The cold welcoming of concrete and bricks, the safety of buildings and street lights, all now a facade of security, was now behind Levi. In front of him lay mans oldest enemy, nature, the elements. As deadly as it ever was and just as beautiful. The leaves of the trees were just starting to turn with blots of orange and red placed sporadically in the greenery. Random. Everything is in a constant state of changing, nothing idle. It's usually slow, you don't even notice. A water drop can carve through solid limestone but you never notice the process, only the canyon. As Levi walked in the dirt alongside the weathered road, he wondered how much he'd changed over the years but not noticed. What grooves and cliffs and cracks were chiseled into his canyon. He wondered if the world around him was always changing into the nightmare it is now, if he had missed those signs, too.
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The tall mountains in the distance fought the clouds for control over the sky. The snowy peaks like poison coated tips of claws. The wind was a gentle kiss of coolness, the limbs of the trees like a symphony in its wake. The babbling river ran to his side below a small embankment, the bass of the track. It was so picturesque but it felt like a front to the horrors of the last half a day, twisting into grotesque. Everything changes.
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The rushing waters clicked in Levi's brain, connected dots. The image of the carving he saw on the wall of the hardware store appeared in his mind, sharp, vivid. The small cabin, the cryptic wavy lines, the cart. The wavy lines had to be water, a tide.
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The things he'd seen had been leading him somewhere, to something and this was another piece of the puzzle. He didn't see the full picture but he was supposed to be by the water, that much he was certain. He walked to the edge of the embankment, surveyed it, tested his footing. It looked stable, only a few feet climb down. He lowered himself, putting his legs over and began the not so graceful descent. Losing his footing a few times, rocks and hunks of dirt rolling down.
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On the bank of the river the waters weren't as loud as he thought they'd be, they flowed serenely and calmly. The only chaos was the rocks that cut the surface of the water, poking out from the bottom of the river. Levi focused on that, feeling like the dark presence was the water and this town was the bladed rock and he was being pulled along in a direct line to be cut clean in half. Powerless to fight the current. Levi started walking up the small beach, keeping Bright Falls behind him.
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Under normal rules, laws of nature, Levi would have walked long enough for the sun to start setting and the stillness the moon brought not far away but it was still uncomfortably noon and bright. The beach slowly started opening up, claiming some of the grassy land. The embankment started falling, meeting with it to create a clearing and that's where Levi spotted it. The cabin.
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It was tiny, looked hand built. Weathered wood. Dark. A few small planks hung over the door, held up by wooden supports. The beach in front was connected to a dock that stretched out into the river and next to it, the cart. Two big wooden wheels on one end and two long poles on the other, smaller spokes underneath stopped it from tilting completely over. This was where he was led, what he was supposed to find.
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Levi made his way to the front door of the cabin, not stopping to examine the cart along the way, just stealing a peak on the way by. He expected emptiness, nothing. He almost kept walking, not realizing what he saw. He stopped, thought, snapped back. A woman in a white gown laid in the back of the cart.
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Levi could tell she was breathing but he also could see she had a glow, an aura. The inverted light. He gripped the revolver he kept tuck under his shirt, in the waistband of his jeans, ready. He reached over, shook her lightly. Gripped the gun tighter. Her eyes opened and she turned to face Levi. She didn't smile. Levi lessened his grip. “Who are you? Where am I?” She said, finally filling the air with something other than wind and crickets and waves, her eyes glossy.
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Levi, still on guard, gave his name, said they were outside Bright Falls. He started to try and explain what's been happening, the light, the monsters but she grinned, cut him off. “I'm Nerthus.” she said, “I've been waiting for you.”
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Levi took a step back, bewildered. He didn't respond, his tongue was tied in a knot. He only watched as the woman worked her way up and out of the cart, moving seductively, deliberate, slow, until she stood in front of him. Her white gown flowing, she looked divine with her accompanying off white glow. He took another step back, he didn't believe in higher powers.
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She followed, tracing her finger down his chest. He pulled back. “What are you talking about? Waiting for me?” Levi said in a disgusted tone. “You told me to wait for you so I waited. Don't worry, I hid it.” She replied with a smirk and a nod. Levi tilted his head like a confused dog, his eyes squinted. “Hid what?” he said. “You know, you told me to hide it.” She replied again.
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He was lost, he'd been lost. In a place no map could free him from, no road could lead him back. He stood there in bewildered silence, contemplating. He thought about playing along, try to coax the information from her. He wasn't sure how to, he fumbled over his words. “Oh..yeah, of course. Where did you hide it? Just so I know not to go there.” He said as sincerely as he could. “You're testing me. You told me you'd say that, I remember.” She said, smirking again as she stepped back and sat on the edge of the cart, patting the empty place next to her.
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This was all bizarre, didn't add up. Levi felt out of place, he didn't belong here. He couldn't help but think the signs, maybe, have been leading to his demise. Nerthus made him feel uncomfortable, uneasy. Her eyes hungry. Her presence was eerie, she draped the beach in an oppressive, otherworldly haze. She fit in but didn't, like a Picasso painting. A method to the madness of someone else. Levi didn't feel his life was in danger, not yet anyways but he felt like any minute he'd blink, open his eyes and be caught in a spider's web. He needed an excuse to get away. He told the woman he needed a minute and walked over to the cabin, she ignored him and trailer behind.
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The door was flimsy. It had two thin window panes running down the top half. He pushed the door open, the rusty hinges made an awful noise. He stepped into the dark cabin, couldn't make much out. He pulled his UV light out and looked around the one room. A layer of dust had moved in. Cabinets on the walls. Sink. Table in the middle. Nerthus followed but stopped dead in her tracks at the door. Standing in the frame. Her smirk melted away. Her grace replaced with a subtle slump. Levi could feel her eyes burning into his back. Her voice got gravelly, horse, like she'd been screaming for hours. “Where did you go? Come back.” She said.
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Levi looked over his shoulder, confused. It was dark but not pitch black. He was far from hidden and she saw him walk in. He turned, the UV light following his momentum. It landed on her, painting her in a purple glow. She put her hands up, over her face. Winched, shrieked. Levi didn't realize it was his light causing the damage, he pleaded. “What's wrong?” He said, stepping forward. Her, still bathed in purple. A few seconds pass before the dark presence loses its grip, pops. She collapses on the creaky floorboards of the porch.
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Levi dropped the flashlight, rushed over, kneeling beside her. He wasn't sure if she was in her right mind but the sight filled me with worry and fear. A different fear than the one that's been shadowing him, tormenting him. He kneeled down, waited. Occasionally shaking her. “Are you ok?” A few minutes go by before her eyes flutter rapidly to life. The color in her cheeks rushing back, the grey smog not there anymore. Everything registered in Levi's head, lightbulb. He had saved her. Loosened the dark presence's grip on her long enough to come back to the living. He wondered if he hadn't, if she would have been lost forever. Turned completely. He thought of the smiley in the bookstore. If he could have saved them, if he killed him. The guilty started out weighing the fear.
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“Buried…behind.” She uttered. It snapped Levi back. She struggled to talk, to catch her breath. “Find it..missing piece…loop.” Levi sat her up, back to one of the posts holding up the makeshift porch roof. She pointed at the cabin. “Wait here.” He said, “You'll be ok once you come to. I'll go find it.” He tried to comfort her. He wasn't sure what more he could do for her. He wanted to help, he didn't want to leave but he knew she hid something, something important. Something that could save them both. He wanted to find it, another piece of the puzzle. Then maybe they could work together to escape. He rubbed his hand on her shoulder, offering as much comfort as he could think of. A small gesture, just so she knows she's not alone. Her eyes were closed, half alive. He hoped she felt the solace. He stood up. Walked around to the back of the cabin.
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Levi tried to keep his emotions in check. He was wound tight, tried to focus. He could only picture needles and haystacks, not much to go on. Behind the cabin, where the beach and the forest met. Against the back wall was a garbage can, weeds, a rake. The usual, except right at the base of the cabin, halfway covered by a piece of driftwood. A small, discolored mound of dirt. Levi was suspicious, his luck wasn't that good. He kicked the wood aside, got down and started digging with his hands. A mix of not wanting to waste time and desperation, grasping at any straws of salvation.
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A few inches of dirt was the only thing keeping it hidden. Levi swept it away, a starking white corner poked out. The desperation sunk in like wolf teeth. He pulled it, freeing it, brushed it off. Another piece of broken marble, like an excerpt from a book. Carved in was a lone tree with an “X” on it. “How does this help? How do I find a specific tree in a whole forest?” Levi said out loud, frustrated. He squeezed it, shut his eyes tight. Exhaled. He was tired of feeling lost. Drip fed steps that didn't make any sense. He tucked it into his backpack. Not sure what his next step would be. He circled back around, to check on Nerthus, there had to be more she wasn't telling him, a bigger spotlight to shine on the truth.
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Levi came around the corner, stopped at the porch but Nerthus was gone. No trace of her remained. Like she had vanished into thin air. But just then, movement caught his eye. He jerked. Two smileys, shadows, inverted light touched monsters, were pushing the cart into the river. The wheels in the front already partially submerged. Levi could barely make out a piece of white cloth hanging from the back. It looked like Nerthus’ gown, had to be. Levi bolted, wrapping his hand around his revolver as he ran but he wasn't fast enough.
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