Wild Night
written by: Laura Melvin
Jess ran her hand over the rough engraving – a triangle inside a circle. She’d marked this tree ten years ago while hiking this stretch of forest with her parents, using the Swiss Army knife her father had given her the morning they’d set out. The symbol was a marker to guide her future self.
“It’s this way,” she called behind her. Four other hikers wearing full packs crested the hill, their faces flushed and sweaty.
“This better be worth it,” Bryan wheezed, resting his hands on his knees. “I could be drinking a cold beer on a patio right now.”
“Well, you’ll be drinking a warm beer out of a backpack in a minute. The spot’s just up here.” Jess motioned for the others to follow.
They’d been hiking through dense forest for two hours. The trees towered overhead, giant moss-draped sentinels allowing only narrow beams of sunlight to filter down to the forest floor. It was so quiet in the woods they’d barely spoken on the way up, fearing they might wake something ancient sleeping on a mossy bed nearby.
As Jess led them along the narrow track, the trees thinned, revealing a large, grassy opening overlooking the lake below and rolling mountains opposite. It was just how Jess remembered when she came with her parents. The ideal camping spot, the kind you saw in outdoor magazines where everyone was wearing Patagonia gear and sitting around a fire. And it would’ve been perfect – if it weren’t for the circle of tents and a dozen barefooted strangers claiming the space.
“Welcome, friends!” A woman approached – barefoot and obviously braless – with a mane of unbrushed greying hair. “Are you here for the celebration?”
“Er, no,” Jess said, looking back at her friends, their sweat-slick foreheads wrinkling as they frowned at her. “We hiked up to camp. But I see you’ve already claimed the space.”
“Oh, we claim nothing, child. You can’t claim nature! There’s plenty of room. Our coven welcomes all who wish to celebrate the Full Moon with us.” The woman’s eyes went wide as a joyous smile spread across her face. Jess noticed how large her pupils were, despite the bright sunshine.
“Sorry, did you say coven?” Bryan asked, coming to stand next to Jess. “Like, a witch coven? Brooms and cauldrons and, hey, is that a keg?”
Bryan stood up straight, momentarily forgetting about the heavy pack on his back. Jess and the others followed his gaze. There was a keg at the far edge of the clearing between two tents.
“Yes. We have three.” The woman grinned.
“How on earth did you get those up here?” Jess asked in disbelief.
“On our brooms, obviously.” She shot a pointed look at Bryan. It only lasted a moment before her smile returned. “Come, come. There’s enough for everyone. Join us.”
***
Jess woke with her head pillowed on her arm which, she quickly discovered, had gone completely numb. Groaning, she rolled onto her back and stretched out her arm until she began to feel the tingling sensation of blood returning. Without opening her eyes, she went through the morning-after checklist: headache, foul-tasting mouth, desperate need for water. She was definitely hungover. Slowly, so very slowly, she pushed herself up to sitting and opened her eyes.
She was in the middle of the clearing, within arm’s reach of the fire pit. She’d passed out before crawling into her tent. No. They’d never set up their tents. They’d gone straight for the keg and been too drunk to dig them out of their packs.
Jess glanced down at herself. Her jacket had disappeared sometime during the night. So had her shoes. She was now barefoot in her jeans and tank top and – are those tattoos? Strange symbols now decorated her arms from shoulder to wrist. Rubbing one of the marks with her thumb, she sighed in relief as the mark smudged on her skin. It was just pen.
“You’re awake!” The woman with the wide eyes and unbrushed hair called from a tent on the other side of the fire pit. “Wild night, my child! Absolutely wild. Be glad you were the first to fall asleep.”
“I was?” Jess glanced around. She couldn’t see the others. “Where is everyone?”
“Let’s get you something to eat. We have a long hike down today.” The woman extended her hand for Jess to take. Jess ignored it.
“Where is everyone?”
When Jess still ignored her outstretched hand, the woman crouched down until she was eye-level. Her pupils were still too large and too black for the morning sun overhead.
“You know where they are, dear. That’s why you brought them to us, isn’t it?”
Jess rubbed her eyes, willing the fog to lift from her mind.
“Yes,” she said slowly. “Yes, Leader Willow.”
Leader Willow nodded and stood up.
“Good. Now, find your shoes. We need to make it to the trailhead before the Rangers find the bodies.”
- Wild Night - October 25, 2024
