Echoes (Whisper Trilogy Book 2) (12 page)

“I’m glad you did. What happened between us… it was a mistake, a bit of drunken fun.”

Emma nodded and wiped her face. “Yeah, you made it clear enough.”

“Look, I don’t want this to be awkward. I love you completely as a friend. Nothing more.”

“I’ll be a laughing stock. I’ll never live it down.”

“Nobody will ever know, okay? I promise.”

“I’ll know.”

“We’ll know. And that’s as far as it will ever go. You’re my best friend. I care about you.”

“I appreciate it… thank you,” Emma replied, staring at her feet. “So what do we do now?”

“Nothing. Not now, not here with the boys able to eavesdrop. When we get back, we’ll get together and talk about it. Try to understand it together.”

“How can you be so calm about this?” Emma said.

“I don’t see anything we need to get upset about. We have a misunderstanding here caused by a drunken night. It looks like it’s caused some confusion. Either way it’s nothing we can’t sort out by talking things through. A couple of weeks from now, we’ll laugh about this.”

“And there won’t be any awkwardness between us?”

“Hell no, we’ve been through too much together already. I think we’re stronger than this,” Carrie said, giving Emma a hug.

“Come on,” she said as she released her grip. “We better get back before the boys do something stupid.”

“It’s a bit late for that. Those guys are always having dumb ideas. To be honest, I don’t much feel like doing this anymore. Dragging up all those old memories has put me off a little. I just want to go home.”

“I don’t particularly want to be here either. I also don’t want you hurting yourself trying to get through these woods in the dark and risking having an accident. How about we just leave the guys to it and go to the tent? First thing in the morning we can get out of here. We can even talk about this… situation if you like?”

“I don’t want to talk, not here anyway.”

“Then we won’t talk about it. Not until you feel you want to.”

“I appreciate it. Can we just forget everything that happened, just for tonight?”

“Of course we can,” Carrie replied, giving her another hug. “We need to stick together anyway against the raging sea of male hormones.”

Emma managed a smile, and some of the awkwardness went away.

“Shall we head back?” Carrie said. “I don’t like leaving the guys on their own for too long. You know what they’re like when they start drinking.”

“Good idea. Actually, before we go, I wanted to ask you something about Cody.”

“About the weird way he’s been acting?”

“Yeah,” Emma said, starting to make her way back towards the clearing. “I thought it was my imagination.”

“I noticed it too. He seems distracted or something.”

“Do you think he’s okay?”

“Yeah, I think so. I get the feeling this place is freaking him out and he’s just too proud to show it. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were all the same.”

“Does it scare you? This place, I mean?”

Carrie didn’t answer at first, and Emma was about to repeat the question when her friend responded.

“I don’t know. Something definitely feels unusual here. The natural energy of the place seems off somehow, you know?”

“I know what you mean. It’s like the feeling you’re being watched, only all the time.”

“I was brought up to believe everything has an aura, an energy which affects people around it. That’s why I think certain areas are classed as bad, or rough. It’s the energy of the earth in those locations which affects people.”

“I’ve heard of that,” Emma said. “Some claim to be able to see auras around people too, lets them read someone’s mood.”

Carrie nodded. “I’m a big believer in it. Spiritual energy and all that stuff. This place feels like some kind of void.”

“What do you mean?”

“Imagine two magnets pushing against each other. Their forces cancel each other out. This place feels like the space in the middle where the energy has a negative effect and leaves a black spot.”

“It’s a more interesting theory than ghosts,” Emma said with a smile.

“I think the two are linked. Good spirits are attracted to good energy and vice versa.”

“So a place like this would only attract bad spirits?”

“Maybe, I really don’t know what to think about it to be honest with you. I’m still trying to process it.”

They were nearing the clearing now and stopped their conversation, content to walk in silence for a while.

“Where did you two run off to?” Alex said as the two girls reappeared. He produced another bottle of vodka and took a swig before handing it to Scott, who was equally on his way to being shit-faced.

“Nowhere, I just wanted a bit of quiet.”

“Is everything alright?” Cody asked, the only one of the boys who was still sober.

“Yeah, I’m fine, thanks,” Emma said, letting her eyes linger on his for a moment.

“Well, come on you two, let’s do this,” Alex said, patting the ground beside him and giving Carrie a leering glare.

“Count us out. We’re going to turn in early.”

“No way, are you fucking kidding me? It’s still early!” Alex whined as Scott looked on, swaying slightly where he sat.

“You boys feel free to play with yourselves as much as you like. We’re going to bed.”

“You were going to show us how to use it. You said you would show us how to make it work.” Alex slurred.

“You boys will have to just figure it out for yourselves, won’t you?”

Emma was grateful for Carrie’s ability to control the situation. As it was, she was just about able to stop herself from crying again.

“Your loss,” Alex cackled. “When we make contact and you miss it, don’t blame us.”

“I’m sure you’ll be first to let us know,” Carrie grunted.

Alex gave her the middle finger which was swiftly responded to in kind, before the two girls clambered into their tent. They could see the dull flickering light from the fire through the pale green canvas walls, and heard Alex and Scott engaging in a drunken debate about how to best go about conducting the Ouija session.

Emma was sure she would be too frustrated and angry to get any sleep, and had already decided that if she would have to, she would fake it, if only to avoid having to discuss what had happened. Both girls clambered into their respective sleeping bags, lying in silence for a while.

“Hey, Em?” Carrie whispered in the dark.

“Yeah?”

“Everything will be okay. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” she replied, not in the least bit convinced. She turned on her side, away from the other girl, staring at the flickering light of the fire which danced against the tent walls. She closed her eyes and, against all odds, drifted into a deep sleep.

V

Heat.

Emma woke to find the tent had become a raging furnace of heat. The thin lining of the tent walls were now a fiery orange. She scrambled to sit up, intending to wake Carrie, only to find she was gone, her sleeping bag half-unzipped and empty. Outside, she could see silhouettes, dozens of elongated humanoid shapes dancing around the tent. The sound of fire roared in her ears, and the ground shook with what sounded like a thousand feet stomping in unison. Through the thin canvas, and beyond the dancing marionette-like shadows, she saw a shape, a mound of some kind which was impossible to comprehend. She knew well enough what it was. There were sharp shadows of arms and feet protruding from the mass. As if to further confirm her fears, two of the misshaped shadows picked up a body, one at the hands and one at the feet, and tossed it onto the pile. She heard it land with a searing hiss, and warm air pushed against her face, tainted with the stench of seared flesh and burnt hair. The shadows were charging the tent now, starting off light like wispy smoke and growing more solid in shape and appearance as they approached, slapping their hands against the material, their chanting becoming a cauldron of noise as they repeated the same passage with increasing aggression.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

She heard other sounds now. Anguished wails of pain. Alex’s voice somehow rose above the deafening wall of noise surrounding her, quiet and afraid as he begged one of the unseen things for mercy. The tent unzipped itself, and the twin door-flaps billowed inwards, showing her what was happening outside. Cody was by the giant mound of burning corpses, his naked body writhing against Carrie. Emma watched as she clawed at Cody’s back, pulling great chunks of flesh away from bone as Cody gritted his teeth and moaned in delight. Scott was sitting cross-legged beside them, the contents of his stomach cavity pooled on and around his legs. She watched as he gave a dopey, bloody-mouthed grin and ate a lump of his own innards, swallowing them down and catching them as they fell into the empty space where his stomach should have been. He chuckled and repeated the process, this time selecting a slick snake of intestines. She was desperate to turn away, yet couldn’t move. Her eyes were being forced open, her head held in place. Something wanted her to watch this ghastly display. The wind began to howl, whistling through the tent and pushing the stench of hot, burning flesh smell onto her.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

We are the wood and the trees, and the blood-soaked earth.

We are the things that live in the dark, all seeing but unseen.

A figure approached the tent, a black form silhouetted against the raging fire at its back. The dancing creatures were now in frenzy, slapping the canvas with what appeared to be a thousand hands. The figure crouched by the entrance, and as it did, the light of the fire caught its face, bringing its features into stark clarity.

It was him. Donovan.

He reached for her, his arm part human, part tree branch. Emma scrambled back. Donovan’s cold mutated hand brushed against her skin, then closed around her throat. It spoke to her, its hissed words garbled and wet as it squeezed down on her windpipe.

No loose ends.

She screamed as the cackling thing lurched into the tent towards her.

She woke with a start, disorientated, confused and very afraid.

Just about managing to swallow the scream, she let out a short whimper instead. For a moment, Emma was lost in limbo between the world of her dream and reality, and then it all came into focus. Gone was the hellish orange glow and misshapen Donovan thing. Instead, it was exactly as it should be – the soft glow of a pre-dawn morning, casting everything in muted shadows. She sighed with gratitude, as to have sunlight streaming through the tent walls would only have brought vivid memories of her dream all too close to home. Carrie slept soundly beside her, breathing gently, her nose wheezing slightly as she exhaled.

Flustered and shaken up more than she dared to admit, she pulled on her shoes and unzipped the tent.

There were no burning bodies. No chanting shadow people. Cody, Alex and Scott were sitting around the fire, the bleary look in their eyes evidence of their lack of sleep.

“Jesus, you look like shit,” Alex said, shifting his position. She looked at them in turn, then at the dense woodland surrounding the clearing. Dream or no dream, she could feel the presence of those things from her dream watching her from the shadows.

“Hey, are you alright? You don’t look so good…” Scott said. She looked at him and, for a moment, saw the Scott from her dream, the one covered with blood and looking as happy as a pig in shit as he devoured his own entrails.

“I’m fine,” she managed to stammer as she walked towards the fire, crouching beside it and warming her hands. She could feel Alex staring at her.

“What?” she snapped, glaring at him across the flames.

“Nothing. Just wondering why you look the most hung over when we drank all the booze.”

“Rough night, didn’t sleep well.”

“We didn’t sleep at all, did we Scotty?” Alex said, nudging Scott in the arm.

Emma glanced to the discarded Ouija board by Alex’s tent.

“How did things work out for you last night?”

“Don’t ask,” he said, frowning at the wooden board in disgust. “Stupid fuckin’ thing didn’t work. What a letdown.”

“I don’t know what you expected.”

“I don’t know… I just assumed something would happen. I mean in a creepy ass place like this…” He shrugged and let out a deep, boozy belch.

“Nice…”

“You’re welcome.”

“Well, when you boys are ready, I wanna get out of here. I need a hot shower and a change of clothes,” Emma said, hugging herself against the chill.

“Yeah, I’ve had my fill of this place too,” Alex said, giving the abandoned Ouija board another sour glare. “Let’s wake Carrie up and get the hell out of here.”

She nodded, turning her attention to Cody. He still didn’t seem to be himself.

“Are you alright, Cody?” she asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You sure? You seem a little bit quieter than normal.”

“I’m fine. Just tired I think.”

“Tell me about it. Let’s get our stuff together and get the hell out of here.”

She stood and stretched while Scott and Alex began to tidy up their discarded drinks bottles and snack wrappers.

Emma began to walk towards her tent, when she heard Cody speak, his words bringing back the previous night’s dream with harsh clarity.

“Make sure you take everything with you. We can’t let anyone know we were out here.” He looked at her directly, his eyes fierce, a half smile on his lips. “No loose ends, okay?”

She could only muster a nod as she retreated to her tent. She didn’t look back, but didn’t have to – she felt Cody’s eyes on her the entire way back.