*****
Lunch, Tyler was thankful to find, was a warm corn chowder with fresh baked bread. Adam’s mom, Sylvie, made it. She’d filled up a soup tureen with the fragrant stuff and left bowls and utensils on a little glass table in the conservatory. Tyler ate with relish, glad to have the heated meal after the chilly showers of the morning. It was still wet outside, but the rain was gone and the weather was heating up with the reemergence of sunshine.
Benji was unusually fidgety and hurried through his meal before refusing Grandpa’s offer of a chess match and running up to his room. Tyler shared a look with Sarah and they both shrugged at each other. Benji was probably playing with the numerous old toys he’d picked up from the attic. Tyler couldn’t blame him. Benji was younger than everyone except Kimmy and far older than she. He was having a hard time of it, Tyler reflected, especially since Jessie and Adam seemed to view him as pest. Given his initial behavior, Tyler didn’t blame them. He thought of Benji as nuisance more often than not himself.
Tyler also declined a game of chess. He already knew enough to play, but had found the activity boring the few times he tried it previously. He thought about staying inside and veg’ing out in front of the TV or playing a game on the Xbox, but Adam suggested a football game instead. Reluctantly, Tyler opted for muddy football with Adam, David, and Uncle Matt. Sarah and Kimmy went out to the gardens and Jessie said she’d oppose Grandpa at the chess board. So decided, they all went their separate ways.
That night, Tyler’s muddy clothes topped the hamper in his bathroom. He didn’t shower after the filthy game, knowing he would be venturing into the woods later in the evening. Still, he washed his face and hands before supper to be presentable. He didn’t want his odd behavior to be conspicuous. He didn’t want anyone to suspect his plan. Grandpa would most likely try to stop him if he confessed and Tyler was filled with a strident certainty that this was the only way to rid himself of the dreams.
Tyler dug through his bags, which were still half-packed and stacked in his closet, for something dark to wear. He came up with a dark gray pair of sweat pants and a long sleeved black T-shirt and quickly put them on. His black Nikes would serve well on this clandestine outing. He was grateful Aunt Rachel had given him a room with a terrace and outside staircase. He wouldn’t have to risk creeping through the old house to get outside.
He checked his glowing cell phone in the dark. It was just after midnight. He turned his bedroom light off hours ago in case anyone was looking. Tyler knew it was overly cautious, but his plan had become steadily more imperative to him throughout the day. He couldn’t have said why, but with the possibility of dreams leading to real, and heretofore unseen, places, he didn’t ignore the feeling.
Tyler was careful on the stairs, the stone was slightly wet and slick from the earlier rain. He tried not to rush and hoped anyone still up and looking out a window would only see him as another shadow in the darkness. He paced to the equipment shed and from there retraced his path to the arching tree.
Tyler was both relieved and disappointed to find the tree exactly as he remembered. He didn’t want the dreams to be real, that was just too weird, but he didn’t want to be crazy either. Using his phone as a flashlight, he took a deep breath, ducked under the dark branch and entered the woods.
The path was still visible and took a curving route deeper into the forest. It was much longer in reality than in his dreams. He kept checking behind him to make sure he could still discern the way back. Tyler might feel compelled to go forward, but that didn’t mean he wanted to end up lost in a strange forest after dark. The track climbed and rose with the landscape, but remained visible in both directions.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking when he spotted the light through the trees. It was eerily similar to his dream, but he shoved back any fear and pressed on. The trail curved away from the light briefly, then twisted towards it again. As he got closer to the source of brightness, Tyler was certain it was a fire due to its flickering nature. Again, dread threatened his resolve. He tamped down on it. He wasn’t stupid and he wasn’t weak. He was confident that whatever he found in the clearing would be something he could handle.
The clearing opened before him with startling immediacy. The tree line ended as if rudely cut off by an unseen force. Tyler’s eyes were at first enticed to the fire. He could feel it’s heat from where he stood, though, it was still some distance away. It was surrounded by stones, but there were other paraphernalia lying beside it, too: a small kettle and a few mugs and dented plates. Walking around to see the blaze at a different angle, Tyler saw a lidded pot hanging on a (iron?) stand like an old fashioned cooking set.
After a more meticulous study of the bare ground, Tyler realized it was a camp site. A rough shelter made of wood, stone, and covered with branches stood to the north. He could see blankets piled inside and a trio of primitive stone knives were scattered by a leather satchel near the entrance. Other stones had been deliberately placed near the hut and the fire. Tyler supposed they were for seating. Who lived here? Poachers maybe? They seemed to be gone for the moment, whoever they were.
It was now or never. Tyler advanced to the open flames of the campfire. The heat brought sweat out on his forehead. He braced himself, standing as near to the curling blaze as he dared and looked deeply into the dancing interior of the fire.
Nothing happened. Tyler gave it another minute, but no figures dancing in the flames appeared to him. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. The dream meant nothing. It was just coincidence that he’d discovered a trail and a clearing. Obviously he had seen the black sapling before and it had imprinted itself on his subconscious.
Tyler backed away from the circle of stones. Leaving before whoever camped here returned was probably a good idea. He considered reporting the evidence of a trespasser to Grandpa, but decided he’d rather keep this adventurous folly to himself.
He made it halfway to the forest opening when he froze at the sound of a thudding footstep behind him. “What do you want?” a low, growling voice asked harshly. Tyler rounded slowly like the scary part in a horror movie just before the hapless actor on the screen becomes the victim of some terrible monster. Tyler couldn’t seem to control his breathing and instinctually lifted his hands in a gesture of surrender.
The man behind Tyler looked rough. His hair was long and unkempt hanging in lank tangles around a narrow and thin face. His eyes were dark and predatory. His stance said he expected to fight. Tyler saw the thud he’d heard was not the result of a noisy approach, but the sound of a pair of dead rabbits hitting the floor of the clearing. The man before him had dropped them in order to better angle a wicked looking spear at Tyler’s back. Tyler noticed with a detached curiosity that the man’s left arm was bound up and resting in a sling. Would that give him a better chance of getting away? Tyler thought not, and fully faced the dark figure. He’d have to play this one by ear.