The Clearing Just off the Trail
Two days ago… yeah, I remember what happened two days ago. What would you do if I said I didn’t, huh? Well luckily you don’t have to worry about that, because two days ago I... So what time do you want me to focus on? Mid to late afternoon, okay. Well I got out of classes around four, and then went right to my room to drop off my stuff and everything. I was literally either in classes or walking between them from eleven thirty to four, you can ask my teachers, now stop interrupting and let me explain everything that happened. After I dropped off my stuff, I thought about getting some work done, but instead decided to go on a quick walk before the sun went down. I don’t have a damn clue what time I decided that, I don’t own a watch, and I didn’t bring a clock with me. I… might’ve slightly misjudged the time until sunset, because I was only about a third of the way through my hike when the sun started to go down, the shadows of the trees elongating around me. Luckily, I keep a multitool with a flashlight on my keychain, and I know there’s nothing dangerous in the woods this close to town, so I just decided to keep walking. Yeah I’ve got the light with me now, be careful with it, and I need it back, okay. Did I see anything strange on the rest of my walk… well there was the one girl I passed, a fair bit further down the trail, right near where I generally turn out to walk back home, and I wasn’t pointing my light at her or anything, but the shadows that obscured her face seemed to be accentuated into something that didn’t look like smeared makeup. Oh, and one more thing, I guess, if you want all the details. Literally right before I was going to get off the path, I heard what sounded like a young child crying, just off the trail. The sound was echoing through the trees, almost hypnotizingly drawing me in. I wandered off the path, treading between the shadows that my dim light could barely cover, before I finally broke through into a small clearing. No, there wasn’t anyone there, not a soul in sight. But there was blood smeared along all the trees around the perimeter, too bright to fade into the shadows. After I saw it I went back towards and called you, the police. What the hell did you expect me to do?
Okay, so two nights ago I was going on a romantic stroll with my girlfriend. Yeah, we knew that the trail is technically off limits after dark, but we brought food for a picnic, and apparently there’s this beautiful little clearing that we were going to go sit in, watch the sunset, and all that, ya know. The last bits of the sunlight were just trickling in through the leaves when we got there, I mean usually hiking isn’t quite my thing, but she was really into the idea, so like, I was in for trying it. When she suggested the idea the first time, her eyes lit up… (sobs). I’m sorry, I’m trying to keep it together, I’m usually more put together than this, really, I’m not this much of a ditz, but… we were planning on such a romantic evening, it wasn’t going to be anything like this, and then she asked me to give her a minute to finish setting up on her own so she could surprise me. I remember her exact words, “wait here, Clara, it will only be a moment”. Well it wasn’t just a moment, and when I went back into the clearing she was just gone, like she had decided to sneak out and leave me there! Blood? No, there was no blood or anything, nothing horrible happened, she just decided she had something better to do than spend our romantic evening together, and decided to just leave me there waiting instead of saying anything! Well I was indignant, so I walked back to my place the long way. Did I see anyone along the way? Well there was one person with a flashlight, but they were walking the opposite direction, and the sun was just beginning to go down, so I was a little lost in the patterns of the shadows of the leaves. Blood on my face? Why on earth would you suggest such a thing! Where would something so horrible even come from! Why did you want to know about this horrible evening anyway?
No, no, I would never go hiking on that trail after dark, I live right next to it, but honestly there are so many other things that I need to do that the most interaction I have with it is looking out my window sometimes and seeing people walking to the trailhead. That night that I heard you were asking about? I saw two girls head in earlier in the evening, and a few hours later one person—it was too dark to tell who they were, but they were much taller than either of the girls—came out on their own. But… between seeing those two groups, I could’ve sworn I heard a scream. I had headphones in and was studying, entirely in my own world, you know, but it wasn’t part of my music. I know that much. No, I didn’t report it or anything. I figured… well I figured that I might’ve imagined it. Making stuff up to make studying more interesting, you know.
Yes, there’s usually a few kids out on the trail after dark. We tell them not to, but they don’t tend to listen. We don’t wait for a report of something going wrong to tell them off, we usually just send someone down the trail around sunset to round up anyone there. Yeah I was the one doing it a few days ago. Found this one kid, had a flashlight and everything, seemed real prepared, sent ‘em on their way. Nah, I didn’t see anyone else, or any sign of a disturbance.
The trees weren’t looking for a meal that night, but they appreciated what was offered to them. We saw that they were willing, and took what was offered, no more, no less.
Okay, so two nights ago I was going on a romantic stroll with my girlfriend. Yeah, we knew that the trail is technically off limits after dark, but we brought food for a picnic, and apparently there’s this beautiful little clearing that we were going to go sit in, watch the sunset, and all that, ya know. The last bits of the sunlight were just trickling in through the leaves when we got there, I mean usually hiking isn’t quite my thing, but she was really into the idea, so like, I was in for trying it. When she suggested the idea the first time, her eyes lit up… (sobs). I’m sorry, I’m trying to keep it together, I’m usually more put together than this, really, I’m not this much of a ditz, but… we were planning on such a romantic evening, it wasn’t going to be anything like this, and then she asked me to give her a minute to finish setting up on her own so she could surprise me. I remember her exact words, “wait here, Clara, it will only be a moment”. Well it wasn’t just a moment, and when I went back into the clearing she was just gone, like she had decided to sneak out and leave me there! Blood? No, there was no blood or anything, nothing horrible happened, she just decided she had something better to do than spend our romantic evening together, and decided to just leave me there waiting instead of saying anything! Well I was indignant, so I walked back to my place the long way. Did I see anyone along the way? Well there was one person with a flashlight, but they were walking the opposite direction, and the sun was just beginning to go down, so I was a little lost in the patterns of the shadows of the leaves. Blood on my face? Why on earth would you suggest such a thing! Where would something so horrible even come from! Why did you want to know about this horrible evening anyway?
No, no, I would never go hiking on that trail after dark, I live right next to it, but honestly there are so many other things that I need to do that the most interaction I have with it is looking out my window sometimes and seeing people walking to the trailhead. That night that I heard you were asking about? I saw two girls head in earlier in the evening, and a few hours later one person—it was too dark to tell who they were, but they were much taller than either of the girls—came out on their own. But… between seeing those two groups, I could’ve sworn I heard a scream. I had headphones in and was studying, entirely in my own world, you know, but it wasn’t part of my music. I know that much. No, I didn’t report it or anything. I figured… well I figured that I might’ve imagined it. Making stuff up to make studying more interesting, you know.
Yes, there’s usually a few kids out on the trail after dark. We tell them not to, but they don’t tend to listen. We don’t wait for a report of something going wrong to tell them off, we usually just send someone down the trail around sunset to round up anyone there. Yeah I was the one doing it a few days ago. Found this one kid, had a flashlight and everything, seemed real prepared, sent ‘em on their way. Nah, I didn’t see anyone else, or any sign of a disturbance.
The trees weren’t looking for a meal that night, but they appreciated what was offered to them. We saw that they were willing, and took what was offered, no more, no less.
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