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“We gotta get out of here,” Kaitlyn yelled. She probably thought I couldn’t hear her over her obvious panic or something.
“Katy,” I said, putting my hands on her shoulders, “calm down.”
The branches snapping in the dense trees did not help Katy calm down. Her eyes darted around wildly, trying to locate the threat.
“Take a few breaths, okay? Nothing is gonna happen to you. Not while I’m around.” I made a show of breathing deeply in through my nose and out my mouth. Thankfully, she copied me.
Once Katy got her fear mostly in check, she asked, “How are you so calm right now?”
I shrugged. “I dunno.”
“That thing is out to get us and you’re just,” Katy stepped back, gesturing at me, “vibing.”
“Well, that thing doesn’t scare me.”
Some leaves rustled together in one direction, drawing Katy’s attention to the noise. “How?”
“I dunno.” I had to resist the strong urge to shrug.
A shadow darted across the foliage behind Katy. I thought better of telling her. “Let’s just go. Nothing’s gonna hurt us.”
“Okay okay…” She breathed.
I led the way to where we’d parked our car on the road. We hadn’t been gone long – the headlights were still on. I glanced back, making sure Katy was still following.
Of course, because somehow things in horror movies happen in real life, she was frozen in the middle of the trail behind me, staring at something in the trees.
I started walking towards her. “C’mon, Katy, let’s go.” I definitely sounded like an annoyed parent of a four-year-old, but whatever.
Katy, obviously rooted in place with fear, didn’t react. I didn’t even look in the direction she was staring. Even though she was pointing at whatever was out to get us.
Instead, I grabbed her outstretched hand, flipped off the entity, and half dragged Katy to the car. “You’re fine.” I said. “We’re fine.”
Katy said the thing was a shadow with a mouth for a face and 5 eyes in its torso that wanted to eat us.
She also thought that it didn’t like the smell of us and that we don’t have enough meat on our bones for it to eat. But, I’d like to think whatever that thing was was too in awe of my indifference to attack.
So, that’s what we went with as we drove away.
Once we were safely speeding down the highway to home, Katy said, “I’m never going back into the woods again!”
I shrugged, focussing on the road. “I might.”