Back to Salem

by Alex Marcoux

  “I’m sorry. I am trying to be open, but it’s still difficult to embrace.”

  “I know. It was for me, too. Let’s talk about it in everyday experiences. Have you ever thought about someone you haven’t heard from in a while, then the next day you get a call or a letter or email from them?”

  “Yes. It happens all the time. It’s called coincidence.”

  “The first thing you need to buy into is—there’s no such thing as coincidence. Here’s another one. The phone rings, and you know who it is before you answer.”

  “Yes. It’s called a lucky guess or deductive reasoning.”

  Jessie looked into Taylor’s eyes and smiled. She was reminded of how different Rebecca was from Taylor.

  “But they’re the same,” that little voice whispered in Jessie’s ear.

  “Let’s put logic aside for a moment,” Jessie suggested. “I said earlier that everyone has some type of psychic ability. The key is to identify how the information comes to you. Once you do that you can build on your accuracy.”

  “What do you mean when you say how the information comes to you?”

  “Some people actually see things—they’re clairvoyant, while others feel things—they’re clairsentient. Sometimes people hear things—and they are clairaudient.”

  “So, if I hear voices when I work, do you think that’s clairaudience?”

  “How long have you been hearing voices?”

  Taylor looked away as if embarrassed. “All my life,” she admitted. “I shut them out when I was a teenager. Then when I started my singing career, they started to come back. I would hear them occasionally when I was writing music. But nothing like I’m experiencing now.”

  “Sure sounds like clairaudience, doesn’t it?”

  “Jessie, you seem very grounded. How did you come to explore this stuff?”

  “My last girlfriend introduced it to me. Then, about…three years ago I had a life-altering experience, and…well, let’s just say my life has never been the same.”

  “What happened?” Taylor looked innocently at Jessie. “What rattled your cage so much that you accepted this stuff?”

  Jessie smiled. “Maybe one day I’ll share it with you, but right now I think we ought to head back.” She pointed at the sky behind Taylor. “Some weather is coming in.” Dark clouds were moving in and the sun was minutes away from being swallowed.

  Chapter 17

  The women gathered their belongings and continued their journey downhill. The trail brought them back into the forest with tall evergreens obscuring the sky. When the clouds obstructed the sun, the trail darkened even more. The terrain was steep and the path narrowed. The only sound heard was the rhythmic thud from the snowshoes beating on the deep snow, and trees swaying from wind.

  About fifteen minutes down, the trail narrowed even more and it butted up against a steep cliff-like incline. There was an approaching ten-foot section that was more challenging than Jessie cared for. On the uphill side, the incline seemed just as steep. Jessie stopped and turned to Taylor.

  “How are you doing?”

  Taylor nodded. “Fine.”

  “Be careful. Stay on the path.”

  Jessie continued her trek across the narrow path with Taylor following close behind. A frequent glance over her shoulder assured her that Taylor was okay. Jessie was within a foot of where the path widened when the snow gave way beneath one of Taylor’s snowshoes.

  Taylor plunged through the falling snow, her scream alerting Jessie that something went horribly wrong.

  She turned in time to see Taylor slide down the hill, feet first, attempting to avoid trees, while lunging for branches to grab hold of. About twenty feet down, she collided feet first with a mature evergreen. One of her feet became entangled in a branch and her upper body lunged downhill, face first, until the twisted limb snagged her and abruptly halted her descent.

  Taylor shrieked. The pain from her twisted limb was almost too much, though she knew it was the only thing preventing her fall.

  “Taylor!” Jessie yelled. “Are you okay?”

  It was barely audible above the increasing wind. “I’m stuck!”

  From above Jessie quickly assessed the situation. The snow on the downhill side was too unstable to step on. She quickly removed her snowshoes and backpack, knowing if she went down, she wasn’t climbing back up. Hurriedly, she strapped the snowshoes together and then attached them to the backpack. Aiming carefully, she tossed the bundle past the large tree she believed Taylor was lodged in, and it tumbled down the slope out of sight. Jessie studied the trees and small saplings nearly covered in deep snow, and planned her path. She started her decent. Snatching tree branches and clutching at saplings, she moved carefully to prevent an avalanche, inching her way to Taylor. She was about six feet from the tree when she got her first glimpse of Taylor, lying face down on the downhill side of a tall spruce.

  A minute later Jessie was a few feet from Taylor, she saw that her head was laying facedown and blood soiled the snow near her head. As Jessie grabbed a branch from a nearby tree, the crack alerted Taylor and she lifted her head. The blood was coming from her forehead.

  “Are you okay?” She inched closer, grasping at a bush to prevent her own fall.

  “My leg hurts.”

  “Do you think it’s broken?”

  “I’m afraid to move it. I think it’s what’s holding me.”

  Jessie couldn’t see Taylor’s lower body. She carefully peeled back the lower limbs of the tree. Taylor’s right leg was trapped between two branches; her snowshoe prevented her escape. Her other leg was in the tree, but unbound. One of the branches that held Taylor was severely stressed and looked as if it could snap any minute.

  “Your snowshoe is trapped between two limbs. One of them looks stressed.” Jessie inched her way back to Taylor. “I can remove the snowshoe.”

  “I’ll keep falling, though.”

  Jessie dug the snow away from an area near Taylor, exposing a small tree. She pulled out the sapling’s young branch and brought it within Taylor’s reach.

  “Hold onto the branch,” Jessie instructed. “When I unbuckle the snowshoe, your legs will fall. Just keep holding on, don’t let go until I get you. We don’t have a lot of time before the branch breaks.”

  Taylor grabbed the tiny tree. “This tree won’t hold my weight, though.”

  “It’ll give me time to get back to you.”

  Jessie crawled to the side of the tree. She removed the snowshoe from Taylor’s leg that was unobstructed and carefully tossed it down the hill where she had thrown her backpack. She planted one of her feet deep in the snow to anchor herself. She believed if she stretched enough she could reach Taylor.

  “Ready?” Jessie yelled.

  “Yes.”

  In one swift motion, Jessie unbuckled the snowshoe. As expected the now freed leg lunged through the tree. Taylor’s body upturned so that her legs now pointed downhill and groped for something to stabilize herself. She clung desperately to the young branches to prevent her from tumbling down the steep terrain.

  The young branches however, were never meant to support her weight, and as her hands slid over the twigs, the needles fell off. With nothing else within reach to hold to, she wrapped the remaining twig around one hand like a rope.

  Jessie with leg deeply anchored in the snow and clinging to a tree limb, stretched out and extended her arm. “Can you reach me?”

  Taylor clung to the branch with one hand and grasped for Jessie. They were inches away from each other. Taylor’s body suddenly shifted. The sapling was uprooting.

  “Hold on,” cried Jessie. To give her the extra distance, she lowered her grip on the branch hoping it would support them. Her new placement permitted the extra inches and she seized Taylor’s hand, just as the sapling’s branch gave way.

  While Jessie clung to Taylor, Taylor searched for something else to hold on to with her other hand. Jessie could feel the limb she hung on to stressing, but she wouldn�
��t let go of Taylor.

  Taylor’s feet finally stabilized her enough to grab hold of a nearby tree.

  “I’m okay,” Taylor said. “I think you can let me go.”

  Jessie slowly released her grip confirming that Taylor was indeed standing independently while holding a nearby tree limb. She retrieved the snowshoe that had trapped Taylor and threw it down the incline, then crept to Taylor.

  “How’s your leg?” Jessie asked.

  “It’s sore, but it’s not broken.” Taylor looked up the hill. “Now what?”

  Jessie looked down the steep hillside. “It flattens out about 20 feet down. Let’s make our way down and regroup.”

  Slowly, the women managed to move down the steep incline. While descending, Jessie recovered her backpack and the snowshoes. As they reached flatter ground, Jessie noticed Taylor’s limp.

  “Taylor, sit down and rest.” Jessie moved to her side. She lifted her chin so that she could see her bloody forehead. “You have a nasty scratch. But the bleeding has stopped.” She removed a Band-Aid from the outside pocket of her backpack and adhered it. “How’s your leg?”

  “My ankle hurts, but I can walk.”

  The wind had picked up. Jessie looked to the sky, wondering if it was snowing or it was just blowing snow. Their clothes were snow covered and they were chilled.

  “We’re going to have to make it out of here without the trail,” Jessie said as she retrieved a compass from her backpack. “I think we should head down until we reach flatter ground, then head southwest until we reach the lake. The cabin is on the southern corner of the lake.”

  “Do you happen to have an SOS beacon in that backpack?”

  “Sorry. Fresh out of those…there’s no cell reception either…we’re on our own.”

  Taylor stood. “Well…I could use a hot cappuccino right now, let’s get back to the cabin.”

  The women strapped on their snowshoes and put on the dry mittens, scarves and hats that had been stored in the backpack.

  The trek to the bottom of the mountain was slow. By the time they left the wooded terrain and transitioned into thicket, it was snowing harder. Around each turn, the women were hopeful to catch a view of the lake. Occasionally, Jessie would refer to the compass and confirm that they were moving in the right direction.

  Taylor’s limping got worse and while she didn’t complain, Jessie knew she was in pain.

  They pushed on for another half-hour, but Jessie’s confidence in her directions was shaken. She had anticipated finding the lake much sooner. With each turn her heart sank until they emerged from the thicket, and they happened upon the lake. They both shrieked with excitement.

  Eventually they picked up the trail where the snow was more compact. Here they removed their snowshoes permitting Taylor to lean on Jessie and take weight off the injured ankle. By the time they were within sight of the cabin, Taylor was leaning heavily on Jessie. It had become too painful for her to place any pressure on the ankle. Both women were cold and tired and ready to end this part of their journey.

  Chapter 18

  Once inside the cabin, Jessie turned up the thermostat, removed her jacket and gloves, and then turned her attention to Taylor who stood at the entry. “Let’s get your wet clothes off.” She helped her remove her coat, then placed a chair at the entry for Taylor to sit, and carefully removed her boots. Even before the sock was removed, Jessie saw that Taylor’s right ankle was swollen. When the sock was removed her heart sank because the ankle was discolored.

  Jessie knew Taylor’s jeans were wet and cold, because her own jeans were. “Let’s get you to the couch. Did you bring a pair of sweats or something that would be easy to get on you?”

  “Yes. I think I put them in the middle dresser drawer.”

  Taylor hobbled with help to the couch. Jessie picked up the afghan that draped the back of the couch, placing it within Taylor’s reach. “I’ll get you your sweats, try and remove your wet clothes.”

  Taylor started to unbutton and unzip the jeans.

  Jessie retreated to Taylor’s bedroom. In the dresser, she retrieved sweats and dry socks. When Jessie returned to the living area she found Taylor struggling to remove her jeans.

  Taylor looked at Jessie helplessly. “I think I need your help.” She stood in front of the couch trying to balance herself on one foot. The wet jeans moved past her hips.

  Jessie went to Taylor’s side. “Will leaning on me help?”

  With one hand clutched to Jessie’s arm, Taylor tried to push down the jeans with the other hand. But the cold wet jeans would not budge. “This isn’t working.”

  Jessie knew Taylor was right. She stood in front of Taylor and placed her hands on both sides of Taylor’s hips. Since Jessie was taller than Taylor, she had to lean over her to push the jeans. The tight jeans moved some, but not enough.

  Taylor sensed Jessie’s unease.

  The two stood face-to-face. Jessie blushed as her eyes met Taylor’s. “Excuse me,” she said. In one swift motion, Jessie’s hands pushed the jeans in a backward motion over Taylor’s buttocks. Then Jessie quickly withdrew her arms from around Taylor’s waist.

  Taylor paused momentarily, wondering why the motion had felt so familiar. She pushed the jeans down far enough and sat on the couch. Jessie kneeled and pulled the jeans off carefully. Both women were quiet, avoiding eye contact. Jessie inserted Taylor’s injured ankle into the sweat pants’ leg opening, assuring the ankle was through then stood leaving Taylor to finish.

  Jessie handed Taylor some dry socks then propped a pillow at the end of the couch. “Try to get your leg up. I’m going to look for a first-aid-kit.”

  Minutes later, Jessie returned. Taylor’s leg was up as she lay shivering on the couch. She placed the afghan over Taylor’s trembling body, then turned her attention to the ankle. It was more swollen and had darkened.

  Jessie wrapped the injured ankle and shook her head, revealing how disappointed she was in herself. “I’m so sorry, Taylor. It was thoughtless of me to take you on that trail.”

  “This isn’t your fault…it was an accident.”

  “I didn’t ask the right questions about the trail, and clearly put you in danger.” Karen’s words echoed in her head. “There is a soul that you have been with before…their intentions are not healthy and this is what is causing danger.” In that moment Jessie knew she shouldn’t have brought her to the cabin.

  Taylor interrupted her thoughts. “I wouldn’t have gotten out of there if it wasn’t for you.”

  “You shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” Jessie challenged.

  “Why are you taking this on?” Taylor asked. “We’re both adults. I decided to go with you. You didn’t coerce me into going. It was my choice.”

  Jessie continued wrapping the swollen ankle, ignoring the comment.

  Taylor took Jessie’s hands in her own, getting Jessie’s attention. “This is not your fault, Jessie.” Taylor smiled, “Please, believe me.”

  Jessie tried to smile. She turned her attention back to the job at hand and finished wrapping the ankle, then placed an ice pack over it.

  “Jessie, why don’t you get your wet clothes off?”

  “I will. Are you okay for a bit?” She adjusted the afghan to cover her.

  Taylor smiled. “Yes. Go take care of yourself.”

  Jessie retreated to her own bedroom. As she closed the door behind her, she leaned up against it. How could I have been so careless?

  Within the hour, Jessie had changed, built a roaring fire, and set out appetizers and wine for Taylor. She had even prepared chicken for dinner and placed it in the oven to bake.

  “I put dinner in early,” Jessie announced.

  “Great. I’m starving. Would you join me for appetizers?”

  Jessie poured herself a glass of wine; took a sip then placed the wineglass on the coffee table in front of the couch. She retreated to the kitchen and a minute later returned with the first-aid kit and a wet face cloth.

&nb
sp; “Your forehead should be tended to.” Jessie placed the first-aid kit next to her wine glass and sipped her wine. She gently pushed Taylor’s hair away from her forehead and removed the bloody Band-Aid.

  Taylor sat up and moved her injured leg to the floor. She gathered her hair and pulled it away from her face enabling Jessie to inspect the forehead. Jessie awkwardly leaned over her and washed Taylor’s injury.

  Sensing the awkward position, Taylor tapped the couch next to her. “Why don’t you sit?”

  Jessie complied and as she did so, her arm innocently brushed against Taylor.

  “How does it look?”

  As Taylor asked, she became aware of how close Jessie was to her, and her feelings puzzled her. There was something familiar about Jessie’s touch, but what confused her was that she felt excited and nervous. Taylor had always been drawn to Jessie, especially her eyes. At times, when their eyes would meet, she often wondered if Jessie felt the same.

  Jessie cleaned the dried blood away from Taylor’s forehead, revealing the long scratch. She knew that Taylor’s eyes were on her.

  “It’s a long scratch. It should be cleaned. It’s red.” Gently she cleaned the scrape with the wet face clothe. “How’d you get it, anyway?”

  “It was from a branch which I first hit the tree.”

  Jessie felt horrible about the accident. “You’re lucky you weren’t killed.”

  “Lucky? Aren’t you the one who said there’s no such thing as luck or coincidence?”

  Jessie ignored the comment and concentrated on cleaning the forehead. She poured some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball.

  “Jessie, you’re just too serious. You’ve got to relax.”

  She took the cotton ball to Taylor’s forehead. Not anticipating the sting, Taylor jolted and grabbed hold of Jessie’s hand, removing it from her forehead.

  “I’m sorry.” Jessie flinched from Taylor’s pain. She looked into her blue eyes. “It needs to be cleaned, Taylor.”

  “I know. I was just caught off guard. Go ahead.” Taylor released her hold on Jessie’s hand but studied Jessie’s every move.