“Where am I?” Priya was sitting up in the grass. “What happened?” She rubbed her head. Carl was propped up on his elbows. Kristy and Mateo were seated next to them.
“You’re safe now.” Kristy massaged her back. “It’s all over.”
“What’s over?” asked Priya.
“Don’t you remember?” asked Mateo.
Looking confused, Priya ruffled her fingers through her hair. “Wait a minute,” she said. “The blood moon. We were going to watch the blood moon. Did I miss it?”
“You did,” said Mateo. He and Kristy shared a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asked Priya.
“You really don’t remember anything?” asked Kristy. “The spirits? Us running through the woods? The truck?”
“The truck!” she shouted. “Yeah, I remember. There was an old hunk of junk pickup trying to run us off the road. I remember that.” She stopped. “Wait a minute. Did you say something about spirits?”
Carl was holding his ankle. “She did,” he said. “There was a smoke spirit with a skeleton face. It entered your body and took you off into the woods. Hey, how did I hurt my leg?”
“A spirit took me into the woods?” asked Priya. “Are you serious? And I don’t remember anything? That really stinks, man.”
Mateo laughed. “Unbelievable.”
Kristy punched Priya’s shoulder, knocking her back a bit. “We saved your life, girl,” said Kristy. “How about showing some gratitude?”
“You should’ve seen our man over here try to rescue you,” joked Mateo. “Carl went tumbling down that hill and got himself abducted too.”
“I did?” asked Carl. “Cool.”
Kristy could only shake her head. “Can we get out of here?” she asked. “Before those things decide to come back?”
“I second that idea,” said Mateo.
They got up. Priya and Carl wobbled on weak legs. “Steady now,” said Kristy as she held onto Priya. Carl stood on his one good foot and leaned on Mateo’s shoulder.
“It could be morning before we get your sorry butts back home,” said Mateo. He helped Carl forward. “Let’s go hop along.”
The group limped toward the edge of the valley, toward the ridge and away from the most bizarre scene of their lives.
“Hey,” said Carl. “I just thought of something ironic. We wanted a night to remember, right?”
“Right,” said Kristy.
“Ha,” said Carl. “Well, Priya can’t remember any of it!”
Mateo and Kristy laughed. “Good one, funny man,” said Priya. “I remember that you have no future in stand-up comedy.”
“It’s a night I won’t ever forget,” said Kristy. “How about you, Mateo?”
“Not likely,” he said.
“You have to tell me everything,” said Priya as they neared the hill. “All the gory details.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Mateo. “We’ve got all night, and we’ll need something to pass the time. Kristy, you want to do the honors?”
“Sure,” she said.
“No,” interrupted Carl. “Let me.”
Kristy chuckled. “The floor is all yours.”
“Okay,” he said. “It’s like this. We were driving up the PCH in Mateo’s boss yellow jeep. The moon was full and bright over the Pacific, and a fog was just starting to dissolve in the saltwater air. The music was cranking, the girls were dancing, and life was good. Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, from the darkness, appears a phantom tan pickup truck.”
Mateo and Kristy shared a smile. The walk back to the jeep was going to take a while. Carl’s recap of their night, though, would likely take even longer.
Mateo was really looking forward to getting back into the jeep, onto the PCH, and back to the comfort of his home. Tomorrow he would have a good long run and a good long talk with his parents. He could hardly wait.