It Begins (11 page)

“Angela!” Lucy called. “Angela! Are you out here?”

No answer. Just her own voice drifting back to her on the chilly breeze.

Lucy tried to walk faster. Why hadn’t anyone thought to put temporary lighting out here? Why hadn’t she thought to bring a flashlight?
Why hadn’t she and Angela agreed to meet somewhere
inside
the Festival where it was bright and crowded and safe?
God, it’s really, really spooky out here …

She dug her hands in her pockets and felt the keyless entry to Angela’s car.
Of course!

Pulling it out, Lucy immediately hit a button. She could hear the blip of a horn in the distance, and she thought she saw the faraway flicker of headlights.
Well, at least I’m headed in the right direction.

With the help of the mechanism, she finally spotted the Corvette, still about ten rows away, right on the end near the woods. The ground was even soggier out here, forcing her to walk close to the treeline. As she tramped her way through the weeds, she suddenly lifted her head to listen …

What was that?

She was sure she’d heard a sound just then … a faint scuffling off through those trees to her right. As though some animal were moving invisibly through the darkness …

A deer. Just like last night when I thought I saw something, just a deer in the woods. That’s all it is.

Lucy stopped.

The noise stopped, too.

Very slowly she turned her head, eyes probing the bare, shifting branches of the trees … the deep, black underbelly of the forest …

Or maybe it’s a bear—bears live close to lakes, don’t they? Or a wolf? Or—

She broke into a run.

Because suddenly she didn’t want to think what else it could be, this invisible presence keeping pace alongside her, skulking through the dark where she couldn’t see.

It was last night’s horror all over again.

With a burst of speed Lucy veered off between the cars, away from the woods, punching the entry over and over again, so the horn of the Corvette kept blasting and the headlights kept flashing on and off—on and off—

God—oh God—help me—

But it was
behind
her now—she could hear it thudding over the ground,
gaining
on her—coming closer—
closer—

“Damnit, Lucy!” Angela yelled. “Wait up!”

With a cry, Lucy whirled around, just as her cousin closed the distance between them.

“Angela, you idiot! You scared the life out of me!”

“
I
did?” Braking to a stop, Angela tried to catch her breath.
“You’re
the one running away—I thought something was
after
you!”

“Well,
I
thought something was, too!” Lucy exploded. “Were you in the woods just now?”

“What would I be doing in the woods?”

“I
heard
something in the woods.”

“Oh, for God’s sake—there’s, like, about a
million
things you could’ve heard in the woods!” Angela gestured angrily toward the trees. “And where the hell have you been? I waited and waited by the car, but you never came. And
you
have the damn keys!”

Lucy thought quickly. There was no way she was going to mention what had happened back there at the tent. Not now … not ever.

“Sorry—I guess I lost track of time.”

“I guess you did. Come on, let’s get outta here.”

Nodding, Lucy followed her to the car and got in, but not without a last anxious look at the
woods.
Had
something really been there, following her? During the last few days, she’d lost so much faith in her instincts, she didn’t know
what
to believe anymore.

She locked the doors and windows, but even after leaving the parking lot, Lucy still couldn’t relax. The narrow, winding road was even harder to maneuver now that full night had fallen, and it took all her concentration to miss the endless potholes. Even Angela seemed edgier than usual, Lucy observed, watching the girl light up one cigarette after another, then mash them out half-smoked.

“Are you okay?” Lucy finally asked her.

Angela pointed to the clock on the dashboard. “I just want to get home before Irene does, that’s all. Thank God she’s going out of town tomorrow night, so I can have some peace. Lucy—hurry!”

“I’m hurrying.”

“Well, hurry faster.”

Glancing at her, Lucy sighed. “With all these stupid holes around here, if I hurry any faster, we’re likely to bounce right off and—”

“Look out!”

As Lucy’s eyes shot back to the road, she saw a quick streak of darkness in front of them. Jerking the wheel, she swerved the car sharply to the right, then slammed on the brakes as they slid dangerously along the shoulder. Angela gaped at her in alarm.

“Did you see that?”

“I saw
something.
But what was it?”

The Corvette had stopped now, and the two of them peered nervously out into the darkness. There was nothing on the road. Nothing moving in the beam of the headlights, nothing stirring at the sides of the car.

“We didn’t hit anything, did we?” Angela finally asked.

“I don’t think so. I didn’t feel any sort of impact, did you?”

Angela shook her head. “It looked big. I mean, I only saw it for a second, but it was
big.”

“A deer, maybe?”

“No. It didn’t seem like a deer. And it was so
fast
—just there and gone. I mean, what could move so fast that you can’t even see it?”

“I don’t know,” Lucy answered uneasily. She
made a quick check in the rearview mirror. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just hope my car is.”

For my sake, I hope so, too.
But the minute Lucy hit the accelerator, she heard the furious spinning of the tires. “Oh, great,” she muttered.

“Oh, great,
what?

“We’re stuck.”

“Stuck?” Angela seemed incredulous. “How can we be stuck?”

“Because there’s about a foot of mud out there, and we drove right into it.”

“No,
you
drove right into it.” Shifting around, Angela unlocked her door. “If you’ve scratched anything out—”

“Stop,” Lucy said. “Don’t open it.”

As Angela turned toward her in bewilderment, Lucy reached out slowly … put a hand on her arm.

“Lock your door,” she whispered. “Now.”

Even in the dim interior, she saw Angela go pale. She waited for the click of the lock, then leaned slowly toward the windshield.

“What is it?” Angela asked tightly.

“I saw something.”

“Are you sure? Where?”

Lucy pointed. The car had skidded at a forty-five-degree angle, its headlights slicing off through the trees at the side of the road. As Lucy watched the illuminated pocket of woods, she felt a chill creep up her spine.

“Something’s out there, Angela. It’s watching us … don’t you feel it?”

The girl’s eyes widened slowly. Then she gave a forced laugh. “Come on, Lucy, you don’t really expect me to fall for that, do you?”

But Lucy’s tone was dead serious. “Do you have your phone with you?”

“Well, sure, but—”

“Call 911.”

“Stop it. This isn’t funny, and I don’t believe you anyway.”

“Well, you better believe me, because I’m telling you, there’s something out there. And …”

As Lucy’s sentence trailed off, Angela threw a quick, wary glance out her window. “Look. You’re just shook up because of what happened. But I’m telling you, that thing was
moving fast!
Whatever it was, it’s long gone by now—”

“Give me your phone,” Lucy said tersely.

Before Angela could stop her, she grabbed the girl’s purse and started rummaging through it, but Angela quickly snatched it back.

“What are you doing?” Angela snapped at her. “That’s mine!”

“Your phone, Angela—your phone!” Lucy’s voice was louder now, thin with rising panic. “Hurry up! Call 911!
Do
it, Angela, call for help!”

But she could see now that it was finally sinking in, Angela’s eyes the size of saucers, her hands digging through her purse, tossing things out, searching for her cell phone. “This is sick, Lucy, do you hear me? This is
sick!”

“It’s coming closer! Make the call!”

Lucy’s heart was racing. She could
feel
something out there—something furtive—something evil—a sense of danger so intense that every nerve vibrated with terror. It was standing just out of sight, standing just beyond the trees, one with the woods, one with the darkness, and it was waiting to strike … waiting to see what they would do …

“Oh, God,” Lucy whispered, “Oh my God—”

“What is it!” Angela shouted, thoroughly frightened now. She dumped her purse upside down, the contents spilling everywhere, shaking it back and forth, helplessly close to tears. “I can’t find it! I can’t find my phone!”

“It’s too late!” Lucy cried.

Something hit the side of the car. As both girls screamed, the Corvette rocked from the impact, and there was a frantic clawing at Angela’s door.

“Get down!” Lucy yelled, even as she grabbed the girl and forced her to the floor.

“What is it?”
Angela shrieked. “I can’t see anything!”

Once more something lunged at the side. As the car swayed and slid, they heard a scratching at the door handle, as though something were trying to wrench it open. Terrified, Angela huddled beneath the dashboard, while Lucy whirled around just in time to see a dark shape dart behind the car.
Oh, God, it’s coming to my side!
She leaned on the horn, the harsh sound splitting through the night, and then she gunned the motor.

The tires spun in the muck. Without even
thinking, Lucy shifted forward, then back, forward, then back—
tires whining, horn blasting, Angela screaming—

The car lurched free.

Without warning, it popped from the mud and skidded sideways onto the road. Clutching the wheel for dear life, Lucy floored the accelerator, not stopping, not even slowing down till they’d reached the main highway once again.

“Stop it, Angela,” she said then, quietly. “We’re safe now.”

“Safe?” The girl was practically hysterical.
“Safe?
How do you know we’re safe? What
was
that thing?”

Lucy shook her head and said nothing.

“Then how do you know it didn’t follow us? How do you know it’s not sitting up there on the roof right now? Or—or—riding back there in the trunk?”

“Because it’s not.” Lucy’s lips pressed into a tight line. “It’s not. I just know.”

As they paused at a stop sign, she shifted in her seat and took a long, deliberate look through every single window.

How
do
I know?
she wondered.
How do I really know?

There were houses around them now, and quiet, tree-lined streets.

And the peaceful silence of neighborhoods settled in for the night.

But Angela was crying.

And Lucy’s heart was still beating wildly in her chest.

How did I know that thing was out there to begin with?

It was a miracle they got home before Irene.

The girls pulled into the garage with just minutes to spare, leaving no time to examine the car or discuss what had happened back there on that dark country road. Not that Angela would have wanted to anyway, Lucy figured—which was perfectly fine with her. Trying to rationalize it to herself was hard enough.

She stood in the shower, trembling beneath the hard spray of the water. Still badly shaken from the attack on the car … still badly frightened from her encounter with the stranger behind the tent.
Only frightened?
Again she berated herself for being so careless, for putting herself in such a dangerous situation … yet at the same time she could still hear that
low, whispery voice … feel the gentle urgency of that kiss …

How could cold, stark fear be so alluring at the same time? She was furious with herself for even considering such a notion.
What’s wrong with me?

She turned the water as hot as she could stand it, washing her hair, her face, her lips, every inch of her body, as though she might be able to wash away every memory, every horror, every single event that had touched her in the last two days. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and have a peaceful night of dreamless, uninterrupted sleep. So it surprised her when she heard a soft knock on her bedroom door about an hour later and saw Angela peek in.

“We need to talk,” Angela said.

Lucy nodded and motioned her inside. She’d been sitting up, too, unable to relax; now she scooted over so Angela could plop down beside her. The girl’s dark raccoon eyes had been wiped off for the night, her long hair braided down her back. She was wearing a polka-dot flannel nightshirt and looked almost normal.

“I can’t stop thinking about what happened,” Angela blurted out. Her expression seemed strained and almost embarrassed. Her hands twisted nervously in her lap. “What do you think that was? I mean … really?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it, too … and I honestly don’t know.”

“Well, it must have been a wolf,” Angela announced flatly.

“Are there wolves around here?”

“Well … usually farther north, but sometimes they leave their territory, right? I mean, like if they’re hungry, or certain areas get too populated, I’ve heard of animals doing that.”

Lucy wanted to believe her. “It’s possible, I guess.”

“But … it could have been a bear, too, maybe,” Angela mused. “I was thinking maybe it was wounded. When an animal’s wounded, it makes them kind of crazy, and then they attack things they wouldn’t normally attack, right? I mean, haven’t you heard that?”

Lucy nodded. “It makes sense.”

“So if something was hurt … and hungry … and smelled us in the car …”
Angela paused, her eyes almost pleading. “It
could’ve
happened that way. Right?”

“Sure. Sure it could.”

“Great.” Angela let out a huge sigh of relief. “And it’s probably not a good idea to tell anyone else about it, do you think? Just so we don’t cause a panic or something. And especially Irene. Because of her worrying, I mean.”