Afflicted

I stood still as my eyes adjusted back to the darkness again and heard my friends approaching behind me.

“I don't know how long I can keep walking,” Demi said loudly just before they caught up to me. “I'm still feeling unwell-“

“You'll feel a lot worse if something hears you complaining and comes to eat you,” Rose replied before anyone else could say anything.

“And we’ll all move slower if someone has to carry you,” Shilo added.

Demi scowled at them but didn't reply. Lacey moved a little faster than the others to reach my side and we led the way down the path.

“Have you seen or heard anything?” she whispered.

“Just an owl,” I reassured her. “And I don't think it sounded angry.”

“I hope not.” She took my hand and squeezed it tightly before releasing me again.

We headed on, deeper and deeper into the thick trees. We didn't jog anymore but kept up as quick of a walking pace as we could manage.

As the night grew darker, the temperature kept dropping. I huddled my shoulders low in my thin leather jacket and wished I'd listened to my mom when she'd told me to buy a warmer coat. Tiredness started to wear away at our resolve to keep moving and I stumbled more than once on the uneven trail.

“We have to stop,” Reese called eventually.

I turned back to frown at him and he inclined his head slightly towards Jason who looked half dead on his feet. Though I desperately wanted to get back to the safety of our house, I had to admit that a rest would be welcome.

A huge oak tree forced a bend in the path just ahead of us and we stopped and sat in the patch of barren ground beneath it. I hadn't been hiking through the forest in a long time but from memory I thought we were still pretty far from the river. It would take us hours to get home.

“This is the last of the food.” Lacey passed out the final paper bag full of cakes from the cafe and we all took something to eat.

I sat with my back pressed to the huge tree and slowly ate my food. A sapling grew beside my resting place. Its highest leaf kept tickling my ear as a breeze made it sway back and forth.

“Let’s rest for a few hours and move on. I can handle staying awake if any of you need to sleep,” Spencer offered.

Lacey finished handing out the food and came to sit beside me, her side resting against mine. I welcomed the small amount of heat I gained from the contact and rested my head on her shoulder.

“Why don't we build a fire?” Shilo suggested. “Animals will be frightened of it and we could definitely use the heat.”

There were murmurs of agreement and a few people started gathering firewood. It didn't take long for them to stack it up and Shilo set to work lighting it. I watched in silence, too tired to feel guilty about not helping. It was more than a simple tiredness of the body; I felt like my mind was teetering on an edge. If I pushed too hard one way or another it could easily snap.

A small spark became a flame which quickly built into a blaze. It was clear that Shilo knew what he was doing and I wriggled my feet as the heat started to warm my toes through my sneakers. Several of the others lay down around the fire but I preferred my spot against the tree.

My back was sheltered from anything that could come up behind us while the fire protected me from the front. And sitting up left me able to keep an eye on the shadows between the surrounding trees just in case. As the fire grew and its warmth washed over me, the chill started to ease from my bones. I began to relax and even feel a little safe.

I was sure I wouldn't be able to sleep but the dancing patterns in the flames were making my head spin. I closed my eyes to block it out, orange swirls staying imprinted beneath my eyelids until they slowly faded away.

I listened to the crackle of the fire and the steady rise and fall of Lacey's breath and began to wonder if I did fall asleep, was there any chance that I might wake up safe in bed. Remembering it all as some twisted nightmare?

“We should get going,” Reese said loudly somewhere near me.

I recoiled from his voice, scrunching my eyes shut in a feeble attempt to hold on to my sleep. If I didn't open my eyes then I couldn't be sure that I was still in the forest. Except that I could feel the hard trunk of the oak tree pressing against my back.

My neck was stiff where my head had hung forward and I rotated it slowly as I opened my eyes. I stretched my arms wide and my bracelet caught on the small sapling which blew back and forth above my head. I untangled myself and frowned at the sapling. I could have sworn it only came up to my ear before I'd gone to sleep.

“Am I going mad?” Spencer asked from somewhere to my left. “Because I can't find the trail any more.”

“It’s right in front of you,” I replied as I scrambled to my feet. I held a hand out to help Lacey up too and she smiled gratefully.

“It's not,” Spencer objected.

“It is,” I said with a sigh as I moved to point out the trail to him. “It curved right around this tree and carried on-“ I stopped talking as I raised my hand to point out the path. It wasn't where it should have been.