The Survival

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I would love to say that I went to the lunch, that we had a lot of fun and now are best friends forever and we will marry each other. But no. I chickened out.

I admit it. It was my fault. I hid in the room and faked to be sick. Childish, I know.

Also, I didn't tell the girls about the lunch, since I had no intention to go, it would not make any difference. At that time, it sounded like a wonderful plan.

Plan:

• Tell only some parts of my conversation with Nathan.

• Occulting the invitation for the lunch.

• Pretend to be sick the next day.

• Pray to the Gods above.

Let's just say that it seems like I don't have a guardian angel, and if I do, he hates me and he convinced the other Gods, angels and maybe demons to gang up against me.

The lunch day Nathan came up to my room and wanted to talk to me, he was so determined to do just that, he almost crashed the door, no kidding. When I thought that I was safe, later that day the girls came thundering through the room asking for an explanation.

The plan was a failure.

The girls were pissed with me and Nathan wouldn't even talk to me after that. I should be happy that finally Nathan left me alone, but I was feeling the opposite way. I never wanted this to happen, and now I messed up. I would catch a few glances from Nathan that were thrown my way, but they were always accompanied with frowns and his lips had the corners turned down. It was like this the whole week.

We are all waiting for the teachers to arrive, it seems like they have something to tell us, they probably want to have a little speech with us.

Me, the girls and the boys are all together in a kind of a circle, Beth and Lucy are by my side and to my luck Nathan is in front of me. Even though Lucy is at my right she doesn't notice me, she is to engrossed in the chat that she is having with Ed, those two became so close this week, it’s unbelievable, Dylan is talking to Sarah, Beth is painting her nails, and I'm sitting here, felling Nathan’s gaze on me.

If you want to ignore someone isn't it supposed to be, well... ignore them? Because Nathan is doing something wrong here. I can feel the daggers he is sending me.

I can't look at him, I can't. I wish I could, but something holds me back, so I keep my eyes focused on my top while my fingers play with the hem of it.

"Anyone has any ideas of what we can do next week?" Beth speaks, still treating her nails.

"Party. We’re going to go to every bar and club, and live while we're young." Sarah replies really quickly, her eyes shining that show her excitement.

"Besides that." Beth waves her hand to empathize her words.

"We could simply walk around." Lucy suggests.

Beth's eyes finally leave her nails and focus on Lucy. "Eww, no, I'm tired of that."

"Then come up with anything, your majesty." Dylan says with the main purpose of upsetting her.

"I wanted to do something spontaneous, that we haven't done before, that would make you have your adrenaline on high."

"Go on a rollercoaster, your adrenaline will get on the pick." I mutter to myself; it didn't work kind of well, Beth slaps me on the forehead to express her discontentment.

"Don't be an i***t, Kate."

"Impossible." I hear that simple word from Nathan's lips reaching my ears.

Take deep breaths Kate, you can do it.

"We could go to a strip club, that definitely gets me on my breaking point." Dylan answers with a smirk on his lips.

"Double ew, no thanks." Beth's face is hilarious, let me just tell you.

Ed snaps his fingers "I know what we can do." all our heads turn to him "This may seem creepy and weird. There is a forest, here in Ireland, which is said to be haunted, it's the Ballyboley Forest. Local legend says that it was an ancient Druid site. There are some marks there, like stone formations and circular trenches. Some centuries ago locals disappeared and never came back and even today they are very wary to venture of the tracks."

"Tracks? You can visit that place?" Nathan interrupts.

"Yes, you can." He nods "But continuing there are reports of shadowy figures walking among the trees and noises from animals, strange noises. It was a national park, but some recent things made the place even creepier. Want to hear about it?"

Everyone nods, too enthralled by the story.

"A young couple saw black smoke and heard screams and moans not too far from where they were, and they left after that. There is another one that it's actually reported in a newspaper." My throat is getting dry "Two men were in the forest when they heard a flapping sound, but they didn't care, later they heard moans of pain from a woman. Being the gentlemen that they were, they left the tracks and went to rescue the distressed lady. It all started when they saw the trees smeared thickly with blood, there was no woman, but the noises continued, closer this time. When they were ready to leave one of them turned around and saw four men motionless dressed in brown rags that covered also their heads. And that's it."

The silence remained, all of us still trying to absorb this new story, information whatever you want to call it.

"Oh, I forgot. It is said that the forest contains a gateway to what the Celts called 'The Otherworld'. Some people also say that you feel like something or someone is watching you, which causes a chill to run down your spine and not in the good way."

"People disappeared there?" Lucy is the first of us to talk before a long pause, though her voice is a mere whisper.

"Yap, they disappeared into the trees, never to return."

"That is scary as f**k, Ed." My voice returns.

"Now, my question to all of you is..." Is it supposed for my heart to be beating so quickly? "Do you want to go there?" Ed rests on the couch he is in and watches us closely waiting for our answer.

"Yes." Sarah replies. That girl never stops surprising me.

"I guess." Lucy's turns to answer.

"We will go." Dylan replies for Nathan and him.

"Forget it." Beth says. Thank God, someone is sane here "I'm not going near that place."

"What's the problem? You wanted adrenaline." Sarah remarks raising and eyebrow to Beth.

"Yeah, I want that. But I'm not that desperate."

"I agree." Different pair of eyes look in my direction after my comment.

"Are you going to chicken out, Kate?" My eyes lock with Nathan's, a challenge look in his eyes.

"No." I say through gritted teeth.

"Oh, sorry, are you going to get sick again?"

"Shut up." My patience is getting thin.

"Are you too scared or sick to go with us."

"Shut the f**k up!" I shout, making a few heads from the students around us to turn our way "just shut up."

"How is it going to be?" He keeps pushing my limits.

"I don't have a death wish like you." I spit.

"Loosen up a bit cupcake." I can feel anger starting to burn deep inside of me.

Stupid nickname.

Stupid guy.

Stupid place.

Stupid me.

"I'll stay here with Beth." I decide to say.

"What can we do for you girls to come?" Ed inquires.

None of us answer.

"What if we do it this way? There are tracks, where is expected of you to walk on. Nothing happened to those who walked it till the end. Would you come if we remained on our rightful place?"

Beth's blue eyes look into my green ones, trying to see from them my decision about this whole thing. She turns to look at Ed to reply him. "Maybe."

"Then it's decided, we are going, we just need to inform the teachers."

I snort at Dylan's comment. "Yeah, sure like they’ll let you go when you tell them we’re going to a haunted forest."

"That is the thing Kate, we aren’t. We’re going to tell them that we are going to Larne, the town where the Ballyboley Forest stays. Waiting for us."

***

Where did I have my head when I agreed with this? Apparently not on my shoulders. I didn't give my answer, I mean I didn't vocalize it. They haven't heard me say 'Yeah I will. I don't really like living so let's go to this haunted forest and get ourselves killed'. I don't remember saying it.

I'm at the hotel room, setting my things on the backpack that I will take. I don't want to take an enormous amount of things, yet at the same time, you never know what to find. Till now I already have a flashlight, snacks, water bottles, a change of clothes - you never know, it might rain- I also have toiletries, more food and pepper spray.

Back home when my big bro gave me the spray, I thought it was stupid, why would I use it? He told me in a condescending voice 'You never know what can happen'. He was right.

I never, ever, expected to go to a forest while here, so the pepper spray is a good utensil. I may be attacked by a bear or something. They live in forests, correct?

Never mind, I keep packing more food knowing Lucy is beside me doing the same. I still can't believe we are doing this. It's dangerous, I can't be the only one with this opinion. What if something happens? Yes, we have each other but I'm going to panic. When I said I'd like to go camping, I wasn't referring to this.

Somehow, the teachers were okay with it, well not completely okay. Lucy was the one that talked with them and she is a good student, or more like excellent, so when she gave all the information's needed to find us, the teachers agreed and now we are going to Larne.

She only hid one important information. We are going to a creepy, scary and haunted forest.

I zip my backpack shut and sit on the bed to put on my boots, they are not exactly camping style or mountain, but hopefully they will manage it.

"I'm so excited." Lucy comments.

"Iupi, iupi, hey."

She looks my way only for a second and then focus on her backpack "Don't be like that, it's going to be awesome."

"I'm awesome and no one acknowledge it." I mumble. "I never predicted that you would accept to do it." I say louder so she can hear me, she stops chanting and turns her head to me.

"Accept what?"

"This walk thing, to go there."

"I'm not really worried, I was at first, but I spoke with Ed, he said that everything was going to be fine and... he would be there for me." A blush settled on her cheeks at the end of her talking.

"You two got pretty close?" I suspect that she likes him and vice versa.

"You can say so." She shrugs.

I nod and get up from my bed, we need to pick Beth from her room and go to the main hall, to wait for the others. I go to the bathroom to brush my teeth and then we are good to go. We grab our things and head to Beth's. We walk in silence, Lucy is on her little world that probably involves unicorns, rainbows and Ed, while I'm left with my dark thoughts that don't seem to stop. Sooner then I hoped we reach our friends room, I knock once and wait. Patricia, Beth's roommate appears.

"She is in the bathroom, almost ready. Want to come in?" We didn't get a chance to answer her because the one and only Beth comes up.

"Gosh you look horrible." Okay, wrong words to say first thing in a morning to a girl that obviously looks like a ghost or saw one, I need to be careful next time with what I say

"Jezz, thanks." She has purple bags under her eyes, she looks so pale, her eyes are swollen, she hasn't slept much, and her figure that usually seems confident now is fragile and shaky.

"What's wrong with you." I can't take my eyes off of her.

"I will tell you later." I don't want to pressure her more, so we head to the others.

It doesn't take us long to be on a jeep. I don't know how they got it, but they did. Nathan is on the driver's seat and Dylan is on the passenger's, the rest of us are on the back.

"Okay, can we talk now?"

Beth has been quiet since we left her room, it worries me not knowing what made her be in this state. Her eyes stay fixed on the window when she answers me. "I'm not feeling well."

"No, don't bullshit me, it's more than that, I know it, I feel it...tell me." A sigh leaves her mouth, she rests her forehead on the window and closes her eyes, I wait for her to recompose her posture and gain the courage she needs to speak. At last she opens her eyes and with her hand calls me closer. I don't hesitate for one second, yet I can't say the same about her.

"Umm, I have the feeling again."

I feel my heart skips a beat "We already talked about it. It's nothing. What happened last time was an awful coincidence."

"What about the other times? It happened more than once or twice" She is whispering not wanting anyone to hear, but I know that if she could she would be shouting at me, so she could prove her point.

"Where do you have it? The feeling? On your stomach?" She nods. "Maybe it's food poisoning."

"I doubt it. I ate the same thing as Sarah at lunch and at supper we ate sandwiches made by you. The only logical reason that I can come up with beside my sixth sense is that you put something on my food last night. Am I correct?"

"I did not poison you, if that is what you are thinking."

"Argg, you have a slow understanding." she is rubbing her forehead, she needs a painkiller, maybe I have one along with the other toiletries.

"Then enlighten me" I grab the bottle of water and the pill.

"Forget it" She says casually accepting the things with a soft thank you.

We arrive at the forest more quickly than I hoped, we all get out of the car and go to the trunk to take our belongings. Nathan gives me my backpack, we share an intense look, before it's broken by a shriek scream, I turn around with my heart on my mouth and see Sarah slapping Dylan on the arm.

"Remember everyone, if you hear someone scream, it's Sarah, not a woman in pain in the forest." This time she punches him on the chest, and he laughs like an i***t.

"Boo" I scream, the loudest scream I ever gave, I spin around and smack my backpack in whoever did that. Nathan groans loudly and holds his belly, his eyes tightly shut.

"s**t woman, what do you have in there? Bricks?" He says through clenched teeth.

"I wish I did, so it would hurt you like a b***h, you scared the s**t out of me."

"That was the idea."

"Do you want another?" I lift my backpack and lower my brows challenging him.

"I'm fine" He straights himself up and sighs.

"Let's go guys" Ed calls with Lucy by his side, they are at the border of the forest with a nervous Beth by their side.

"Are you ready?" Nathan asks adjusting the strap of his own backpack.

I have so many ways to answer the question.

No, I'm scared. I don't like this at all.

Yes, I'm tough, what where you expecting?

"Yeah." It's my vague answer, and the only word and sound leaving my lips.