dark places - jb & ag {completed}

{two}

"Why did you stop?" I asked, feeling a bit off. Okay – a little more than a bit off, to be honest.

"We're here," she said, smiling widely, then got out of the car. "C'mon, let's go."

"Sophie! We're in the middle of nowhere!" My eyes were wide open and my tone was disbelieving.

"We can't take the car any further. There are no roads to take us to where the party is; we have to walk the rest of the way." She explained as if it was the easiest thing to do on earth.

"Ugh! Unbelievable," I exclaimed as I left the car, pushing the door closed.

Sophie took her cellphone out of her purse and tried to find the way with the little light that the screen provided. It was ridiculous. Just ridiculous.

"How do you know the way?" I asked, frustrated and annoyed. There were no cars where we'd parked Sophie's. There was no light, and there was no sound aside from the crunching leaves under our feet. There was just nothing. "How do you even know it's the right place?"

"I was here last year, Ari. Don't worry, we're almost there."

Her words didn't do anything to ease the feeling I had in my gut. It felt wrong, just wrong, so wrong. Everything around me screamed, 'WRONG.' The place was creepy and it was very quiet, very dark, and kind of cold – which alone was strange in itself, for our small town was always hot for most of the year, if not all.

A bird or something flew from one tree to another, causing me to scream in fear at the sound of the leaves moving against each other. I gripped Sophie's arm tightly and looked all around in fear.

Sophie just laughed. She was so lame sometimes, I swear.

"This doesn't feel right. Sophie, I want to go back!"

"C'mon, Ari, don't be such a baby. Look, we're almost there." She pointed to the darkness. I looked to where she was pointing and didn't see anything at first, but with a bit concentrating I could see the faint sign of light ... fire?

After some more walking and some more complaining from my side to Sophie, I could see clearly that it was a campfire. What kind of party is this? Barbeque? I thought to myself. Lots of the people there looked ... I don't know, it was just – they looked strange. There weren't many people there, no more than forty or fifty, maximum. Many of them weren't wearing a costume, just a suit or a tux. The feeling of how wrong it was to be in that place hit me hard in the chest again. I tightened my grip on Sophie's arm while my other hand tightened on my purse where my pepper spray was, ready and waiting to be used. Fear crept into my heart more with every passing second and every newly taken step.

I shouldn't, I shouldn't, I shouldn't. I found myself chanting in my head. But then I thought, the things you do for those you love ... and the thought was enough to make me go on.

I sighed and decided to just keep going and try to enjoy myself. It was for Sophie, after all, and I'd do anything for her – there was no question. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought it would be, right? I hoped so.

By the time I had finished the beer I drank only in an attempt to wash down the terrible feeling I had in my gut, Sophie had scanned the entire place and everyone at the party searching for the guy she'd come here to meet – more than one time. The worry I had for her increased by the second as I saw her smile fall just a bit more with every new face in the crowd that wasn't that certain face she was looking for. I was afraid of her reaction if we eventually went home without finding him, but I had no idea what I should do.

I just stood there awkwardly, swaying a little to the music playing in the background – though I had no idea where it was coming from – and chatting with Sophie in the hopes of distracting her, but it was useless, she was barely able to keep up with the conversations we had. I ended up disappointed because she wouldn't stop looking for him, of course.