Page 23 of Kat Bethel

I’d kill for that innocence again. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how it worked.

Intense eyes locked on me, and made me realize my mouth had twisted into an uncomfortable shape. It took a few tries, but eventually I was able to keep a neutral expression.

As the night went on, the kids caught quite a few apparitions on camera, starting with one or two, but they became more frequent as it got later. None of the kids seemed to notice though. They were too busy talking about the futures they wouldn’t get to have.

Maybe if they’d paid attention to their surroundings they would have left before it was too late. They’d let themselves feel safe in the herd, and forgot that fear was their friend.

Fear told you when something was wrong.

It was right before the witching hour, and the last couple of kids were going to bed, when I saw something that wasn’t a ghost. The shadows around the fire pit started quivering. My eyes snapped to the fire itself, looking for any good reason for that behavior. The fire moved as if it was struggling to stay lit despite its size. Like the wind was whipping across it.

“See you in the morning,” the girl recording said. “Tomorrow is a new life.”

The shadows grew against the ground like oil taking over everything. It made me search my room for any shadows behaving in ways they shouldn’t.

“Who is that?” a kid yelled, pointing into the distance.

An error took over the remaining five minutes of the video, even after I’d reloaded it a few times.

Damn it. That part probably had the juicy bits.

The next video was a couple hours later with the kids screaming and running through the woods, much like I had, right around four in the morning.

Except they weren’t as smart about it.

They ran full speed using their phones for light, but the shadows were ink on the ground chasing after them. I couldn’t see much even with all the lights, but after my run-in that wasn’t too surprising.

Icy breath hit my neck and my hair twirled around nothing.

It went like that until the phones died one by one. Leaving our camera in complete darkness. At one point the camera was focused behind them, and I could see how there was dim light several feet behind them. Because the shadow was already on top of them. Then the recorder’s phone died.

From the subsequent posts one person broke their leg and another busted their face on a tree. One of the girls got lost in the woods and died. It was a tragedy.

I made a list of who to question, if I needed to. What happened in that two-hour gap?

What could they have done to inspire so much wrath?

Fingers traced my collarbone to my shoulder in slow deliberate movements. The touch tickled and soothed in a way that didn’t match the way he’d bruised me in the woods. I almostleaned into the calm touch, but at the last second I jerked away when I regained my sanity.

Best I could tell he didn’t react, except to move close enough to touch my shoulder again. Unbothered by the rejection.

I pulled a lemon balm candle out of my bag, sat it on the table, and lit it with my lighter. The familiar soothing scent filled the room.

Be at peace.

My phone rang, and I gritted my teeth at the name flashing. I answered, ready for the verbal lashing coming.

“Sasha,” Esme’s voice rang in my ear with all the level of scolding only a mother could accomplish. The eldest had arrived. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“More than therapy can fix.”

“Why is your spineless, limp-dick husband calling me, to convince me you’ve lost the plot? You know I don’t like that motherfucker. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll stick with trying to manipulate Willow.”

That was a weird move on his part. He didn’t like her either. I’d convinced myself it was because she came at him crazy. Now I realized it was because she sliced right through his facade. She didn’t cushion her words for anyone.

The lights on the wall flickered like they were irritated, before coming back on with a loud click.

“Are you okay?” I asked, eyeing the room cautiously. She was mimicking her normal fire. It wasn’t real. I could feel the difference in the flatness behind her words.