THE TEACHINGS OF DOÑA DARIA

by Galen Hardesty

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Part Four

Daria listened carefully as she moved along the trail, but she was mostly looking for a specific spot she remembered from yesterday. And here it was, just up ahead. It was the entrance to a path branching off the main trail that led back to where the car was parked; one of several they'd passed on the way to the campsite. There was nothing special about this one, except that flowers grew on either side of it. And the fact that she remembered Quinn looking up this path yesterday as they'd passed it. Daria knew she was really grasping at straws here, but, out of all the ways Quinn could have gone after Daria had seen her last, this was the only one Daria had seen her show any interest in.

About to enter the path, Daria stopped. As far along it as she could see, it was covered with a mat of leaves, just like the rest of the forest floor. The only thing that made it deserving of the name path was that no underbrush grew up in it and no tree or branch blocked it. It was an easier path to walk than others one could take through there.

But right here, where it branched off the more heavily worn main trail, there was a small patch of bare soil. Daria looked at it more carefully, then came around and knelt where she could best see any shadows cast by the angling morning light. And there, faint and shallow in a thin layer of dust atop the hard ground, but definitely there, was most of a single bootprint. A bootprint that matched the tread pattern of Quinn's boots. A bootprint that... Daria carefully placed her foot beside it... was just a little smaller than her boot. A bootprint that she could actually read. Quinn's bootprint. And it was fresh, and it pointed down this path.

Daria smiled as she stood up. A small thing, seemingly, but it narrowed the search area, a lot. Quinn had come this way. Daria set off after her.

At first she heard nothing. Then she began to pick up the forest background noises and birdsong from the sides and behind her. Ahead, it was still quiet, though. Daria kept listening. Finally, faintly, she heard what might have been "la la la" in what might have been Quinn's voice. Daria pulled out her compass and glanced at it. The sound had seemed to come more or less from the southwest. Daria reached up over her head and broke a small branch so that it hung down into the middle of the lane between trees she was standing in. Then, for good measure, using her pocketknife, she carved an arrow in the tree trunk pointing back toward the main trail. Satisfied, she stood and listened a little longer. Hearing nothing further that sounded like Quinn, she set off toward the southwest.

Every hundred feet or less, depending on the density of the forest, Daria broke a branch or laid out some dead branches on the ground in an arrow shape, and every time she changed direction, she carved another arrow on a tree trunk. She felt a little bad about this, but she wasn't carving all the way through the bark, just enough to expose the lighter inner bark for visibility. She told herself she'd feel a lot guiltier if she got lost and they all died in this forest. And if she ever went into a forest again, she'd consider carrying a hatchet or a machete. A Swiss Army knife wasn't the ideal tool for blazing trails. Better yet, she'd carry a GPS thingie. Better yet still, she'd stay out of friggin' forests.

A flicker of movement caught her eye. Daria stopped still and looked straight at where she'd seen it, straining to pick up another movement or hear a sound. But there was nothing. Stillness reigned supreme.

Just as she was about to conclude that the movement had been a bird, a butterfly, or a leaf fluttering in the breeze, she caught another movement, far off through the trees. She hadn't been able to focus on it quickly enough to identify it visually, but along with it, there had been a sound. A faint sound, granted, but it sounded very much like Quinn's giggle.

Daria started off at a run toward where she had seen the movement. After a few steps, she dropped back to a brisk walk. Running made too much noise. After a few more steps, she remembered to mark the trail. Dammit, she thought, how am I going to catch up to Quinn like this? But the logical part of her mind insisted that if she caught up to Quinn but got lost doing it, neither of them would be any better off. In fact, she realized that if she got lost any time today, it could doom all four of them to death by thirst or exposure. Daria resolutely marked her trail and continued on.

The forest floor was more open in this area, and she could see farther before the greenish-gray fog of trunks and branches and leaves closed in and blocked her vision. Arrows made out of pieces of fallen limbs could be seen farther, and were quicker and easier to make than blazes on tree trunks, so she used them as often as possible. She was nearing the place where she thought she'd seen that last movement when she heard some leaves rustle not too far ahead. She froze, listening. It wasn't the sound a squirrel made scampering from tree to tree, and she didn't think it was a bird searching for insects. After a few seconds of silence, she started forward again, more quietly.

Suddenly, Quinn burst from behind a tree trunk and ran off ahead and to the right, laughing like a little girl. After her initial surprise, Daria ran after her, calling her name. But Quinn was much fresher, and after a few seconds, Daria slowed back to a walk again.

"Quinn, wait!" she called. "I need to talk to you!"

Quinn giggled and disappeared behind a tree trunk about forty feet ahead.

Good one, Morgendorffer. Like she ever cared what you needed, thought Daria. She continued walking slowly toward the tree Quinn was hiding behind. "It's lunchtime, Quinn. Come on back to camp with me."

Quinn peeked out from behind the tree and laughed as if Daria had just told a funny joke. Or said something stupid. Yeah, the latter. But she was staying put behind the tree, and Daria was getting closer. Daria pulled one of the ropes out of her pocket, palming it so Quinn couldn't see it.

Quinn smiled happily and seemed to study her intently. She was only about twenty feet away now. Taking great pains to appear non-threatening, Daria advanced a few more steps. "Come on. Quinn, we're having your favorite. Zero calorie pizza. You don't want yours to get cold..."

With a little shriek, Quinn leapt out from behind her tree and bounded over to another one like a ballerina on crack, giggling insanely. Daria had the feeling she had fallen into a game of crazy fairy tag, but she noted that Quinn's new tree was no farther away than her old one. Daria eased closer, remembering to smile.

A grinning Quinn peeked out at her, then with another giggle, skipped over one more tree, and peeked out again. If Quinn would only trip on something, Daria would have her. She was quite close now. Daria stepped forward again...

And walked straight into a huge spider web.

"GAAH!" Daria staggered back, pawing at her face. The strands of the web felt like they were made out of dental floss and coated with adhesive tape stickum. They were in her eyelashes, on her lips, her nose, her ears... she tried desperately to clear her eyes, aware that the spider that had spun this monster web was probably on her right now.

Quinn's maniacal laughter rang out, accompanied by running footsteps. Daria was on her knees, feeling through the leaves for her glasses. She found them and put them on, then immediately pulled them off again and wiped them on her jacket.

Putting them on again, Daria saw that they were still filthy. She stood up and looked around. Quinn was nowhere to be seen. Then her loony laughter sounded from somewhere surprisingly far away. Daria's shoulders slumped. She had blown her chance. For Quinn's sake, she hoped she'd get another one. "Fare thee well, my faerie fey," she said sadly, and turned back toward the main trail.

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