Chapter 3
Their
moods had been dampened by the conversations regarding both the
locket and the dreams, and Cass couldn't help but feel like it was
all her fault. Today was meant to be the perfect day. They had spent
so much time waiting for it, and had made sure to plan everything so
it would be just right. But as they drove down the street, the wind
rushing in through the windows drowning out the noise of the quiet
radio, Cass knew this day was far from perfect. She stared dismally
out her window. If only she had waited just a day – then they could
have enjoyed the trip to the flea market like they were supposed to.
She should have been smarter.
Even the sight of the hiking
trail a few minutes later failed to make her feel better.
They
parked the car. Got out. Went to get their things from the back.
Closed the doors. Talked a little bit about how beautiful the trees
were this time of year. Left the car in the small dirt parking lot.
Every action felt forced. They were just doing it because they had to
pretend that everything was alright, even though the dreams and the
locket weighed heavily on both of their minds.
The skies,
appropriately, began to darken as they started their hike. Clouds
covered the sun that had shone so brightly that morning. Cass looked
up at them for a minute before following Aspen down the trail,
absentmindedly adjusting the straps of her backpack as she put little
effort into bridging the growing distance between the two of them.
Aspen remained silent.
Cass didn't bother to start a
conversation up. What could they possibly talk about? Anything they
said would eventually return to the troubling matter of how she had
acted back in the flea market, and that would only make their moods
worse. She kept her head down. They had come for the beauty of the
trees towering above them, but all that Cass wanted to look at right
now was the dirt path at her feet and the footprints Aspen was
leaving behind in the mud.
They continued to walk in silence for
an indeterminable amount of time. Cass rarely raised her head. She
noticed many things during the walk – the increasingly muddy path,
how the sun peeked out from behind the clouds less and less, the moss
that clung to the sloping sides of the trail, and the familiar smell
that preceded rain – but she failed to give them much thought. She
just kept walking. The distance between them had become so great that
it would seem like they had come separately to any person they
passed, if there had actually be other hikers on the trail.
At
some point, she came to a stop when she noticed had far apart they
truly were. It was stupid to continue the hike when neither one of
them was enjoying it. At least a movie could make them both laugh; a
hike was only an opportunity to further their misery. She was about
to suggest that they turn back when there was an ominous roll of
thunder in the distance.
Aspen, who must have been so caught up
in her thoughts that she was no longer paying attention to the world
around her, looked noticeably started at the noise. In that moment,
they must have come to the same conclusion. A thunderstorm was on the
way, and they needed to get back to the jeep as fast as they could.
Aspen spun around. Cass stepped forward. And just as they tried to
get to each other, Aspen put her foot down on the wet moss on the
side of the path.
The
effect was immediate.
Aspen's foot began to slide down the moss.
She frantically tried to pick it up, but her other foot slipped
across the mud. The straps of her sandals dug into her ankles, and
she went tumbling down the side of the path into the woods. The slope
wasn't too sharp and didn't last for long, but something about the
fall made her cry out in pain.
Cass darted across the muddy path.
She knew that there was the risk of her slipping like Aspen had, but
she didn't care. Her best friend was in trouble. It was only when she
reached the place where Aspen had fallen that she finally slowed. She
carefully made her way down the small slope to where Aspen was trying
and failing to get to her feet. She was leaning up against the tree
closest to her, her clothes covered in mud and wet leaves. One foot
was firmly on the ground. The other was hesitantly wavering in the
air beside it.
The thunder rumbled, and rain started to fall from
the skies.
Cass stopped at her side. She was already trying to
assess the damage done by the fall – trying to tell herself that
things would be alright – but the truth was clear to see from
Aspen's hesitation to put her foot down. As the rain soaked through
their clothes, Aspen turned to look at her.
“Cassie?”
There
were tears in her eyes as she spoke.
And that was when Cass was
certain things had gone horribly wrong, because Aspen Lovelace never
cried over a minor scrap or bruise.
“I-I can't put my foot
down,” she said. There was terror in her voice, terror that only
intensified as another ominous roll of thunder shook through the
forest. “It hurts too much. I think...I think it might be broken.”
Cass was already searching for a branch that Aspen could use as
a temporary crutch. But even as she found one and hurried back to her
best friend, she knew it wouldn't be enough. Walking with the crutch
would slow down their pace considerably. They would never be able to
get back to their jeep in time. As if to confirm the horrifying
reality, thunder boomed overheard with a brilliant flash of
light.
Cass thrust the crutch into Aspen's hands. Aspen didn't
take it. She just stood there, looking at her with wide, terrified
eyes. “We're not going to beat the storm, are we?” she
questioned. Cass hesitated, then nodded. There was no point in hiding
it. “Would you be able to make it?”
She looked at how quickly
the rain was pouring, and felt how hard the wind was pushing against
her bare skin. “I don't think so.” She bit her lip and tried not
to cry. She had always been a careful hiker. She had always told
someone where she was going if she was on her own so they could find
her if she got lost. She always had her backpack on her. She always
had worn the proper clothes and footwear.
But she been stupid.
She had ignored all the warning signs, having been too caught up by
their earlier conversations to even worry about the possible
outcomes. And now they were stranded in the middle of the woods in
the middle of a thunderstorm, and Cass didn't know what they could
do.
She tried to reassure herself that things would be alright.
Getting killed by a lightning strike was a rare way to die, and the
possibility of them being hit when they couldn't even see the shape
of the lighting bolts-
There was another flash of light.
And,
as if the world wanted to prove her wrong, she could clearly make out
its shape.
The tears began to pour down her face, mixing with the
rain droplets that were already dotting her cheeks. Aspen was crying,
too. Maybe out of pain. Maybe out of fear. Cass didn't know. All that
she knew was that she was terrified of dying, and that this wasn't
how she wanted to go. She threw her arms around Aspen and pulled her
into a hug. Would this be the last time she hugged someone?
“Well,”
Aspen said, her voice quiet, “if I'm dying here, at least I get to
spend my last moments with you.”
The words should have
reassured her. The thought of her last moments being spent with her
best friend were almost poetic, but the thought of actually dying
ruined the illusion of a perfect ending. This wasn't how she wanted
to die. Maybe the storm would pass over them, and they wouldn't be
struck by lightning. It was, after all, a predictable thing. But she
wasn't ready to give up.
Not yet.
She pulled out of the
embrace. Making sure Aspen was holding the makeshift crutch, she
started to direct her away from the tree. Lighting struck the tallest
thing in an area. Standing underneath a tall tree would only heighten
their risk of getting killed by a lighting bolt. She tried to get
Aspen to use the crutch in the way that it was intended, but Aspen
stubbornly continued to just hold it in her hands.
“Cassie,”
she said, “I don't think we're going to survive this.”
She
shook her head. “We're going to make it.”
“We're not going
to make it to the jeep-”
“I know!” Cass exclaimed. There
was terror in her voice, but the adrenaline coursing through her
veins gave her a burst of a courage she didn't know she had. “But
I'm not ready to just sit by and let ourselves get killed when
there's something we can do to prevent it.”
Aspen fell silent.
It was impossible to tell if her argument had served its purpose, or
if Aspen had decided that she didn't want to spend her last moments
arguing.
Light began to fill the sky, immediately followed by
another loud clap of thunder. It was hopeless. They'd never find a
way to escape this storm, not when their only guaranteed shelter was
too far away from them. But she still kept scanning the woods for
something – anything – that could save them. It was her fault
that they had gotten into this mess in the first place, and she would
never be able to forgive herself
in the afterlife if they died because of her.
I
need to protect Aspen.
As
the sound of the thunder died down, there was a sudden burst of
warmth from something right in front of her. Distracted by the
bizarre feeling, she looked down. The warmth was unfolding from her
locket – why else would it be emitting such a comforting golden
glow? The warmth was racing across her body now, covering every inch
of both bare skin and clothing. The glow became stronger. Now the
warmth was was passing from her hand to Aspen's, enveloping the both
of them as the light abruptly grew so bright that it blinded
her.
She instinctively closed her eyes.
There was a burst of
warmth.
Then Cass no longer felt the rain on her skin.
“Whoa,”
Aspen said from beside her.
Cass opened her eyes.
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