James feels his hand trying to flex on its own, but he fights the impulse in order to find and light a much-needed cigarette. “Well, the good news is, we’re on track to find a station.”
Matilda approaches the barricades with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
“And the bad news?”
James rests a hand on his holstered pistol and scans the tree line.
“The bad news is, it’s on the other side of Wharton State Forest. I’ve heard rumors of something out in this forest, but I’ve never been this way before myself. There are stories of people going into these woods, and coming out… different. After a while, they just wandered back in, and were never seen again. And if the Enclave is unwilling to go in…”
Matilda rests a hand on her hip.
“Are you telling me there’s a witch in the woods or something?”
James frowns when he notices an even more glaringly evident rent in the moss-grown chain-link fence.
“It’s probably just an anomaly.” He doesn’t sound particularly convinced.
Matilda kicks at one of the barricades, fragmenting an especially furry accumulation of moss.
“Isn’t that your specialty, handling anomalies?”
Ignoring the slight venom in her tone, James turns around and looks back at the service road. He doubts they’ll be able to avoid any Enclave patrols if they head back in that direction. Turning back to the barricades, he focuses again on the torn section of fence. James mutters, “Yeah, but nothing like this.”
Matilda starts moving towards the barrier.
James continues, “Anything that has the Enclave this obviously concerned shouldn’t be taken lightly. The only other good news I can think is, Simmons’ men should stay clear of the area.”
Matilda continues trudging towards the gap in the fence.
“Great. So we just make our way through the haunted forest, no problem. With everything we’ve been through, you act like this is going to be tough.”
James moves after her.
“Just keep quiet. If there is anything out here, let’s not grab its attention.”
Passing through the fence, they walk along the side of the road, ready to retreat to the tree line if anything unpleasant comes their way. The only sound that breaks the unnatural silence is the occasional rumble of distant thunder.
Matilda doesn’t know how long they’ve been walking. She doesn’t know how long it’s been since they passed the Enclave’s barricades. All she knows is that the band is still in James’ hand, and her frustrations are mounting. Hank was a monster.
“Just like me,” she whispers.
She saw red when James brought up Neverland, because she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. The plan had always been to absorb Virginia… but she had never wanted to tell James about it. The Taciturn had shown how uncomfortable he was with her Scry powers.
But the whole city…
Hank, on the other hand – that had been an opportunity to make things right. To free all those people from his oppression. But when the big moment came – she’d been frozen out of it. Now she finds herself unable to clean her slate, and she has managed to piss off what could very well be her only friend.
“Still, he can be a real jerk,” she mutters, to any of the trees that care to listen.
Trapped in her own head, Matilda steps on a fallen, decaying log. A loud CRACK echoes through the silent forest. Before the sound fades, Matilda knows what’s coming next – the glaring, condescending face of the Taciturn. Sure enough, when she looks up, it’s waiting for her.
Unable or unwilling to deescalate the tension between, Matilda figures she might as well pitch in her two cents.
“What? Didn’t you say Simmons’ people should avoid this forest? So, what should we be afraid of? If there are any anomalies, you said it yourself, you’ve fought monsters before. What makes this one any different?”
James retraces his steps back to Matilda, and she’s surprised when he doesn’t reprimand her. There is some actual concern mixed with the sober seriousness in his voice.
“Alright, I’m going to tell you this, even though I know you’re not going to take it seriously.”
James glances past her, scanning the forest for some as-yet-unseen adversary.
“Please, just take this seriously.”
Matilda mockingly raises a hand.
“Yeah, okay. Scouts’ honor.”
James leans against a tree.
“Do you know the story of the Jersey Devil?”
Matilda fights back the urge to laugh.
“You mean the flying goat?”
James exhales through clenched teeth and lowers his head.
“Yeah, no. Not that. Everyone knows that one. The real legend is about a pioneer woman who had twelve children. Pregnant with the thirteenth, she said, ‘the Devil can take this one.’ She may have said it in jest, but the way the story goes, when the child was born, it took the form of a horrible creature that escaped to torment the countryside.”
Matilda plays with the handle of a knife sheathed inside her vest.
“Okay, but we’re still fighting a monster, aren’t we? I’m sure you have something in that Bag of Holding of yours to blow it away.”
She studies his face as he continues to scan the woods.
“Everyone assumes it’s a single creature, but it’s more than that. This place messes with your mind. A monster is one thing, but these woods have a… a presence. Powerful enough to make people abandon their homes, and even have the whole Enclave lock it down.”
The unnatural stillness of the forest is beginning to get on her nerves, too.
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll be more careful. Let’s just find some place to hole up soon.”
As they continue, Matilda second guesses making light of the situation. She’s technically a monster… and too many people have certainly underestimated her.
Absorbed in her thoughts, Matilda piles face-first into James, who has stopped cold, holding up a cautioning hand.
“Umphf. What gives—?”
She sees it before he can respond. A path to the left, deviating from the main road, and yet another sign. Rusted and covered in dirt, it indicates that there is a ranger station half a mile away. Flustered, James cautiously continues down the main road.
“There shouldn’t be anything out here. We should just keep going.”
Ignoring him, Matilda bears down the path leading to the ranger station.
“This is probably worth checking out. Besides, you said we’d stop when we ‘found something’. This is ‘something’.”
James shakes his head. “I really don’t think we should.”
Matilda waves her hands around her ears, as if shooing insects or bats. . “Either you’re coming with me or you’re not.” His grumbling lets Matilda know he’s following.
When they arrive at the ranger station, it doesn’t look like much. Moss and corrosion cover the signs, and the forest has done its best to reclaim the land. Despite its derelict state, Matilda thinks there’s a kind of solitary beauty to the woodland building. Just not enough to stop her instinctively reaching for a knife when she hears James unholster his pistol.
Clipping Hank’s key to his belt, James motions with his free hand towards the station. The two quickly cover the ground between them and the house. Peering through the begrimed windowpanes, it’s impossible to make out anything on the inside. Counting down in the air with his fingers, James turns the handle, opens the door, and creeps into the darkness. With blades drawn, Matilda enters the station and is immediately stunned by the overpoweringly musky odor of the interior. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she searches the room for any sign of threat. Their sweeps of the subsequent rooms reveal only more rotting wood and debris.