Fire & Flood

Chapter 16

The fog was thick all around her. The trees stood like ghostly guardians - their presence shrouded in white. Emily could not find Morgan. It felt like he was mere inches away, but the fog obscured him and made Emily feel completely alone.
Suddenly, Emily felt someone's hand grab her arm.

"I found you! What are you doing here?" Said a familiar voice urgently.

Emily's heart started to beat faster. How could this be? Why is she here?

"Leslie?!" Emily half shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" Leslie said in an annoyed tone. "You didn't come to school, so I went to your house to check on you. Then I saw your cat. It ran into the woods, so I followed it."

"You saw Sam? He is okay!" Emily exclaimed in relief.

"Chasing a cat into the woods? Well that was stupid," Morgan's voice startled Emily. He was standing right beside her, but Emily didn't hear him come up.

"Morgan!" Leslie exclaimed and threw her arms around him. Emily noted that he looked very uncomfortable. Morgan looked briefly at Emily as if checking to see what she thought.

"Leslie, you need to get out of here!" Said Emily. "The woods are not safe."

"I'd love to, Em," said Leslie now forcing her hand into Morgan's, but I can't find my way back.
Morgan jerked his hand away from Leslie's.

"Great! Now I have two of you to deal with!" He exclaimed in exasperation.

"You don't have to deal with me!" Said Emily testily. "But we do need to figure out how to get Leslie home."

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Asked Leslie. Emily detected a jealous tone in her voice. She didn't know what say. How do you explain all that has happened to her? Would Leslie even believe it?

"Two teenagers alone in the woods?" Morgan spoke up. "It's obviously either sex or drugs, have your pick," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Shut up, Morgan!" Said Emily and rolled her eyes.

"You are so funny!" Giggled Leslie and grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Seriously, Leslie, we need to get you out," said Emily.

"Yeah, I came from that direction, I think," said Leslie and pointed behind her. "I wasn't walking long, so we should be very close."

They started walking through the snow covered forest. The thick fog surrounded them and obscured any landmarks ahead. Morgan walked in front, his footsteps expertly finding even ground. Emily got the sense that he wanted to phase into a wolf. It would be easier to navigate his surrounding with both his eyesight and sense of smell sharpened. However, Leslie walked closely beside him. She clutched to his arm as if trying to steady her balance. Even from the back, Emily could tell that Morgan was annoyed.

"I am tired," Leslie whined after some time of walking. "I need a break!"

Emily noted that the light seeping through the canopy looked different. No longer the brightness of the day, the sun appeared to be lower on the horizon. Emily checked her phone, it read 2pm in the afternoon.

A sence of hopelessness washed over Emily. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"We are never getting out of here," she said quietly.

"I'll get you out," said Morgan standing at her side. He looked stoic, but there was a sudden warmth to his tone. "Don't give in," he continued. "The last thing you want to lose in this place is hope."

"I don't even know if Sam is okay, and now Leslie is roped into this..." Emily trailed off.

"Yeah, strange how she just appeared," pondered Morgan. He glanced at Leslie who was sitting on a log a little ways away from them.

"There's something weird about this whole situation," Morgan continued.

"Maybe Sylvos is starting to lure people I love into the forest," Emily thought in horror.

The minute Emily said this, she heard a scream deeper in the forest.

"Emily! Emily, where are you?!" The shouting came from behind them. Emily sprang to her feet.

"Mom!" She yelled back.

"Emily!" Another shout came from ahead of them. "Emily, help!"

"Sam!" Emily screamed and moved to go towards the voice.

"Don't!" Morgan commanded. "It's a trick!"
The shouting continued. Emily felt paralyzed and horror struck.

"Mom! Sam!" She kept repeating. "They are in danger!"

"It isn't them!" Said Morgan confidently.

"How do you know this?" Emily half shouted at Morgan, tears soaking her cheeks.

"It's a trick to get you more lost! These voices aren't real!" Morgan continued.

Emily kneeled down and covered her ears. Panic spreading through her entire being. The shouts continued around them. Other voices joined Sam and Emily's mom. Emily heard her dad and her teachers, a cacophony of terror.

The fog around the group seemed to thicken. Emily felt alone and lonely as she tried to tune out the shouting from the forest. Suddenly she felt arms wrapping around her. A warmth spread through her as she realized that Morgan was holding her close.

"Stay with me," he whispered softly into her ear. "It's just you and I here