Page 4

ONE

ASTER

“Rosie!” My eyes shot open as he screamed my name.

The semi truck jolted roughly and woke me.

I shot up, immediately on guard, and clutched my bag close.

“Easy,” the old man cooed. He put the truck into park as it idled.

The sky was dark and rain poured from the thundering clouds.

I must’ve been asleep for sometime. And his voice…

Ozzy’s voice… It was another dream. Another fucking nightmare.

God, when will they end?

I rubbed my eyes. “Are we there already?” I asked.

The man pointed ahead. I peered through the front windshield and past the whipping windshield wipers.

The beam of the semi truck’s headlights landed on an old wooden sign with a faded portrait of the woods and large letters that read Camp Redwood, Est. 1920.

Despite the old age and obvious fading, I could almost make out the shape of a triangle surrounding the letters and a line of redwood trees painted behind.

Interesting. I looked past it and realized the sign was posted just outside of a large redwood forest that stretched way beyond it.

A single road with no lights branched from the main road and past the camp sign, deep into the woods.

I turned to look back at the old man and listened as thunder rolled through the sky.

“Is there any way you could get me any closer?”

He shook his head. “Not in this old thing. That road there isn’t made for trucks like this.

And in this weather? We’ll be stuck three feet in.

No, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way.

Hell, you should be grateful I took you this far.

I normally stay far from these cursed woods.

” He glanced around and eyed the trees as if searching for something.

“Just stick to that road there and you should be fine. Don’t go talking to anybody.

And be quick on your feet.” His saggy eyes returned to me.

“And whatever you do, don’t go wanderin’ off the road into the redwoods. No matter what you might see or hear.”

I crossed my arms. “You make these old woods sound dangerous.” I snickered at the statement.

I looked back at the man and noticed his face was hard and serious.

“They are. They’re not just old, they’re ancient.

And filled with darkness. Something about them just isn’t right.

” He looked around cautiously. “They play tricks on your mind—make you see and hear things that aren’t there.

” My smile dropped, and his eyes fell back to me.

I noticed his hand as it clung to a small silver cross that hung around his neck.

“Just stick to the road, missy. No matter what.” The passenger door unlocked, and I jumped from the noise.

I looked back at the driver and wondered where the reasoning behind his ominous cautions stemmed from.

There was no way these old woods were anything but harmless.

I mean they were just trees. Big trees. “Thanks for the ride,” I groaned as I grabbed my bag and secured my hood over my head.

I swung the passenger door of the semi truck open and hopped down into the mud.

It splashed all over the legs of my sweats and worn shoes. Greatness.

“Stick to the road!” the man shouted as I slammed the door shut and backed away.

The semi truck jolted again, and he quickly drove past. It wasn’t long before his tail lights had faded from view between the night and storm.

I guess he couldn’t leave soon enough. I stood there, completely alone, at the dark, stormy entrance of the redwoods.

The trucker’s warnings tickled my spine, but I tried to brush them off.

Cursed woods, huh? I glanced around through the rain. Just looks like old trees to me.

I turned to face the camp sign. Lightning cracked above, the flash highlighting it for a brief moment, and I was able to read the inscription across the bottom aloud to myself. “The Redwood shall keep you safe.”

How interesting. And completely fucking weird.

Thunder startled me as the rain intensified.

“Fuck. I really need to hurry and find this damn camp.” I pulled my hood further over my head and held my bag close.

My shoes sank as I trenched through the mud and up the long single lane road.

“Hopefully it’s not too far!” I shouted aloud to myself over the loud storm.

It was unbelievably dark outside, and the menacing storm only made the long walk even harder.

The large redwood trees swayed with the wind.

Their limbs creaked as they danced with the storm.

I wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the man’s eerie warnings, but I felt uneasy.

Almost as if something was watching me. “Knock it off,” I mumbled to myself.

“You’re fine. There’s nothing out here besides trees.

Ignore what he said and just move your feet.

” As the wind blew, the sound of distant whispers hit my ears.

“What the—” I spun around and they instantly disappeared.

“Okay, now you’re just being ridiculous.

It’s just the wind.” I shouted out to myself as I forced a laugh.

“Just the—” Something hit my face as I turned back around.

“Oh, now what?” Whatever it was, it hung low from the overhead tree and now swayed away from me.

As it came close again, I grabbed the odd object and noticed its shape.

It was three small branches tied together to create what looked like a triangle the size of my palm.

My eyes had to adjust to the darkness to really understand what the hell was in my hands.

And as the lightning flashed, I noticed the odd thing wasn’t made from branches, but rather bones.

And the wetness dripping from it wasn’t rain, but something else.

“What the fuck?” It was blood. My eyes widened, and I dropped the bloodied trinket and began to wipe my hands along my sweats.

I wasn’t sure which was more unsettling: seeing something made of bone out in the open, or the fact it was dripping with blood. “Hell no.” I shivered.

I glanced up at the branch and over to the large redwood it was connected to.

It looked normal, but something about it felt off, like it was staring back at me with silent judgement.

My body shivered, and I tried to brush those feelings away.

“I need to get the hell out of here.” My feet slowly sank deeper into the muddy trenches along the road as I sprinted down it.

It went on as far as I could see, and there was no end in sight.

It was as if the redwoods were testing me, seeing just how far I would go to reach this damn camp.

But even if that was true, they underestimated me.

I wanted out of here now more than ever.

I continued to run even faster down the road until my foot slipped from the mud and I fell down.

“Fuck!” I landed forward into a nasty rain puddle.

It completely drenched my body and clothes, and I could feel the gritty wetness in my mouth.

“Fuck.” I spat it from my mouth. I felt tired, gross, and as if I’d never reach the camp.

My head shot upwards, and I stared up at the dark clouds as rain dripped down my face. “Fuck this storm!” I screamed.

A loud horn and bright headlights broke through the rain, and my head whipped to look back down the narrow road.

The two headlights nearly blinded me through the thick darkness as the vehicle approached.

I had to raise my arm to shield my eyes as I watched the old faded truck slow down and stop.

The driver side door shot open and slammed as someone rushed around the front of the car with a jacket over their head and over to me.

“Are you okay?” the woman’s voice shouted.

My voice strained and I stood. “Yes!” I tried to peer through the rain and headlights, but it was hard to see. “Can—can you give me a ride? I’m trying to get to the camp at the end of this road!”

“Camp Redwood?” I nodded. “Yes!” The woman motioned to her truck. “Hop on in!”

I did as she said and rushed to the passenger door.

She unlocked the truck, and we both quickly jumped inside and shook the rain from our bodies.

Strange, static-like worship music played from the truck’s radio, and it blended with the rain.

The woman exhaled and lowered her hood as she turned to face me.

She looked as though she was old enough to be my mother.

Various wrinkles hung around her delicate and tanned face while still having a classic beauty with her black and peppered hair.

Her dark eyes studied me the same way I was studying her.

“Did you say you’re heading up to Camp Redwood?

” she asked with her hands on the steering wheel.

I nodded. “Yeah.” The music wavered through static, and I heard an odd chanting play from it. It almost sounded… familiar?

The woman gracefully turned the radio off with a smile. “Interesting.” She put the car into drive and continued down the road. “It seems fate is on your side.”

“Fate?” I scoffed. “Not likely.”

“Oh?” The woman looked over at me as she drove. “Not many people come out this way, especially after dark. If I hadn't needed to go into town earlier, well, I wouldn’t even be here myself. But alas, here I am.” Her eyes returned to the road and flickered as she spoke. “Fate.”

My brow raised at her odd statement. “I don’t think fate is even a real thing.” And if it was, it was more a sick joke.

The woman tilted her head. “Is that so? And what, if I may ask, do you believe in?”