Witch of the Wild Woods

Chapter 23 - Theologians

Chapter 23 - Theologians

    Lane emerged from the water freezing and empty-handed. He couldn't even reach what was left of the chopper. The councilor's best chance of escape didn't just sink into the center of the lake, it was skewered into the base.

    "No luck?" Luna asked solemnly.

    Lane shook his head and shivered, "They didn't make it."

    Gracie was sobbing curled up on the sand, "We're going to die here too, aren't we? We're going to just die here like everyone else."

    Franki still held a million-yard, empty gaze out onto the horizon.

    Nina was fuming, "No! We're not gonna die, not until we find Jude. Where the fuck has he been, huh? Is he in on this... Deer Woman bullshit? If we die, I'm killing somebody first, and I wanna take it out on the asshole that was supposed to be in charge of this cluster fuck of a camp!"

    "Shut the fuck up, Nina. Just, calm down," Jordan commanded.

    The Pixie Girl did comply; "Fuck you, Jordan! Did you not just watch a pine tree fly out of the woods and shish kabob a helicopter!?"

    "Yeah. I saw it. What do you want me to do about it?" Jordan screamed back. "Freaking 0ut isn't going to help get us out of this mess any faster."

    "There's still the staff parking lot," Luna stated. "I have my keys. Our Jeep fits..." She trailed off. Even holding her own tide of dark feelings at bay, she couldn't help but remember the death that had unfolded before her eyes in the last few hours.

    "The Jeep has enough space for us. It'll get us out of the campgrounds to the nearest town," Lane said, as he picked up Luna's slack. "Gracie, can you make it back up the hill if we help you up?" He took a step toward the girl curled up into the fetal position.

    Before Gracie could respond, Jordan stomped across the sand up to Lane, fist clenched; "I'm not speaking for everyone else, the ones who are left, but I'm not trusting you or your sister." She was delirious as they all were. While others were managing the few particles of hope that remained, Jordan found her strength in the familiar: her past, her pain, her mistrust.

    "What are your options?" Luna asked calmly. "We can no longer fly to safety. Doesn't look like there's anything across the lake we could swim to. Where would you have your team go now for safety?"

    Jordan kept her fists from flying into Luna's perfectly sculpted honey-brown face. Her mental wheels spun a million miles a minute but gained no traction. The sheer horror and carnage slicked the tracks her train of thought ran on with gallons of blood. So, she relaxed and looked toward the woods. Those swaying pine trees hiding god knows what within.

    "What are the odds any of our cars will be in working condition once we get up there?" Jordan asked pragmatically.

    Nina was still enraged, nerves frayed and kicking up sand, "What are the odds something could throw a goddamn pine tree into a helicopter?"

    Lane laid a calming hand on Nina's shoulder. She almost jerked away, but instead, turned into Lane and released a muffled scream into his chest.

    "It's a fair question," Lane agreed, "However, it's still our best option. We can't risk facing whatever or whoever's responsible if your lives are still at risk."

\    Nina looked up at Lane. Her tear-lined face was a mess of smudged dark eyeliner, "After everything that's still happened, you'd still try and fight those... Those things?"

    Lane looked at his sister and nodded, "It's what we do."

    "Jusqu'a la fin, Ursa Major," Luna said quietly, with conviction.