Chapter 12

I took a few steps toward the woods. The birds continued staring hard at me.

“Rhoda, is that you?” I yelled. My only response was my own words echoing back. “Rhoda! If you’re there say something!”

I wanted to go further but I didn’t want to accidently trigger the birds into attacking me and the others. That voice sounded exactly like Rhoda. It had to be her. But why was she calling out to me from the woods? What even happened to her? I took a few more steps toward the woods. A few crows flew toward some branches outside the woods and landed in an arched formation.

‘What are they doing?’ I wondered. They all looked at the center of the formation and then back at me. It was like they wanted me to walk through the arch and go into the woods.

“It’s alright, Stanford,” I heard Rhoda’s voice again. “They won’t harm you or the others. I won’t allow it.”

Rhoda’s voice sounded distorted as if she were speaking through a tin can. I didn’t know what she meant by not allowing them to harm us. In an instant I thought about the possibility of something controlling the birds. But there were so many that nothing could’ve been controlling all of them at once, so I didn’t understand what she meant. Even if something were manipulating their behavior how were they doing it? Was it by sound? Did they train them?

“Come. Step into the woods,” the voice echoed. “Venture through. I will wait for your arrival. Then we can speak.”

The birds’ faces untwisted from the appearance of a frown to that of normal looking birds, but their eyes were still locked on me. They pointed their wings directing me toward the archway. Honestly, I didn’t know what the hell to do. Some random-ass voice which sounded like Rhoda telling me to walk into the woods while my friends lied injured in the snow. I didn’t know whether to believe the voice or not. From what these goddamn birds had done there was no way in hell I was going to abandon my friends alone with them.

“Stanford. I promise Kate and Eric will be alright,” Rhoda’s voice echoed from the woods. “Just trust me. These guardians of nature will not harm them. You have my word.”

I looked at Kate and Eric wrapped up on the snowy ground. I really didn’t want to leave them. How was I supposed to know if it was definitely Rhoda calling out from the woods or not? For all I knew it could had been someone who sounded like her. I didn’t know what kind of influence the person in the woods had on the birds, but I wondered what they’re connection was to the way the birds behaved.

I didn’t want to wait too long. Whoever this was, if they really were controlling the birds, I didn’t want to risk them getting irritated by waiting for me to make a decision. They may had decided to send the birds after us. Either I do what they say and leave my friends to die in the cold or I stayed and risk the voice’s wrath. There was no right answer. Above everything else I didn’t want to risk Kate and Eric’s safety any more than need be.

“They need medical attention! I can’t leave them!” I shouted.

“Do not worry. They’ll be alright. I promise,” the voice said.

I glanced again at Kate and Eric. I turned back around and took a step toward the archway of birds. The birds all nodded toward the archway. With my options limited I didn’t want to tempt fate. I looked deep down inside myself and decided to comply with the voice’s demand. I walked toward the tree where Kate and Eric laid. I knelt between them and whispered.

“Guys, if something happens, if the birds mess with you, I just want you two to know that I’m sorry for abandoning you. Please understand I didn’t know what else to do.”

I got up and walked to the archway of crows. I walked under them carefully as to not accidently provoke them. I knew the voice said the birds wouldn’t bother me or the others and that my friends would be alright but there was no way for me to know that for sure.

“My god, Stanford. You’re so over dramatic,” the voice said in a manner that was almost like it were mocking me. “Then again, with all that you’ve seen lately who can blame you.”

What she said caught me off guard. Whoever that was they said that shit like all this was a goddamn joke. I wanted to hit whoever said that strait in their damn face. Two of my friends were badly injured, one of them dead. Even if it wasn’t a joke it implied a lighthearted tone.

“Don’t you dare joke about this!” I shouted into the woods. “Look at the condition we’re all in! My friend Steve is dead and my other two friends need to go to the hospital! You don’t get to joke about this! Do you hear me?”

“Don’t be upset,” the voice said calmly. “I wasn’t making light of what happened. I just don’t want you to be discouraged.”

‘Whatever,’ I thought. I walked under the archway of birds. As I entered the woods, I felt a sudden surge of energy flow through my body as if I were reenergized. The pain in my ribs subsided and I was able to walk normally. I wondered where I had to go. The voice didn’t really tell me anything except to venture through.

“Hey!” I screamed. “Where am I supposed to go?”

It took a few moments before the voice answered back.

“You have to travel straight through the woods, Stanford, directly from where you are. The woods themselves will guide you. Do not fret, for this is your test.”

“A test? What kind of test?” I asked.

“To test your endurance, determination, and faith,” she said. “All three will challenge you before finally reaching me.”

‘A test?’ I thought. With all that’s happened I had to take a test now? A test was the last thing I wanted to do. I walked through the snowy woods. The woods looked like plain average leafless trees with no leaves and their trunks coated in snow. All around me I felt as if there were something following me. I turned around but saw nothing but the pitch-blackness beyond the woods. Wherever I looked in the distance I only saw darkness but there was always light above me.

I still couldn’t get over abandoning my friends, let alone going into the woods because a voice told me to. It must had been late in the day. Despite the lighting above the woods seemed to get darker. As I walked, I felt anxious. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t feel the same sick feelings from the previous night, but the darkness reminded me of the tragedies. I wondered if the same things would happen again like the earthquake and storm.

I headed straight trotting through snow and over fallen trees. It was uneasy being out here all by myself. If something were after me, I had no way to protect myself. It was like the woods closed in on me as they got denser the further I walked. Occasionally I heard owls hooting nearby. Chirping sounds of smaller birds also echoed in the distance. Maybe they were snowbirds, I couldn’t tell.

The terrain varied. Sometimes the area was flat while other times there were hills and steep slopes. There were no paths or landmarks. Just untainted wilderness. Large fallen trees littered the ground. My heart skipped beats due to the constant sounds of snapping twigs. I really wish I had someone with me. Despite being alone I couldn’t help but feel that there was something watching me not too far away.

I remembered my watch in my pocket and reached for it, but it was gone. I had no idea what time it really was. All I could do was calculate the time by seeing the sun’s position in the sky which was difficult in itself as I could barely see the sky with all the trees above. Plus, the clouds were still quickly rolling in and it wouldn’t be long until the sky was completely blanketed. I wanted to kick myself for not bringing Kate’s phone with me because at least that had a clock.

I must had been walking through the woods for an hour or two. I didn’t know for sure but that was just my guess. I suddenly came across a small path leading to the right. It looked like a nature trail as there were snow-covered plants on the sides. I felt compelled to follow the path. I’m sure this isn’t where the voice wanted me to go but I felt something calling out to me from down the path. It was almost like a magnetic pull waving to me to come to it. I decided to follow the path to see where it led.

The path went down a steep slope. The aching in my body slowly returned. It wasn’t bad at first but as I went down the slope the pain became unbearable. I couldn’t stand any longer and I sat on the ground. While I tried to rub the pain out of my legs the strong pulling sensation I felt became stronger. Ignoring the pain, I slid myself down the slope using my legs to scoot and my arms to steer. I was careful not to grab too much snow as I didn’t want to get frost bitten so my legs did most of the work. Near the bottom I got up and continued along the path until I reached a wide-open area.

There, a few small hills with grass poking through the snow. A few scattered trees stood out of the hills with their branches appearing as elongated claws. But what really caught my eye were the gigantic stones scattered in a circular formation. The stones were flat and grey in color and stood up on the ground.

‘What is this place?’ I wondered. As I walked around a blue mist began rising from the ground and lingered in the air. I had no idea what it was. I didn’t know if this was ordinary fog colored blue or poison.

“What the hell?” I didn’t know what was happening and felt my heart beginning to race again. I looked around frantically as more of this mist rose from the ground and filled the area. I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve as I wasn’t sure if it was poison or not. I regretted coming here as I had no idea what I got myself into.

“Do not fear,” the voice called out.

“What is this place?” I shouted.

“This is an ancient Indian burial ground,” the voice said. “This place is one of the last untainted places where man has yet to venture. The Native Americans who lived here were deeply spiritual and believed that everything in nature possessed a spirit. Animals, trees, the Earth itself are all living beings with souls.”

“What is this blue mist?” I asked.

“It’s the combined souls of those who rest here. The souls fused together as one and now act as a collective protector for the woods and the cemetery. They normally stay quiet and are out of sight, but they’ve just been awakened by the coming of the advent,” the voice said.

“Advent?” I lowered my sleeve. “What’s that?”

“They wait in anticipation to see the advent for the hope that their souls will finally be with their ancestors. They’ve been protecting the woods for so long now that all they want is to finally move on. I will tell you about the advent when I see you. Just please continue along before the sun sets,” the voice said.

I took one last look at the graveyard before departing. Earlier, I wouldn’t have believed something like this. I was never one to believe in ghost or spirits. But from what’s happened, I’d believe almost anything now. There was still a part of me that wished for this to all just be a dream.

Going back up the slope was even more difficult. While most of the pain subsided, my knees felt like they were locking up. I paced myself a few steps at a time until I got back to the beginning of the trail. I turned right to continue through the woods. The branches above looked like claws reaching out. I didn’t like seeing them especially after literally seeing ghosts.

More sounds of birds echoed from above. There was a small clearing above where the sky was visible. There were crows circling above me, probably watching me. If the feminine voice was controlling them, she probably had them keep tabs on me acting as her eyes. That was my guess anyways.

In the snow there was an orange hat sitting on top of camouflage gear. I bent down and examine it until I caught something from the corner of my eye. Nearby were two heavily disfigured bloodied corpses, each wore an orange vest. Their injuries consisted of several talon and beak marks all over their bodies.

‘More victims of those damn birds,’ I thought.

Seeing them in the snow like that made me wanted to do something for them like give them a proper burial. I at least wanted to cover them up, but I didn’t have anything to place over them. I thought about burying them in snow but all it would do was preserve them until the snow melted. I closed my eyes and quietly said a prayer for them before continuing along my way.

I came across another large opening. Even though the voice said to go straight through the woods I felt lost. I was in the middle of a big snowy groove. I spun around and saw woods all around me. Beyond the woods lied nothing but darkness. Light shined down into the groove. I felt tired and fatigued. I didn’t know just how long I had been walking but it seemed the strain had finally got to me.

“Talk to me! Where am I supposed to go? I’m lost!” my voice echoed through the woods. I waited for an answer, though none came. “I said where am I? Talk to me dammit!”

I was getting sick of this shit. I resented listening to that damn voice. What the hell was I thinking coming out here just because a random lady’s voice told me while my friends laid helpless? I thought I’d find answers as to why all these things were happening. But I also wondered if this will be the place where I would die. I wanted to go back to my friends. I wondered if I would even find anything at all. Maybe all these voices were just in my mind and weren’t really there. If that were the case I really could had been unknowingly walking to my death. This would also mean the death of my friends. Would they die because I had been imagining voices in my head? The thoughts raced through my mind. I didn’t know what I would discover or what waited for me.

I trembled and grabbed my head as I suddenly received a sharp migraine. My knees shook and I couldn’t stop sweating. I fell on the ground and collapsed on my side. I didn’t know if I shook because of the cold or the sickness. I was petrified and couldn’t move at all. My senses faded as it got harder to see and hear. Everything around me went quiet. I couldn’t hear the sounds of the woods or birds anymore. My vision blurred and I closed my eyes.

Foggy images passed before me. Steve, Eric, Kate and I were back in the SUV. Steve and Eric were beside me playing their games. Kate was upfront driving while occasionally shouting at the others for making too much noise. I glanced out the window and saw withered trees shooting by down the road. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes.

“Stanford, wake up. Your journey isn’t over yet,” a familiar voice called out.

“Rhoda?”

A sudden jolt of energy shot through my body. I opened my eyes and gasped for air. I picked myself off the snowy ground and brushed myself off. I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy like it was going to snow again but there was pale light illuminating them. It felt like something was attracting me again like back at the burial ground. This was different as it felt much stronger. I walked in the direction that called out to me treading over fallen trees and the rocky snowy ground. Birds still flew above but I couldn’t tell if they were the same crows I saw earlier when I came into the woods. All I knew was I was getting sick of looking at them.

I made it through the woods and entered an open area that was field-like but had a massive mountainous hill. It was so large that it overlooked the entire area. In fact, I could barely see its top. I sensed the energetic feeling coming from the top of the hill. I knew I had to climb it.

‘All the way up there,’ I thought. ‘Shit.’

I walked over to the foot of the hill and found it was very steep. One simply couldn’t walk up it. I felt around and examined the terrain. It was less rocky, and more grass covered in snow. To get to the top, I needed to climb it.

I grabbed any place where I could get a grip. Though exhausting, the climb wasn’t too difficult. The problem was using my bare hands to climb. I had no gloves, and the cold snow and ice-cold rocks made my hands numb. Despite being tired, my adrenaline allowed me to push myself. Eventually the cold rocks and ice felt like a burning sensation and my adrenaline died down causing fatigue to set in. I rested my head upon the snow waiting for my second wind.

“You can do this, Stanford,” the voice called out. “You’ve come so far. Don’t give up now.”

It was still in the back of my mind. Was that really Rhoda? Whoever it was that last thing they said boosted my determination. I picked myself up and carried on. With my injuries, traveling through the woods for the last few hours, and climbing a mountainous hill, I was beyond exhausted. This was the most tired I’ve been in my entire life. Little by little I crept my way up. The top was just a few feet away. Just one more reach.

And that is how my story began.