#i wonder how much it pissed him off that the world made ford so ashamed of it despite his attempts to embrace this aspect of himself

[nenoname]

ford hiding and being self conscious about his hands

(+ him using it to his advantage)

[quietbreeze97]

Horizon | Chapter 2: Natalia, Part I

Read Chapter 1

“You’re coming round later, right?” the raven-haired boy asked, placing a gentle hand around the girl’s waist as they walked down the corridor.

“Probably, but I need to take some photos first. It’s a good night for it.”

He snickered under his breath, making her stare. “What are you laughing at?”

“You and your photography. It’s cute.”

“And what does ‘cute’ mean? You couldn’t have picked a more patronizing word.”

“Nat, it’s a compliment. Learn to take them.”

Natalia shook her head as she looked away from his grin, though she couldn’t hide a smile herself. She and Kayne had been seeing each other for a while, and she still didn’t know if she could call it ‘dating’ or not. After all, neither had said where it was going. Natalia knew she liked him, but something wasn’t quite right, at least for her. Maybe she was only spending time with him because she couldn’t find anyone else she genuinely enjoyed being around. Apparently, she liked Kayne’s company as a friend more than she ever would as a boyfriend, and she would have to tell him that at some point. Just not right now. She didn’t want to stop receiving invites to his parties.

Kayne’s hand was still floating around her waist as they left the college building. He even offered to carry her bags at one point, but she quickly refused. It irritated her when boys tried to do too much for girls, as if the female species were completely incapable of doing anything themselves. Yet another turn-off.

Regardless, they parted with warm smiles, Kayne’s practically glowing as he waved her off.

“Night, Natalia.”

“Night!” she called after him, with some forced politeness. She took a relieved breath as she walked out of view. Finally, she could go and be herself for the evening.

The isolated pathway she took was one few people knew about, and it gave her the chance to head straight into the rural areas she loved so much. Despite the town’s faults, the natural scenery was amazing, and she always looked forward to capturing it with her new camera, a well-chosen birthday present from a week before. It was also the time of year where the sky got a little darker with each passing month. After school, it was a pleasant colour: not dark enough to be called evening, but a plum colour, with hints of oranges and pinks signalling the sun’s descent. Just enough light for Natalia to see, but not enough for others to see her. Perfect.

All signs of human civilization slowly disappeared, and she soon found herself in the enveloping gathering of trees. Usually she would hate walking on such muddy ground, with high heels being her general choice of footwear, but in her current attire of a cardigan, jeans, and flat shoes, she was more than comfortable to stroll through the wood like nothing mattered. Taking in the cool air, she knelt on the ground, getting her camera ready. There was a squirrel ahead, rearing on its hind legs as it sniffed the air. Natalia smiled. She always wondered what they were thinking. She couldn’t truly guess, but whenever animals were frozen in moments like these, she could observe more closely, without the worry of disturbing them. Maybe she would have her questions answered someday.

The squirrel chattered, reminding her of a bird’s high-pitched singing, as she quietly took her first shot with a satisfying click. She grinned, looking back at her camera. It was a good photograph. She’d captured the innocence in the way she’d wanted to. Raising the lens again, she pressed the button, taking a few more photos in quick succession. It brought her joy to see how effortlessly she’d managed to capture a single moment, looking at each one with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment in her gut. Photography was a breath of fresh air to her, giving her the chance to look back on the memories that would only be fleeting to the naked eye.

Unfortunately, her excitement was suddenly extinguished when the camera made a noise like tiny gears grinding to a halt.

“Shit,” Natalia hissed. The film had finished, and that meant no more photos for the evening. Perhaps taking so many shots of her plain old bedroom for practice hadn’t been worth it in the end. She spat several curses under her breath as she fumbled with the buttons, though there was no chance of achieving anything by it. The squirrel continued to chatter obliviously ahead of her. When she was done trying, she looked up, baring a small frown, but the sight of the animal eventually drew a smile out of her. It was rather endearing to see how indifferent it was to her troubles, and how it only cared about the simple things in life: scouring the woods for acorns.

“Looks like we’re done here, buddy,” she proclaimed, holding her hand out helplessly.

It stared back at her, with no real understanding coming from the eyes. She didn’t mind though. It didn’t have to understand her to give her comfort.

She rose to her feet, folding her arms, feeling she wasn’t as accomplished with her night as she should have been. “Hm.” The squirrel gave her another look, as if wondering why she hadn’t moved from her spot. “Maybe you won’t get rid of me just yet.”

Natalia didn’t leave the woods until she felt ready. Her companion had allowed her to simply sit and observe him for a good twenty minutes, only moving from his spot to nibble his claws or search the ground for something tasty. She felt a sense of gratitude for the time she’d been granted, before he finally scurried up a tree to hide for the evening. It was almost better than a long reel of photos.

Almost.

The air felt cold as she strolled back up the path. Perhaps she should have worn another layer of clothing, even during the summer, but she remembered home wasn’t far, so she wouldn’t be sacrificing her body heat for long.

Then she thought of her mother, and her heart sank.

“Where were you?” she would nag. “Late night meetings again? You should be ashamed, considering the help I need from you.”

This was just in Natalia’s head, but considering past experiences, she guessed the real thing wouldn’t be far from her imaginings. The only good thing about home was her younger sister, Grace, who was only three, and just a smile from her young face would do Natalia the world of good. Just ten minutes away, she realised, with a new wave of anticipation in her chest.

Unfortunately, the girl was easily distracted, and she couldn’t persuade her feet walk another yard when sudden unnerving sounds came to her ears.

She froze, listening intently. Loud echoes were sounding in the distance, from the woods she had just left. But not just echoes: wailing, as if someone were in pain, or simply trying to get attention. Was it human? Animal? To her, it sounded like neither. It reminded her of the horror movies she’d reluctantly watched when ghosts lurked in the darkness, and the character would decide to stand in one spot instead of running for their life.

In the coldness of the evening and the eerie silence of the trees, Natalia felt like she was in one of those movies.

But unlike the idiotic characters she took the piss out of, she was calm, pushing her short streaks of hair behind her ear as her eyes scanned the trees. There was nothing to see or hear, all of a sudden. No sounds; no movement. She breathed out, as if in relief. It had probably been a freakish display of wind. Speaking of which, she felt cool breeze ruffling her clothes and creeping up her skin, and it only made her shiver more. So, instead of wasting time, she quickly left, her focus on the quickest route out of the cold, and not at all on the large, black shadows curling around the tree trunks, watching her every move until she vanished over the hill.  

“I’m telling you, Stanley, there’s something odd about it.”

“You sure? Or is this just your supernatural-obsessed mind tricking you into it?”

“It’s no trick. I know something’s off when I see it.”

“You going to tell anyone?”

“Like they’d believe us.”

“Don’t use the word ‘us’ to drag me into it!”

“Maybe we should talk to someone other than the teachers.”

“Oh, sure, because the bunch of losers in class are going to be smart enough to believe things thrown in their faces.”

“Now you’re just insulting me.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, you’re probably right. But even if you are right, you can’t expect anyone to believe it, can you?”

Ford’s expression darkened. His eyes were thoughtful and his back was arched as he examined the photos on the screen. “Not really. But that doesn’t mean we can’t investigate.”

“Again with the ‘we’, Ford!” Stan shouted, raising his hands in the air.  “Don’t think for one second I’m going in there with you to find something that might not even be there!”

“And what happened to the team who investigated everything together?” Ford gave him a sly look, raising an eyebrow and feigning hurt in his eyes. Stan spluttered, searching for arguments, but eventually sighed in defeat. If it would get his brother’s mind off the issue, he supposed he would play along for now.

“Fine.” He slammed his elbows on the desk. “When are you doing your ‘monster hunt’ then?”

“Tonight, I think.”

“Wait, what? Tonight?”

“No excuses, Stan. You have to come with me.” Ford’s eyes were intensely focused on the photos, his finger rolling on the mouse wheel as each one flicked by. The album had a generic title. ‘Squirrel Pal’. Taken by Natalia Rogers. But the subject material was anything but generic.

“But…” Stan sighed again, pressing two fingers to his aching temple. “Ugh, fine. But you’re probably going to be disappointed, Sixer.”

Ford wasn’t so sure about his brother’s doubts. There had to be something feasible about his theory. The photos were obviously from a high-quality camera, and he guessed they weren’t easily faked, or at least hoped they weren’t. To the average eye, the squirrel photos were normal and innocent, but upon observing the background, Ford could clearly see a black, humanoid figure with abnormally long arms standing among the trees.

It scared him, and apparently only he had spotted it, and he was determined to find out what it was.