Deep in the Forest (Wattpad Editor's Pick, June '22)

6

Zoe bolted upright in her bed. Instantly alert, her eyes strained to catch the slightest movement.

Gray, shear curtains stood guard around the window, obscuring the moonlit yard. The shadows that lived in the corners of her room stayed immobile.

The wind outside blended with the ticking of the Jiminy Cricket clock Takota gave her as a gag gift a few years ago for her birthday. Lime green numbers on Jiminy's pocket watch informed her the time was three thirty-three.

She glanced at her phone, debating if she wanted to check it for the twentieth time since Takota synced the game camera to it. Giving in to the urge faster than gambling addict on a winning streak, she grabbed the device and held her breath.

Air whistled between her teeth, and she laid back on her pillow when nothing new popped up.

She blamed Takota for her frazzled nerves and the mental picture his talk about Bigfoot inspired. It was like a rabid animal, struggling to get inside her head and her emotions and stay there. She kept pushing the idea back, shoving it away from her, refusing to acknowledge the possibility.

As sleep pulled her to a different reality, her phone chimed; its screen's glow illuminated the ceiling. She wondered if she was imagining things until the noise sounded again.

Outside, green light flashed like Morse code, sporadic and uneven.

In three strides, she was at her window, phone clutched to her chest.

Wind kicked up, sharp gusts bending the limbs of the trees until the tips scraped against the roof like giant fingernails. The rocking bench squeaked as it swayed back and forth but the yard was empty of uninvited guests, save for the occasional leaf cartwheeling through.

Zoe's finger wavered over the bright red notification from the game camera.

She chuckled nervously and shook her head. This is ridiculous, she thought. Tomorrow, she would give Takota a piece of her mind about legends and their effect on her sleep. She tapped the screen and waited for the image to load.

The photo was dark, but she could make out the garden and along the tree line. A black, bulky form stood close to the forest. It could have been a boulder except she knew there wasn't one there. Zooming in, two, tiny yellow orbs appeared on the mass's upper half.

She pulled the curtains back even farther, searching for the large shape.

Panicked screeches came from the direction of the horse stables, spurring her into action.

Did the game camera capture an image of a bear on its hind legs? Was it at the stables now? Was Rhyme safe? With her mind jumping from one worry to the next, she entered the mud room. Zoe slipped into her boots and jacket, then flew out the back door with Ichiro, gripped in her hand.

Zoe's hair whipped across her face. Gravel crunched under her heels and her phone's flashlight illuminated the worn path to the Sohappy Boarding Stables. The building was a two-story stone and oak monstrosity that housed up to twenty-four horses. The lights surrounding the outdoor arena shone brightly and lit up the nearby trees, giving them a menacing appearance.

Heavy footfalls came rushing towards her as she neared the wooden double doors leading into the building housing Rhyme. Zoe turned around. She felt relief as she recognized the lengthy outline of her best friend.

"Z, what's going on out here?" Takota asked.

"Don't know, just got here." She tapped the security code into the panel, and they entered the barn.

Horses reared up, they screeched and whinnied as the overhead lights blinked on. Instead of reassuring her, the light that bathed the stables seemed strange and distorting, as if she were looking through a faintly yellow lens that bent objects out of shape.

Dyani Sohappy, Takota's mother, came rushing through the doors. She wore flannel pajamas, wool coat and cowboy boots. Dyani held a shotgun, ready to stop any trespassers. "You two see anything?"

Zoe shook her head as Takota answered, "No, but we haven't been here long."

"Alright, you two stay in here and keep the horses safe. Mac and I will walk the perimeter." She jerked her chin towards the man at her side.

The tall Native American looked like his head had just hit the pillow when the horses started screeching, with his bloodshot eyes and hair loosened from the braids running down his chest.

"Keep your head on a swivel," Dyani said. " We have several racehorses boarding here, so we can't take the chance that it was just a passerby. Especially, this time of night."

"You think it's poachers?" Mac grumbled in his deep baritone.

"Maybe." The hard look in her eye's said she thought it might be John, her ex-husband. He was a gifted liar, gambling man and a drunk that nearly convinced the court to give him the Sohappy Boarding Stables when they divorced. She won after John showed up to her house and threatened to kill her in front of Takota and his brothers if she didn't give him the business that she had cultivated from the ground up.

Dyani and Mac exited the same way they came and headed in opposite directions.

Zoe moved to the right and Takota took the other side. She moved to the next stall when seeing nothing but piles of hay and horse in each space, until reaching Rhyme.

The chestnut's nicker was panicked, and she pranced back and forth. Eyes open wide and darting around.

Zoe slipped inside and ran her hands firmly over the thoroughbred to calm her down. "What has you spooked, girl?"

Rhyme's nostrils flared and she snorted.

Zoe choked on the stench that permeated the air. It reminded her of the time she and Takota came across a dead deer that had been decaying in the hot sun for days. "What's that smell?"

"I don't know but it's terrible."

The crack of a shotgun set Zoe's hair on end. Her eyes darted to Takota's.

He bolted to the door and Zoe followed close behind.

"Takota, help!" Dyani's voice blended with the wind.

Zoe scanned the fence line all the way to the Sohappy house and then along the forest's edge. She didn't see any sign of Dyani or Mac.

"Mom, where are you?" Takota yelled.

"Over here!"

Takota darted towards the forest at a dead run.

"Wait for me!" Zoe sprinted after him.