Whisper

Chapter 6, Follow The Little Black Road

I sway back and forth, hanging on to a low branch with only my right hand. Swinging hard, I gather enough momentum, and hoist myself so that I am now upright. I spring from one branch to another, making my way from tree to tree as I go. When I find myself close enough to the ground so that I can jump of one that I am standing on, and not become injured by the fall, I continue what I am doing anyway; it seems to be more fun to jump from branch to branch alongside a trail, than to actually walk on it.
Eventually the branches escalate above me, and I find that it is a better idea to walk on the ground than risk a head injury, from slipping off of yet another branch. Now stepping on the shallow paved tail, I find that it seems to be more twisted than I remember seeing, although it now occurs to me that I didn't exactly get a chance to look this far.
The thought of myself being partially lost crosses my mind, I quickly dismiss the fact, knowing that if I am indeed lost it is best that I do not think about it. If I do indeed ponder over that one little thing, I know that it will only lead to my actually getting lost, after trying to fix my situation. I continue to walk along the small gap in the undergrowth currently surrounding me. I look into the tangle of branches and thorns, I decide that it is in my best interests to avoid straying from the path at this particular point in the journey. I made the decision purely from regretting past mistakes, remembering all of the several times that I have encountered local gardens that are accompanied by raspberries.
As I look ahead to the twists and turns ahead of me, I see that they appear to be thinning out. Deciding that I might be a bit more efficient if I'd take a break every now and then, I veer off of the path, and lean against a tree, and just breathe for a while. Looking to my surroundings, I spot an anomaly in the pattern of green and various shades of brown. I walk towards the item that has caught my attention. Looking at it now, I see that what has caught my eye is a car. Could this be the next victim, I think as I place my hand on the hood of the car. I stand there, examining the vermilion exterior of the car, admiring the sleek shine of the paint. Now looking at the car itself, I become consumed in the pure beauty of the foreign looking design of the frame.
I see that the entire front of the vehicle is completely covered in broken branches, and wilting leaves from nearby trees. I examine the bumper and see that there are a few visible dents, indicating that the car had a rough ride down the hill. As I look behind it I see that there appears to be no path leading up to the car, suggesting the unique possibility that it may have just dropped from the sky. Actually considering the possibility, I look up to the narrow space between the branches, and see that none of them are broken. This confirms my suspicions that that really didn't happen.
Confused, I look around me and see that all of the trees are spaced at a maximum of three feet, which if I may add is not enough space to fit a car in between. Dismissing the mystery, seeing as it is that I am severely dehydrated, and most likely delusional as a result, I turn back towards the car to examine the car for just a bit longer.
Looking through the windshield, I see that there seems to be a person in the driver's seat. Making my way to the side of the car, I put my hand on the door handle, and pull. I stumble back in astonishment as I find that the door was unlocked. Quickly putting my arm in front of my nose, I close the door, and back up an additional five feet or so, as if to escape the stench from the stale air that had escaped the car. Slowly lowering my forearm from my face, I find that the wind had swept away the strong scent of decay that had come from inside the piece of machinery.
Knowing that the decomposition of the corpse is far too advanced to be within a week, I assume that he had been dead for at least two. I didn't recognize the driver, and I wasn't just about ready to risk the health of my only lungs to try again. Walking around the car, I return to my former post, just in front of the hood, I pull out my phone, as an effort to take a picture of the scene. However my actions are stopped, as I see that the screen of my phone has been replaced by white, grey and black dots, fizzing in and out.
Figuring that it was just a malfunction, I turn back marking along the trail where I had stopped. Also knowing that this would prove to be useful if I were to ever want to find the car. I turn around and scan the trail behind me, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something. This was nothing more than a flicker at the edge of my vision, but none the less it rattled my bones with the uneasy feeling that I was being watched. Now hearing a branch crack a few paces behind me, I whirl around and find that I was indeed being watched.
The only thing is that I am ninety percent sure that the flicker at the edge of my vision was not a chipmunk. Damn, those things really make a lot of noise considering how small they are. Quickly dismissing the thought that had popped into my head, I lean over the frozen animal. I make a quick snatch for it, and draw up my hand clutching its tail.
I cup my hands around the animal, and talk to it, saying the words,"You know, acting like you are frozen in time doesn't actually freeze time. What do you care anyways, it isn't as if you actually understand me. Look over there, its a crazy person talking to a fricken rodent, you're actually kind of cute, I think that I'm gonna keep you." I say to the silent creature, slipping my makeshift ring off of my finger, and clip it around the furry creature's neck, as if to form somewhat of a collar.
I know that in my situation it is not exactly healthy to talk to random things even if they are in fact living beings, but I am getting lonely walking alone in the woods. It is almost calming to have something else in my company. Feeling the need to make the animal more realistic as my new pet, I take off one of my necklaces, and enclose the ring in the metal clasp. As I do this, I find that it gives the creature a stylish look, with its new blinged out collar, and its dazzling silver leash. Clipping on an additional necklace to the other, I extend it enough so that I can set the creature on the ground, and have it walk alongside me. Finding as I step forward that the creature doesn't seem to want to move, I scoop the brown fuzzball into my hand, and continue along the long path.
Hearing another twig snap behind me, I whirl around to catch a glimpse of where the sound came from. Seeing as I am the only one that appears to be on the path, I turn around and begin to walk on the path from which I came. Peering around the corner I become even more intrigued, as I see the leaves swirling on the path, signaling that there was indeed someone here.
Continuing to pursue the possibility, I pick up my speed as to match theirs. Watching the path behind me, I look down, and see that the leaves momentarily lifted off of the ground, just as they did before. I paste a smug little smile on my face, and head back along the trail. Moving at a quicker pace, my long caramel hair flows behind me, creating an elegant effect in this chase.
Seeing as though I've doubled their speed, I know that I will catch up to them soon. Bracing myself on a nearby trunk, I gracefully leap over a fallen tree. Feeling my feet touch the ground again, I make my way along the cracked black pavement. As I turn the corner, I find that the air has been stolen from my lungs, as I stand in silence staring in terror at the figure standing before me.