Mason
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
Dark jacket, hood up, face not visible, still, watching.
They weren't trying to cross, they were just there.
Mason saw my expression and turned too.
He froze, and for a few seconds neither of us moved.
The distance was maybe 40 yards.
Close enough that if the figure had raised an arm, I would have seen it clearly.
Close enough that if they had shouted, we would have heard the voice.
They did nothing.
Then slowly, they stepped backward into the trees until they disappeared.
Mason's voice came out in a harsh whisper.
He wants us on this side.
The words felt disgusting because they made sense.
We didn't camp that night.
We kept moving even as the light died.
We walked by headlamp through rain.
We slipped on roots.
We fell once each, catching ourselves on our hands and cursing under our breath.
At some point, we stopped because we had no choice.
We were exhausted.
We were soaked.