See No Evil

“I think we should review the Calculus assignment when we get back,” Alicia suggested with a nervous laugh. Colby glanced at her incredulously, though Nina, almost too eagerly, replied,

“That’s not a bad idea! I’m not sure if I fully understand the last section.”

“Professor Carlton doesn’t make those quizzes easy,” Fred loudly agreed.

All four jumped as a branch cracked loudly under foot and echoed through the black forest; one that threatened to swallow them up, the moment they dared to defy it.

Mitzy, Alicia’s white Yorkie, whined fearfully in her arms, twisting awkwardly in the girl’s grasp to get a better look behind them.

But Alicia kept the little dog’s head turned starkly forward, under the pretense of scratching behind her ears.

“I know, Mitzy!” Alicia forcefully cooed, “as soon as we get back, you can have as many of those bacon treats as you want!”

A short pause settled between the friends; just enough time for a fifth voice to whisper:

“Hey - you there!”

Nina gulped, Fred stifled a gasp, and even Colby - the resident-skeptic - felt a chill trickle down his spine. Mitzy tried to bark, her muzzle stifled painfully by her owner in just the nick of time.

The voice behind them seemed to wait for an answer, her ghostly footfalls keeping steady time with the group.

“You’ll need to be careful about those treats!” Fred aggressively declared. “It’s not good for a puppers to have that much extra salt in their diet!”

“Yes, that’s true!” Nina agreed, a catch in her breath stifling the rest of her thought; the long, cold finger that tapped across her shoulder was almost impossible to bear. But she fought hard to keep her eyes straight ahead on the darkened trail, her muscles tensing as she refused to brush away the spectral force.

“My Aunt Sara once told me about her rottie, Rufus -” Fred offered, taking up Nina’s place in the conversation,

“She said all the extra salt from his favorite milkbones really did a number on him at one point.”

“Really?” Colby sighed as he rolled his eyes. A sudden gust of cold wind rushed them from behind; eager, giddy, with a ravenous intent that made three of the friends tremble.

“She had to put him on a special diet after that,” Fred continued. He shot his friend a hard, inquisitive look. “Her Vet warned her that it could’ve caused him to develop seizures, or even an early death.”

“Yeah, that’s what Dad was telling me the other day,” Alicia agreed. “He was worried I was putting too much salt on my food and…”

“Hey,” whispered the voice into her ear, “Can I ask you something?”

“...and told me that it could cause severe dehydration!” she finished, the last word punctuated by a little ‘eep!’

Just then the bridge marking the end of the trail came into view. Alicia’s heart skipped a beat, while Fred grabbed Nina’s hand and pulled her along at a faster pace. Colby groaned under his breath, suddenly too annoyed by his friends to deal - though even he shut up immediately when Mitzy, wriggled free of her owner’s tight muzzle, let out a single sharp “YELP!”

Alicia clamped the dog’s mouth shut and practically sprinted over the wide wooden bridge, while Nina, sensing the coming of another ghostly utterance, immediately interjected:

“I think they should put safety lights out here, especially since it’s so close to the campsite!” Suddenly her knees buckled halfway over the bridge; her mounting panic finally caught up with her and forced her into a bout of hyperventilation.

“They really should!” Fred agreed forcefully, practically pushing her from behind across the rest of the bridge.

“The creek being so close to the campsite, I’d be worried about little kids wandering around and falling in. Especially at night!”

“Oh my God, this is so stupid!” Colby declared. He suddenly stopped, only steps away from crossing onto the other side of the trail - the “safe side” as the groundskeeper had told them earlier that day.

“You guys are acting like a bunch of babies!”

“Coles!” Fred shouted warningly.

“I’ll prove to you there’s nothing scary out here!”

“Colby, no!” Nina whimpered.

“Stop!” Alicia shouted over Mitzy’s muffled whines.

All the while they dared not look back at him.

“Hey, Jackass!” Colby shouted to the woods, turning around with a defiant smirk, “you can come out now, joke’s over!”

Silence surrounded them. The air stood still. The friends stood frozen, like a bizarre tableau in the middle of the night:

Alicia clinging to a trembling Mitzy; Fred hoisting Nina to a standing position right behind them. All four clear across the bridge, all four firmly back on the “safe side” of the bridge; none daring to turn and face the tall, skeletal shadow which suddenly appeared before Colby.

“Hey?” they heard him say -

“Who’s there?”

Alicia, Fred, and Nina took off like three shots into the night; dirt and gravel from the walking trail kicking up behind them. Fred cursed repeatedly and Alicia began to pray through soft, baleful whispers. Only Nina remained silent, her body running automatically, as the terror of the night sent her mind spiraling into oblivion.

They didn’t stop running until they finally reached their campsite.

“You guys okay?” Fred asked through heaving gasps.

“I think so,” Alicia replied shakily, rocking the still trembling Mitzy in her arms. Nina collapsed to her knees, shaking like a leaf and unable to speak. Fred and Alicia glanced at each other, knowing exactly why: she was shaking from fear, but speechless from grief.

They both finally looked back at the trail they had just escaped, and listened in vain for Colby’s footsteps;

A sound they knew they would never hear again.