Friday, July 15, 1994

Friday, July 15, 1994

1:07 p.m.

Ethan watches it all unfold like a movie in slow motion. Billy edging close to the road. The car honking its horn and screeching to a stop. Ashley shrieking as she runs to Billy, pulling him away from the road, mouthing an apology to the driver as the car slowly moves on.

"You need to watch where you're going!" she yells at Billy.

Billy, visibly shaken but none the worse for wear, nods. "I'm sorry. I was distracted."

"Just be careful." Ashley sighs as she looks at the rest of them. "All of you. Me and Ragesh will be in deep shit if something happens to one of you."

"I'm not their babysitter," Ragesh protests.

"Hate to break it to you, doofus, but you're just as responsible for their well-being as I am. It's called maturity. Look it up."

As they bicker, Ethan stares at the road slicing like a knife through the forest. His parents don't allow him to wander this far, and Ethan has never had the desire.

"Maybe we should head back," he says, knowing they're now a mile deep in the forest and run the risk of getting lost if they go any farther.

The others keep moving, crossing the road without a second of hesitation. Even Billy, who appears to have forgotten about the car that almost just hit him. He now looks even more eager to get to the other side and explore the deepest, darkest regions of the forest. Pausing in the middle of the road, he turns to Ethan and says, "Are you coming?"

Ethan doesn't know how to answer. Nothing about this afternoon has gone according to plan. He had simply wanted to hang out with Billy. He certainly didn't think Russ or Ashley or Ragesh would be involved. He's still confused as to why they're here and nervous about what they collectively plan on doing.

"I think we should go back," he says again, proud of himself for sounding more insistent this time.

But Billy's completely across the road now, joining the others on the shoulder. Seeing his friend—his best friend—standing with Ragesh, the guy who bullied his way into their group, and Russ, who he doesn't even like, makes Ethan ache from betrayal. Billy should have sided with him. He should have stayed with him. Yet there he is, impatiently shifting his weight to one leg and crossing his arms in an unconscious mimicry of Ragesh's stance.

"We don't have all day," Ragesh says.

"Yeah," Russ adds, sounding like a weak echo of the older boy.

Billy stares at him across the road, which is barely big enough to fit two cars yet feels as wide to Ethan as a river. "Come on," he says. "I want to keep going."

Ethan turns around, studying the expanse of forest they've already traveled, as if he can trace their path all the way back to his house, where his mother might still be crying. Faced with the unsettling memory of seeing her weep, Ethan knows he's not yet ready to go back home.

"Fine," he says. "I'm coming."

Standing with his toes on the edge of the asphalt, Ethan looks both ways, even though there are no longer any cars near them. He's about to break one of his parents' cardinal rules: Don't go past the road.

He knows they'll be mad if they find out.

No, not mad.

Furious.

They might even ground him, which has never happened precisely because Ethan knows it will be torture if it ever does. So he minds his manners and does his chores with only a minimum of complaining. In short, he behaves. But this? This is the opposite. It's willful misbehavior.

And his parents can never, ever know.

"Then come on already," Ragesh says.

Ethan nods, looks both ways once more, and then sprints like a startled deer over the road. The others are on the move before he's all the way across, which makes him simultaneously sad and angry. Especially at Billy, who's again taken the lead. Ethan thought they'd be walking together, the way best friends do. But Billy forges ahead like they barely know each other.

"It's this way," he says.

"What is?" Ethan asks, hoping the sound of his voice will remind Billy that he's here, that it was just supposed to be the two of them. He considers the possibility that Billy's also mad at him, likely because he let Russ tag along. If so, he doesn't look too upset about it now as Russ marches right next to Billy. The spot where he should be, Ethan notes with bitterness.

"The Hawthorne Institute," Billy says.

The answer is a surprise to Ethan, who has never set foot on the institute grounds and doesn't think Billy has, either. Honestly, he didn't think people could walk there. Ethan's parents certainly don't want him going there. Its existence is one of the reasons they forbade him from crossing the road in the woods.

Yet he's now marching right toward it. The fact leaves him feeling so apprehensive that not even Ashley's sudden presence at his side can lighten it.

"Hey," she says. "You doing okay?"

Ethan gives a weak nod. "Yeah."

"You know, you can tell me if you're not," Ashley says. "And if you want to turn back, I'll go with you."

The idea is both tempting and humiliating. While Ethan has no desire to keep going, he also doesn't want to be the scaredy-cat who needs his babysitter to walk him home. What would Billy think of him? What would Ashley? Ethan worries that if he turns around now, it will somehow diminish his standing in their eyes. And while he doesn't care what Ragesh or Russ think of him, the way Ashley and Billy see him matters.

"We can keep going," he says.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," Ethan says, even though he's not. But it's either this or lose face in front of the only two people he wants to impress.

Ashley jabs him with her elbow, seemingly pleased, which Ethan thinks means he made the right choice. That assumption only grows when Ashley continues to stay by his side as they follow the others deeper into the forest.

Ethan knows they've reached the institute grounds when he spots a stone wall up ahead. Even though it's far in the distance, seen only in half glimpses through the trees, Ethan's stomach clenches at the sight. It's tall, at least eight feet high, and topped with curls of razor wire. As they approach, he can see evenly spaced signs warning them to keep out. Pointless, really. The wall's presence is warning enough.

Beyond it, the forest seems to continue undisturbed, as if the wall itself is just a mistake and there's nothing on the other side. But there is. Ethan hears it. A rush of water that grows louder with each subsequent step.

Billy, Ragesh, and Russ reach the wall first. Russ peers up at it and asks, "Is this it?"

"Yep," Billy says.

Ragesh gives the base of the wall a light kick. "How do we get past it? You didn't bring us all this way just to see a stupid wall, right?"

"There's more," Billy says, standing a few paces down the wall from everyone else. "This way. Follow me."

The others do as instructed, and start crunching their way over dead leaves that have been blown into piles against the wall. Only Ethan pauses to wonder why Billy knows just where to go. Again, he considers suggesting they turn around. Now that they're at the wall, there's nowhere else to go. He runs a hand along the stone, noting how thick the wall seems, how impenetrable, as if whatever sits on the other side is best left alone. Ethan is happy to do just that. Yet everyone else keeps walking, following Billy's lead and sticking close to the wall.

"Keep up back there," Ragesh calls, prompting Ethan to hurry to catch up.

He finds the others clustered around a break in the wall, the stones that used to be stacked there now strewn across the ground. Ethan can't tell if the breach was caused by natural forces or if someone knocked it down. All he notices is that there's a two-foot gap big enough to sneak through.

Which, to his astonishment, Billy does.

"That's not a good idea, Billy," Ashley says, making Ethan relieved he's not the only one nervous about what's happening. "Maybe you should come back."

"Or maybe we should join him," Ragesh says, pushing past her and joining Billy on the other side of the wall.

Russ follows suit, slipping through the gap and standing next to Billy on the other side. Billy turns around to give Ethan an expectant look.

"Aren't you coming?"

Ethan remains where he is, uncertain. Again, he wonders what Billy will think of him if he refuses. He's noticed the way Russ has been by Billy's side the entire time, and he worries it will continue after they leave this place. Until today, Billy tolerated Russ—barely. The only reason Russ came along is because Ethan allowed it. Yet the two of them now look like the best of friends as they stand shoulder to shoulder on the other side of the wall.

"Sure," Ethan says.

Next to him, Ashley gives a disapproving frown. "I guess that means I'm coming, too. We might as well all trespass together."

They step through the gap and join the others. Billy walks ahead of them, leading the pack. He seems intent on reaching a particular destination, and Ethan thinks he knows what it is by the steady rise of the land beneath their feet and the sound of rushing water that's grown unnervingly loud now that they're on this side of the wall.

The falls.

Ethan's heard of them, of course. The boys at school whisper stories about a mysterious waterfall that everyone seems to know about but very few people have actually seen. The falls are said to be haunted, in addition to being cursed. Two claims that made him doubt the place even existed.

But it does.

And to judge by the thinning of the forest in the distance, it's just ahead. Through the trees, Ethan sees blue sky and nothing else, making him aware of their elevation. So much higher than the ground in front of them. He'd assumed they were moving toward the base of the falls. Now he knows better. Now he knows they're approaching the top.

Soon they're there, emerging from the woods onto a rocky outcropping. On the left, water rushes past them before cascading into the lake below. Standing so close to it fills Ethan with fearful fascination.

The waterfall itself is only about ten feet wide. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in force. The water doesn't slip over the falls. It roars. A sound Ethan can feel in his sternum just as surely as he feels the spray of water on his skin.

Ethan nudges forward until he's between Russ and Billy at the front of the outcropping. A move he instantly regrets. Now that he's a mere foot from the edge, the drop seems even bigger and more menacing.

Instead of a slide into the lake at an angle, the falls plummet straight down for at least thirty feet. Maybe more. When he dares to look down, Ethan sees that the water below is a churning white and that a fine mist hovers over the surface. The lake could be a foot deep there; it could be fifty. There's no way to tell.

The height, steepness, and power of the falls unsettle Ethan. It feels dangerous here, especially with nothing to keep them from slipping off and falling into the abyss.

"How many people do you think drowned in here?" Ragesh says. "I've heard at least a dozen."

"Bullshit," Ashley says. "If someone died here, we would know about it."

Ragesh puffs out his chest, clearly annoyed to be corrected. "I meant, like, a hundred years ago."

"This wasn't here a hundred years ago. It's all landscaped. It's not like the Grand Canyon."

It might as well be to Ethan. He's awed by it. All this is within walking distance of his own backyard and he never even knew it. And while it's still technically part of the suburbs, it feels like the end of the earth.

Adding to the strangeness of the falls is what lies beyond it. From the outcropping, the grounds of the Hawthorne Institute stretch out before them like some storybook kingdom. Directly below is the lake, which widens as it moves away from the falls, the water settling into a flat mirror that reflects the sky. It eventually splits into several small streams that meander across the property. Here and there, stone bridges arc over the water.

Nestled beside the lake is a meadow that slants upward to a vast area dotted with trees and various structures that Ethan can't make out from this distance. He can only see walls of wood and stone.

Beyond them is a stone-walled mansion that looks as big as a library. It reminds him of the building at Princeton where his father's office is located. It's got the same look. Old. Stately. A little bit creepy. Ethan doesn't like visiting his father at work because the floors creak and everything echoes. He doubts he'd like being inside that mansion even less.

"What is that place?" he says to no one in particular.

"The Hawthorne Institute," Ragesh says.

"What do they do there?" Russ asks.

"Scientific shit," Ragesh says. "It's a research center."

"Yeah, but what kind of research?"

"I know what they do."

This is said by Billy, who's inched away from Ethan and closer to the edge of the outcropping. Too close, Ethan thinks. Right on the cusp of dropping over the falls. But Billy doesn't seem to notice that as he stares in the distance.

"They talk to ghosts," he says.