Hilda and The Watchtower

Chapter 2: Fire Watchtower 4

As the night had come and the campers had settled in, above resting were the park rangers, who made sure all was well in the park. Many say this was an easy job, but that could not be said for the one ranger in watchtower Four. It wasn't the loneliness that bothered him, nor the idea of children finding the tower, curious of what he did up there. It was something that many would likely call him crazy for believing in.

Crazy or not, there was still something that screamed at him inside for failing. He looked at the bulletin board setup on one of his windows, looking back at the missing posters of hikers that had disappeared in Gracewind park, along drawings, sketchings, and rumored sightings of a monster that supposedly haunted the park: The Gracewind Goatman.

Tower Two: "Tower Four, this is Tower Two. Hourly radio check. You there? Over."

The ranger of tower 4 did not seem to hear the fellow ranger at first. His mind was lost in the thoughts of when he encountered the last hikers who went missing. Maybe it wasn't his fault, but it felt so much like it was. He should have done better, he shouldn't have made any mistakes. If he had just made sure who he was talking to, maybe those hikers would've...

Tower Two: "You there, buddy?"

Snapping out of his trance, the ranger looked over to his radio.

Tower Two: "Come in, Tower Four. Do you copy? Over."

He got up from his position and made his way over to the radio, leaning into the microphone and holding the red button to transmit his voice over.

Tower Four: "Tower Two, This is Tower Four. I copy. Over."

Tower Two: "Good to hear, Tower Four. Taking off for the night. Park's all yours. Over."

After this message, the ranger looked out his window to see Tower 2 in the distance, just in time to see the lights in the tower go out. Hopefully, this night will go better, as this area of the park should be closed off from the campers. Returning to the bulletin board, he examined the Goatman sketches closely. Despite all his guilt and self-blame, there was a monster hurting good people out in this park.

People just need to believe, to understand what he experienced that night. This world is no stranger to dangerous creatures that the common man wouldn't find, so why won't any special forces, or higher groups of protection come to find these people? What don't they understand that these disappearances aren't just scary stories to tell people...?

???: "Hello?"

The ranger jolted, looking back at the radio. That voice sounded... young... very young... Was it one of the campers? Why would they be on the radio at this time? In fact, why would he receive a transmission from them?

???: "Hello? I-is anyone there?"

There was something in that little voice that made his blood run cold, like if she had been crying for some time. He could have sworn he heard an animal whining through the transmission.

He quickly made his way to the radio and began to speak to the girl.

Tower Four: "Copy. This is Fire Tower Four, who is this? Over."

He barely heard her make out a gasp of relief. Maybe she wasn't a camper... Maybe she had just been out late and got lost...

Hilda: "M-my name is Hilda. I'm with the sparrow scouts."

With that, his worry had only begun.

Tower Four: "Hilda, if I may ask, how did you connect to this channel? Is everything okay? Over."

Hilda: "I... I saw this channel listed on one of the trails out here. And no, I need you to help me. Me and my pet deerfox, Twig, are lost and something is chasing us! Please help us!"

As he feared, she was found by it...

Tower Four: "Calm down. You need to stay calm, Hilda. Where are you? Are you close to your camp? Over."

The static that filtered the child's voice was not enough to hide the painful sobs that the ranger heard coming through...

Hilda: "I don't know! Twig thought he heard something, and when we tried to look, something started chasing us, so we started running! Please, you have to help us!"

Tower Four: "Please, stay calm. I'm going to turn on the flood lights briefly; the switch is broken so I can only hold the lights for a little bit. Try to look for them and come towards it. Over."

The ranger rushed outside to the tower's deck and pushed the flood light switch up. A big source of light flooded the area below, brightening up the land.

Hilda: "Yes! I-I see them! We're going to come to you! Thank you!"

As the ranger pulled his hand away from the switch, the floodlights immediately dimmed away. All he could do now was mark where she was going on the map and hope for her to make it. He made his way inside and studied the map on the opposite wall of the bulletin board. There have been four hikers that went missing in this infernal park, and he had to make sure that he would not lose another one.

Hilda: "Hey, we're at a break in the road at... the end of the Carnation Rock Trail. Where should we go?"

The ranger quickly pinned her location at the break in Hilda's path on the map.

Tower Four: "Take the left path. Over."

Hilda: "Okay, thank you... Over."

It hadn't been too long before another transmission began to go through. The ranger was just about to tell Hilda to relax, and possibly not run as it's slightly more risky since it's dark now, but there was a message for him he hadn't anticipated in a while.

Hilda?: "One... Mistake..."