35. Mari

Mari

Earlier

T here is a buzzing in the air. It's soft but incessant. Yera plunges ahead of us into the forest like a spooked animal. "Bitch, where the fuck are you going?" I yell after her, more than annoyed.

"Shit." I grab Ava and do my best to follow. You'd think that with my longer stride, I could keep up with her, but she is bounding through the thicket like a deer and disappears into the black night.

I stop, straining my ears to hear a twig snapping or a rustling in the bushes, anything that could lead me in her direction, but all I can hear is that buzzing.

"What is going on?" Ava's dark eyes look up at me, terrified.

"I don't know. Let's go back to camp and get some flashlights. "

She agrees.

The trees open up, letting the light from the curiously moonless night illuminate the trail. A rush of relief washes over me when I see the pounded dirt path. It's not like me to be fearful, and I hate its taste on my tongue.

Once back at camp, we grab flashlights and hook backup kinetic lights to our belt loops. Better safe than sorry because something is definitely off.

The night air is light, except for the incessant humming, making things seem more claustrophobic.

The beams of our flashlights bob back and forth over the forest floor, looking for a trampled brush path. "Ava, over here. I think I found it." There were a few snapped branches and a slight split in the underbrush. It's not a lot, but it is enough to give me hope we are on the right path.

"Go ahead, and I'll follow up. I'll make sure nothing sneaks up on you." I give Ava a teasing shove, but her expression suggests I should have kept that comment to myself. "Hey, I was just joking. I'll beat the shit out of anything that comes our way." She exhales and nods knowingly. It wouldn't be the first time she has seen me get physical with someone who decided we would be an easy target.

The further we move in Yera's direction, the more intense the humming becomes. The trees overhead block out the only light we had, only adding to the feeling of the forest closing in on us.

A small blinking light bobs in and out in the space between Ava and me. A firefly? Fireflies are rare in the Pacific Northwest but not unheard of. "Ava, when was the last time you saw a firefly? Take a look."

I fixate on the tiny creature and its bright, beckoning light. I've never seen one glow like that. The space lights up like a flare, and I almost have to avert my eyes. "Holy shit, Ava, are you seeing this?" My eyes widen at the small creature while I call out to my friend.

Nothing. It takes a few seconds for me to realize that Ava has said nothing. I unhook my gaze from the blinking creature to find nothing. No flashlight beam on the path ahead. It's just black stillness.

"Ava!" I shout into the endless night, but the only sound is my voice bouncing off the canyon. Holy shit, this isn't good. "Ava, please!" Please say something.

The lightning bug flashes more rapidly. I go over to it, furious at the distraction it caused.

It blinks at me and hovers as if to taunt me. I reach out to grab the creature, but it dodges out of my grasp. "You little fucker," I grind out through my frustrated mouth, but the bug still bounces and sways in the black night sky.

I throw a hand out again. The white light eludes me, moving away from me into the dark forest. I follow closely behind, swiping and reaching for the damn thing at every opportunity. I'm obsessed; no other thought fills my head other than the need to eviscerate this thing that distracted me enough to lose my friend.

Rage and confusion blind me, and I wind through the night after this glowing beacon. It flashes and dances in and out of trees and bushes, in and out of my line of sight.

When it stalls for a heartbeat, I think I've won. My fist closes around the creature, and I clasp my palm tight. However, when I unfurl my fingers, instead of a splattered bug, there is nothing.

I'm entirely in the dark without the glow from the creature. The once open and endless forest now feels like a tomb. The dark closes in on me, the dark hand of a death god, choking and all-consuming .

The buzz is gone as well. And that stilling silence that followed the storm is back—the eerie quiet closing in further. The only sound is my heart's rapid pounding and my ragged, staggered breaths.

I press my hand to my forehead, and a cold sweat blooms under my palm. This isn't me. I'm not a fearful person. I stay still for a moment, letting the cool of the night work to calm my nerves. Okay, think. You need to move, to get out from under the trees to see better. Right.

I turn in the opposite direction, back the way I came.

My shin catches on a fallen tree branch, hurling me toward the ground. My body hits the floor with a hard thud and then it starts again. The buzzing fills my ears as if it was waiting for me to be in a weakened state, as if waiting for the right time to strike. Why is this happening?

I hold my hands over my ringing ears and curl my body into a protective position. Bright, blinding light fills the woods like millions of fireflies have come to seek their revenge.

I close myself tighter, drawing my knees to my chest and squeezing my eyes against the imposing brightness.

The outright assault on my senses threatens to overwhelm me. The ringing in my ear.

is churning my stomach, and the white light makes my head pound.

My head sways, eyes rolling and pulsating with the pounding in my brain. Darkness creeps in, overtaking the glow. It swallows me like the yawning mouth of a cave. It consumes me, and the last thing I remember is darkness .