Bystander

5

There were five of us. When the night began there were five. 

We had wanted to take a walk at night. The harsh afternoon heat mellowed into a gentle warmth, and Cal had brought up the idea of taking a walk. Grace disagreed. Walking in the woods was scary enough, its large trees and hazardous floor making it easy to trip. I didn’t have an opinion on the matter. 

“C’mon Grace, live a little! We live in Utah. What's the worst that can happen?” Cal argued. After relentless convincing, Cal had persuaded us to take this walk. 

It started okay. The five of us met up in front of the forest and ventured out into the inky blackness of nature. The night had gotten colder and we all failed to bring a coat. We failed to bring anything more than flashlights. I think that was our first mistake. Our second mistake was having Lewis lead the group. He was notorious for giving bad directions, but at the time getting concerned wasn’t too big of a concern. We wanted to explore the woods that guarded the periphery of our town like a gate from the outside world. Between the five of us, it was silent, only the loud chirping of crickets and stumbling was heard. We all kept our heads to the ground to avoid the common tree root or small animal. I think that was our third mistake. 

We had been walking for about 15 minutes. I could hear the group getting winded, and Cal’s positive encouragement fell on deaf ears. We were tired, and these woods weren’t as entertaining as they seemed.

Suddenly, we heard crashing up above us. Without a single warning, a herd of deer ran past, anxious to get away from whatever it is they saw. That piqued my interest. I could see small birds going in the direction of the deer as well. What did they see? Without words, we unanimously decided to explore. But before we got far, Mira froze. After a second, I froze with her. It was too quiet. 

“Is Cal still here?” she questioned. 

It had been a while since we heard a, “keep going guys!” or a, “this will be so fun!” Our bright beagle of a friend was nowhere to be seen, and none of us had noticed earlier. Maybe it was the exhaustion that made us not question his disappearance. He might have gotten tired of our lack of excitement. Lewis knew looking for him would be fruitless, so he told the group to keep going. Maybe he thought we’d all get lost. Maybe he didn’t care for Cal at all. I quickly learned that I would not have the time to ask him these questions. 

4

Wanting to explore what the animals were running from, we pushed forward. I took this opportunity to look everywhere in hopes of finding Cal, but the taunting darkness of the forest held no answers. We kept walking. Farther and farther. Maybe these animals ran a long way to protect themselves from whatever it was we were going to. Either way, it took a long time. After 10 minutes, we all sat down.

“I'm so hungry,” Lewis said. 

None of us had thought to bring any food. I can now admit it was poor planning on our part. 

“Just eat some berries off of a bush,” Isabelle giggled. 

“What if they’re poisonous? I don’t want to die!”

“Well, if you’re really hungry, then you’ll take that chance.”

Lewis didn’t like being challenged. He was all too competitive. He stood up with a grunt and brushed the dirt off of his pants. 

“Lewis I was joking. What if they’re actually poisonous?”

“I’ll take that chance,” Lewis grinned. 

I stood up to go with him. I didn’t want anyone to be alone. Not right now. But this trip proved fruitless. We walked miles away from the group just to return empty-handed. Maybe we should’ve paid more attention to the walk, but it was tough to focus. I imagined their faces when we would return. Maybe their cheeks would be hollower, even though we hadn’t gone long without food. Our fourth mistake was not trying hard enough to find some. 

Walking back to the group was easier than I imagined. I kept my eyes directly on the ground and remembered the path. However, when we got there only one remained. Grace. She said Isabelle had seen a patch of flowers and went to pick them. But I was confused. There were no flowers nearby. I tried asking Grace for more information, but she was too unfocused to answer them. I could understand. Isabelle and Grace were best friends. I should have asked Grace questions. That was our fifth mistake. 

3

Now just Lewis, Grace, and I, we decided to look for our missing friends. Well, Lewis and I decided. Grace argued that it was too dangerous. But since the majority of us wanted to go, we went. The time was edging towards 2:30 am. I read somewhere that 2-3 am was most common for supernatural occurrences. Maybe that's what was happening here. 

We started where Grace and Isabelle were sitting, and looked around for a flower patch. However, all we saw were trees, their long arms threatening to strangle us. We chose to split up. Lewis and Grace chose to walk together. I didn’t mind too much because I didn’t get along with them sometimes. However, if I knew how long we’d be separated I would have chosen to go as a trio. Splitting up never worked for anyone. I would think that was our sixth mistake. Nevertheless, I walked alone, my dim flashlight being my only comparison.  

It had been 20 minutes when I realized I walked too far. I turned back around, but the trees looked too similar, and I realized I had stopped tracking where I was going. 

This was the worst-case scenario. I couldn’t get lost. Couldn’t get separated. I was so focused on trying to remember the last landmark I saw, I almost missed the piercing scream coming from miles away. Lewis.

Without hesitating, I sprinted back into the direction I assumed was my origin. The roots and small plants threatened to crawl up my legs and trip me, but every time I stumbled I we got back up. We can’t lose another person. Soon I had reached the same clearing where Isabelle had gone missing. I pushed forward in the same direction Lewis had previously gone. I felt thorns scrape down my leg, but it wasn’t the time for that concern. 

Soon I broke into a clearing. Lewis’s screams were scarce now, and I frantically looked around to find him. 

I did find him, but on the ground. His formerly cream hoodie was stained with a dark liquid that smelled of metal. His hands were glued to his side, pressing down on what seemed to be a serious injury. Grace was a few feet behind him, looking traumatized by our friend struggling to stay conscious. I kneeled to help apply pressure, but Grace just stood there. Why wasn’t she trying to help? She dropped a large stick covered in the same substance that Lewis was losing. Oh. 

2

“Is that all you have to tell us?” The policeman methodically said. I could tell he was trying to be kind. I tried my best to accurately recount what had happened hours before, but I couldn’t really stay focused. I could tell the policeman was getting tired of me. 

I knew Grace was being questioned in the other room. I wondered what she’d have to say about the whole night.