In the trees there whispered echoes of an ancient call. It neither roared nor howled, hooted or cawed. But the rustle among the trees was firm in its right to wisp among the firs. Its sound had every right to be there.
Unlike the two who sat by the firelight in the somber moon. Stars watched them as woman and man sat together wondering how far those star really were.
"They say it's light years." Thomas said quietly, leaning in closer to the woman. His heart kindled in excitement at the way her eyes gleamed in the campfire light.
She smiled pretending not to notice his advance. "Hm?"
Thomas mustered up his courage as his voice croaked by mistake. He checked himself and tried to sound wise. "The time for the light to reach our eyes would take years to travel going at the speed of light. That means that by the time they reached us the stars may not even exist at all."
Sarah thought briefly on the concept. "That's a bit depressing, don't you think?"
"Not at all." Thomas scooted in on the log they sat upon. "I like to think it makes us pretty special. Those little lights coming all this way for us to see." He stretched his arms upward, resting one around her in a fashion so cliche it was almost comical."
Sarah took her turn in kind, resting her head upon his shoulder as they looked at the night together, side by side beneath the pale moon. She clearly liked Thomas. The way he was nervous. How he tried to hide it. The way he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world. She breathed heavy on his neck, hiding her smile as the nerves rippled across his body. "I think its very romantic."
He looked at her and the tension was tighter than cord, pulling them together as they leaned close to kiss, soft at first but ended firm to drink each other in. As Thomas breathed, he could feel his heart want to burst and he blurted out accidentally, "I love you."
Sarah stopped. The silence lasted but a second yet felt like eons. As Thomas was about to stammer, she moved, stopping his lips with her finger. She kissed him yet again, this time pulling away to settle into his shoulder as they kept each other warm. On doing so she admitted, "I love you to."
The two sat closer now than ever, Thomas thanking God for little miracles.
-
Their night alone passed and when morning came, they stretched their arms, waking to the meet the day. The sun glowed with pollen in the air and the trees looked that much brighter. You could hear water from the creek and smell the grass in the Boise mountains. A long way from the Call Centers and the couple couldn’t have been more happy. They stepped from the van Thomas renovated into something of a camper. A bed lay where once were seats and a trunk filled with clothes. A small laptop sat atop the trunk with easy access to the driver’s seat.
A bit cramped but Sarah found it cozy and the two got along quite well, even for a couple.
They’d been dating for six months now and growing closer by the day. Sarah sat in fitted jeans and a white tank top. Her chestnut hair dangled in curls around her shoulders as she breathed in deep the crisp spring air.
Thomas opened the back to reach beneath the bed, revealing a cooler with food and a grill to make them breakfast.
A half hour passed and they sat together to eat biscuits and gravy. Sarah took her first bite and stopped in surprise. “Man, you really can cook, can't you?”
Thomas laughed as he mixed his up on his paper plate. “Well thanks, I sure hope so.” He took a bite and mumbled with a full mouth. “So where you trying to go?”
Sarah stopped for a moment as her tone lowered with a childlike glee. "They say their’s a grove nearby for faeries?"
"Like fairy tales?" Thomas laughed a little, yet came near to hear her voice a little better after Sarah shushed him. "What are you talking about?"
"Not like any cartoon. What do you know about the Fae?" Sarah’s smile grew as the words escaped her lips.
Thomas shrugged and grunted yet she was even excited she had a chance to explain. "So all throughout time there folklore from all over the world. Ireland, Sweden, England, they all have stories of a group of creatures called the Fae. Some say there's a grove right here in Idaho that attracts them. The Native Americans even told of them as spirits of the forest."
"And you believe in all this?" Thomas, a very practical man, eyed her for a moment. After all, he stopped believing in Santa when he was five.
Sarah caught the vibe he gave her and looked at him defensively. "Well, we’re close anyways and it’s worth a look. I'm not saying they're going to jump out and dance for us but it’s not like it’s impossible."
"So that's why you chose here to camp." Thomas laughed nudging her playfully.
"No!" Sarah lied. "It's a great place to camp. Besides, it’s not like you didn't have any fun out here alone with me." She lay her arms over his shoulder and smiled flirtatious, knowing what it did to him to have her near. "Come on babe, just a little walk?"
Thomas blushed and nodded, and so she had her way.
-
As the two entered the woods the road opened before them bidding them to enter. The sun cut through trees in a glow of pollen across the sky. The air smelled of leaves and the dampened moss. Even the air tasted better, breathing deeply along the hike. The compass in Thomas' hands sent them in appropriate direction as no map was available. Sarah’s knowledge of this grove of Fae came from heresay and rumor. Rumor was you go north of the campsite till you reach a clearing, and if they wanted, you would see them.
Thomas used his skills he learned from a junior military program he attended to navigate the area. A string of beads were in his hands as he quietly counted, each one a bolt of solid iron. A keepsake he made from an abandoned factory he played in long ago.
Sarah eyed his actions with curiosity and gave an educated guess to his actions. "Your counting your paces?"
Thomas nodded as they continued their hike. "We've gone a thousand steps so far. With every thousand I count a bead and." He turned to nearest tree and drew his knife casually. With precision, he threw the weapon, sticking a notch into the wood as the knife buried in the tree.
"Stop that," Sarah looked horrified, grabbing his arm for fear of him striking the tree again.
"What?" Thomas appeared confused as he turned to her. He was expecting her to be impressed with his throw, not scolding him. "We can’t be getting lost and we don't have a map. A safe way to get us home and the tree will be fine."
“No, it won’t." Sarah pointed a finger at the tree Thomas wounded.
The sap had run from the open wound far thinner than the syrupy contents one expected. It dripped red. A flash of bright crimson when hit the light of day, clotting thick in driblets as it ran down the blade’s edge, falling to the ground. Thomas drew the knife from the tree and looked around. "No bugs, birds, or critters. It couldn’t be the tree, could it?" He swore to himself puzzled, peering closer at the wound he left in that trunk. The bleeding was no trick of the light. It mixed in runny strands along the sap as it crawled its way down the bark. The strangest thing he'd ever seen.
"What kind of tree is this?" He asked his companion, hoping for an explanation.
Sarah looked flustered, the chill crawling up her spine. "I don't know, but I feel like that was a mistake."
-
After a minute or two of investigation, the two moved on. What started with the sweet nothings of pleasant conversation turned to silence as they trekked on. Neither could think of a valid reason to turn back, yet both had the feeling to do so. Sarah let her mind rest on the chirping of birds and rustle of wind in the leaves as they hiked toward their goal.
She grabbed Thomas by the sleeve again and pointed toward the tree-line. "Did you see that?"
Thomas squinted for a moment and replied, "No, what was it?"
"I don't know but I feel like I saw the tree rustling beside us." Sarah stared at the woods, The branches sprawling in a canopy above them. The limbs hung from spindly branches which flowed with the wind down to the sturdy stems towering above them.
"Did you see anything come out of them?" Thomas asked in a hushed tone.
"No, just trees." The talking gave no relief. Sarah looked to her companion for assurance she wasn't crazy.
Thomas shook his head in response. "I don't believe it’s in your head. Since the incident with the knife, I’ve felt eyes on us as we were walking. I don't have anything for protection but this pocket knife as I didn't think we'd need it. Do you want to turn back?"
"Maybe it's the Fae watching us?" Sarah joked yet the punchline fell flat. The silence between the two now palpable.
"We’re both acting crazy. There are no such things as Fairies and that tree was some weird type we never heard of. I'm not an Arborist but I'm certain it wasn't haunted. I'll get us to your grove in no time, I'm sure of it."
Sarah felt assured by Thomas' confidence. "You really think so?"
"You know it. Let’s keep it up and we’ll get back by sundown." Thomas pulled her close and wrapped his arm over her shoulder, pointing to the trees, selling confidence like a used car. Sarah bought his bravado hook, line, and sinker. After all, she found it sweet how brave he was carrying on for her sake. So the two had carried on.
-
As they continued the fear began to subside. Both of them took in the scenery as if nothing happened, trying to ignore the sense they were being watched. Sarah walked a little slower letting Thomas go on ahead. Lost in thought, she took in her surroundings. Thomas still kept his hands around his charm counting paces walking among the trees. The rustling of the leaves continued among the thin foliage and the birds chirped as usual. Sarah thought to herself with a smile what it would take to get a bird to be her pet. She then bumped into Thomas who froze at a cold attention.
"What the -?" she asked confused until the reason was all too clear. There before them was a sculpture in the clearing.
A large ring of branches in a perfect circle, woven from fallen limbs among long spindled vines. It stood upright in the center of the clearing where neither grass nor moss had grown, yet the leaves on the sculpture remained vibrant. How the perfect circle remained standing was a mystery but the two of them beheld it in awe.
"This is what we we're looking for." Sarah broke the silence, so in awe she could hardly whisper, "It's a Fairy gate.”
Thomas inched closer, yet Sarah reached an arm out to tell him, "I don't know if that's a good idea."
Thomas turned and looked at her as if to ask why not.
To this she explained. “From all the folklore I've read, if you enter a fairy gate, they say you won’t come back.
Thomas contained himself to respect her beliefs. After all, he never believe in fairies. He did have an idea however which he gave to Sarah. "If they are real, wouldn't it be great to be the first to meet them?”
The idea sent excitement through Sarah. To actually see the Fae folk and tell of it. Still, something inside her recoiled at the gate, the foreboding churning in her stomach. Despite this growing unease, she nodded her head and Thomas continued toward the ring.
He walked around it, trying to gather how it worked. There was no glimmer in its center. No aura of light or glow. It simply looked as another odd thing to find in the woods. Something art students may have left as a project or a gag. When he touched it, it seemed firmer than he expected. The flimsy nature of the branches hid how well it stood stuck in the ground, resisting the slight push he gave it. "Maybe there's rebar in it somewhere?" he wondered to himself as it refused to move despite his hand against the sculpture.
Sarah looked closer as well and followed suit. When she placed her hand against the woven branches it felt cool between her fingers. The leaves were smooth in their silky green and as she grew familiar the fear of the thing subsided. All in all, it was quite beautiful.
Thomas stood before the ring with his hand outstretched. The sweetness in his voice mixed with the excitement as he asked her, "Well?"
Those little moments of courage had worked their way into her heart. She really did love him so how could she refuse. She took his hand and with a giggle they stepped through the ring.
-
When they stepped through there wasn't a thing they could see as different. No Wonderland like entourage to greet them. No giant mushrooms and certainly not any sprites to buzz inside their ear. The child in her heart lay disappointed but the woman stood amused at the game they played. Perhaps there wasn't any magic in the world after all. Still, it was a fantastic piece of art that stood here in the woods. A remark to which Thomas agreed and after a little more gawking at the thing they decided to return to their van and home.
As they walked, Thomas counted paces before stopping in a few minutes time. Sarah stood beside him still amused at the day and laughed at the uneasy face he was making. "What’s got you so worked up?"
Thomas held up a finger and shushed her. The color now gone from his face as his voice came low, just above a whisper. "Listen."
She strained her ears in the silence yet shrugged and whispered back. "I don't hear a thing."
Thomas nodded and spoke low. "That's it. Nothing. No birds, no rustling of leaves, not even a breeze. Look around. Nothings making a sound except us."
The two listened, the silence deafening. So it was as they strained their ears, a scream came high and violent in the trees.
The noise shook them to their core. The leaves shuddered at the sound as the silence was broken by something moving closer.
Thomas grabbed Sarah now frozen in shock, pulling her back from whence they came, dropping his step counter to pull her by her sleeve. Sarah’s senses returned to her as she saw what was chasing after her in time to scream.
It stood in the shape of a man. Yet instead of skin, limbs were branches taught and weaved. They crawled along it’s body like sinews. Leaves sprouting in plumes like feathers. Its face contorted with gnarled bark as it roared to give chase, galloping on all fours through the woods.
The couple tore before it, quickly as they could. Sarah's screaming only stopped by the desperate need to breathe. Sprinting behind them the creature tore through the woods. It leaped among the weave of branches and trees, bounding off trunks like a primate in pursuit. The feat of acrobatics doing nothing to slow it down. In fact, it was getting closer.
Thomas tried to help Sarah. Tried to urge her forward as she tumbled through the woods. He reached his hands to save his love as her ankle caught a root and she sprawled across the ground, still crying his name on all fours, the monster coming near.
Yet he saw the creature…
Thomas left her there to die and turned to run away.
Sarah curled fetal, abandoned to her fate as she cried in terror. Waiting for whatever came. Her ear pressed into the dirt she could hear the forceful gallop of that which was coming closer. Louder and louder until it came upon her to make her wince and then…
The sound grew fainter. The thumping of the ground softer as the creature kept its pace, leaving Sarah curled beneath a tree.
-
She opened her eyes in time to see it happen. Thomas ran on, never once looking back. That flimsy pocket knife waving useless in his hand. The beast of trees leapt upon his back sending him bouncing face first onto the dirt and debris. Thomas crawled only to be pulled back underneath the monster who began to beat him. It sent its limbs in a fury of strikes, hard and final, again and again. The gnarled wood and thorns drew blood and tore through clothes as those arms rained upon the victim. Thomas' screams turned to a whimper and soon made no sound at all.
Despite his body giving in, the creature continued beating Thomas’ head. The impact could be felt through the ground until the thumping noise coupled with the wet slop of brain and blood.
Sarah, knowing him to be dead took the only chance she had. Standing as its back was turned, she turned and sprinted on.
The monster, now finished with his handiwork, stood as she ran. He roared with a deafening screech that mixed with rattled leaves that shook throughout his form, bounding now on all fours to chase his prey. With everything Sarah had she ran. From the monster and the man who left her behind. She ran.
The woods were thicker than Sarah remembered. Trees growing and moving closer together. Branches scraped and whipped along her back and thighs. Jeans and shirt tore as trickles of blood came from each of the budding cuts. The exhaustion turned her scream into just another gasp for air as the creature chased after. Its body bounding over the trail she left behind.
Through the broken trail she saw it. In the distance that wicker window lay before her as Sarah ran desperately to freedom. The silence from the woods was palpable. The only sound came from the barked grunts of her pursuer and the rustle of her flight and breathing. She was bruised and beaten bloody, yet desperation kept her on. Sarah could feel the breath of the wooden man along her neck. It shivering her spine as the heat from it pervaded with a hateful hunger. Her gasping grew tighter as she grew closer with every step to that doorway and with everything she had-
Sarah made it through the ring.
-
She spun to the ground, rolling into cold silence. The landing was hard, crushing leaves where she lay as the damp earth she pressed against felt clammy and cold. Her ears heard neither roar nor gallop of that which chased after. Only the wind swaying branches of the woods and peaceful quiet. Something primal in her mind told her she was safe in that small cacophony of sound. It told her she was free.
After a moment, the heaving in her chest had settled and Sarah rolled over. Her eyes confirmed what her ears had told her. She could not see the monster inside that hole. Whatever it was had chosen to stay away, content with the victim it had gained.
“Poor Thomas,” Sarah thought. Despite the betrayal of being left to die, his immediate peril left her with only pity. She didn't know if she would have done the same. The guilt inside her twinged as her inner voice told her that in a way she did.
"Nothing I can do about it now," Sarah responded to her conscience aloud. After all, Thomas was dead. Whatever explanation she could give to the police was another matter. For now leaving this place was all she could do. All she wanted to do.
She limped as the bruises and scrapes ached and bled. Her exhaustion hitting as the adrenaline had left. Trudging along she came across a reminder of her cowardly ex. The scar in the tree. A last gift, confirming her direction.
Another hour with head heavy, Sarah found the van. The bed inside now only having room for one. She walked forward and leaned upon the door gasping with a sob now sure that she was free.
"I'll never camp as long as I live," she said. A problem arose as Thomas had the keys, yet Sarah knew her man better than most. She knew he lost his keys three times at a bar drunk on rum and coke. She knew he couldn't afford to pay for locksmiths anymore and most importantly she knew how he solved his problem. Bending over with her hand along the frame, Sarah found a magnetic box with key.
Sarah straightened with key in hand. As she grabbed the door handle, though it opened with a click. They must have forgot to lock it when they left. After all, who was going to drive away? She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat in the driver’s seat, buckling her belt.
Sarah looked up to fix the mirror and in that moment she found a Spriggan sitting on their bed. It waited in the car without a sound, having entered the ride when they left. And when she began to scream it threw its arms around the driver’s seat, leaping upon its prey.
Sarah's neck had wooden fingers wrapped around her throat. Wooden arms shook her till it snapped as hollow reeds in a throat had giggled as she died.