The Encounter

Chapter 3

“ So, is there any actual reason why we’re just standing around like a group of hobos?” Victoria questioned. Her eyebrows were raised and lips turned down slightly at the corners. Lila could feel the soft smile she had been sporting slowly morphing into a slight frown. The atmosphere had been nostalgic, but of course Victoria would ruin it. Lila let out a self suffering sigh as she shrugged to herself. She wouldn’t want Victoria to be any other way, or else she wouldn’t be the girl she had grown to love like a sister. Charlie looked at them both his expression dry and just a little bit salty.

“Are we just going to stand around smiling at eachother, or are we going to get going?” His tone really wasn’t improving Lila’s attitude with him at all. Lila scoffed at Charlie as she threw him the middle finger salute before linking her arms with Victoria’s. Victoria and Lila skipped their way from the car down a thin eroded dirt trail that twisted its way into the forest. They would be camping in that forest for the weekend.

Victoria and Charlie were both still seniors in high school while Lila was in her sophomore year in college. Lila could feel her years weighing heavily on her and felt a faint pulse of panic settle into her bones. She had said it before and would continue to tell her family and friends that she wasn’t ready for all the responsibility that came with age. It didn’t help her case at all that she had generalized anxiety disorder. Most days she forgot to take her medicine since she wasn’t always up the wall with worrying about every single thing. There were of course the bad days when the anxiety would cause a panic attack and a fit of depression that always seemed to piggyback off of her panic attacks.

She was distracted from this train of thought as the the tree branches whipped her from all sides. It caused the slightest of abrasions on her cheek and forearms, though not deep enough to draw blood. They finally broke into the clearing after about half of an hour of abuse from the trees. The grass here was trampled from years of people passing through or setting camp here. It was the ideal spot to camp and though it was beautiful, the trio were not average campers. So they continued on past the clearing down to a wider trail that was just as twisted as the first. Lila didn’t want to think about how easy it would be for them to get lost if they happened to go to far off the trail. Hell, if she remembered correctly, a few campers had gotten lost here a year or so earlier. Only two of the six people had been found, and both were deceased.

Lila shivered almost imperceptibly as the hair on the back of her neck raised. Her skin was feeling tight and painful. A con of her anxiety disorder and not taking her medicine was the sense of paranoia she often had to deal with.

“Man, my feet are already throbbing,” Victoria complained with a wince clear on her face. She was slowly starting to limp because of the amount of time they had been walking. Lila almost made a comment but was a little bummed when Charlie beat her to it.

“That’s what she said,” Charlie hollered from behind Lila nonchalantly. Lila had to cough to cover the chuckles that were bursting in her chest. Man, Charlie’s humor was old school but very welcome compared to the puns people usually used these days. Victoria had no such luck as she suddenly sputtered out a laugh, almost choking from the abruptness of the laugh. Lila shook her head with a small upward curve to her lips as she continued on past Victoria who had stopped to catch her breath.

The trees were once again getting closer together and as Lila walked to close, a branch caught her cheek and split it open. Small rivulets of blood flowed down her face, warm and uncomfortable. It didn’t hurt nearly as bad as the burn that accompanied the papercuts she often got. The soft tissue in her cheek was exposed to the dust and pollen that floated through the air. Lila swiped at the blood but otherwise decided to ignore the minor wound as they traversed deeper into the woods, looking for a place to set up camp. Lila knew they would need to hurry since it would be getting dark out soon, and they would need to see to set up their tents.

The sudden rustle of the leaves in the thick of the trees to her right made her jump and clutch at her chest as a small bird flew off. She could almost hear Victoria coming up with a smart comment on what she had just witnessed.

“Hush it Victoria,” Lila beat her to it with a slight edge to her voice that gave away the fact she was exhausted. Victoria just raised her hands in surrender, a sharp smile on her face. The sight of which caused Lila to grumble to herself.

The trees were beginning to thin out again, and Lila looked around the small clearing they had found themselves.

“Well, do you guys think this ia a good place to set camp?” Lila questioned while looking at the untouched grass in front of them. Victoria gave her approval by setting down her bag before laying on her back to stare up at the sky that was just visible in the canopy of the trees. It was getting to be late afternoon, and Lila knew this.

“Alright then,” Lila cheered and began the long process of setting up her tent. Her own bag had been dropped on the ground next to Victoria’s who seemed determined to not move from her spot. Charlie, always the motivator, called out to Victoria with an almost sickly sweet tone he always used when making a point.

“If you don’t set up your tent Vic, I won’t give you any of Lila and I’s smores.” Victoria let out a gasp of horror as she brought her hand up to point at Charlie, while Lila laughed quietly.

“You wouldn’t dare mister,” Victoria announced but she still forced herself up and began to set up her own tenet. Charlie cheered to himself then quietly whistled to himself innocently when Victoria glared in his direction. Lila shook her head with a beaming smile on her lips as she finished setting up her own tent. She wouldn’t give up her friends for the world.