had a firm grip on my backpack.
She growled through gritted teeth. “You fool, why are you here?”
In a state of pure panic, I still don’t know how I pulled it off. I slipped my arms out of the straps on my backpack and swung my trekking pole as hard as I could. I didn’t aim, I just hoped to hit something. I made contact with her left shoulder. To my surprise the hard plastic end of the pole broke off leaving a jagged piece of the underlying aluminum exposed. It must have been instinct, but I jabbed that piece of aluminum into her stomach. I felt resistance give way as the metal pierced the skin. She yowled in pain, and I ran, but instead of following the trail, I ran into the thick forest.
Tree branches and thorns bit into my face as I ran. I stumbled on roots and rocks and vines, further and further from the trail. After a few minutes I stopped and looked behind me, I didn’t see her, but I could hear the crunching of leaves. There was a large tree on the ground ahead of me. I hobbled to the massive log and threw myself over the top. I lay flat on my back and squeezed as hard as I could in the crevice on the ground. I hastily pulled leaves and hummus around my legs and body. there was nowhere near enough to hide me. Just moving it probably made me easier to spot. I lay still, and tried to control my breathing and listened.
Footsteps…
Crunch
Crunch
Then, the sweet saccharin tones, of the girl with blue in her hair pierced the air.
“You’re too far off the path, come back. Please. I’m sorry if I scared you, but you don’t understand. You shouldn’t be in these woods alone. You can’t leave, not until we’ve talked. I hope you understand. It’s just not possible. Please, just look at me, and I’ll explain everything.”
I stayed quiet, there was no way I was going to let her bewitch me.
Crunch
Crunch
She searched this area for a while longer before giving up. She yelled into the woods.
“I can’t help you once I’m gone. Leaving the trail and disturbing the woods is an act of desecration. Please, just come out, and I’ll guide you back to the lake. I have an important task to complete, and now I must rest, delaying an already overdue ritual. This is your final chance, your last chance, come with me.”
I held my breath and prayed for the first time since I was a child. Eventually, the crunching of her footsteps faded into the distance.
I stayed hidden for a long time after the footsteps disappeared. Long enough for the adrenaline to wear off and for my heart rate to return to normal. Long enough for the pain in my knee to intensify. Long enough for cold ground to penetrate through my clothing and set a chill in my body. And long enough for my overly taxed nervous system to crash and send me into a deep sleep.
I awoke, shivering on the ground. It was dark, and I didn’t know what time it was. I stood up and looked around, but all I could see was blackness. Retrieving my phone from my pocket the harsh glow told me it was only 11pm. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Had I witnessed a murder and nearly become a victim myself? Maybe I was hallucinating, humans can’t just change their voice and appearance like that.
I needed to stop rationalizing and get out of here. I couldn’t walk back the way I ran, she was probably waiting for me, or maybe waiting at my car. I gave myself a pep talk.
“Ok, ok, you can do this. Stupid broken gps. Ok, if the trail was heading north before the fork, I just need to walk south. Wait, did I make it back to the fork? What if I’m inside the looped area of the trail? Ok, so I can just walk in any direction. Dammit, but if I choose the wrong way I could walk for hours before finding the trail again. What if I’m not inside the trail loop?”
I was starting to panic, when I realized, I just needed to walk South. No matter where I was, South would take me back to the main road, probably. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a novelty LED flashlight, which was attached to my key chain. It wasn’t much, but it was surprisingly bright. Surveying the area around me I couldn’t remember which direction I came from anymore. I reached for compass but it wasn’t there. I began to panic, frantically searching the ground and area around the log. I needed that compass.
My search was interrupted by voices. They were all around me. I could hear whispers speaking a strange language. The whispers encircled me, and swirled around me. I know it sounds crazy, but I could feel the whispers circling me like a breeze spinning faster and faster around me. The whipsers became louder and the circling faster, my hair was blowing as if I stood in a small tornado of sounds. I stood there frozen in fear. As the whirlwind flew past my ear, it spoke to me in a dozen different voices simultaneously.
“Leave”
“Leave this place”
“Leave now”
“Leave”
The message was clear, I looked around in all directions, not knowing where to go. The whirlwind shot out away from me, kicking up a trail of leaves as it went before encircling me again. The voices were more insistent, but the message was the same.
“Leave”
“Leave this place”
“Leave now”
“Leave”
I ran in the opposite direction. I didn’t make it far, before a small tree fell in front of me. I turned and kept running. The voices followed me, circling me then kicking up a path of leaves either behind me or to the sides of me. Eventually, the voices stopped. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore, and when I could no longer run, I walked, and walked. I used my little light to see where I was going. My knee was on fire, my legs ached, so I stopped and sat against a gnarled tree. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. There was still no service and the battery was nearly dead. I had been on the move for three hours. I don’t recall ever crossing the trail. I was dreadfully lost.
When the sun finally broke through the trees, I was ready. I oriented myself, with the rising sun on my left side. I should be facing South, more or less. I was confident I could find my way out of the woods now.
For two days I walked, and walked. I was starving, and getting weak. My water bottle was empty, the beef jerky in my pocket was long gone, my phone battery dead. The voices had not visited me since that first night. Then, on the third night, they returned. I guess I should clarify, a single voice returned. As I sat against a tree staring into the darkness. Something whispered in my ear.
“This way…”
“Come this way…”
I was so tired, and so weak. I didn’t care anymore. I stood up and walked a few steps, then turned and walked a few more. The voice spoke. “Yes! Come this way!”
After a few hundred feet, I saw it. It was light, from a fire. I was saved! Cautiously I worked my way toward the light. Only to be gutted, when I found the source. Before me, through the trees was a huge clearing. The remnants of some ancient stone structure raised up out of the ground. It was flanked by crumbling stone monoliths on either side. There was a long stone path from the entrance of the structure which lead to a raised platform. The platform looked as if it were carved from one massive block, with three steps leading to the stone on top. The stone was cut at a 45 degree angle facing the sky with a carving of the sun near the top. Brady, lay against it, naked, his arms and legs tied at the corners. A fire was burning in front of the platform. The girl with the blue in her hair, knelt before it. I could see the dirt swirling around her, in a whirlwind.
The voice came again.
“This way….”
It was louder now, stronger. I could feel where it wanted me to go, and I felt compelled to do what it said. It wanted me to go inside the temple. Without hesitating I began to make my way as quietly as I could toward the temple entrance. The girl with the blue in her hair had her eyes closed with the whirlwind around her. She was speaking in the same strange language as the whirlwind. She appeared to be in a trance. I walked past, careful not to make a sound. Brady was in a sad state, tied to that slab, there was a large bulge on the side of his head. Dried bloodied covered his face. One of his eyes was swollen shut completely. There was a symbol carved into his chest. It was a large circle with a triangle in it. There were curved lines coming out of the circle at 2 o’clock, 4 o’clock, 8 o’clock, and 10 o’clock. Each of the curved lines connected to a smaller circles. Suddenly, Brady’s eye opened, and he looked directly at me. He began to grunt and gurgle and pull at the straps which held him to the stone. I quickly moved to the back side of the platform just in time to hear deep gravel tone, of the girl with red in her eyes.
“Shhh, quiet now darling I must finish reciting the incantation. The ritual is almost complete. When the sun rises over the horizon it will all be over. Be brave and know your sacrifice was not in vain, the blood of the deserving give strength the protectors of this realm.”
I waited until I could hear her chanting again to keep moving. The entrance to the temple stood before me. I walked through the opening, in awe of the intricate carvings. After a short hallway, the inside opened up into a huge room. It was lit with torch light and a circular alter stood in the center of the room. There were great stone pillars carved with glyphs and symbols like one on Brady’s chest. There were depictions of humans and terrible creatures. I walked toward the alter in the center of the chamber. When I heard the voice again, whispering in my ear.
“To your right” it whispered loudly in my ear.
I turned and saw several archways carved into the stone wall of the chamber. There were no bars or other actual barriers into the rooms beyond.
“Wait, right there, look into the archway ahead of you.”
I couldn’t see anything in the dark room, but suddenly I felt it. My skin began to crawl, and I was chilled to my core. Whatever was in there was looking inside me, like the girl with the blue in her hair. That feeling of my soul being laid bare made me feel so vulnerable. I looked down at the floor, as quickly as I could. From the doorway, came a sweet voice.
“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I need your help. Please, she’s going to kill me, and she’ll kill you too.”
I demanded answers. “How are you… What is… Why do I feel you when you look at me?”
The voice was only too happy to reply. “It’s the gift of the Th’Lorei, I don’t think I can explain it. It just lets me know if I can trust you. I trust you. I won’t do it again. Please you must save me. She plans to kill me on that alter, just like she’s going to kill your friend.”
I don’t know why I felt the need to correct her, but I did. “He is not my friend, I don’t even know who he is, why is she doing this? What’s her name? There’s not even a door on the room you’re in, just come out into the light.”
“Please, get me out of this room and I’ll tell you everything. You must hurry!” she was yelling now.
I looked toward the entrance of the temple and could see what she meant, the sky was turning reddish pink, the sun would be over the horizon soon. I grabbed a torch and ran toward the archway. I nearly dropped the it as it illuminated the small room just beyond. Although she was covered in dirt and her clothing was torn, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen before. She look as if she was designed, just for me, like someone found my internet search history and used it to create a composite of everything I desired. I just stood there and stared at her for a moment, then quickly looked back down at the floor.
She spoke, sweetly but firmly. “I know I look ghastly right now, but please get me out of this room. You have to look at me.”
Another moment went by, before I relented and looked back up. Her face portrayed a growing look of frustration. I didn’t understand, I needed to know more. “How? How, can I help you? There’s nothing keeping you in that room. There’s no door!”
She lock eyes with me, and I melted. Her gaze felt like ecstasy. I could see her perfect lips moving, but I have no idea what she said. I was absolutely euphoric. When she stopped talking, she blew me a kiss. I didn’t have to think twice. I knew what to do. I ran back toward the alter and ran around it until I found a ceremonial hammer leaning against it. The smooth wooden handle had symbols carved up it’s length that lead to a large stone lashed securely to the top. It bore same symbol carved in Brady’s chest. In a moment I was back at the archway, striking at it’s threshold. I had not noticed it before, but there were symbols carved in the floor here. They looked like heiroglyphs, and I didn’t know why I was destroying them, but I was.
With every swing of the hammer, they chipped and broke, pieces of stone hit my face and arms, cutting me, but I kept swinging. The beautiful woman shouted with each deafening drop of the hammer. “Yes, Yes! MORE!” her voice phased in and out of from sweet and sultry to a distorted growl and back again. “Keep going, no matter what! After all these years I’m nearly free!”
I couldn’t stop my arms, it was like I was trapped inside my head, watching myself hammer the floor. What did she mean? Had she been a prisoner here for years? I heard a scream from behind me, I swear it shook the chamber. Dust and flakes of rock fell from the walls and ceilings. It was the girl red in her eyes, I recognized that deep gravely voice, the same guttural tone she used before smashing Brady’s head.
In an instant I was on my back, sliding across the chamber floor. Bolts of electric pain shot up my side. She had run straight into me and kneed me in the side. I had never broken a rib before, but in that moment I could tell she had snapped some of mine. I lay on my back gasping for air and finding none. In an instant she was upon me. Standing over me with her solid red eyes. Crimson tears flowed down her cheeks and hit the floor next to me. She raged,
“You fool, you will ruin everything!”
My hands desperately searched my surroundings for the hammer. Just as I grabbed the handle, her foot came down hard on my wrist. I winced and let out a cry as I felt the bones begin to crack. A whirlwind of whispers surrounded my head, screeching in a language I couldn’t understand. I struggled against her foot. She bent down and grabbed me by the throat. The crimson from her eyes dripped onto my face as she spoke. Still I struggled, hitting her with my free hand, she wasn’t phased at all.
“The spirits do not wish for your blood to be spilled on these grounds. You must listen to me carefully. You must look into my eyes.”
Her grip on my neck weakened as the red drained for her eyes. She was staring at me intently. A voice came from behind her.
“You’re too late.”
As the girl with the blue in her hair turned in horror, I wrestled my hand free and swung the hammer at her head. She was able to block the swing with her arm, but the bone snapped and her arm dangled downward mid way to her elbow. She shrieked, as a I pushed her off of me. The beautiful woman looked at me and in a distorted voice commanded me.
“Go, free your friend now!”
I positioned myself behind the beautiful woman and yelled.
“What about her? What is she?”
The beautiful woman’s voice shifted into something dark. “Go now you fool the sun is almost risen!”
I ran as fast as I could to Brady. He was lashed to the stone with leather straps. I reached into my pants and fumbled with my pocket knife. He grunted and groaned as I cut his straps. The girl with the red in her eyes was sprinting towards us. The beautiful girl was on her heals.
It was too late though. Brady was free. The sun hit the empty stone and the girl with blue in her hair fell to her knees. She began to weep.
“You’ve doomed us all!” she screamed through sobs.
I ran to the other woman, “are you okay? are you hurt?”
She took my face in her hands and kissed me deeply. It felt cold and harsh. I pulled away as her skin began to tear. She hunched over and spines grew out of her back, rending the clothing and flesh to reveal a pale translucent hide. Her arms elongated and her fingers grew into long terrible claws. Her face was skeletal with pointed teeth. She turned toward the girl with blue in her hair and slashed her repeatedly.
She turned back toward me and came closer. I was too terrified to move. She pointed to the fire where the girl had been chanting. There were several backpacks lying on the ground. Mine was among them. Then, she grabbed Brady by the shoulder with her obsidian claws, he screamed as they pierced all the way though, and dragged him toward the temple.
The girl with the blue in her hair was trying to drag herself to the stone with her one good arm. Blood covered her, she was moving by shear will alone. Deep slashes covered her body, they opened and closed with a sickening squish as she lurched forward. Her face was cut deep, half of her nose was gone, and her left eye was split in two bulging halfway out of it’s socket. I helped her prop herself up next to the stone. I started to cry, I didn’t know what else to do. I was so confused. She put her hand on my cheek.
“You didn’t know.” she gurgled, blood running from the corner of her mouth “Don’t be afraid, please?” she said as crimson filled her eyes.
With a voice of gravel she said “I’m stronger in this form. You must listen.”
I held her hand as the ground shook. A beam of black energy shot upward from the temple. A hole opened in the sky. I didn’t think I was capable of being shocked anymore. There was a hole in the sky, and I could see a world on the other side. A jet black tapestry pin pricked with stars, contrasted the clear blue sky. A planet with a giant temple. A sphere beyond it’s horizon connected by a black band of energy. I looked at the girl with red in her eyes. I didn’t need to speak, she knew.
“She has escaped back to the realms beyond. They know we are here now. They will return.” a crimson tear ran down her face. “You must finish the ritual.”
I protested through tears, “But how? I don’t even understand what’s happening!”
She pleaded with me “Please, the words have been spoken, the blood must be spilled. Mine will have to do. The spirits will not be pleased, but we must try, or the hole in the sky will grow until it devours our realm.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes, and lifted her broken body onto the slab. With a shaky hand she pointed toward the fire. There was large knife, lying on the ground. She spoke one last time through short ever quickening breaths before the red faded from her eyes.
“Quickly…”
I drew the blade across her already bleeding neck and rivers more of blood flowed forth. It filled grooves in the stone making once hidden symbols visible. The whirlwind picked up around us in a fury, faster and faster, before blasting off toward the temple. In a moment, the hole in the sky was closed in burst of iridescent light that sent a shock wave through the sky.
I sat down by the fire, and pulled my backpack close, retrieving a granola bar from the side pocket. It tasted like sawdust in my mouth. Disgusted, I threw it into the brush. A vision of Brady getting hit with a log flooded into my mind. I got up and retrieved the granola bar, and spoke aloud.
“I… I don’t know if you can hear me, but… Please, I apologize for straying from the path, and I’m sorry for interrupting your ritual. Please, forgive me!”
The whirlwind picked up around me, then moved to the backpacks on the ground. I could hear the whispers as it kicked up dust. A plum messenger bag fell over, and a journal slid out onto the ground. I picked up the bag, in addition to the modern notebook, there was a very old leather bound tome inside. It had the familiar planetary symbol drawn on the front. I wanted to throw it away or burn it, but I knew I needed to keep it. Somehow I knew, this was my responsibility now. The tome was written in gibberish, symbols and hieroglyphs I had no hope of understanding.
I opened the notebook.
Property of Meredith Nguyen
August 14, 2004: I’ve never been much for writing in a journal, but I think I might be losing my mind. Maybe if I record my experiences here, I can start to make sense of what’s happening. I know I’m not a very good person, I know I’ve done bad things, but I don’t think I’m being punished. Every since I went to that damn house, it’s like my brain is melting.
I closed the journal, I couldn’t bear to read anymore. I stuffed the books into my backpack and clipped into it. I was getting out of here today. I turned and looked at the sky, and I swear I could still see a small black tear against the brilliant blue sky. What did she mean when she said “They know we are here now. They will return.” I walked up to the stone slab and looked once more upon her ravaged body. “You must be Meredith” I said to myself. I pushed her left eye back into it’s socket, and carefully pulled down her eyelids. With a lump in my throat, I said to her, what I’ll say to you now…
I lost my compass, I’m sorry…