The air was crisp, the leaves just beginning to shake themselves free from the trees. Winter would soon blow through the sleepy town, leaving many to retreat to their homes for a season of hibernation. Unlike those who despised the cold, Addison welcomed it. The sting of winter’s chill made her feel alive.
She followed the worn-down path behind her house and surveyed the area around her. It felt like she was playing a game of “I spy with my little eye” with herself. Ever since moving into the manor, she hadn’t taken the time to breathe in her enchanted surroundings. Today with all the “what ifs” and “whys” swirling around in her head, the fresh air made her forget about it all.
Tree branches chipped and split beneath the pressure of the rubber tires on Addison’s mountain bike. She wasn’t sure where the path she’d taken would lead, or if it led anywhere at all, only that there was only one way to find out. An owl cooed above her. Could it be the same one I heard the first day I was here? She hoped so. She pictured it sitting majestically atop a tree, guiding her path from above.
A few minutes passed by. The owl sounded off again, this time more distant, farther away. But there was something else. A sound behind her. Footsteps? Another bike perhaps? She glanced back but saw nothing. The deeper she went into the woods, the quieter things were. Too quiet, as if everything was asleep. Where was all the wildlife? She’d expected to cross paths with all kinds of tiny creatures and had seen not a one.
The eerie silence circled around her. Then the sound came again, this time much louder than before. Addison stopped. This time she didn’t turn around. She hopped off the bike and listened. She couldn’t place what the sound was or even where it originated from, only that it reminded her of the thump, thump, thump of a slowing heartbeat.
“Is anyone there?”
No answer.
Maybe it’s just an animal hiding, not wanting to show itself.
Whatever it was breathed. The breathing vibrated through the trees. It sounded human, except that it was too loud and too forceful, like a mythical giant in a fictional movie.
She spun around, canvassing the treetops, the ground. No one was there, and yet she could feel eyes on her. Watching. Waiting.
“Hello? Who’s there?”
A whooping laugh followed—a loud, shrill kind of cackling.
Addison stood perfectly still, crippled by fear, contemplating her next move. When the sound came for a third time, she dropped the bike and did what came natural: she ran. She didn’t know what she was running from, or who, and she didn’t care.
Less than one minute into the sprint for home, she tripped, her shoelace catching on a twisted branch. She went down, the side of her cheek colliding with the rich earth below. And there she remained.
***
Addison didn’t know how much time had passed when her eyes fluttered open again. She shoved a few fingers into her pocket, then pulled them out again, remembering she’d strapped her phone to her bike before she left.
The last thing she remembered was the sound of someone laughing. But what, or who? And why?
She sat up, spitting particles of damp soil onto the ground next to her. Her mouth was filled with it. The side of her cheek burned. She gently pressed a finger over the inflamed area and winced. She removed the finger and pulled it back, wiping a small amount of blood on her shirt. It had ripped in two places, a little blood wouldn’t make things much worse.
The woods were quiet again. She heard no breathing, no laughing, nothing. She could see the roof of the manor from where she was sitting, but not her bike. Where was her bike? She couldn’t remember.
The sturdy oak tree beside her offered enough support for her to rise to her knees. She caught her breath, then braced herself against it before trying to stand. She planted one foot flat on the ground and pushed up. Her body made little progress. It lifted and then sagged back down. She tried again, this time with more vigor. She shot up for a moment, hobbled around, then fell back to her knees again. She felt paralyzed, like someone had a hold of her head and was pressing down, keeping her there.
But that couldn’t be. She was alone.
Out of breath, she leaned back against the tree. Low, melodic sounds could be heard in the distance. Someone was calling her name. She concentrated. A man shouted her name, followed by a second voice, also male. She recognized the first voice as Luke’s, and breathed a sigh of relief. He knew where she’d gone, and she had no doubt he’d find her. The second voice was lower, fainter, not as easy to distinguish.
“I’m here,” she called.
Neither replied. Had they heard her?
She didn’t wait long for an answer. The next time Luke called out, he was close enough to see her hand hoisted high in the air, waving back and forth. When she was within his line of site he took one look at her and sprinted the rest of the way. The other man wasn’t far behind, inhaling big gulps of air like his life depended on it. As Luke crouched at her side, she looked past him, anxious to identify the mysterious person who had trekked into the woods to find her.
A few moments later she could see him clearly and shook her head in disbelief.