Chimera

Chapter 2

The town of Madmoor came into view. It looked like a small town right out of the early forties. The streets were clean, the houses and buildings were painted pastel colors while the shops showed off the fashions and trends in their display windows. It was like stepping back in time. We parked the van on the side of the road and decided to check out the town before we do anything else.

“So, let’s meet back here in about an hour?” Logan said leaning over the driver’s seat towards the back. Everyone nodded their understanding and agreement as we all started making out way out the door.

“How about we make it two?” Tish asked in a whisper as she hung up Munroe’s arms flirtatiously. He whispered something back at her and the two of them ran off in one of the directions.

“How about we team up and do some ‘investigating’ ourselves?” Chad asked standing next to Ronnie. For some reason that guy just never wanted to learn. The whole sexually frustrated vibe was not working on anyone, especially Ronnie. She rolled her eyes and just walked away with Chad in tow. Logan and Maddy followed but before they disappeared out of sight, Maddy turned and eyed me indicating something that I just couldn’t quite grasped.

“Seems like we are stuck together.” Jax’s voice came from behind me and I blushed when a shriek escaped me. His laugh made me smile. It was warm and comforting. It touched his eyes every time he smiled. Flutters encased my stomach whenever he looked at me a certain way. We started walking in one of the other directions and soon found ourselves in a shopping street. The buildings that lined the way sported the fashions and styles of the late 1950s. Signs on the stores were half faded with age, but most of the words were still legible. The hardware was opposite the grocer, while just down the road we could see the faded red and white sign indicating the post office.

Nothing other than the fact that this place was outdated, seemed out of place or weird.

“So- This is different.” Jax spoke and it seemed like he was trying hard to make conversation.

“Yeah, seems like we have stepped back in time.” I replied as I was admiring the stores and wondering how it would have been to live in a small town like this.

“I know what you mean. I’m still waiting for James Dean to come racing by in his infamous ‘Little Bastard’.”

“As opposed to Marilyn Monroe?”

“Don’t get me wrong, she was a hottie, but I’m not into blonds. Have my eyes set on a darker head.” I could feel his eyes on me. I was too afraid to meet his eyes, so I tried deflecting his attention to something else.

“Hey look, a toy shop.” I pointed across the street and hurried to investigate the window. Maybe Maddy and Tish were right. Maybe there was something or going to be something.

“Never pictured you for a toy collector.”

“I’m not. Just think that in those days they made the best, most simplistic things that could actually stand the test of time.”

“I hear you. The music in those days were legendary too.”

“Oh yeah, how is the music business going?” I asked glad for the change in subject. I remembered that he was a wannabe musician, but his family didn’t support the dream and forced him into a business degree.

“You know, slowly but surely. Working on some new songs, hopefully I can play you a few sometimes?”

“That would be great.” He leaned towards me, but I deviated and moved out of range. She smiled with a twinkle in his eyes and I just smiled back feeling awkward. I don’t know what it is, but it just feels like maybe we are not there yet. Then again how can we get there if I keep dodging his moves? We walked around the town not really paying much attention to our surroundings but also barely making much conversation together at all.

When the time came, we headed back to the Van and saw that we were the last to arrive.

“Found anything interesting?” Munroe asked and everyone just shook their heads. “Hopefully we will have more luck in the woods.” She opened the sliding door, and everyone started climbing in. Both Tish and Maddy gave me a questioning look which I decided to ignore, as they climbed in and we were all on our way as the doors closed.

***

We found an entrance in the forest, not far from the town. It took us a while to find the right place to park and set up camp as there was either too many rocks and trees, or a terrible slope making the group too uneven to even try sleeping in the tents. Logan volunteered to walk the ground so that he can show us if it would be suitable. It felt like hours at this snail’s pace, but eventually we found the perfect spot. Logan opened the Van door as Jax switched the ignition off. We piled out and stretched our legs a bit. Opening the trunk of the car, we started taking out all the equipment we would need, putting the food and cutlery next the the wood that we will need for our fire pit. Deciding that the men would pitch the tents, we noticed that there was a tent missing. There two big tents and one smaller one to which we agreed that the small one would be used for Munroe and Tish while the two bigger ones would host the guys and the girls. Before we knew it, everything was perfect, and we were already scouring the ground to build our fire pit.

“Why do we even need these bloody rocks? Can’t we just make it on the ground like normal people?” Tish asked wiping grime and mud from her hands as she deposited the rocks, she found in the center on our camp.

“Because, boy scout over here said we must, and I ain’t in the mood to argue.” Munroe smiled as he pointed to Jax, carrying more boulder sized rocks than anything else. I could see Tish throwing daggers at Jax with her eyes as she made her way to her vanity bag for some wipes.

“Guys! You better come see this!” Maddy ran towards us, her shirt wet but not from perspiration. We dropped what we were doing and followed her. Not long from the camp we came across the riverbank view. Chad was sitting in what looked like a natural jacuzzi bath in the river. He waved us over to join him as Ronnie was already getting undressed and slipping into the water only in her underwear.

“s**t, this water is warm guys. How the hell?” she yelled, getting in deeper so that her shoulders were submerged. It took a while for me to notice steam coming out of the water. It wasn’t a lot, but it was definitely in the facinity of warm water. Without a second thought, Tish made her way to the bank while mumbling something about getting rid of the grim under her fingernails. We all just stood there and stared at each other before jumping into the water, clothes and all. Splashing around, making jokes and even just chilling in the luke-warm water… now that was what this weekend was all about.

“I think I’m gonna start heading back before it becomes late,” I started getting out of the natural spring- at least that was what I thought it was- and made my way to the solid ground.

“I’ll come with you, maybe get the fire started.” Jax didn’t even wait for a reply as he came after me. A murmur from the group started as cat calls and whistles were thrown in there for good measure.

“Shut up assholes! Can’t a guy accompany a girl home?”

“Not unless he wants something!” Chad called and I could see the gestures he made with his hands grabbing and imaginary body in a doggy-style move.

“Says the one whose only companion is right in front of him!” Jax yelled back gesturing to his imaginary s*x partner. That got him the bird as everyone around Chad started laughing and mocking him again. As I walked away their teasing tuned to unintelligible murmurs. The wind started picking up. It wasn’t that bad really, but my wet clothes made the chill factor worse and my mind immediately went to the group still in the water. They were gonna freeze their asses off by the time they got out. It was only when the camp came into view that I realized I didn’t even bring a towel. I was thinking of how I was going to warm up when Jax’s voice rung from the back of the Van.

“Raven! Here!” He tossed me a towel and I didn’t even think twice to use it. I hadn’t even noticed that he passed me by in the woods on our way to the camp.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I started drying my body off. The towel was a warm welcome as the wind picked up slightly. I was busy using the towel to dry my hair a bit when I musty scent came from the materials. It was soft and clean but also masculine. I hadn’t realized that I closed my eyes to take in the smell, until Jax cleared his throat.

“Should I leave you and the towel alone for a while?” he asked when I opened my eyes. His smile reached his entire face, which brightened his gray eyes making them seem warmer than usual. As he turned towards his duffel bag, I noticed that he was shirtless. His broad chest stood tanned even in the dim light of the late afternoon sun. His six pack traveled all the way from his pecks to the very tempting ‘V’ shape of the Adonis belt. I am a real sucker for the ‘V’.  It was like he was moving in slow motion while my eyes admired the view. He put on his shirt, grabbed a bag from the trunk and made his way towards me.

“Here, thought you might need this,” he handed me my bag. Our hands touched slightly as I took the bag from him. His musty masculine smell grew stronger with his presence so close to me. Locking eyes, it was almost as if we were the only two people in the world. I could see how his eyes drifted to my lips. I waited in anticipation as he moved closer slowly. As our lips were about to touch, I could hear voices coming from the river side.

“Holy s**t it’s cold. Whose idea was it anyway?” Tish complained as the voice started growing louder.

“Hey, don’t look at me! I didn’t force you guys to get in. Besides I’m the one that is gonna have to sit with a small d**k for a few hours,” Chad complained.

“Don’t start blaming your small d**k on the water.” Logan laughed as everyone started joining in.

We broke apart before we could even get closer as Jax moved past me mumbling something about starting the fire. I made my way towards the tent and changed into something warmer. When I got out, everyone was already huddling either at the fire, or getting their stuff from the Van. Making my way towards the fire, my eyes caught a glimpse of Jax. He was standing by Munroe and Logan with a drink in their hands. Through the jokes and the drinking, I could see him watching me. Didn’t know if I felt uncomfortable or flirtatious. I made my way over to where the rest of the girls were rummaging through the bags to find the clothes they were looking for.

“I think you have a fan,” Maddy whispered half over her shoulder, trying not to look too inconspicuous.

“Is he still staring?”

“Jip, I think someone has an admirer.” She mocked as my cheeks flamed as red as the fire coals. Everyone changed clothes and grabbed a drink while the men started putting some meat on the fire for our dinner.

After dinner and the clean-up, we all snuggled into our camping chairs around the fire and started making jokes and just telling stories. Chad still didn’t want to leave Ronnie’s side. He was like a little puppy walking with his master.

“How about a ghost story?” Logan asked and looked around the fire for acknowledgment.

“Why not? Who’s first?” Jax asked waiting for someone to speak up. His eyes lingering a bit longer on me with a smirk of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

“I’ll go. I have the perfect story to tell,” Munroe spoke, sitting a bit closer to the edge of his seat before starting. “It is said that somewhere in this forest is a place that is known as ‘Hangman Hill’. Now many believe that witches were hanged on the hill somewhere in the late 1600’s and that if you come close to that hill and switch your car off, soon enough the car will make its way up the hill on its own. No one knows why this happens, but some suspect that it is the power of the witches that brings you to them as they still occupy the hill.”

“I heard that it was because of the caves.” Logan piped up, looking at the group.

“What caves?” Tish asked sitting more on the edge of her seat.

“The caves were used as a burial site for the natives that use to inhabit the lands. Due to its huge size, they could go in deep and bury the people without it having an impact on the forest. Now legend has it that something happened in those caves, no one knows for sure, but it was bad enough that the natives abandoned the forest and their dead. After that the government bought the land and the cave for mining purposes. Now this is where it gets interesting,” Logan moved closer to the fire, and everyone instinctively did the same, as he lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “The people of the mines said that the caves were haunted. They kept hearing voices and chanting when they worked, and creepy laughter as they left the caves at night. Some conspiracies would suggest that whatever caused the natives to leave was the same thing that infected the miners, causing them to go crazy and being hanged in the forest by their own people.” He lowered his voice even more, trying to create a scary undertone to his story.

“But on full moon nights, when the veil between the worlds thin, you can hear the laughter and chants from the caves echo through the forest. The dead will walk the earth as those that were hanged and those buried in the caves roam around, either looking for revenge or for new bodies to inhabit. You will know they are near when you feel the breath on the back of your neck.” With the conclusion of his story, Tish’s shrill scream ran through the camp as Munroe’s laughter filled the air.

“For f**k’s sake Munroe! You can’t go scaring the s**t out of me for kicks.” She yelled as she rubbed the back of her neck with a gooseflesh arm. Laughter echoed through all of us as realization dawned that Munroe blew on Tish’s neck as Logan’s story came to an end. With that, Chad tried to make his move on Ronnie.

“You know, if you’re scared, you can always climb into my tent tonight.”

“Give it a rest Chad.” Ronnie said as she played with her lighter, rolling it between her fingers.

“How can you not be interested in me?”

 “It’s because you have a d**k, you idiot.” I piped up, hopeful that the realization of what that implies would register with Chad and that he would stop trying so hard. I could see him mauling the words in his head as his eyes widened when he understood what it means.

“Oh- So you like girl-on-girl action? I dig it.” He was never going to stop until he got his way, poor Ronnie. “How about you get your girlfriend and we can have a little threesome party of our own?” without a warning, Ronnie took Chad’s arm that he casually draped around her shoulders and put him in an arm bar.

“Ahhh! Okay! Okay! I give! UNCLE!” he caved, slapping his available hand on his thigh like a retarded seal. When Ronnie released him, he immediately grabbed his wrist, rubbing it with his other hand. Ronnie got up and headed to the cooler box for another drink.

“Better luck next time dude.” Jax commented as he slapped Chad’s back in sympathy.

“Are you kidding? I think I’m in love.” Chad said as his eyes traveled towards Ronnie. We all laughed and started up individual conversations as the night went on. Sooner or later everyone started retiring for the night. I think most just wanted to be asleep before Munroe and Tish went to their tent.