Page 10 of Wild About the Mountain Guide
“Peyton, you should tell one,” Harmony says. “You write thrillers, so if anyone can tell a spooky story, it’s you.”
“I don’t know,” Peyton says, her cheeks turning pink.
“Do it,” Christine encourages. “Give us something properly terrifying.”
Peyton looks around the circle, firelight dancing across her face. “All right. But don’t blame me if you can’t sleep tonight.”
She leans forward slightly, her voice dropping to a whisper. “This happened to a friend of a friend, so you know it’s true.”
Everyone leans forward, too, eager to hear more. Even Brandon puts down his notebook.
“She was hiking alone, which I know, Knox, is a terrible idea, but she was experienced, and it was a trail she’d done dozens of times. About five miles in, she heard footsteps behind her. Not unusual, right? She thought the footsteps belonged to other hikers. Except every time she turned around, no one was there.”
The fire pops, sending sparks up into the dark sky. Alexandra looks terrified. I grin. I’m giving it five more minutes before she’s climbing onto Alex’s lap.
“She kept hiking, figuring she was being paranoid. But the footsteps kept matching her pace exactly. Step for step. When she sped up, they sped up. When she slowed down, they slowed down. Finally, she decided to step off the trail and let whoever it was pass by.”
Peyton pauses, letting the silence stretch. The only sounds are the crackling of the fire and the wind in the trees. I’m amazed at how invested in the story she’s making us feel. I’m starting to see why Peyton is Reese’s favorite author. She’s an excellent storyteller.
“She waited. And waited. But no one came. The footsteps stopped the moment she stepped off the trail. She was convincing herself she’d imagined the whole thing when she heard something that made her blood freeze.”
“What?” Harmony whispers.
“Her own voice. Calling her name. From somewhere deeper in the woods.”
Christine actually shivers. “Nope. I don’t like where this is going.”
“She knew she should run. Every instinct told her to return to her car and never look back. But the voice sounded so sad. So lost. Like whoever it was needed help.” Peyton’s eyes reflect the firelight as she looks around the circle. “So she followed it.”
“Bad choice,” I mutter, as caught up in the story as everyone else.
“The voice led her deeper into the woods, always calling her name. And then, in a clearing she’d never seen before despite hiking this trail for years, she found them.”
“Them?” Brandon squeaks.
“Seven other hikers. All sitting in a perfect circle, like we are now. All staring straight ahead. And when she called out to them, when she asked if they were okay…” Peyton’s voice drops to barely a whisper. “They all turned to look at her at exactly the same time. And they all had buttons for eyes.”
Harmony lets out a small shriek. Alexandra clutches Alex, who looks equally pale. Even Christine looks unsettled.
“What happened to her?” I ask.
Peyton leans back with a satisfied smile and shrugs. “No one knows. They found her car at the trailhead three days later, but she was never seen again. Some people say that if you hike that trail alone, you can still hear her voice calling from the woods. And if you’re really unlucky…” She pauses dramatically. “You might just find that clearing.”
The fire crackles and pops, making everyone jump.
“I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight,” Harmony says, clutching her crystals like they might save her.
“It’s just a story,” Christine says, though she doesn’t sound entirely convinced.
“A really good story,” I admit. “You had us all hanging on every word.”
Peyton smiles. “Occupational hazard. I spend my days thinking up ways to terrify people.”
“Well, mission accomplished,” Christine says. “I’m going to be checking my tent for button-eyed hikers all night.”
“Me too,” Brandon says and yawns. “I’m calling it a night, though. I’m exhausted.”
The rest soon follow. I’m tired, too, but I linger by the dying fire with Peyton, not wanting to leave her side.
