“Looks as if the fog is dissipating in that direction,” Kyle said, indicating to the right with his chin.
Jeff nodded. “And our little game trail leads in that direction too, Jonas. If we’re going to find a place to camp before nightfall, we should double-time it out of this mist.”
Jonas didn’t move, studying the forest and rocks in front of him. The path had wound through the trees and rocks earlier. He had a good memory. More than a good memory. His mind mapped things out for him in grid patterns. The game trail hadn’t veered to the right. It had continued upward, straight ahead, winding around tree trunks and large rocks, but it hadn’t really swung left or right.
“Give me a minute.”
Keeping completely still, Jonas swept his gaze up and down the fog-shrouded forest floor in a grid pattern, paying special attention to the area where the game trail should have been. At first there was a strange shimmer, very reminiscent of a mirage in the desert. But Jonas persevered until the shimmer dissipated and what lay beneath became clear.
“The actual trail is straight ahead. It’s being hidden from us.”
“That’s not good,” Kyle observed. “And we’re being watched to make certain we go where we’re directed?”
“Yep.” Jonas took the first step onto the very narrow game trail to see if it would trigger an attack of some kind.
“This is some kind of crazy-ass magnetic earth thing happening, like in the Bermuda Triangle,” Jeff muttered. “We’re going to get misdirected all over the place, aren’t we?”
“Yep.”
Jonas wished the phenomenon came from a “magnetic earth thing,” but he seriously doubted it. Something was going on in the mountains above the two fortresses that GhostWalker Teams One and Two had established to keep their families safe. Weirdly, the compulsion to continue forward was still on him, but the threat was still quite hazy, as if it were very, very far away.
He had to consider going back down the mountain and telling Ryland what they’d run into. The fog was manufactured, and someone had planted a very potent danger signal in it. Not only that, but they had diverted them from the real trail. Very few could manage. He wasn’t going back. He couldn’t go back. The compulsion to continue was stronger than ever. That didn’t mean he wanted to risk Kyle and Jeff.
“You two could make it out of the danger zone if you hiked down fast for two hours and then camped.” The offer had to be made, and he did his best to sound casual. He knew there was no way either of his friends would take him up on it, but still, he had to try.
“Can’t leave you here without direction, Jonas,” Jeff said. “Especially since we all know you’re afraid of the dark; otherwise, I’d advise we just leave your stubborn, knife-wielding ass right here in Creepy Hollow.”
“Technically,” Kyle said, “a hollow is a low-lying area, not a mountainside.”
“Work with me, Kyle. ‘Creepy Mountain’ doesn’t have the same ring to it,” Jeff quipped, bringing humor to the tense situation.
The tension continued to build in spite of Jonas seeing through the fog to the trail beneath it. The dark purplish beads had a strange reddish cast to them as they swirled almost hypnotically around the men.
“Seriously, it isn’t a bad idea to let Rye know there’s something going on up here that wasn’t here before.” Jonas tried a second time.
“It’s that bad?” Jeff asked. He began walking, showing Jonas he wasn’t about to be left behind. “Now I feel like I’ve got a target painted right between my shoulder blades.”
“You’ve got a pack on. They wouldn’t be able to see the target, so they would have to aim for your thick skull, Jeff,” Kyle said helpfully.
“Great. Now the back of my head is all tingly. I think my psychic abilities are expanding. I can feel someone targeting me right now.”
“You’re so full of shit,” Kyle said. “I think you need serious help. You’re turning into a psychic hypochondriac.”
“There isn’t any such sort of thing. You’re making that up.”
“I’m a doctor. I would know,” Kyle assured solemnly.
“Jonas, is there such a thing as a psychic hypochondriac?”
“Yep.”
Jeff burst out laughing. He kept the sound low and directional so only his two companions could hear, but it was real. All the while they were walking along the game trail, Jonas continued to scout for a good place to camp for the night. He wanted somewhere they could defend if needed. With every step they took, the feeling of danger increased.
“I feel it too now,” Kyle said. “Increasing, I mean. Before, the feeling of something watching us was very faint, now it’s strong.”
“My best guess,” Jonas said, as they continued very slowly uphill. “Tree frogs. We’ve now graduated to timber wolves. I noticed a disproportionate number of frogs on the trees as we passed by. The wolves are staying well back, but I’ve caught glimpses of them.”
The trail narrowed significantly as it wound up the forested mountainside. There were fewer trees and more rocks. As they walked, the shimmer became worse. It was very disorienting, at times making it feel as if the ground had dropped out from under them.
There was a brief silence while both Jeff and Kyle looked warily around them.
“You aren’t going to spot them,” Jonas pointed out. “They aren’t hunting to eat us, at least not at the moment. They’re watching us.”
“What does that mean?” Kyle asked.
“Like they’ve never seen humans before and they’re just curious?” Jeff asked.
“I’m not getting that.” Jonas reached out to the wolves with great care. There was plenty of game in the area that could sustain a small pack, and this one seemed small. “They’re watching us for a reason. I have to be very careful.”
Jonas kept his touch delicate as he reached out. The alpha was especially wary. Normally, Jonas had little trouble connecting with wildlife and establishing communication, even if it was just to “push” the animal in a direction away from him. This time, however, there seemed to be something blocking him from using another pathway he found that the wolf was familiar with. That pathway circumvented him from taking command of the animal.
“The ground moving continually is beginning to make me sick,” Kyle said.
“You realize the ground isn’t actually moving,” Jonas pointed out.
“Yeah, I get that,” Kyle agreed, “but it feels and looks like it. I’m trying to make my brain understand it’s all an illusion.”