Chapter Text
“I wouldn't go that way if I were you.”
The four men looked up at you, startled out of their huddle where they'd been discussing possible routes through the old-growth forest that skimmed the edge of the rocky terrain they were hiking.
“Excuse me?” The man who stepped forward first had black hair and a strong brow. He was clearly the de facto leader. He held the map in his hands and raised his eyebrows at you, inviting you to answer.
“I said, I wouldn't go that way if I were you.” You pointed a gloved hand toward the forest, its limbs and roots twisting away into darkness. “It's a rough way through there. Not a lot of paths, you know. Untouched.”
“Right,” the man said, feigning a smile. “Well, we've got a problem here and we can't make it the way we planned.”
The other three men were staring at you. A heavy-set man with glasses, a British Pakistani man, and a blonde man who looked the most sensible of the group – but only because he was nervous and fidgety.
“That is a problem,” you said. You shifted the weight of your own backpack on your shoulders and studied the men. The heavy-set man with glasses was wincing as he leaned his weight on one leg. He must have twisted an ankle or knee somewhere along the path. “Bigger problem if you cut through that. If he can't walk on these hills, he won't be able to go through there.”
The three men then turned on their leader. He smiled at you but it didn't seem genuine.
“Don't have much of a choice here,” he said. “It's too far going forward and it's too far going back. Best chance we have is cutting through there. It's a shortcut, see.” He held up the map as if it proved something to you. “It's just a narrow band of forest, it'll lead us right where we need to go.”
Your eyes moved past them to the dark trees. “Narrow band, huh?”
Their eyes followed yours to the trees.
“Maybe she's right, Hutch,” the British Pakistani man said. His face was dark with exertion and slick with sweat. He was wearing the entirely wrong outfit for hiking. He looked like he was about to meet friends down at a pub rather than hike across Sweden. “Maybe we should find another way.”
“There is no other way for him,” Hutch said, an edge in his voice. “Do you think he'll make it all the way back the way we came? Or all the way down to complete the trail? It's fast, I promise you. Faster than any other route. Look at the map – it's nearly a straight shot right through here and then we're practically by the river!”
While the three men pored over the map, the nervous blonde man watched you. You stared right back.
“Where are you coming from?” he finally asked.
Hutch glanced up at the man briefly, saw he was talking to you, and dropped his head back down to point at the map.
“There,” you said, pointing into the distance away from the forest.
“What's there?”
“Not here.”
His eyebrows twitched together and he frowned. “Where are you from, though? What town did you come from? Have you been following behind us? We didn't see or hear you.”
“You wouldn't. The hills allow for privacy if you're coming from the way I came. I could see you, though. And hear you. You're all very loud.”
His cheeks turned pink. “Would you be willing to help us?”
“Not through the forest.”
“No. I mean, would you be willing to go on ahead of us and let someone know that we're hurt and need help?”
“They'd be going into the forest from the wrong side to try to find you. They'll never do it.”
“We can stay put, right here,” he said, motioning to the ground around him. “Even for a few days. It'd be fine. More embarrassing than anything, but not dangerous. Would you just let someone in town know that we need help?”
“Luke,” Hutch said firmly, finally folding the map with a snap of the paper. “We're not staying here. It's ridiculous.”
“It's not,” Luke said. “She said it's dangerous to go into the forest–”
“And you believe her? For all you know, she's just parroting what the guidebooks say.”
“And the guidebooks were written for a reason!” Luke huffed in frustration. “There's no reason to cut through the forest if we have someone who can go ahead and get help.”
“And there's no reason for us to sit here like a bunch of twats for three or four days while we wait for some random person to go get help, when it would take less time to cut through the forest and get to where we need to be.”
Luke looked toward you, almost desperate for you to speak up and say something to persuade Hutch. You merely shrugged.
“I wouldn't go that way, but you're welcome to do what you want. I'll go ahead and let authorities know you've got an injury and will need medical attention. Where should I tell them to look for you?”
Hutch seemed pleased while Luke was distressed. Hutch unfolded the map and pointed to an area of wide, flat green on the other side of the supposed narrow band of forest, tucked away against the curving edge of a river. It eventually opened up to a town that had hotels, restaurants, and Search and Rescue teams. It wasn't the town you were aiming for, but you could have authorities radio the S&R team in the town near Hutch's intended exit point.
“Once we reach the town,” Hutch said with an easy smile and you understood how the other three had fallen under his breezy leadership, “we'll let authorities know we've arrived safe and sound, so if they get a call later on about finding us, they don't have to worry about it. I mean, I'm sure we'll get there long before you do.”
“I hope you're right.” You looked each man in the face, Luke last. He was handsome and anxious and grinded his teeth whenever anybody talked.
“Are you all alone?” the heavy-set man asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Hiking alone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don't need to hike with anybody else.”
“You don't feel scared about it?”
“No. I'm not going into the forest, so there's no reason to be scared.” You looked at Hutch again. He was a leader, alright, but he was stubborn and placating, playing peace-keeper and park ranger. It would be the last time you saw him, you knew. “I wish you luck. If you get in there and find it's not for you, you're always welcome to follow my trail. From your vantage point, you should be able to see me walking.”
“We'll be fine, but thank you,” said Hutch. “Come on, gents. We're wasting valuable daylight.”
The three men loaded their packs up and headed for the edge of the forest, the heavy-set man hobbling on his injured leg. Luke stayed behind a moment longer.
“You'll send for help, won't you? You're not just saying that.”
“No, I'll actually send for help. I'll ask them to approach the forest from both sides, just in case you get turned around in there. The map he's got won't do much to help you. You can't really plot a path through uncharted forest.”
Luke begrudgingly pulled his backpack on and snapped it into place. “How fast do you walk? I mean, do you think you'll get a team out before we make it to the other side?”
“I'm not cutting through old-growth forest with a twisted ankle, so I should be considerably faster than the lot of you, yes.”
Luke chewed the inside of his cheek and looked despairingly at the three other men who were nearing the edge of the trees.
“Look at it this way, Luke,” you said. He turned to you, eyes large and shiny and mouth tight with concern. “One way or another, you're not really going to need a search and rescue team.”
“How's that?”
“Either you make it out of the forest … or you don't.”
Startled, Luke floundered to say something. He was cut off by Hutch calling his name. They'd reached the first ancient trees. You shifted the weight of your backpack again on your shoulders.
“Goodbye, Luke. I hope you find the path you're looking for. I'll be sending help your way very soon.” You turned and marched across the rolling hills, far away from the dark forest and the four men being swallowed up by it.