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“The only thing I’m killing tonight is your attitude and some calories.” Liam unclipped his belt and got out.
We all followed suit, our curiosity outweighing the comfort of the car, and for Lucy, the snacks.
“This, my friends,” he began ceremoniously, sweeping his arms out in a grand gesture, “is the trailhead to the Witch’s Castle!”
If we were shooting a movie and the AD had just yelledcut!,sound editors would go in during postproduction and dub this as the appropriate spot to add the ominousdun dun duuuuuunbit.
“Hell no.” Any guesses as to who said that? Spoiler alert, it was E.
“Aw, come on, E. I’ve got a flashlight for when it gets really dark. And it’s not even three quarters of a mile in.” Begging Liam was amusing.
“Is it haunted?” Lucy didn’t seem the least bit shaken by the prospect.
“Is it a real house or just some janky shack?” I added. I wasn’t afraid, but I also knew that Liam would sometimes omit certain tidbits of info to suit his agenda.
The lights on the SUV flashed in the dusk and a soft beep came from the vehicle.
“You will have your answers upon arrival,” Liam insisted, skipping along past the log fence. “And if you want to stay in the car, no can do! You’d have to catch me first to get the keys.” And he took off at a sprint, taunting E, knowing she was the only one that would actually stay behind.
“You ladies have enough juice on your phones to use the flashlight?” Mine was at 73% but I didn’t know how long it would take to walk the half mile or so.
Lucy pressed the home button on her phone. “Totally. It’s just been sitting in my purse all day, so I’ve got 89%.”
E never answered me, but as we started off after Liam, I eventually saw a third beam of light, faint as it was.
The walk wasgradual and easy with a few jackknife turns here and there. Every so often, the soft gurgling of a creek could be heard and though we were in the dead of summer, the damp scent of moss was abundant.
Liam was still nowhere in sight, but the three of us managed just fine on our own with me taking up the rear and Lucy in front.
E remained the silent pillar between us, falling behind Lucy with fervor. I suspected it had more to do with the fact that she felt safer not being the bread in this odd metaphorical sandwich than merely hanging close to Lucy.
Above us, the sky had an unnatural glow from the city lights that were only a stone’s throw away, but now that we were in the thick of the trees—cedars, if my nose served me correctly—it was harder and harder to discern much of anything unless it was illuminated by the shallow beams from our phones.
After a rather silent hike that took us no more than fifteen minutes, we finally came to a small clearing, marked with a directional sign to the lower trailhead.
Leaves rustled up ahead and no amount of light was needed to tell me what it was.
“Liam is hiding behind that tree over there, E.” Not knowing if he was planning on jumping out and scaring us, I figured it’d be best to let the rabbit out of the hat.
“Dude, why you gotta be like that?” Liam sauntered around, his hands on his hips.
“Unlike you,” E berated, “Jake is a gentleman.” Spinning on her heel, she turned and thanked me. It could have been my eyes playing tricks on me, but I thought I saw her stick her tongue out at Liam as she hugged her purse tighter.
Lucy had wandered beyond our bickering cluster and I only realized it when I heard her say, “Wow, this placeiscool.”
Joining her, I raised my phone, doubling our light source.
The building in front of us was made of gray, weathered stone blocks that were mostly covered in a verdant moss. It was a testament to just how much rain the region received.
The structure, or ruins depending on your opinion, disappeared beyond the mediocre shaft of light, leaving the rest to our imaginations. Directly in front was an open cavity that could easily have fit a small car inside.
“There are stairs over here,” Lucy relayed, grabbing the hand rail to help guide her. “Woah, these are as uneven as Austin Powers’s teeth, so be careful.”
Smirking, I took her warning to heart. I’d been lucky enough to visit Notre Dame Cathedral where the winding staircase to the bell towers had notable dips in each step from repetitive use over its 800 years.
Climbing those had been a feat to say the least, and though there only appeared to be no more than ten or so here, it was still an odd enough sensation to make you pay attention to your footing.
Lucy had come to an arch which I presumed had had some sort of door to it previously. It opened to a space that seemed square in shape, but there was no roof.
