Alex did. Since she knew Eve liked to read out loud, she didn’t bother getting out her own book. Eve had the book they had taken from Logan’s house on her lap. In a quiet voice, she started to read the first story. Now Alex did close her eyes, just to focus on the images of the story as it played out in her head. As she listened, her body relaxed and she felt her determination coming back. This was better than sleep.
When Eve finished the first story, Alex opened her eyes. From the seat lights in front of her, she could see that Adam and Dominic weren’t following their own advice either. She leaned forward and smiled when she saw them both reading silently. Eve was already starting the second story. Alex settled in again.
This time, as the words and images washed over her, Alex felt a nagging at the back of her brain. The book. Something about the book. This peaceful feeling. The sense of rightness. Like whoever wrote this knew the secrets to the universe. Suddenly she snapped up.
“I need to see that book,” she interrupted.
Eve looked startled, but she handed it over. Alex flipped to the back page and stared at the map. As she looked at it, all her confidence drained away. The notes and symbols on the map seemed perfectly clear. They were obviously headed in the right direction, but Alex felt herself wondering again if this was all a mistake. Her shoulders tensed up again. As she read over the little poem at the bottom, the knot in her stomach twisted tighter. She ran her fingers over the words. It just felt so wrong.
“Can we keep reading?” asked Eve. “I really don’t want to think about the map right now.”
“I know,” said Alex. “That’s just it.”
She turned back to the story Eve had been reading. The tightness in her chest eased a little. “There’s something wrong with this map.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean it doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like the rest of the book. I think someone put it in here, someone bad.”
“But who could have…” Eve trailed off as a light dawned on her face. “Oh…she didn’t.”
Alex thought she was talking about Darcy, which made no sense. Darcy might be a pain in the butt, but she wouldn’t have known how to do this.
“She took it. She even took it inside for a minute. Ugh, how didn’t I see this?”
With sudden clarity, Alex saw it. Saw Adam’s book fall on the ground and Logan’s next door neighbor pick it up.
“I knew there was something wrong with her,” Eve was saying. “I knew she was way too interested in our ‘club.’ And I definitely knew she wasn’t as nice as she seemed.”
“Who wasn’t?” Adam had turned around now and was looking over his seat at them.
“Candace-don’t-call-me-Candy,” said Eve bitterly.
“Candace?”
“Logan’s neighbor. The blonde,” Alex clarified since Eve looked too angry to speak. “Remember? She picked up the book, teased us about it, pretended she was going to get us in trouble?”
“And took it inside her trailer!” Eve burst out.
“Shhh.” Now Dominic was turned around, too, and he gestured at the mostly sleeping passengers.
“She has to have put this map into the book,” said Alex. “It makes perfect sense. This thing doesn’t belong in here.”
Dominic took the book, studied the map.
“You’re right.” Adam was nodding. “We knew there was something wrong with the map. We knew we had an enemy. I just didn’t see how they could have done this. But you are totally right.”
“She just moved in,” said Eve. “Right after the explosion.”
That hung in the air for a minute. Then there was a ripping sound as Dominic pulled the map out of the book. He looked at the edge.
“Some kind of glue.”
They all stared at each other.
“So she was the one,” said Adam. “She moved close to watch us and see what we were doing.”
“Yeah, she was watching us,” said Eve, “but I don’t think that’s all she was doing. I mean, I think she might have been watching us before. She picked Logan on purpose. She was always talking to him, making these stupid comments. Then she planted this map. I think she was planning all along to get him to go off like this. ”
Alex could see it all, and it made her burn inside to think about it. This woman had picked Logan because his life was hard. She intentionally took advantage of the crap he had to deal with to make him feel like he needed to do something like this.
“So what do we do now?” said Adam. “If we know that this map was planted, do we still follow it? There’s got to be some kind of trap at the end.”
“We do what we’re doing,” said Alex. “We have to. Logan is. We can’t leave him out there alone. Who knows what she’s planning.”
“But he doesn’t have the map any more, thanks to Darcy,” said Adam. “Are we sure this is really where he’s going?”
“He didn’t come home,” said Eve. “He has to be somewhere. My guess is that he had looked at that map a lot. He could have had it basically memorized. He’s crazy smart.”
“Yeah,” said Alex. “I really think this is where he went.”
“So we go anyway?” said Adam.
They all nodded, and Dominic snapped the book shut with finality. “We go. But we go a lot more carefully.”
13
The Trail Into Darkness
Logan was already on the bus when he realized he didn’t have the map anymore. Cursing to himself, he searched his bag again. One book. The wrong book. How could he have left the other behind? He knew that he put them both in there.
For a minute, panic overtook him. He had just done something totally crazy, and now he wouldn’t even be able to get to where he was going, to find the answers. He would have to go home, have to explain this to everyone. Before, when he pictured telling about it, he was triumphant and holding the answers to all their questions. The thought of turning around and going home now made him sick.
So he just sat for a while. Sat and let his mind race as his insides turned over and over.
Then he pulled out his sketch pad and started to write. He traced out the symbols as he remembered them from the map. He wrote down the poem. That part was easy. He got out the road map he had picked up at a gas station earlier. He knew where his starting point was because he had double and triple checked it at home before deciding to buy a bus ticket. Laying the road map next to his own scratchings, he began to draw on it, filling in landmarks where his memory told him they should go.
He hoped he hadn’t lost his mind. What if he remembered this wrong and just ended up wandering around in the mountains all night? His plan had been simple, get up there by midafternoon, hike up to the place…the place with the answers, he guessed….before dark, see what was there, camp overnight, and head home in the morning. That plan had seemed fail proof sitting on his bed at home. Now he had to admit that this might take longer. Without the actual map…
Once again, he thought about just going home now, but he already knew he wasn’t going to do that. He couldn’t face it.
Bending over the map again, he remembered that the trail line passed close to a little snake symbol. Where had that snake been? He closed his eyes, imagining the tiny snake with its forked tongue sticking out. He was pretty sure it had been just to the northwest of the little hut sign. He looked down at the map again. Then he saw in tiny writing not far from where he had added his own little hut, “Snake Fork Pass.” Doubt was washed away in a rush of excitement as he began to scribble.
• • • • •
An hour later, Logan was standing by the side of the road next to a souvenir shop with a teepee out front. That and a motel featuring several log cabins along a stream set down off the road a ways were the only signs of civilization around. He studied his map and the compass he had just bought inside the store. He was glad he had thought of that. It would speed things up a lot. The first symbol on the map was of two trees wrapped around each other. It was more or les
s straight north from here.
Logan crossed the road and searched for the best entrance into the trees on the other side. It didn’t take long to find a little trail, either left by animals coming down to the stream over there, or by the tourists staying in those cabins and wandering the woods. Either way, it seemed to head in his direction, so Logan settled his pack and his sleeping bag a little better on his shoulders and started off.
He tried not to think too much as he walked. It felt weird to be doing this alone, but anytime that thought brought guilt with it, he just reminded himself that Adam had been keeping this a secret for a long time and that everyone else was off on a mission right now without him…again. It didn’t even matter if they meant to leave him out of things, he got left out anyway. Was it so bad for him to want something of his own to report back about for once? Plus, the map had been very clear that only one person could do this.
Having resolved that in his mind again, he tried to think about something else. The forest was beautiful. The trees pulsed with life. The earthy smell of decomposing leaves and branches mixed with moss and new growth filled his lungs and gave him a sense of well-being. But wonderful as it all was, it couldn’t capture his attention like it usually did. Before he knew it, his brain cycled back around to feeling guilty and all the arguments for why he shouldn’t.
Logan kept a close eye on the compass. After a while, he noticed that the path he was on was veering west. He needed to go straight north. At least, he thought he did. For a moment the hopelessness of finding two particular trees in this huge forest overwhelmed him. Then he pushed it aside and plunged off the path and into the undergrowth, setting his steps as close to due north as he could.
It was hard going. Lots of small trees and other plants crowded out his steps. In several places the trees themselves grew too close together to let him through. Now it took all his attention just to find a way through and make sure he was still going in the right direction. He was relieved all over again that he had thought to buy the compass. He would have been totally lost without it.
After a good half hour of pushing his way through, he stopped to take a drink and find a couple of band-aids for his scratched up hands. He ignored the feeling of dread and treated himself to an imaginary argument with his friends again. Anger felt much better than fear.
He unfolded his map and looked at it again. If he had drawn them correctly, the two trees were only about two miles north of where he had started. He tried to guess how fast he had been going, but he really had no idea. How would he know if he had gone too far, if he was off track?
Just as the panic had started to rise again, he heard a loud snap off in the woods to his right. He jumped up, sudden images of bears and mountain lions in his head. Just breathe, he told himself, it’s probably just a deer or a raccoon. There are lots of them in these mountains. Still, one part of his brain was looking pretty closely at the nearby trees to see if he could climb them.
Another crunch, this time closer. Logan reached into his backpack and found his flashlight. He had no idea what he planned to do with it, but it felt a little better to have something solid in his hand.
Crack. A twig snapped right next to him, and Logan jumped. He saw a creature the size of a house cat come out of the trees. It stopped when it saw him and sat back on its hind legs.
Logan was so relieved that it was small and not attacking him that he couldn’t think about anything else for a minute. Then he noticed that even though the thing was covered in short brown fur and obviously walked on four legs, it didn’t have paws. As it sat there, it was rubbing its front feet together and they were more like…hands, a dirty white in color and with tiny fingers. They reminded him a little bit of pictures he’d seen of possum hands. Did they call those hands?
He shook his head to clear it. What difference did it make what they were called? The thing didn’t look like it was going to hurt him, but the added creepiness of having it sit there and stare at him was just the motivation he needed to get going again. He shouldered his pack, checked his compass and started north again.
He had only gone about three steps when the animal behind him let out a shriek that made his heart stop, then change its mind and thunder wildly. Logan turned quickly, expecting to see the thing leaping toward him, but it was still sitting there, calmly watching him. What was that scream?
For a while they stayed there, staring at each other. Then Logan worked up the nerve to start walking again. He didn’t turn his back on the little creature this time, though. As he sidled sideways through two trees, he kept his eyes fixed on its tiny brown ones and his flashlight tightly gripped in his hand.
The second a tree came between them, the animal shrieked again, high and loud and long. Logan froze. Should he make a run for it? The thought of some strange animal, even a small one, following him screaming through the woods was horrifying. He peeked his head around the tree, and jumped back right away. The animal was only about a foot away. It really was following him.
Logan took a deep breath and tried to remind himself that this thing was too small to hurt him. It probably wanted food or something. Of course, if he fed it, it would never leave. He tried to keep his voice calm and soothing, “Hey there, little guy. Are you hungry? I don’t have any food to give you.”
It sat back on its hind legs again and just looked at him.
“Okay then, I have to go. How about you just stay here? Or head down that way toward the road and get some tourists to give you bread crumbs?”
The animal shook its head. Logan stopped talking. It shook its head. Like it was saying “no.” Did it understand him?
Maybe this wasn’t just an ordinary animal. After all, he never remembered hearing anything about any small beavers with no tails and possum hands. Was this something you had to have the Sight to see?
“Can you understand me, little guy? Can you talk?”
It just stared at him.
Okay, he was crazy. He was wasting time here when he really needed to be following that map.
“Right. Okay. Like I said, I’m going to go now. I’m going this way.” He pointed behind him. “You go any of the other directions you like.” He waved his arms everywhere but north.
It shook its head again. Then it waved its arm to the east, stood up on all fours and began to waddle in that direction. When it reached the nearest tree, it looked over its shoulder at him and screamed again, a short blast this time. It seemed to be waiting for him.
Not crazy, Logan thought. I’ve met the Dund. I’ve talked to a pink lizard. Things aren’t always what they seem. There was no question in his mind that the animal wanted him to follow it. He just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. Who knew what it wanted or where it was taking him.
“I have a map,” he muttered.
The animal gave a short shriek in reply. It was sitting back and gesturing with its little hand again.
“That way, huh?”
Still staring at him, the animal stood up.
Logan shrugged. He didn’t really know where he was going. It wouldn’t hurt to follow this thing for a little ways. If he could figure out a way to really communicate with it, maybe it could help him. It probably knew this forest way better than he did. It seemed harmless enough. If only there was a way to be sure.
For a minute he wished he had Alex here. She usually had a good feel for stuff like this. Then he remembered how easily she had agreed to leave him behind that morning. He didn’t need her. He could rely on his own feelings, and he had a feeling this thing was going to take him where he needed to go.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
If it had been a long walk, Logan probably would have given up on following the animal. It moved quickly, and it didn’t look back. In order to keep up, Logan had to sacrifice paying close attention to his surroundings which resulted in a lot of bashed shins and scrapes from branches as he passed by. Fortunately, at the animal’s brisk pace it was only about 10 minutes before Logan stepped out into a
small clearing and saw the two trees that had grown together on the other side.
Logan was elated. The thing really had known where it was going.
“Thanks!” he said, but when he looked down the animal was gone. Logan looked around. He couldn’t see it anywhere.
“Thanks!” he called a little louder, but only silence answered him. He shrugged. It had done its job. He was at the first marker. He was definitely on the right path. It should be easier from here.
Logan wandered over to the twin trees, and put his hand on one. The bark was rough under his fingers. He had always loved the feel of trees. An unexpected wave of sadness came over him as he though about the trees in the Redoubt. Before that thought had any time to give him regrets, though, he remembered the feel of the Changing Tree and what they had done to it. He remembered Dominic’s cold eyes as he said they were only doing what had to be done. Maybe it had to be done and maybe it didn’t. Logan was determined to find out today.
He got out the map with his rough sketches and studied it. The next landmark was about half a mile to the northwest. The picture looked like some sort of long, low hut. He hoped it would be pretty recognizable. He took a minute to orient himself with the compass, circling the twin trees to get on the northwest side.
He was so busy watching the little dial in his hands that he stubbed his toe hard again on a tree root. His vision went black for minute and he would have fallen if he hadn’t grabbed onto the trees with one hand. For a long time, he just stood there swearing. His toe felt like it was going to fall off.
It wasn’t until the pain began to fade that he realized there was something strange about the tree under his hand. It felt smooth. Gingerly, he put his foot down and moved his hand to get a closer look. He felt his breath leave his body in a whoosh.
Someone had scraped off all the tree bark in a big circle right at shoulder height. Inside the circle was scraped a small version of the map. It showed the twin trees where he was standing and a trail leading up to the little hut thing. Logan hadn’t noticed a trail leading to the northwest, but this map gave him hope. Maybe one would open up as he went along.
The Broken Circle (The Book of Sight 2) Page 16
