Cotter Woods

Part 19

 My friends and I sat in silence. "Wait... what?" I said out loud, finally.

"That's her. T-that's Emily's friend." Aiden whispered.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's grab her and get out of here!" Dallas cheered.

"No! She's a normal lady! We can't just 'grab her' and run, Dallas! We need to tell her what's going on!" Asher argued.

"He's right. She will know what to do..." I said.

Then, she walked back in the room. "Okay, so, do you want to start looking for your friends now?" 

"Where is your water?" Camila asked her.

Layla stopped walking and sighed. "Okay, listen, I just talked to my 'neighbors' in there," She leaned in towards us, "That help we need to find Avery, and Diego, it's not just going to be calling out their names all day. Camila, you said the air picked Avery up?" Camila nodded. "It's not the air. It's the woods and it's a 'she.' There is a force holding these woods together, a very powerful force."

"What are you saying, lady?" Asher asked.

"Listen, I've only seen her once in physical form. She's a radiant young women, she's beautiful! We call her Cotter. But she is an angry spirit, kids."

"I seriously have no idea what you're saying," Camila whispered.

"These woods are haunted! Okay? By a woman, Cotter! And she controls everything here! She controls the weather, the trees, the animals, and anyone who dares step foot on her land!" Layla realized she was yelling, took a deep breath, and continued quieter, "Avery is in danger. She is probably scared and confused and the only thing that would keep Cotter from killing her is if she obeys . Which I doubt she will."

"This is insane," I heard Aiden say.

"Cotter is evil. If you see her, if she decides to walk among us in human form... don't trust her. She is manipulative and won't rest until she can control you all. You made a mistake coming here. Why would you do it? I know you didn't lose Avery and Diego before you came, so why?"

Aiden nudged me, insisting that I tell her the whole story. "Emily Whites sent us," Layla's eyes widened. "She said uh, her asylum friends were going to haunt us if we didn't try to find you,"

"Emily?! She's alive?! Oh, thank God. Asylum? W-what are you talking about? They put her in an asylum?" Layla lit up with questions.

"She's alive, yes. And, yes. A long time ago, they put her in Burgdorf's Hospital for the Mentally Ill. Apparently she told people what happened out here and they didn't believe her," Layla shook her head, "And now, the asylum is closed down, but she's still in it. We went there, just for a little fun, and she has been living in there ever since she was put in."

"What? Why? Why won't she move with her family upstate?" Her eyes were locked on mine. 

"She... um... she told us you wouldn't let her leave. She said that you told her to stay in the asylum." I said awkwardly.

Layla fell to her knees and covered her face. "It's Cotter, not me. Cotter is making her think I'm telling her to stay but I'm not! It's not me!"

"We believe you, miss." Camila said quietly.

"You said the asylum ghosts haunted you until you came out to find me and my friends?" She asked, looking up. I nodded. "No. That can't be. Cotter would have stopped them. She wanted you here. Cotter was haunting you, not Emily's ghost-friends." She ran her fingers through her hair.

"Why would mother nature's bitchy sister want us?" Dallas asked. 

Layla just shook her head slowly. "We need to get my friends. We have to find Avery and Diego and get you out of here as soon as possible." With that, she got up and ran back through the door she had just come out of. Once again, my friends and I sat in silence.