#tr: [ you're gonna need a bigger can (of bug spray!)

[chrisgates]

You're Gonna Need a Bigger Can (of Bug Spray!)

TIMING: Within the past month LOCATION: The Pines PARTIES: @gossipsnake & @chrisgates SUMMARY: Chris agrees to meet Anita and show her where he accidentally took some photos of Eurynomos. All goes well until the insects notice the pair nearby and shoot at them with acid. Anita does some quick thinking to save the both of them. CONTENT WARNINGS: None

Anita had only ever lured six other men to the woods before in her lifetime. She ate all six of them. That wasn’t the plan with this local photographer, however. It was her intellectual hunger that she was eager to satisfy rather than the literal kind. From the angle where Christopher had taken his photograph, the Eurynomos was hardly visible. If one was not familiar with the biology of such an insect, they would easily have mistaken it for a generic fly that was much closer to the camera opposed to a large fly-like creature further away.

It was the human-like hands, visible upon zooming in quite far, that revealed the Eurynomos to Anita. She had come across her fair share of these supernatural insects before and she was utterly fascinated by them. What she had yet to do, however, was observe them out and about in a natural environment for an extended period of time. If they were flying around out in the Pines, maybe this was her opportunity. 

Given that her guide seemed somewhat unsure of where these insects were located on a map but seemingly confident that he could retrace his steps and get the pair out that way, Anita had agreed to meet him at the start of one of the trailheads at the base of the mountains. She hoped he was a decent conversationalist since their online interactions, even though private, would make her a prime suspect in his disappearance if she were to eat him at the end of their journey. “Hey! Christopher, right?” She said enthusiastically to the blonde man who approached her. 

After this, Chris needed to get better at his map reading skills. He did regret offering to physically take her out there, but it would probably be fine. He did a little research on Dr. Nieves before he took to the ground, just a little cursory glance over her professional profile on the UMWR website. He didn’t like going into anything blind — and that included meeting new people.

Despite the need to appease his constant stream of apprehension and worry, Chris was excited to meet up with the college professor. She seemed like she really loved what she did, loved insects and other manner of creepy crawlies — he would never understand the fascination with bugs, but he could appreciate passion. The least he could do was to point her in the right direction, even if it meant putting himself out there.

He’d brought his camera and bag, just in case; he did tell her he needed to head up that way again, anyway, which wasn’t the most horrific of lies. While there was no specific reason he needed to traverse that off-beat path for a second time, he figured to take his equipment with him just in case. The woods in Wicked’s Rest were thick with wildlife, some he’d never seen before, so he wanted to be prepared.

A woman who matched the appearance of Dr. Nieves from the website already stood by the agreed meeting spot. A bout of uneasiness raked through Chris, but he chalked it up to his usual shortcomings and headed over. He offered her a wide smile; her enthusiasm was palpable. “Yeah, hi,” he greeted and willed himself to offer her his hand. “It’s good to meet you in person, Dr. Nieves.” 

Even though she had only been in town for about two years, given her profession and extracurricular activities, Anita spent much of her time in the forests surrounding town. Despite that frequent exploration, she still didn’t have a clear mental map of the entire area. Some portions of the Pines were so vast that Anita had to take particular precaution to avoid getting lost. But that was also sort of the fun of exploring. 

That was not the goal today with Christopher, however. “Dr. Nieves is so stuffy, I don’t even make my students call me that. Anita, please.” She didn’t know if it always came across the way she intended, but she took careful efforts to brand herself as the cool professor. But she also knew that part of being cool was just a vibe, not a forced persona. Anita had fairly reliable feedback that she was mostly successful in her efforts, however. 

She didn’t waste any time getting them started on their trek, turning to start heading up the main trailhead path. “That’s quite the camera you got there. How long have you been doing nature photography?” In a town like this, is what she wanted to add on. You wander out in the woods long enough in Wicked’s Rest and you’re bound to photograph more than just a supernatural bug. Anita wondered what else he had seen out here. “I have a nice camera back at the school but it’s more meant for micro-shots of bugs, not so much for great landscape portraits.” 

So far so good. Chris didn’t make a habit of meeting new people by himself and he definitely didn’t make a habit of following those new people out into the woods. Despite the underlying excitement, the suspicious and uncomfortable nature of this meeting didn’t pass over his head without a lingering glance. He just had to think of it as helping. That’s all he was doing. Not everyone was out to get him or knew what horrible things they said he did. He was going to be just fine.

“Anita, okay. That sounds good to me.” Even though he respected academic titles, especially doctors (just the thought of the amount of schooling it took gave Chris hives), he was glad for the drop in formality. “Oh thanks,” he returned, unable to help himself as he stole a glance down at the silver camera around his neck. It was always there — it knew the inside of its carrying case for one day, when he first got it. There was never any telling when he’d need to snap a picture, so it hung at the ready.

“Phew, I’d say.. Twenty years, at least? Professionally about half that, but I’ve been into photography since I can remember.” The minute he’d been gifted that silly little disposable camera, it all clicked — that’s what he was meant to do. It was just disappointing he couldn’t do more. Chris couldn’t help the small, excited sound that escaped him when she mentioned her own camera. “You have a macro lens?? I would love to see your shots, if I can? I have one of my own at home, but I couldn’t get into it. I don’t know why. The detail you can get is amazing.”

“Twenty years? Impressive.” He almost didn’t look old enough to have that much experience, but Anita knew a thing or two about finding your passion in childhood. It took a moment for the photographer to seem to relax, even if only slightly, but the mention of her macro lens seemed to spark some comfort and interest. “Yeah, I do! It’s really the only way to properly document insects. There is so much that the naked eye simply cannot see, and there is so much beauty just beyond our field of vision.” 

“My shots aren’t particularly creative, more technical. But, beautiful nonetheless. I’d be happy to show you some of them. Sometimes I come out here to try and document some of the local insects in their natural environment, but most of my shots are in a laboratory setting.” Anita was admittedly hopeful that this trip would be a success and that she would have the opportunity to get an Eurynomos back to her place to investigate and, among other things, photograph. 

As the pair made their way through the forest, the terrain began to get slightly more difficult. Anita was used to it though, these woods had become her hunting grounds over the years, for more than just interesting insects. She kept her eyes peeled for anything interesting, or dangerous.  “I don’t remember if you said when we were talking online, but are you from this area? Or are you a transplant like myself?” 

Chris tried to dismiss her praise with a wave of his hand. “Oh it’s nothing.. It doesn’t even feel very impressive, really,” he laughed, not really feeling like his skill was really anything to brag about. Sure, he felt proud of what he’s accomplished, what he could do and see, but he had the hardest time receiving praise. He largely thought it was all just placates. Not a lot of people actually knew what went into making a picture look good.

Anita might, though. Between her niche in insects and her macro lens, she seemed to have the building blocks of someone who could appreciate all the little details. “Right? I’ve seen some really cool macro shots of ants and bees online and they just look so cool. I’ve used mine to look at textures like metal or wood, but I didn’t have a lot of patience back when I first got it.. Maybe I’ll give it another shot.”

“Thank you, I really don’t mind. I’d love to see them anyway.” He loved to see other’s art, especially when it was in the same or similar medium. He liked to look at the differences in style, to compare and gab about equipment and share photography woes. It was always nice to meet with someone who shared a common interest, no matter the form. Even if she were a novice, he’d still get excited.

They made their way further into the thick of it and away from civilization; it made Chris a little nervous, but his excitement over their shared commonality drowned out any anxiety. Her personal question did make him hesitate for a second, but he followed through and answered without being overly specific. He didn’t need, or want, someone to look him up — he had no idea what was out there and refused to look for himself. “Ah, transplant. The other coast, actually,” he chuckled softly as he stepped onto a decently sized rock before hopping off of it. “Been here just a few months now.. It’s nice, though. Reminds me of home.”

“How long have you been here? I can’t remember if your, uh, school bio said or not.”

One thing Anita never quite understood was people who refused to acknowledge their own greatness and accept honest compliments. Growing up, she used to think that was a uniquely human characteristic. That, admittedly, had made sense to her. Humans weren’t very impressive and it was quite self-aware of them to realize that. But as her world expanded and she met other superior beings it became evident that other supernaturals had similar hang ups. Chris’ refusal to acknowledge his own impressiveness, therefore, gave her no insight into his genealogy. 

It wasn’t particularly surprising that he was a fellow transplant, so many people who lived in town were. You wouldn’t think so upon first discovering the town though. It was small, it had minimal tourist drive, and it had a very locally driven mindset. Once you learn more about Wicked’s Rest it sort of makes sense. After all, how does a small town stay a small town despite a regular stream of people moving there? Well, just look at the local death rates. 

“A few months, ahh, so you’ve barely gotten a taste for the winters here yet, huh?” Winters were, without hesitation, Anita’s least favorite part of this region. She smirked slightly but did not really address the fact that he had done his research on her before meeting up. It was smart. Maybe he’d stand a chance in this town. “No, I don’t think that’s on there. But I’ve been in town … well, the start of the next school year will be four years. Time fucking flies sometimes.” 

It wasn’t long before the pair made their way up to one of the open clearings in the forest. The soft sunlight that broke through the treetops bounced off of the flowers and tall grass around them. It didn’t look like the exact spot Christopher’s photo was taken in - but they were getting close. “I don’t remember if I asked … do you recall how long ago you had taken that photo?” 

Chris wished he wasn’t the way that he was, but he’d been given a shit hand from the get go. He wanted to believe the compliments, wanted to believe that he was worth something or that any of their words were true. He didn’t want to have to do research on someone before meeting them. He didn’t want to look over his shoulder anymore. But he couldn’t change it, no matter how hard he tried — social interactions were going to be a struggle and there wasn’t much he could do about it (at least, nothing that he hadn’t tried).

But photography he could gab about, even if it was peppered with small talk. “Not yet, I hope I get to experience it.” A stumble, but he could fix it. Did he need to? He did have a tendency to put his foot into his own mouth. “My job, uh, kinda takes me everywhere.” He shrugged. Believable? Lots of jobs required travel and it didn’t seem too far-fetched for a freelance photographer to have to move around. “Wow, four? Yeah, it does.. Too fast, in my opinion.” It didn’t help that he had years missing off of his life. Time certainly would move fast, then. “I take it you like it here, then?” Chris wished he could stay in one place for that long, but that felt like a fantasy.

The clearing was familiar, but no, not the right spot. Chris’ eyes danced along the tops of tall grass, his attention jumped between them — just a good few yards, he was sure. Maybe the next one? He recognized that tree, for sure. “Maybe a week ago? Definitely about this time,” he’d looked up and squinted at the sunlight that peaked between the tree coverage. His nose wrinkled when he did so. “We’re definitely on the right track.”

Anita wasn’t going to address it, but she did pick up on the oddness of his responses. He was direct yet evasive in his responses, offering up the bare minimum. It was understandable but still curious nonetheless. “That must be nice, a job that lets you travel. So many places to see on this earth and far too little time.” The question wasn’t one she was expecting for some reason. Did she like it here? “Yeah, I suppose I do like it here. I like my job, town’s got just enough to do that you don’t completely lose your mind, and the wide open nature is … well,” she gestured to the views around them, “next level.”

Having enough familiarity with the forest to, generally speaking, know where the two of them were Anita was beginning to piece together where the photo was likely taken from. Her goal was simply to get confirmation as to the location of the eurynomos and then return at a later time to actually search for it. The last thing she needed was for her or the photographer to get devoured by eurynomos acid. Though if it had to be one of them … 

As she followed his lead and they got closer to the location, Anita focused her attention on their surroundings. If there were a gathering of eurynomos nearby, that could mean that some big nasty creature was using this area as his feeding ground, leaving around just enough trace of death to draw the supernatural insects in. “Ya know, these woods can be kind of dangerous at night. Not sure if you’re into night hiking, but … just make sure you’re on high alert if you do venture into the Pines after dark.” Just then, almost as if to provide physical evidence of the dangers of the forest, Anita heard a suspicious noise just up ahead that wasn’t immediately familiar. 

Chris wished he was allowed to travel on his own terms, instead it felt like some sort of mandatory punishment he needed to endure and for what? There was a small silver lining — he did get to travel and see new places. In those good moments, he got to see some really beautiful places, but the shadow that latched on always soiled it. “Yeah it’s not bad. I’ve always wanted to travel, so this,” he lifted his camera just slightly in reference, “seemed like a no-brainer.” He’d like to see other countries, too, but if he wound up having to flee the states that, to him, was a bad thing. That meant that whatever it was that was definitely not wrong with him was getting worse.

Her answer was refreshing. Since he’d arrived, it was ‘weird this’ and ‘strange that’. It was nice to hear a fairly normal response to a question that tended to pull heavily opinionated answers. Now, that was the point of the question, sure, and everyone had an opinion on where they lived (they were allowed to!), but people tended to act like Wicked’s Rest was cursed. Chris had to respond with a smile. “You’re probably the first person who said anything nice right off the bat. There’s no ‘but’ is there? Someone told me, uh.. Hang on, let me get it right. ‘It’s a great place to live if you like Stephen King novels.’” The look on his face was one of both amusement and incredulity.

“... Kind of.” Normally he liked to go for a jog in the early morning or just at sundown, but his photography took him through the forest at all hours of the day and night, especially when he couldn’t sleep. “I grew up around the woods. I was more likely to be there than in the house, so… can’t be more dangerous than the woods in Oregon, right? I mean, I appreciate that, though. I definitely will keep an eye and ear out,” was what he wanted to say before he was interrupted by whatever sound Anita had also picked up on. And then it got louder. Chris was no stranger to the unusual sounds that erupted between the trees and bushes, so it didn’t sound like anything too weird, but that didn’t stop his skin from breaking out into goosebumps. “You hear that too, right?”

“I’m the first to say something nice? That’s … shocking. And not just because I’m known for having sharp opinions,” Anita knew that there was plenty to complain about in this town but she also knew there was plenty to complain about in any town. “Maybe travelers like us see things a bit differently. I’ve lived in many towns, in multiple states, in two different countries. I’m not quite sure what brought you out this way, but I chose this town. Not saying there aren’t any ‘buts’ and not saying this town doesn’t have big Stephen King energy… but,” she smirked a bit, “every place has its quirks.” 

“Never been out to Oregon. But don’t underestimate the woods in Maine.” There was a seriousness to her tone but Antia wondered if it had even registered as it was apparent that he also heard whatever the noise was. “Yes, I hear it.” If she was alone, Anita would shift into form and use her thermal vision to better pin-point not only what was making that noise but where they were making it from. 

Increasing her gait, Anita pushed ahead of Chris towards the noise. She at least wanted to know what was out here. As she approached the tall brush just beyond the treeline she quietly slipped her backpack off of one shoulder and around towards the front of her body, making access to its contents more accessible. It didn’t take long for the noises and shadows to make her realize that whatever was nearby, it was feeding. “Like I said, don’t underestimate the woods in Maine,” Anita whispered. Would it have been better to just flee instead of opening her mouth? Almost certainly, given that the creature stopped making noises as soon as she spoke. “How fast can you run?” 

“Right out the gate, sure. I’ve been told to ‘leave while I still can’ a few times already, but I’m pretty sure they were all joking anyway.” Chris was pretty certain considering most of those people had a lot of compliments that followed, but there was always something ominous just casually thrown into the mix, like giant worms that swallowed people whole or the little man that lived in the immense trash pile that never seemed to go away. They were things just weird enough to make him question it, but seeing was believing and so far the only thing the town offered was a beautiful coast view with a mountainscape in the background. Other than the slight eeriness, it was perfect. “Yeah, honestly… You’re right. I don’t think I’ve been anywhere that wasn’t.. Weird on some level.”

“You should visit if you like it here,” he suggested. He didn’t think he’d ever go back, especially not to Salem, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t recommend it. It was a beautiful state and an even beautiful city, but his lived experiences and the memories he kept tainted it for him.

Great. He wished that she didn’t agree with him. He wished that he hadn’t heard what she did. He also wished that she wouldn’t head in its direction, but he was certain Anita wouldn’t have listened to him in the first place. Her mind was made up. So, Chris felt inclined to follow. It was a moment that paralleled The Lost World, when Dr. Sarah Harding rushed into the middle of a group of stegosaurus. He supposed that made him Dr. Ian Malcolm — he didn’t have the brains nor did he think he had the looks, but he was the one tailing after a brazen and intelligent woman, so if the shoe had to fit somewhere. But when one shoe fit, the other had to drop.

Chris would have asked what exactly she might have surmised from the grotesque sounds that only seemed to stop the closer they neared if it hadn’t been for her question. “Uh! I’m pretty decent, not to toot my own horn. Uh, why??”

While Anita had no qualms shifting into the powerful rattlesnake that was always just below the surface to protect herself she was determined to not give herself away to Chris - particularly where it seemed as though he was either very good at lying or he was largely oblivious to what lurked in the shadows of this town. “Why?” The laugh that pushed out of her lungs was involuntary after hearing such an obvious question. “Because if I say run, I need you to fucking run, comprende?” 

The lack of noise didn’t mean that the creature was heading towards them, but it did mean that it knew something was nearby. Lots of creatures, even the supernatural ones, weren’t necessarily prone to immediately attack. Animals had varied self-preservation instincts, and some recognized that fleeing from strange noises was often the safest option. Taking careful steps, inching forward enough to see beyond the treeline where the noise was coming from, Anita sighed softly as she saw the back of a curious creature disappear deeper into the woods. 

“Guess it also had the brilliant idea of running away,” it was possibly premature to have relaxed as much as she did, but Anita couldn’t have known that there was another threat nearby in her oblivious human form. Logic should have suggested, however, that where they were almost at the area where he had accidentally photographed an Eurynomos and there were decomposing carcasses in the general vicinity the deadly insects couldn’t have been far behind. “We should be cautious in case it comes back, but I guess that animal didn’t want confrontation today.” 

As if they were waiting until she let her guard down, a glob of acid shot between the two of them and landed on a nearby bush. A testament to the strength of the acid of the Eurynomos, the bush began to die and wither in front of them. “Mierda…,”Anita muttered before pushing Chris out of the way and turning towards the direction the acid came from. Just one that she could see with her stupid human vision. Swinging her backpack upward it made contact with the bug and hurled it off to a nearby tree. She knew there was bound to be more around, though, and turned towards Chris, a bit surprised he hadn’t booked it already. “Fucking run!” 

Chris would have laughed right along with her if she didn’t sound so damn convincing. “Okay, okay,” he conceded gently, “I’ll run when you say.” Even though it felt very much like a slap on the wrist, in a way, he would do what she said anyway. He didn’t know what else hid out in those woods, or what could be dangerous, apart from the usual bear or moose or wolf, but she seemed to have an idea so it was best to follow her lead. 

“Good, I really don’t either.” He sure hoped it didn’t want a fight, he hoped that was the only reason why they were suddenly left to look after the stinking, rotting carcasses of its passed meals. Chris also hoped they’d find this bug soon; he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay around the smelly meat. Underneath the disgust, however, was a small tainting of… Hunger? It was gross, sure, and the buzzing of flies would be a clear deterrent, and they were, but he couldn’t help the odd way his mouth salivated.

Thankfully, or rather unfortunately, something interrupted his little inner debate. Something he could audibly hear eat through the foliage next to them. And then he was being pushed aside. What the fuck, was what he wanted to say, exclaim, question, but all that came out was a pathetic “wha-?” He quickly turned his attention to where she looked and took note of the too large fly that hovered nearby. It looked so freaky, but he couldn’t linger on it for any longer, not when Anita gave him the green light. 

So he picked up and rushed off into a run away from whatever it was that just spat through leaves like the Xenomorph in the Alien franchise. A mantra of what the fuck repeated over and over, but he still made sure he didn’t run any further than Anita — leaving her behind would upset him greatly. 

This was not the first time, and likely would not be the last time, that Anita had been chased through the woods by a deadly insect. Occupational hazard? Based on how he had reacted to seeing the Eurynomos, however, Anita was now confident that he knew little to nothing about the supernatural world. Moreso, she was confident that he was not a hunter. That meant she could let a bit of her scales free and open up her senses. Anita allowed herself to partially shift, spreading the muddy green mojave scales to spread across her back and shoulders, which were mostly covered by her clothing. 

As if putting on glasses for the first time, the whole world around them sharpened and came into focus for her. There were no less than six of the massive acid-spitting insects following closely behind them. Fuck. Anita couldn’t rely on flinging her backpack around to get rid of this many of them and while they had a good pace going, the bugs were gaining ground and they were undoubtedly still in the crossfire of their spit range. 

While she knew a great deal about these bugs Anita did not know what might happen to her if she went full snake and swallowed them whole. At best? Acid reflux. At worst? She shuddered at the thought. “Bugspray!” She thought aloud, fairly certain she had packed some herself and hoped that there was a small chance Chris might have some too. Then she had a better idea. “Do you have a lighter?” 

This wasn’t the first time Chris had been chased by an animal of some kind. There were a lot out there that really didn’t like anyone to intrude into their territory, but to get a really nice, clear shot, sometimes he had to do that. But he wasn’t out there to take pictures — no. He was just trying to lead someone to some interesting insect he took a lucky shot of. And now it was trying to kill them.

He paid enough attention to Anita as they ran to keep tabs on her, to make sure that she didn’t fall behind or worse. Something along her neck caught his eye, but the sound of buzzing took front and center. That little thought would disappear from Chris’ mind, at least for now as they tried to outrun the current danger. Her exclamation of ‘bug spray’ caused his attention to snap back to her, where he again noticed something a little off. There was no time to dwell on it, not when he had to dig for the small, black lighter he had shoved in his back pocket.

There were initials carved into the bottom — not his. He’d found it in a clearing he frequented for pictures. Blood stained the earth around it but there was nothing else nearby, no one else, either. It was full, so he took it, thinking it could be useful. He was glad he snatched it up, even if someone might be missing it. “Uhhhh, yeah! Here,” Chris fished the lighter out and made an awkward pass; how did relay racers do this? A pat of acid landed like a hot knife through butter on one of the trees as he ran by. It felt like they were getting closer. 

Anita slid one of her arms back through the one strap of her backpack as she ran, hoping that the speed she would undoubtedly lose digging through the pack would not be the difference between getting out of here and getting consumed by toxic acid. Her fingers slid across the cool metalic can of bug spray in her bag and she gripped it in her hand and pulled it out. With her other hand, she reached out as Chris worked to pass her the lighter he had. 

Maybe this was going to work. 

“The clearing on the right,” Anita yelled between heaving breaths, “It loops back around. Sharp turn on my count and keep running.” Fuck, she really hoped this was going to work. Waiting until he was almost at the clearing, Anita started counting down. “One,” she flipped the lighter open. “Two,” she placed her pointer finger on top of the push button on the bug spray. “Three. Now!” Hoping Chris was able to follow direction, Anita then immediately ran off towards the left, opposite direction. It only caused a second of confusion for the bugs, not sure which of them to follow. 

In that second of confusion, Anita flicked the lighter until a soft orange flame appeared. She placed it in front of the spray, as far away from her body as she could, and let out a steady breath. Then, she pressed down hard on the spray button and the can released a mixture of DEET and picaridin swirled with aerosol and created a massive fireball directed at the cluster of bugs as it passed through the flame. 

Bug spray and a lighter. He knew the idea she had, knew what could happen, but would it work? The clearing to the right, right. Chris made a mental note of her instructions, confident he’d be able to follow when it came down to it. As annoying and loud as the insects were, he was determined to do this right so they could get out of there in one piece. That acid looked like no joke and he wasn’t really in the mood to see what it would feel like on his skin. He acknowledged her order with an audible ‘okay’, even though it felt drowned out by his panting.

One. The clearing loops back around. Two. Sharp turn, to the right. Three. Run. Quick on the toes of his shoes, Chris changed course and sped off towards the right. Anita went the other way. A distraction, that was smart. The too big insects flew right into her trap and became enveloped in a plume of fire and repellent. He had looked over his shoulder for just a second to see the fireball engulf them, losing his footing briefly. He didn’t fall, but the hiccup in his step caused him to stumble and land to his knees. 

Instead of picking himself up, Chris lowered himself further down to his belly, flattening himself and watched the giant bugs burn. It looked like she might have got to them all.

It genuinely didn’t bring Anita any joy to have killed the very insects she had hoped to simply observe that afternoon. But as with many things in life, plans don’t always come to fruition and sometimes you need to craft a makeshift weapon out of hiking supplies.  Thankfully, a few of the Eurynomos that had been trailing behind came around just long enough to see their friends engulfed in flame and they immediately turned in the other direction and flew away before the charred corpses hit the ground. 

After taking a beat to catch her breath, Anita let all of her scales dissipate away as she exited her partially shifted state before starting across the path towards the direction she sent Chris in. She didn't see him at all, at first, and wondered if he just kept running till he found the trail exit and then got in his car and sped out of town. 

A few steps down the path though, she spotted him. “So,” she started before she realized that she didn’t really have a good way to explain what just happened. “Here’s your lighter back.” She tossed the black lighter towards him. “Bet that never happened in the woods in Oregon, huh?” She always defaulted to humor in moments like these, calling back to their earlier conversation. “Alright well… follow this path back and we should wind up at our cars.” Anita started walking in that direction without waiting for any response or acknowledgment from Chris. 

That familiar, gnawing feeling returned in the pit of his stomach. Or maybe it had been there the whole time, judging by the way his hand seemed to tense up. He always thought the cramping came from anxiety inducing or terrifying instances, but he could never truly explain why his nails seemed to grow or more hair seemed to sprout along his skin. He managed to will it away just as Anita approached him, having looked like she’d won the battle.

Having moved to a sitting position, now that it was safe, Chris caught the lighter and offered her a small, but breathless chuckle and shake of the head at her question. His eyes followed the lighter as he turned it over in his palm; it was lighter now, sure, but he was glad he picked it up. She grabbed his attention again, this time directing him to the path that would lead them home. Or, at least to the parking lot. “Okay, than-” he managed before she was already leaving him in the grass. Well, okay then.

It took him no time to get back onto his feet again. The situation was unusually life threatening and yet she offered no explanation. Was that alarming? Just a little. But he followed after her all the same, grateful for the save and ready to go home.