Page 11 of While They Watch

“Very cute and very on-brand.” I take a sip and the alcohol gives me the illusion of being warmer. As I continue to drink my wine, I gaze around at the beautiful views around us when suddenly in the distance I notice a tall tower of some sort. It looks to be metal with an enclosed room at the top.

“What’s that over there?” I ask as I point to the tall structure.

Luke looks over with a relaxed, lazy move of his head. “It’s probably a fire tower. You sometimes find them in remote wooded areas. My dad always used to tell me that's where I should go if I were to ever get lost while we were camping. He would know to find me there. Plus there’s usually a radio or first-aid kit and sometimes even some emergency food… like the freeze dried meals you love.”

“Huh. Good to know. So if I get lost on this long, cold hike… will you come save me?”

"Yes, of course I would.”

“Thank you.” I wait for a moment before asking him, probably for the twentieth time, “And if I was a worm… would you still love me?” I can barely get the question out before Luke lurches forward and playfully tackles me. He grabs my hands and pins them above my head with only one of his hands and covers my mouth with his other.

“Stop. Please. I’ve answered this every way I can think of and you’re still not satisfied. This is the last time I’ll entertain this…” He takes a dramatic deep breath before continuing, looking down at me with a mixture of sincerity and playfulness. “If you’re a worm… I’m a worm.”

_____

Quicker than we should, we finish the entire bottle and most of the snacks before my buzzed brain decides it's now or never to potentially… freeze to death. I stand up and grab my swimsuit. “Where do I change?” Luke stares at me blankly before bursting into laughter.

“Right here? It’s just us and I happen to consider myself an expert at what your body looks like.” The thought of getting naked outside makes me feel on edge, even though it’s obviously the only place to do so.

“Yeah, I’m sure you do.” I hesitate for a second but eventually give in and start getting undressed. There is an intense feeling of someone’s eyes being on me, but when I look over at Luke, he is facing the other way. I glance around, holding my shirt up against my chest. Stop being so paranoid. This is the time to be brave. I finish taking all my clothes off and as I start to put my swimsuit on, I instead obey an impetuous thought to leave it behind. I run to the water, completely naked and scared out of my mind. Right before I step in, I hear Luke whistle at me.

“Hot damn, woman. We’re having wine more often.”

“When in Rome,” I laugh and take a small step into the freezing water. With a shriek, I step right back out. “Oh my god. That’s way worse than I thought it would be.”

“Don’t talk yourself out of it!” Luke is quickly next to me, grabbing onto me and pulling me in after him. I squeal and plead for him to let me go but to no avail. He pulls me all the way into the water and holds me close to him. Panic starts to take over when I can’t get a full breath. “Look at me. Breathe. In and out. Slow. You’re okay.” He guides me in taking a few deep breaths until my lungs start filling themselves up at a steadier, easier pace. “We can get out now.” Those are the magic words. I push away from him and dart out of the water. A moment later, he is next to me laying a towel over my shaking shoulders. I dry off and get dressed as fast as possible, but even with all my clothes on, I’m still shivering. “Here,” Luke says as he hands me a beanie.

“You seriously fit all this into your bag? Who are you, Mary Poppins?” He just laughs.

“That’s Mr. Poppins to you. Stay here and try to relax. I’m going to go get some wood and build us a fire. Once we’re warmed up, we can head back.”

Chapter Nine

This is the most peaceful I have ever felt. Luke and I took some time to lie back and cloud-gaze while the fire warmed us. I haven’t done this with anyone since I was a kid. The sound of the river trickling over rocks starts to lull me to that place right before you fall asleep. My body feels heavy, like I can’t move but I’m not quite asleep, still able to hear everything going on around me. Right when I start to drift, I swear the wind whispers my name into my ear. I can feel the warm breeze blowing across my body. I gasp, sitting up fast, momentarily feeling dizzy as I look to where I heard my name but see only trees. They are packed so tightly I can barely tell where one starts and another ends. It takes me a moment, but I realize that the trees look so close together because it’s darker than it should be around them. I look up, shocked when I see that the sun has already started to set. What time is it? I turn toward Luke and gently shake him awake.

“Luke… I think we fell asleep! The sun is going down.” He opens his eyes, jumping to his feet fast.

“Fuck! We gotta go, babe. It’s going to be dark before we get back. I’m sorry, I don’t know how that happened! I’ve been checking the time constantly,” he says as he packs up our picnic in a frenzy.

I stand up and grab his hand, holding onto it firmly. “It’s okay, take a breath. You know how to get us out of these woods and it will be fine. Plus, if anyone is going to freak out, I automatically reserve the right to do so, so you need to stay calm.”

“I always forget about that clause you snuck into this relationship. Stay close and if we keep a steady pace, we can make it out before it gets too late.” He doesn’t let go of my hand as he guides me back out the way we came. We walk for what feels like a long time, losing the light faster than I was hoping to. I can feel Luke’s stress growing, which I’m desperately trying not to let trigger mine. I do my best to keep chatting at him about random things, trying to keep the mood as light as possible when suddenly, he stops. I wait to see if he is going to say or do anything, but he stays silent and still. After a couple seconds of stillness, I walk around him so I can see his face. His lips are a thin line and even in this low light, I can tell he has lost some of his color. His eyes dart down to mine.

“I don’t know where we are. I don’t know how it happened, but I think I got turned around somewhere. I just need some quiet so I can focus and get my bearings. Please.” He doesn’t say it frustrated or mean, more like he is stating a fact, but my stomach drops. I seemingly can’t remember how to breathe so I nod. Oh my god. We’re lost. As that terrifying thought enters my mind, the trees feel like they’re closing in. My heartbeat is picking up, heat creeping over my body and I start to get dizzy. I stumble over to a tree and sit down, so my back is leaning against it, pulling my knees tight to my body.

Luke looks down at me but doesn’t say anything, instead he sets his bag next to me, pulling out a map and two flashlights. He hands one to me then starts studying the map. “I’ll get this all figured out, don’t worry. I’ll fix it.” We still have enough light to see around us but not very far ahead. I shine my flashlight ahead of me, starting to scan the areas that are obscured by deeper shadows.

Eventually, once I catch my breath, I stand up. I hear a soft hum coming from somewhere near me. As I glance around, searching for the noise, I again hear someone whispering my name. I take a step forward and the humming gets quieter. When I turn, pointing my flashlight behind me, I can hardly make out what I’m looking at. As I move the stream of light around, I finally realize it’s a tree but not like any I’ve ever seen before. It’s gigantic. Luke and I could stand with our arms out, fingertips barely touching and only make up half the width of the trunk. Along with its size, it's also gnarled and warped, making it look sick. Where there should be bark, instead it is smooth and white like bone. It doesn’t have any branches but rather curves and twists all the way up and at the base is a giant hole. It looks like a cave that the tree has formed around. A hollow carcass.

A feeling comes over me and I want to get closer. I need to get closer. As I take a few small steps forward, a smell washes over me. No, not over me—through me. It’s the same rot that has been following me since we got to these woods. The humming is so loud now that it feels magnetic. Almost without control, I take another step closer, but my foot hits something causing me to fall onto my hands and knees.

When I look down, right under me is a shoe almost completely buried in the ground. The part that is sticking out is dirty and ripped with moss starting to grow up the sides. The combination of this giant opening and the shoe scares me. I can’t help but think whoever owned this shoe might be in there. When I look back up, low to the ground, sitting right next to the tree is a stick figure, just like the one Luke found earlier. I stand up quickly and stumble a few steps backwards, my light shining into the surrounding trees. More stick figures and other crude shapes made from twigs are hanging from their branches. They are scattered around like a shrine to the massive tree itself. I turn and run back to Luke, but it’s much darker now.

As I frantically shine my light around, I realize I can’t find him. Anxiety is replaced by pure panic as the forest seems to close in around me. I feel myself stop breathing as I start spinning in circles, desperately searching.

“Luke! Where are you?” Silence. Oh my god. How did I get so turned around? I yell for him a few more times as I start to turn slower, making myself take the time to look at every spot. When I see the stick figures again, I start walking back to the dead tree. As my light reaches where the opening should be, I see Luke. He’s standing in front of the tree, almost touching the dark opening. I sprint to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and yank him away from it. “Luke! What the fuck are you doing?” He blinks a few times before smiling at me.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”