Page 16 of While They Watch

“Well, I can’t be too upset since I also lost mine, so I guess I’ll forgive you.”

“One hike, two missing flashlights. We would make the worst survivalists.”

“Hey, don’t lump me into this. It's your fault. You’re very distracting.” I shine my new flashlight at him, catching him wink at me.

“Focus. Did you find any gas?”

“No, there’s nothing here.” Before I can respond, he walks past me and goes back outside toward the car. I stash my new flashlight in my jacket pocket before running to catch up. I grab his hand, and he grips mine back but doesn’t say anything, so I stay quiet. He is trying to work through what to do next and in past experiences it’s best to let him do it in peace. I'm startled when suddenly, he drops my hand and starts running the last few steps to the car. When I catch up to him, I see why he ran. Sitting on the hood of the car is a small bundle of sticks tied together with a red ribbon and dangling from the ribbon is a large gold ring. Luke reaches to pick it up, but I stop him.

“Don’t touch it. I don’t think we…” But before I can finish, a blood curdling scream cascades out from the trees in front of us. It’s so loud and high-pitched it makes me think of a siren. Neither of us move, hardly even breathing as we stare in the direction of the wailing cries.

“Heeeeelp me! Someone help me!” Without hesitation, Luke takes a step toward the forest, but I grab him, holding him back.

“What are you doing?” I tighten my grip on his arm like a vice.

“What do you mean? Someone could be hurt. We have to go help her.” He looks back at me, confusion written all over his face. He’s a fixer, always ready to jump into action and save the day, but he’s also one of the most reactionary people I know and that can be dangerous.

“Don’t they say that you should never follow someone into the woods even if they are asking for help. You’re supposed to call someone.”

“Well, we can’t call for help, Hanna! What if someone is dying? Wouldn’t you want someone to come for you? Or me?” He is already frustrated, pulling his arm away from me as another scream echoes around us, somehow louder this time.

“Of course I would, but it’s not one of us. Our car isn’t working and our phones aren’t working. We don't even have a good way to defend ourselves. This is different. We aren’t in a position to offer any help. We need to help ourselves right now.”

“Of course we are! We have food, shelter, hot water–that can mean life or death in some situations. Fuck, Hanna. Just stay here. Go back in the house, lock the door and wait for me.” He starts walking back towards the trees.

“Luke! I don’t want to be here alone….” I’m hoping he will change his mind and turn around but he doesn’t. I know he is technically being a good person and maybe even doing the right thing, but I don’t feel safe, so how can that be right? “Shit,” I whisper under my breath, turning back to the car. That’s when I notice the stick bundle is gone. I glance back at Luke as I see him putting something into his pocket. I tell myself it’s fine but deep down a bad feeling is festering. Why would he take that?

I desperately try to hold back angry tears as I grab our bags back out of the car. I slam the door shut behind me before looking back toward the trees, giving Luke one more chance to come back, but he’s gone. I turn toward the cabin where the front door is already open, inviting me back into this nightmare, reminding me that there’s nowhere else to go.

In my anger I don’t notice that the woods have gone silent.

Chapter Thirteen

I don’t know what to do. Luke has already been gone for a few hours and without a working phone, I have no way to ease my worry. I love how selfless he is, but at times like this I wish he would put himself first. I don’t wish harm to anyone, but what about me? What happens if a serial killer comes to kill me, or a fire breaks out and I become even more stranded? Or whatever is lurking around this place gets inside and tries to harm me? He is putting us both at risk to help someone we don’t even know. I know it’s a horrible and a selfish attitude, but I’m scared.

I need to do something to take my mind off all the things I can’t control. I consider attempting to read a few chapters of my book which ends up reminding me of the notes hiding under my pillow. I had completely forgotten about them with everything else that’s been going on.

I run upstairs to the bedroom, but when I look toward the bed, anxiety starts settling into my stomach. I wish Luke was here. The sun is already getting low and I hate the idea of being here alone at night. I start lifting my fingers to my mouth but catch myself and stop. If I keep this up, I won’t have any fingers left. I need to focus.

I walk over to my side of the bed and pull the sheets off the frame before sitting down. I want to be able to see everything going on around me. When I lift my pillow, the notes are right where I left them. I don’t know why, but I was worried they might have disappeared. Nothing feels real anymore. I lay the notes back in order again and am able to start right where I left off.

9/20

A noise woke me up in the middle of the night. It was dad. He was walking in and out of all the rooms over and over again. I watched him but he didn’t seem to see me. After a while he went downstairs, so I followed him. He walked all the way down to the basement, but I got scared, so I went back to bed. When I woke up in the morning, he was sitting at the end of my bed staring at me but when I said his name he couldn’t hear me. He was holding one of the stick dolls again and when he handed it to me, it was like he woke up and had no memory of it at all.

9/22

Dad got much worse. He has scratches on his body, and he can’t walk anymore. Not even at night. All he does is stare and shake. Mom decided to go get help, so I guess I have to be in charge now. I’ve never been in charge before. I don’t know what to do. I’m scared.

9/25

Don’t listen to them. They are tricky. Don’t accept ANYTHING from them and don’t let them inside. I’ve learned this much. They keep leaving gifts around the house for me, but something inside tells me not to touch them. Dad disappeared yesterday and mom hasn’t come back yet. Something that is pretending to be dad has been coming to the door and keeps asking to come inside. But it isn’t dad. He isn’t right. It’s confusing to Maya; she wants to let him in.

9/26

The dreams are worse now. Filled with screams and cries for help, including mom and dad. We are almost out of food and it’s like they know. This morning some berries were left on the porch. Maya is so hungry that I almost gave in and opened the door to get them. They are getting desperate. I can see them all the time now.

9/28