“That’s metal,” Brandon commented with a smile before throwing a gummy worm in his mouth.
The fire made a crack noise and something scurried loudly in the woods nearby. Ava clawed at my shoulder, looking as if she wanted to climb right in my lap.Please do. The campground manager gave a throaty laugh at her reaction.
“What was that noise?” Ava asked, almost trembling as she stretched out the neck of my shirt. No one answered and that only seemed to make her more worried.
The ranger leaned in and talked lower as if fearing someone… or somethingwas listening.
“Mothman is a bad omen,” he said. Ava shivered and I squeezed her hand. She hissed in pain and my eyes widened in surprise. When I opened up our hands I saw her splinter bandaged up. Was it still bothering her? Why didn’t she tell me? What if it was infected? Maybe we should drive to an emergency clinic tonight, get it checked out just in case.
“Why is he a bad omen?” She asked the ranger.
“He hides deep in the caverns of the old Appalachia. Two great big demon eyes blinking out, seeing everything and feeling when something bad is going to happen. In the late sixties, he stretched out from his hiding place, ran people off the road, chased them down, terrorized them. The entire area grew paranoid and afraid. Neighbors began turning against each other, no one went out after dark.”
“He left them alive though?” She asked. I twisted her hand around to get a better look at the bandaged area. I couldn’t see any red skin. The urge to peel the bandaid off and look at it was strong but I’d wait until we got back to camp.
“Yes ma'am, he wasn’t looking for food. He was warning us.”
“Of what?” Matthias asked with a sigh. He seemed to just want the story over with so he could leave. He was constantly scratching at his collection of bug bites and mopping the sweat from his forehead.
“Warning about the bridge collapse,” the ranger said, his lips tugging down at the corner. He leaned back, shaking his head. “Silver Bridge was built in the twenties. For forty years it was reliable until one night it wasn’t.”
“What happened?” Matthias asked, looking more concerned now as he ignored his scratched raw skin. I could even see a little blood on his fingernails from how he’d broken the skin trying to relieve the itch.
“It was rush hour, people traveling from work to see their families. Cars were loaded up on the bridge. It was a disaster. Forty-six people never made it home. Two bodies were never found.”
“But what does that have to do with a monster?” I asked, annoyed. They blamed monsters for everything. “It was the bridge.”
“I’m not sure anyone blames him.” The ranger scratched at his jaw “But no one wants to see him flying in the skies. It means disaster is coming. That people are going to die.” I rolled my eyes then looked down at Ava. She was looking at my rude reaction. I swallowed then smiled shyly as if embarrassed by how I just acted.
It had grown fully dark as we folded our chairs up and grabbed the s’more supplies. When we started to walk off I eyed the trees around us. Ava suddenly grabbed my arm, wrapping her fingers around the bicep and squeezing, her eyes darting around everywhere.
8
“Oh! You all be careful, ‘kay?” The ranger called out to us all. “No one has gone missing yet this summer and people always go missing. Summer is almost over.” He looked out into the woods. “Mothman must be hungry.”
The camp manager watched us go, her eyes steady on us, no longer looking into the woods.
“He didn’t say why they call him Mothman,” Matthias commented as we walked away.
“Maybe he’s a big moth,” Brandon joked, throwing his arm around the other man’s shoulders and tugging him close.
“A moth wouldn’t have taloned feet, glowing eyes, and a bloody mouth,” Caspian commented like he was annoyed with the conversation.
An image rose in my mind. Of something dark, shadows wrapped around its body. Two round red eyes. The image was so strong I barely could see the woods around me anymore. Dizziness came over me and mild nausea roiled up in my stomach. The image in my mind shifted, alive. Massive wings spread out, brown and black patterns. The buzzing grew stronger until it felt like my brain was stinging. I winced, pressing my hands to my head.
“Are you okay?” Caspian asked in concern, feeling the sway of my step. I closed my eyes and shook my head. The buzzing slowly drifted away, the images disappearing into blackness. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry.
“Maybe it’s because he has big wings like a moth,” I said, answering Matthias’ question.
“Hmm,” Matthias said, seeming to genuinely think about it. His arm slipped around Brandon’s waist naturally. Caspian looked down at me with a questioning gaze boring into me.
Matthias and Brandon veered into their camp throwing goodnights over their shoulders. Their attitudes seemed markedly better than before. They almost seemed friendly towards me, smiling and waving as they went. I hadn’t noticed before but they seemed really close to one another.
“What made you say that about the wings?” Caspian asked as we moved towards the dying fire at our campsite. I headed straight for the cooler, tugging out a beer that I popped open and began to gulp. The cool carbonation was rough on my throat but I let it slide down regardless. Trails of beer leaked out around the sides of my mouth, sliding down to my chin.
I didn’t stop until the can was empty, pulling it away from my mouth with a big inhale. I hadn’t even tasted it at all.
“I have no idea. It just came to me,” I mumbled, half lying. That hadn’t been normal imagination. I didn’t want to think about what it was. Quickly, I fetched another beer from the cooler and popped it open, tipping it back and swallowing greedily.
