The Vain Escape

The woods closed in around me with a thick, thick fog only making it worse. There was nothing visible through this except the grotesque iron maiden that lay next to a hole in the ground by a fire. Whatever it was for, I was making damned sure not to stick around to find out. Twigs snapped around me and I heard a wild wailing but it seemed so much farther away than where I currently was. That was good. It wasn’t the kind of wailing the compulsed me to help the person making the sound. No, it was a malicious sob that instilled a paralyzing fear. The kind of screams that were more like a maternal battle cry than someone in need of help. Those were the kind of screams I didn’t mind running from.

My heart stopped dead in its tracks when I ran into something that was moving. I fell to the ground, terrified to see this creature. What if it was an accomplice of the Wailing Thing’s? I cowered, accepting my fate when a lukewarm touch gripped my hand. “You’re new”, the creature said in a human voice. Silently, I chanced a glance only to find a man with chocolate curls and big brown eyes trying his best to smile at me. “Hey, don’t be scared”, he cooed. “I’m Vic. I’m here to help.”

“Where are we?” I questioned. I couldn’t remember how the Hell I’d gotten into this forest. Vic frowned as he scratched his own head.

“I don’t know, myself”, he admitted. “But I have friends and that’s something we’re working on. We have a base if you want to follow me. The creatures don’t like the campfire.”

“Creatures?” I asked.

Vic’s eyes turned pitiful as he pulled me off the ground. “You’ll find out come nightfall. For now though, we should stick together. I’ll introduce you to my friends.” I nodded and followed him. Maybe it was stupid to trust someone in such a strange place, a place filled with a gloomy fog and terrifyingly confusing trees but at the moment, he seemed like the best option. Vic hushed me when I made a loud noise and nimbly climbed over trees or through grass. I tried to mimic his silent movements but barely managed to keep up with him while doing it. After a seemingly long amount of time, I saw flickering light that came from a small encampment. A few souls shambled amongst it, either by tents or by the fire itself. A girl with dual coloured hair bolted up to greet Vic as we approached.

“You found someone!” she gasped. “Guys! Guys, Vic found another one!”

The others, and there were about three of them, turned to look at us. “Who are you?” demanded a man with curls messier than Vic’s. His accent was English. How had he come to....well I guess this was still America judging by Vic and the girl’s accent.

“Alex Veil”, I said.

“She’s normal”, Vic added quickly. “And I heard the Banshee when I found her.”

“No”, whined the two-toned girl.

“Let’s not freak her out!” exclaimed another girl in the group. She came at me with open arms and short black hair. “I’m Demi”, she informed. “That’s Ashley. Rude over there is Harry. And Andy’s somewhere sulking in the back.”

“I am not sulking!” protested Andy.

“Do any of you know what this place is?” I inquired.

“The Observatory or Camp”, Harry stated, approaching with a map. In the middle of the paper was a crudely drawn tent labeled “Camp”. “During the day, we stay here and try to find out what we can about the environment.”

“Then what were you doing out?” I questioned, looking to Vic.

“We take turns scouting”, Harry said.

“Vic’s just the best one at it”, Demi smiled. “Harry’s the one that takes the notes and studies the locations. It helps having a history geek on your side! Andy and Ashley are both former engineers. There’s these gates at each location that only open once the power gets up and running.”

“So what are you, then?” I wondered.

Demi shifted sheepishly as Vic clasped an arm around her. “Demi was a nursing student and she patches us up when we get hurt”, he announced.

“When you get hurt?” I repeated.

“It’s a dangerous world”, Harry muttered coldly.

“Whatever it is”, Demi began, pulling my hand so I’d sit with her at the fire. “Don’t worry about it, okay? You’ll find out when night falls.”

“In which case, she’d probably be best learning with Miley”, Ashley whimpered.

“Miley?” I wondered.

“She’s asleep right now”, Vic hushed. “Just don’t worry. There’s nobody better that you could learn from. For now...Demi will tell you about the camp.”

I nodded and let the others go back to what they were doing as Demi started telling me about each different person in the camp. They all had things they could offer to this team of stranded souls. I had nothing other than a failed hand at writing. I learned about some of their quirks, like it was best to never bother Miley or Harry unless I was looking for a screaming match. The fire never went out and Ashley, being scared of the dark, would always be by it. Andy would typically try tinkering to keep himself busy unless it was his turn to scout which was very rare since Vic liked to do it most of the time. Miley was another very good scout who had an understanding of almost everyone’s specialty though she wasn’t quite as equal in each field as the other person was. Demi added that because Miley had been a druggie and thus in and out of hospitals, they would frequently make jokes about different medical things and it saddened Demi knowing she had something she could use to bond with one Observatory member but not really the others.

“Don’t worry though. We always take care of each other”, Demi finished. “Always. The light isn’t always caused by the fire. Sometimes, it’s caused by a team mate.”

While I didn’t know what was going to come, I made sure I’d be a team mate so they couldn’t abandon me in this wicked forest.

Notes

I started this a while ago but never posted it so here it is :D