Forever Young

Chapter Eighteen

     What? How did I go from laying in my bed back to this place? I sat up. The moon mirrored itself on the pond's surface. The call of an owl sent a chill up my spine, and I glanced around. There was no one here to greet me this time. Odd. Fireflies flickered around me, and the chirping of the crickets all but crowded out any thoughts. I wrapped my arms around myself. With Leo or my dad here, the place didn't seem so daunting. Alone, the trees whispered to each other, and the forest hid anything that might have been lurking inside it.

    "Hello?" My voice was just above a whisper, but the sound seemed to echo on the breeze. No answer. I stood and dusted myself off as quietly as I could. Thanks to the moonlight, I could see the path to the village. Leo had said there were people there, but to get to them, I'd have to take the path through the forest. The moonlight seemed to end at the edge of the clearing. The thought of walking this path alone made me shiver. A dog howled in the distance. Or maybe it was a wolf. Anything was possible. "Leo?" I hissed into the night. The only answer was the bellow of a bullfrog. I closed my eyes as tight as they would go. I wanna go home. I wanna go home. Maybe if I clicked my heels together, it would have worked. But when I opened them again, I was still in the same clearing. That left me with two choices. One, I could stay by the pond and hope someone came, which seemed highly unlikely.

    Or two, I could brave the path by myself, and find someone who could help me get home.

    I walked around the pond to the path and peered into the forest. I tried not to think what might have been staring back at me as I stepped into the trees and the darkness enveloped me. I didn't take a step as my eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light. I blinked a few times to speed up the process. I could just make out the shape of my bare feet on the dirt. I took a tentative step and prepared myself to reel into the trees, but that didn't happen. A giggle escaped from my lips. The sound reverberated through the trees, and sent a couple of birds flying from their nests to the sky. I bit back a scream and took a couple deep breaths to steady my nerves. "C'mon, Laney. You can do this," I tried to convince myself. It helped, but only a little.

    I took a few more steps. My eyes were starting to adjust. I could make out the shape of tree trunks a couple of feet in front of me now. See? I thought. This isn't so scary. And it wasn't. I glanced over my shoulder, and could still see the pond glimmering in the moonlight. I sighed. I had no idea how long I'd have to walk to get to the town. A yawn followed. Okay, Laney. You can do this. I picked up my pace.

    Even though I hyped myself up, I was still on high alert. The forest was, for the most part, silent. I couldn't even hear the trees whispering, and the crickets sounded as if they were a million miles away. I looked behind me, and couldn't see the pond or the clearing anymore. No village lights twinkled ahead of me either. The forest had enveloped me.

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    I had no idea what time it was or how long I'd been walking when I thought I saw a flicker of light beyond a small knoll. Leo! My heart leaped. The glimmer of light ate away the darkness again. I broke into a semi-jog, eager to reach the light before it disappeared, but only made it a few yards when my foot caught a tree root and sent me tumbling to the ground. I couldn't hold back the cry this time. The sound echoed in the silence, and sent goosebumps down my arms. I sat on the dirt path and waited for a forest animal to come tear me to shreds, but none came. I looked at my palms, now scraped and dirty. I gingerly touched my fingers to my knee and then raised them until I could see. They were red and sticky. Great. I'm bleeding. Of course something like this would happen on the night I wore a pair of pajama shorts to bed. I stretched my legs out, but the scrapes seemed to be the worst of my injuries. I picked myself up off the forest floor and looked ahead, but the light was long gone. I groaned. Just my luck. With nothing else to do but press on, I continued the walking toward what I hoped was the town.

    My knee throbbed in protest with each step. It wasn't bad enough to bring tears to my eyes, but it was more than a little annoying. When I finally topped the hill and saw the town below, I almost cried tears of joy. I stopped to catch my breath and took in the scene below. The village was beautiful, set in a valley, and the fact that I could wash the dirt and dried blood off there made it even more appealing. Gas-style streetlamps lit the cobbled stones, which were lined with small houses and shops. There were no power or telephone lines in sight. It was like something out of a fantasy novel. Or a history book, my mind quipped. The moon almost seemed to touch the hill opposite the one I was on, which added to the fantasy illusion.

    I put one foot in front of the other, being careful not to fall again. The symphony of crickets were back in full force, and I could hear a stream babble somewhere near me. I wondered what it was like to have been born here, then shuddered. No modern technology meant no modern conveniences.

    The dirt path turned into cobblestones at the bottom of the hill. For the first time, I noticed the difference in the air here, compared to home. It was lighter, with a hint of apples and cinnamon intertwined. And so quiet. Almost too quiet. The only sounds wher ethose of nature. I inhaled a lungful of the sweet air and stepped onto the cobbled street. I made my way to the heart of town. Along the way, I passed an apothecary, a bookstore, and a bakery, all asleep under the full moon. Wonder where the people live? I thought. I passed an old sign and answered my own question. Main Street. That made sense. I was in the business district; the houses were probably in the outliers.

    A sound behind me almost made me jump out of my skin, the sound of a pebble bouncing off cobblestones. I spun around and scanned the street, but it was as empty as before. My skin crawled, and I continued my walk deeper into town, picking up my pace just a little. There's no one following you, I told myself. Still, I was hyper-aware of my environment. The breeze in the leaves became a whisper, the sound of the stream became footsteps. My eyes widened, and my chest heaved with every breath. Laney. Chill. There's nothing there. My inner monolouge did little to dispel any thoughts of making an all-out dash to the nearest door and beating it down like I was SWAT.

    The crunch of stone against stone was unmistakable this time. I turned in time to see a shadow dart into an alleyway. Run! my mind screamed, but I was frozen in place. Terror flowed through my veins, turning my blood to ice and eating at the edges of my vision. Goosebumps dotted my flesh. Move! I whirled around and ran straight into a wall. I yelped, then screamed when the wall moved and put its hands on my shoulders.