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JULIE AND I DECIDED to take Max for a walk in the woods. A nice lady I had met had told me about a place that was the perfect spot for dogs. Fred had finished working on our back yard for the day, and he’d overheard me talking to Julie on the phone and had given me the look, so I made sure to invite him too. Julie drove us to the destination in her truck, and the three of us and Max jumped out.
I glanced around. “Are you sure we’re in the right spot? I don’t see any trails.”
“Yeah...we look lost,” Fred said.
Julie squinted against the sun. “Well, we’re here now. It can’t hurt to have a look around.”
“Need I remind you of bears, mountain lions, and wolves?” I asked.
Max glanced up at me and barked.
“See? Max wants to go for a walk,” Julie said. “This is all public property.”
I pushed some large leaves and twigs out of my way. “All right. We’ll go a little ways, then come back.”
Julie beamed. “Great.”
“Okay,” Fred reluctantly agreed.
I put Max on a leash. He barked, then hurried off into the woods, dragging me along.
“How about after this, we grab lunch?” Julie asked chasing after us. “I’m craving a big, juicy burger.”
“Mind if Jesse joins us?” I asked.
Fred offered an exaggerated eye-roll.
“That’d be great,” Julie said. “It’d be nice to get to know him while I’m sober.”
I laughed. “Do you remember leaning against him and telling him how pretty his eyes are?”
She cupped her mouth. “No way! Did I really do that?”
I nodded as she looked away in embarrassment.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know how much you like him. I promise I’ll never do that again.”
I laughed. “It’s okay. You were pretty smashed, and we both knew it.”
She grabbed Fred’s arm. “I was soooo wasted.”
He smirked.
We walked for a little ways and enjoyed the beautiful, serene landscape. Having come from New York City, I knew I’d never take all that natural beauty for granted. Streams of sunshine poured down through the towering trees all around us. Insects hummed and birds chirped.
Max barked, then pulled so hard that I tripped over a log and let go of the leash.
“Max!” I wailed.
Fred offered his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, jumping to my feet and peering ahead, “but where did Max go?”
He pointed. “That way. I hear him barking.”
I shuddered, recalling the last time Max had gotten away. “I don’t know why he does that. He just takes off.”
“He’s a dog,” Julie said. “He’s just acting like one.”
“Well, I’m sick of it. I need to train him better.”
We stopped at wire fence with a “No Trespassing” sign on it. I yelled for Max to come back, but he refused again, just like the last time. Having no other choice, I slipped my leg over the fence and jumped over it.
“Wait. What are you doing?” Fred scolded, pointing at the sign. “That’s private property!”
“He’s right,” Julie said.
I shot her a look. “Since when do you care?”
“Since now,” she said, pointing at a long line of skulls dangling from a rope stretched from one tree to the next.
“Are those...human?” I gasped, completely frazzled.
“No,” she answered as she inspected them. “Animal.”
I let out a sigh of relief. My gaze shot to a long, horizontal rock, about ten by three feet, carved with weird symbols and ancient writing. I traced the engraved letters with my fingers. “What do you think this means?”
“I have no idea what the symbols are, but the letters are in Latin,” Julie said, squinting for a better look at them in the bright sunlight.
“Latin?” I said puzzled.
“Yeah. Maybe it’s some kind of memorial or something.”
“Think it’s a headstone?”
“I don’t know, but this whole place is giving me the creeps. I’m not going past that rock, dog or no dog.”
“There,” I said as I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. “Now we can Google it when we get back.”
“I wanna get out of here,” replied Julie with a shudder.
“Wait here,” I said. “I have to get Max.”
“I’ll come with you,” Fred said, trying to sound brave and chivalrous.
“Are you two crazy?” she cried grabbing my arm, then Fred’s trying to stop us. “You guys can’t leave me here in Freddy Krueger’s backyard all by myself!”
I sighed loudly. “Then you’ll have to come with us. I’m not leaving my dog behind.”
“But it’s some kind of creepy cemetery, and—” she begged.
“Go or stay,” I answered. “It’s your choice.”
“You expect me to wait here by the skull collection and the hieroglyphic mummy headstone for some chainsaw-wielding maniac to come after me?” she asked desperately.
“You’ve watched too many horror flicks,” Fred said, laughing.
“Well, maybe that’s why I’m still alive. Consider it research.”
I sighed. “Listen, we’ll be right back. You’ll be fine. You know I can’t leave Max.”
“Let’s just wait here for a minute,” she pleaded. “I bet he comes back.”
The place was strange, even more frightening than the mountain lion, and I didn’t like the thought of my dog running around over there. My gaze shot to the animal skulls knocking together in the wind. My stomach was in knots. “Look, Julie, we have no idea who owns this land. They might shoot him on sight. Clearly, they’ve got no problem killing animals.”
“Fine. Let’s go get your dog,” she said, climbing over the fence. “But if I get killed, just know I’ll be back to haunt you.”
I smirked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
We walked through the thick woods, calling for Max. I stopped when I heard a twig snap, as if someone was following us. I took a deep breath to settle my overactive imagination, then pushed through some ferns which opened up like a doorway into an Easter-grass green meadow. There, we saw Max, barking at a fire ring made completely out of stones. I cocked a brow, confused.
“Max?” I called.
“He must be barking at a little animal, like a mouse or something,” Julie said. “It’s probably hiding behind one of those rocks.”
I gazed at all the rocks in the large ring, guessing someone had once camped there. Then, as I looked closer, I noticed a pile of boulders in the center, with a black tin box sitting on top of them. I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Oh my gosh,” I croaked. “Do you think this is some kind of...altar?”
“Whoa!” said Fred, glancing around and taking in the strange sight. “Do you think they sacrifice animals out here?”
“Or humans,” I whispered.
Julie clutched her chest. “What if it’s some kind of satanic cult?”
She walked over to the pile of boulders in the center of the ring and picked up the black box. She tried to pry open the lid, but it was too tightly sealed.
“Won’t budge. I wonder what’s inside?” she questioned. “Whatever it is, they’re trying to keep it a secret.”
“Dude, you touched it” Fred exclaimed, clearly shocked.
“One, I’m not a dude,” Julie retorted. “Two, I’m sure it’s just an empty box.”
“You don’t know that,” Fred shot back.
“It’s light as a feather.”
“Maybe we should just leave it alone,” I said. “If I remember right, Julie, you didn’t even want to come over here.”
She had a gleam in her eye. “I know. But aren’t you curious?”
“Maybe curiosity is what killed all those cats hanging on that clothesline back there,” Fred said.
I nodded. “Yeah, we really shouldn’t be messing with it, Julie. I don’t wanna be cursed or something.”
“Do you really think it’s witchcraft?” Fred asked.
I grabbed the box and slid my hands over it. “Maybe it’s just teenagers experimenting. Let’s just put it back where we found it.” But as I held it, curiosity struck me, and I turned the box over in my hands several times, looking at it even more carefully. When the lid opened, seemingly on its own, I jumped.
“You did it! Julie shouted. “What’s in there?”
The box was empty, but I read these words scrawled in the dust inside the box. “You are the chosen one.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Julie asked. “Chosen for what?”
“How would I know?”
“Maybe you’re the chosen one because you opened up the box.”
“That’s silly,” I replied.
“Maybe you’ll get superpowers or something cool like that.”
I playfully slugged her, then carefully set the box down exactly where I found it. Letting out a trembling breath, I secretly recalled that old story of Pandora’s Box, and I hoped I hadn’t unleashed some kind of evil on the world, my friends, or myself.
“Look!” cried Fred, biting his lip and pointing toward the ring. “The altar is surrounded by circular patches of burnt grass.”
“What burned it?” I wondered aloud.
“It looks like they were left by a ring of torches or candles,” Fred reasoned.
“So it was some kind of occult ritual!” Julie said. “Man, I don’t wanna be a Blair Witch sequel!”
“Enough with the horror movies.” I then glanced around and gazed up into the trees. I was suddenly overcome by the eerie feeling that we were being watched. The breeze stirred, rippling through the meadow, and I could have sworn I heard someone whisper my name. I instantly froze in fear.
“Taylor, what’s wrong?” Julie asked.
“I thought somebody called my name.”
“I didn’t hear anything but the wind,” Fred responded, looking around.
I swallowed another lump. “Yeah,” I said trying to sound confident. “I’m sure it was just my imagination.”
All of the sudden, the wind picked up immensely, swirling our hair around our heads and rustling the trees violently, causing them to sway and creak.
“What’s happening?” Julie asked, her eyes wide with fright.
Next, music began to fill the meadow, an ancient melody played by flutes and bells.
“That’s weird,” Fred said.
“Where’s the music coming from?” Julie asked.
I glanced around, darting my eyes in a slow circle, but I couldn’t tell where the sound was coming from. It was freaky, and a chill ran up my spine. I wanted to bolt, but my feet were suddenly glued to the ground, as if some invisible entity was holding me in place.
“Taylor,” a soft woman’s voice spoke lightly in my ear. “You’ve been marked as a petal. Know that you are in danger from my enemies. But do not fear, for you will have our protection until the full moon, the first day of the new year. Know that it is your destiny to free us from our curse.”
“Taylor!” Julie said, her face pale.
Fred softly gripped my shoulders, and I stared into his green eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.
“Breathe,” Julie said, “and then tell us what’s happening.”
Beads of sweat rolled down my face as I gasped for air. I couldn’t talk. All I knew was that I needed to get away as fast as possible.
Suddenly, I could move my legs again. I bolted toward Max and grabbed his leash. My heart was beating a million times a minute. “Let’s go!” I said between gasps, grabbing Julie’s arm and pulling her along. I gripped Max’s leash tightly with my other hand. We tore through the woods, past the weird rock and animal skulls, then jumped in her truck and quickly locked the doors.
“Go, go, go!” I shouted, glancing out the windows.
“What’s going on, Taylor?” she asked.
“Just start driving!” I yelled. “I’ll tell you on the way!”
“Yeah, let’s just get outta here,” Fred added. “That was freaky how the wind kicked up like that. And what was with that music?”
Julie put the truck in drive and sped away. No one said a word until she reached town and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant.
“Taylor,” said Fred, what happened back there?”
“I-I don’t know,” I answered. “I can’t explain it.”
“Try,” he responded urgently.
“You’ll never believe me.”
“Sure I would. I’m very open-minded.”
“And so am I,” Julie chimed in.
I glanced up. “Whoever owns that land is obviously practicing some kind of weird ceremonies out there,” I began. “Maybe they summon spirits or something, because someone was talking to me in that wind.”
“Was it a really creepy voice?” asked Julie.
“No. It was a woman. She just sounded...ancient.”
“What did she say?” Fred asked.
“She said I’m in danger, but that she’ll protect me.”
“Sounds like a guardian angel to me,” said Julie. “What’s so spooky about that?”
“She said she’ll only protect me until the new year.”
“What? So...after the ball drops, you’re on your own?”
“Yeah. I guess it’s temporary protection.”
“What kind of danger are you supposed to be in?” Fred asked.
I pondered for a moment, thinking long and hard and trying to remember every word the wind-whisperer had said. “I have no idea.”
“Why would she want to help you?” Julie asked.
“I have no idea about that either.”
“Why didn’t you ask her?”
“I don’t know, Julie. Maybe because I was a little freaked out!” I said, growing a bit frustrated with the interrogation. “She said I was marked as a petal.”
“What’s a petal?” Fred asked. “Like from a flower?”
“I have no idea,” I responded.
“We should tell Jesse,” Julie said flipping open her phone.
I grabbed her hand. “Please don’t! As a matter of fact, let’s forget about lunch. I just wanna go home.”
“Okay,” she replied, “sure.”
“Not a word to Jesse,” I said glancing at Fred.
“Mummy’s the word,” he joked. “What happens in the satanic campground stays in the satanic campground.”
“Thank you,” I said.
***
BACK AT HOME, I FELT bad for canceling our lunch plans with Jesse, but I was too freaked out to see anybody. I just ran up to my room and locked the door. With trembling fingers, I uploaded the picture of the rock to my computer. Even when I zoomed in on the symbols, I couldn’t see them all that clearly, but I scribbled the letters and symbols down and started searching the Internet for clues.
An hour later, I’d had no luck. Since Julie had mentioned Latin, I decided to try Google Translate. I carefully entered each letter, then pressed the button, eager to see what the message meant. In an instant, it was right there in front of my eyes spelled out in plain English: “Do not tread on this sacred ground. If you dare to walk on the land of our ancestors, you will die.”
I swallowed hard as I tried to process the message. Wait...am I gonna die because I stepped foot on some cursed land? I didn’t really believe in that supernatural hoopla, and I always turned the channel when those stupid ghost-hunting shows came on, but now my mind was running in circles trying to sort out all the possibilities.