Chapter 12: Encroaching Darkness

We got off the bus in a little town north of Arcadia Bay. According to the maps we went over, it was just under six miles from Arcadia Bay, but wide-open wilderness stood between here and there. The road going to Arcadia Bay wound around those woods, and it was almost twenty miles to get there. After paying Kristen back, I possessed less than twenty bucks. Not enough for a cab to get us there.

So, we could try hitchhiking, or actual hiking. But there were a couple of problems with hitchhiking. First and foremost, Alex didn't do well with strangers, and she was already wound up from the bus station and ride. To her credit, she didn't lose her shit so far. I really didn't want to push our luck, though. And then we still had to tackle the problem of actually finding someone going to Arcadia Bay and convincing them to give us a ride. If we failed to get a ride, we would have to spend the night on the side of the road.

As for the woods, even if we went at a slow pace, it was a little before two. Six miles of rough terrain shouldn't be too much for us to cover before sundown, right? It kind of made me wish that I could remember our camping trips as kids better. We probably camped in the very same woods we'd be crossing through.

The woods was probably the safer bet. After all, we didn't have to rely on luck or strangers for us to get to Arcadia Bay. We just had to march south for a few hours. Sitting down at a bench, I patted the spot next to me. "Alex, we're getting close to Arcadia Bay," I told her.

"You're going to see Chloe?" she asked.

I nodded. "Tonight. But to get there, we'll have to hike through the woods for a while. Would you be okay with that?"

She sat there, quiet for a minute, then she said, "Big Sis says we've never been out of Seattle… What? Okay. Big Sis says I've never been out of Seattle."

"So… you've never been hiking before?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Is it like going to the park? I like that."

"It's a lot more physical than a walk in the park. It's going to be a good workout," I told her. "Are you okay with that?"

She smiled, big and wide. "Big Sis says there won't be people there. Is that true?"

"We might run into a campsite or some hikers, but yeah, for the most part, it'll be just the two of us for several hours."

Alex launched herself off the bench. "Let's go!"

That went better than expected. I got up, failing to fight down a smile. "We have to stop and pick up some snacks, then we can go, okay?"

Alex's smile didn't fade. "Okay, Spots!"

I spent the last bit of my money on a few waters and some snacks for Alex and me on our trip through the woods. Not having a phone was a huge pain, but I asked the clerk and she gave me the time. A little after two o'clock. Sunset in October would be in five hours or so. We had to get a move on.

The hardest thing would be just going in the right direction. No phone, no map, and no compass. But how hard could it be? The sun sets in the west. Moss grows on the north side of trees. And we just had to go straight south, more or less. What could possibly go wrong?

For me, hiking through the woods was a means to an end. The final obstacle keeping me from Chloe and the life I left behind in Arcadia Bay. For Alex, it was a grand adventure of discovery. Constantly, she would wander off ahead of me or end up falling behind because she found something new to see, hear, touch, smell, and much to my chagrin, taste. We came across a tree oozing sap, and she asked about it. She'd heard that sap was sweet, so she literally licked a tree. I had to stop her a half-dozen times from trying to eat some kind of mushroom or berry or fucking bug she found.

Readjusting the strap on the duffel bag, Alex fell in step beside me. Beaming, she looked up at me. "This is so much fun. I'm glad you brought me, Spots."

Though part of me wanted nothing more than to snap at her for thinking this was all some sort of game, I bit my tongue for her sake. Not to mention that I didn't want to make Abby mad at me, either. "Just remember, we have to keep going south until we find a town or a road, okay?"

"Which way is south?" she asked.

I looked around. The sun was hard to pinpoint. It was definitely getting later. I regretted not grabbing a watch from my place. Without it, the time eluded me. I could sort of tell the general direction of the sun, though. So I had an approximation of west. I pointed forward and just a bit to my left. "We need to keep going about this way."

A few long moments and Alex spoke up again, "Big Sis is wondering if we're lost."

A little voice in the back of my mind told me that we should've gotten there by now. Still, I needed to put on a brave face. The last thing I needed was Alex flipping out on me because we might be stuck in the woods for the night. I'd probably be doing enough freaking for the both of us if it came to that.

If we didn't find a road soon, we'd have to find a place to bed down for the night. We didn't bring anything that could be used for shelter. Even building a fire would be impossible. Not to mention food and water. Alex already finished her water, mine was almost gone, and we had just one big bottle left. Some snacks remained, but we'd be hungry and thirsty by sunrise if we got stuck out here.

"It shouldn't be too much further," I said, praying for my words to be true.

They weren't. We just continued stumbling along as the light slowly grew dimmer and the shadows grew into each other, trying to swallow us in darkness. Each step my own thoughts clawed at me and I felt panic rise in my chest. Worse, the temperature dropped quickly. I put on my gloves, but Alex didn't have a pair. Neither of us had a hat.

Just as I was about to give up and start explaining to Alex that we would have to sleep huddled up in a ditch until morning, she spoke up, "What's that smell?" She turned her face up, breathing in deep sniffs through her nose.

"Smell?" I asked, trying myself to find a scent on the cold breeze. It was faint. Barely noticeable, but there.

Fire.

My heart clutched painfully in my chest. Should we head toward it, or run away? If it was a campfire, then that meant a safe place to stay and hopefully some damned directions to get us back on track. If it was a forest fire… I'd have to use my Polaroid to go back to the asylum if we couldn't get out ahead of it.

"There's a fire," I said, peering into the darkened wood. "Does Abby know if the fire is a campfire or a forest fire?"

A few seconds of silence and Alex said, "Smelling isn't something Big Sis can do."

That left the decision up to me. If it really was a forest fire, it didn't really matter what we did. Odds were pretty good I'd have to jump back any which way we went. If it was a campfire, we might find a safe place to spend the night and get going in the right direction tomorrow. Maybe even some real food. "Let's try to find the source. That way we'll know."

Part of me had been afraid we would be unable to even find the source. Surely had I been alone, that might've been the case. But Alex possessed an uncanny ability to follow that smell and lead us to the source. Thank Dog it wasn't some out of control fire. It was a campsite.

Sitting on a log was a man, probably in his mid-twenties decked out in camping gear tending the fire. He looked to be a big guy and just a little overweight. In the clearing stood a tent with some gear by it and an ATV. Wherever he came from, it had to be civilized and a real path must have led there. "Come on," I whispered to Alex, leading her into the clearing.

As soon as we were clear of the treeline, the guy stood up, giving us a bewildered look. Gruff looking, he sported a black beard that was trimmed to be close to his face. It was like a sloppy version of Jeffershit's goatee. "The fuck?"

"Sorry," I said, placing myself between Alex and him so that she could avoid any eye contact. "We got a little turned around. Are we close to Arcadia Bay?"

When the guy spoke, he had a clear southern drawl. "Girl, that's like, five miles from here." He leaned over, trying to get a better look at Alex, no doubt.

"I'm Max," I said before thumbing behind me at Alex. "This is Alex. She's shy, so she doesn't like eye contact." I hoped leaving it at that would be enough. She almost sounded normal when presented that way. Though, should he touch her, all bets are off.

Should I warn him?

"I'm Tom. Where's your folks?"

"We're on our own, actually. We're adults, I mean. Both Eighteen," I said, stumbling as I realized we had to look like a couple of runaways. Hell, we practically were. "I have a friend in Arcadia Bay, and we were going to visit her. But I guess we got turned around in the woods. So much for an easy hike, huh?"

I felt a tug on my backpack, and I heard Alex whisper to me, "I don't like him."

He glanced over at the ATV, then up at the sky before shaking his head. "I reckon you two're shit outta luck. No way you'll make it out to town before it gets too dark."

Grabbing my elbow, I looked over at the campfire. "Would it be okay if we slept here? Just like, by the fire or something."

Tom nodded. "Sure. Hey, my brother should be gettin' back to camp soon. We'll figure out sleepin' arrangements and whatnot then, all right?" He stepped back over, sitting by the fire just like how we first saw him. "'Til then, why don't you two pretty little things warm yourselves by the fire?"

I don't know if that was some weird southern hospitality, him trying too hard to be nice, or if he was actually trying to flirt, but it made me feel gross. Not to mention my face was a train wreck after Alex hit me. Still, it wasn't like we could turn down the invitation unless we wanted to spend the night alone in the woods. I turned around and whispered to Alex, "I'm sure Abby's already warned you, but just… keep your distance from that guy. Stay near me, okay?"

"Okay, Spots."

After unloading our bags by the tent, Alex and I sat across from Tom. The warm fire was nice. I didn't notice just how cold I'd gotten stumbling around in the cold evening air. Looking over, I saw Alex just staring into the fire, her face alight in the flickering orange-yellow glow. "How are you, Alex? Holding up okay?"

"It's pretty," she said.

Tom chuckled, showing off a mouthful of off-white teeth. "You're actin' like you've never seen a fire before."

Alex shook her head. "Not like this one." She held out her hands, holding them dangerously close to the dancing flames.

I reached out, stopping short of grabbing her arm. "Careful you don't burn yourself."

"You can fix it, Spots."

My eyes flicked over to Tom before going back to Alex. "I really hope Abby is yelling at you right now."

Alex withdrew her hands, letting them settle on her lap. "She is…"

"Good," I muttered, sitting back. "Thanks, Abby."

"Who's Abby?" Tom asked.

Okay, we were not being quiet enough.

"Uh, it's kind of a long story," I said. "She's… Alex is off her meds." I held up my hands. "She's not dangerous or anything!"

"I am dangerous," Alex said, looking over at me.

Tom looked between the two of us. "Did… did she hit you?"

"Yes," Alex said before turning her attention back to Tom. Then her face contorted in anger. "Don't look at me!"

"She doesn't like eye contact," I quickly said. Things were unraveling already. This guy wasn't a friend I could reason with. He was a total fucking stranger. If this kept up, Alex and I really would be spending the night alone in the woods.

Tom looked back over at me. "Is she… special?"

A flash of anger riled me at the notion. I wanted to yell at him, but I couldn't risk offending our host. Besides, it wasn't like I'd wondered the same thing myself a time or two. Alex was just bad at expressing herself. And possessed. But it wasn't like I could tell him that second part.

"S-something like that," I said, casting a guilty glance over at Alex.

"Hey!" Tom shouted as he stood. "Just a tick." He waved his hand over his head. "Hey, Timmy!"

I looked back over my shoulder. There, coming out of the woods, was a guy clearly a few years older than Tom, though the family resemblance was undeniable. His beard trailed down to his chest, and though he was as tall as Tom, he was thinner but with every bit as muscular a build. The two of them slipped back into the woods, but not before Tom pointed back at Alex and me.

That left Alex and me alone. A sinking, uneasy feeling in my gut told me that not all was well, but I couldn't really figure out why.

"I don't like him, either," Alex said.

"I'm right there with you," I said staring at the spot where they disappeared. "What do you think they're talking about?"

Alex was quiet a moment before responding, "Big Sis was going to listen. She can't."

"She can't?"

Another moment. "She can't go past the trees."

I looked back over at the treeline, really not all that far away. Fifteen feet, maybe. I kind of imagined Abby as like, within Alex and seeing what she sees and hearing what she hears. That must not have been how it worked. Did that mean that she was like a phantom, floating around near Alex?

"Big Sis doesn't like them, either," Alex said, as she continued to fixate on the flames.

"What… what does she think we should do?" I asked, feeling ever more uneasy about staying here.

"Big Sis says I need to protect you. Because you can protect us," Alex replied, her usual delay letting me know that she'd listened to Abby before talking to me.

That did not reassure me in the least. Still, what choice did we have? Find a big tree to sleep next to and hope no wildlife thought we looked tasty? Not to mention how cold it was getting. Even here by the fire, I could feel the cold of night start to sink in.

"I… I'm sorry, Alex," I said as I hugged myself.

Finally, Alex pulled her eyes from the flames to look at me. "For what?"

"I got us into this mess! It was a stupid idea to try to hike to Arcadia Bay. We should've just tried to hitchhike. At least then we wouldn't be in this situation," I said. "It's my fault. I'm sorry."

"Don't be scared. I'm strong. I'll protect you," she said.

Suddenly, a gruff voice sounded from behind me. "So, my little bro here tells me we got a couple'a guests for the night," the man Tom called Timmy called out to us. "Did you have any gear wit'cha? 'Cause Tommy and me, we only got our own sleepin' bags, and the tent ain't exactly big 'nuff for all'a us." He and Tom sat opposite us. "Name's Tim, by the way."

"Tim… and Tom," I said pointing between the two of them. "Really?"

"Well," Tom said, "technically it's Timothy and Thomas. But everyone always jus' called us Tim and Tom."

"Uh, right," I said. "Well, I'm Max and this Alex."

Tim chuckled. "And you wanna make fun of us? You both got boy's names."

"They're short for, ugh, Maxine and Alexandra," I explained. "Oh, and please don't make eye contact with Alex. She doesn't like it."

Tim nodded. "Tom said somethin' like that."

I sighed. "And we don't have any gear. We were supposed to be in Arcadia Bay before sunset."

Tim gave a chuckle. "You should always prepare for a worst-case scenario. They ain't about to call in the cavalry lookin' for the two of you, are they?"

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "I mean, Chloe's expecting us, but we weren't exactly clear on when we might get there."

Tim smiled as he elbowed his brother. "All right, little ladies. Here's the deal, then. Since Tom and I got bags, we'll sleep out under the stars while you two take the tent. Might be a mite cold, but it's the best we can do for you under the circumstances."

"Better than sleeping on the ground in the dark," I admitted. "Thank you. We'd be in big trouble if we didn't stumble on your camp."

"You girls hungry?" Tim asked as he got up and walked back toward the tent. "We got jerky and some snacks. If you'd found us just a little sooner, you coulda had some'a the stew we made."

I was just about to decline the offer, but Alex leaned toward me, her voice barely a whisper, "Meat."

Only then did it occur to me that she had fallen completely silent since those two returned. "I, uh, I'm good, but I think Alex wants some jerky," I said, keeping my eyes on Alex. Instead of leaning back, she scooted closer to me so that we were almost touching. Her eyes weren't fixated on the fire anymore either. She just stared at the ground.

Tim came back with several things in his arms. He threw the bag of jerky at me, which I barely caught. Then, he set up a tripod over the fire and set up a kettle that he dumped a bottle of water into. "You might've missed the stew, but I make one helluva wild tea. My own special blend of spices, combined with some local ingredients. It's got a kick like you wouldn't believe."

I handed the bag over to Alex, who tore it open with her teeth before she started noshing. For such a tiny thing, she could really put away food. It was like she never really got full, no matter how much she ate. At least she seemed to be in better spirits with something to occupy her.

I tore my attention from her to stare at the kettle, dangling over the fire. It just made me think of Kate. Alone and upset in Arcadia Bay. She and Chloe were so close. Just a few miles away. But it somehow felt like I might never get back to them. "I had a friend I always had tea with," I said, lowering my gaze to the mesmerizing flickering of orange and yellow in front of me.

"You two have a fallin' out?" Tim asked as he added various things together into a little container.

I shook my head. "No. More like… time got away from us."

"Well, you've always got more time, ain't'cha?"

That got a smile out of me. "Yeah," I agreed. "I'll try to rekindle things. Tomorrow."

The kettle started to rumble, and Tim quickly pulled it away from the fire, setting it on the ground nearby. He removed the lid, wafting away some of the steam. "Just need to let this cool a bit before we start steepin' the brew."

I turned to Alex. She apparently devoured the entire bag of jerky already, because it was nowhere to be seen. "Do you like tea?"

She shook her head but didn't say a peep.

I sighed. During our trip, I'd noticed that she would go nonverbal if more than a couple of people were around us. Something about people really got to her. If only I could figure out how to make her feel better about it. But, for now, my best bet to make her feel better involved drawing attention away from her.

"So, uh, what are you two doing out here anyway? A camping trip?" I asked, looking back over and Tim and Tom.

This time, Tom answered. "Yeah. We've been all over the U.S. Kind of a sightseein' thing."

It sounded kind of like Chloe's plan. Though, getting out of Arcadia Bay motivated her far more than any romantic idea of exploration. It struck me as ironic. All that time, those years, Chloe spent trying to get out, and right now my only real concern was getting back there.

"Sounds nice," I said. "I've only ever been to Oregon and Washington… well, California, too. Technically."

"A true west coast girl, eh?" Tim said as he added the container of spices to the kettle.

"I… guess so?" I replied, not even totally sure what he might have been implying.

"How about your little friend?" Tom asked.

I looked back over at Alex, feeling a little guilty about not keeping her out of the conversation. "Actually, this is her first time out of Seattle. She lived her whole life there."

"Nothin' but city life? Can't say I envy you," Tim said. Then he got up, a mug in each hand. He held them out for Alex and me. I took mine, but Alex didn't make a move toward the one offered to her. She might've been too zonked out, or maybe she just didn't want it.

I held the warm cup close to me as I leaned toward Alex, taking care not to actually bump into her. "Don't you want to try it?"

She shook her head again.

"Sorry," I said. "She's really shy."

"Don't worry about it," Tim said, setting the cup on the ground near Alex. "I know tea ain't exactly everybody's cup of tea."

I brought the cup to my face, taking in the aroma. A strong scent of pine needles greeted me, bearing softer undertones of cinnamon. It made me long for the little cookies Kate always had out when we had our tea sessions. When I took a sip, though, it failed to live up to the expectations. An overpowering salty taste dominated all the other flavors. "I think you let it steep too long," I said, taking another gulp just to be sure. "Tastes… salty."

I looked up, but I couldn't make out Tim and Tom through the fire. Even the fire was kind of blurry. "Wh-what?" The cup slipped from my fingers as my strength left me. I hit the ground. My body refused to obey my will. It was just like when Jefferson drugged me. And even though a terrible panic sent my heart pounding in my chest, I began to drift off. I could see the mug next to me on the ground. How could I have been so stupid?

A shriek warded off the overpowering somnolence taking hold. I looked up. Darkness encroached on my vision, but I could see them. Tom had Alex by the wrists as Tim fought off her flailing kicks. Everything started to go black. Just before it all faded away, I saw a flash of blue light.