Crow's Path Ch. 01

She stopped cleaning when she heard the sound of something small hitting the ground. Vanessa looked up from the blanket to find that Wallace was no longer standing with her. In fact he was nowhere to be found at all.

"Wallace, sweetie?" she asked into the quiet forest. Her first thought was that like most other guys she had dated, Wallace's first order of business after rough sex was to take a piss. He'd probably walked off into the woods to relieve himself.

She waited for an answer but even when none came she simply assumed he was just out of sight for now. As she brought the blanket back up to her face to continue cleaning, however, something caught her eye: A tiny shimmer of moonlight not far from where she sat. Something reflective was lying on the ground by the trail.

Gathering her shirt around her in a clumsy attempt at modesty, Vanessa stood and approached the path. She could see what it was before she arrived. The phone that Wallace had used just a minute before to take lewd photos of her body was now laying face-up in the dirt with no sign of its owner nearby.

"Wallace? Where are you? WALLACE!"

Vanessa was feeling the panic now. She waited again for a reply but the dread in the pit of her stomach told her that none would come. Something was very wrong. Wallace was like most other guys she had met, but practical jokes didn't seem to be his thing. She hoped he would simply pop out of the bush to scare her, and if that were the case she would be angry and scold him. But eventually the relief would set in and they would return to her room for even more sex.

No surprise came. No answers to her shouts. Nothing but quiet, enveloping her, as the tears of panic finally burst from her eyes. She was alone, and she was afraid, but just when she felt hopeless something drastic took hold of her. She suddenly felt calm.

This was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Vanessa's mind was still focused on Wallace's disappearance, yet her emotions were completely beyond her control. The panic and fear was now replaced with acceptance and relief, even as she continued to look around for her lover.

Eventually, Vanessa gave up on her search, and when this happened, she gave in to the force that was controlling her. She loosened her clutch on the shirt and let it fall freely to the ground, leaving her naked on the trail. Without any clear motivation as to why, she stepped off and into the tree line, disappearing into the night like a shadow.

To Be Continued