Silver Basin

…i stayed at the edge of the woods pacing biting my nails waiting for someone to come back with good news hours passed then days they found nothing not eric not even footprints just his backpack abandoned in the middle of the trail and near Silver Basin, the massive tree with its spiraling carvings. The search dogs refused to go near it.…

…They weren't faint anymore. They were a chorus, overlapping voices calling my name, laughing, taunting. Ryan. Ryan. At Silver Basin, I saw it again. The tree. Its bark twisted with the same spiraling patterns, its roots clawing into the earth like they were alive. And at the base, a patch of disturbed ground. The snow didn't stick there, like the earth itse…

…I wanted to turn around right then. Every instinct I had screamed to go back, but Eric's confidence was infectious. Always had been. He'd charge ahead, laughing at the danger. And I'd follow, too stubborn to be the one who chickened out. By the time we reached Silver Basin, the sun was low, the sky streaked with bruised purples and fiery reds.…