Page 25 of My Road Trip with a Vampire: Season One
“Are you ok?” Dennis asks. The light flickers.
“Yeah, just ready to hike around,” I say, trying to sound as casual as I can about it. He seems to take the hint because he drops the look of concern.
“Sounds good. But we might not get the other tent up before it starts raining. Are you going to be ok with sharing one after we’re done with our nighttime hike?”
There’s a zero percent chance I’ll fall asleep in my own big-ass tent while a ghost is trying to play tag with me. I look around. There's enough room for us to spread out in here.
“Of course. What could go wrong?” I ask and put my hood up as we step out into the night.
13
LUMS POND: PART 2
Forty-five minutes later, we're walking through a mist that's just heavy enough to be irritating.
“It’s pretty moist out here,” Dennis says.
He’s looking up at the trees, a single drop of rain glistening on his lashes. There’s a half-smile on his lips that makes him look more mischievous than monstrous despite the hint of fang he's showing.
“The wordmoistmakes me feel extra dry, so I guess I should thank you,” I say with a smile, hoping this ghost won’t catch on to what we’re trying to do.
I’ve had a couple spirits get feisty once they realized I was trying to send them beyond the veil.
I swing my flashlight to follow a noise, and my heart jumps to my throat before the light catches on a rabbit hopping across our path.
I’m glad Dennis can keep up the easy banter. I’m too unnerved by how this spirit’s eyes are running all over my body, watching my every move. It feels like a creeper in the bar, but it's even worse because I can’t see an apparition anywhere.
Branches stretch out from the trees that reach toward the trail. Leaves brush against my sleeves and flick wet drops in my face.
“It’s a nice night for a walk with you, even if it’s a little wet,” Dennis says. “Think we'll hike the whole trail tonight?”
“Maybe,” I tell him. Every time I think I sense something noteworthy, the ghost pulls me in another direction. “You’re not too tired for a nice walk around the pond, are you?”
Pond. My ass. This is a whole freshwater lake. The trail we’re on is over six miles long.
The wind picks up, causing branches to sway and groan against each other. It's almost loud enough to drown out the sound of someone crying in the woods. I keep my pace steady, but the weeping grows louder. My shoulders tense up, and I shine my light between the bare birches.
Dennis wraps an arm around me, pulling me in close.
“You ok, babe?” he asks, and for a second this feels like a genuine question. Then he brings his lips close to my ear, his cool breath making my skin break out in goosebumps. “Do you see something I don’t?” he whispers.
“You don’t hear her?”
He shakes his head, and I slip my hand in his, hoping we pass as a couple on a midnight stroll.
“Let’s sneak off the path,” I say, winking at him and tossing my hair.
The corner of his mouth twitches.
“Sounds like a plan.”
We duck beneath branches and weave between trees, winding deep within the woods before I hear it again. The distinct sound of weeping.
Then between the trees, there’s a swish of transparent fabric, a long skirt trailing through the rotting fall leaves as the transparent figure disappears behind a broken stump.
Dennis is squinting through the mist. I can’t tell if he can see her, but I get the feeling that he can sense her presence. It’s hard to miss—the air temperature drops, and there’s a cloud of deep sorrow that hangs around us.
She must have been leading us to this place…but why did her spirit seem so excited to have us following until this point? Now there’s only sadness.
