Annabel nodded and swallowed the pills, chasing them with water. “Don’t trust anyone, Emma. Any one of these people can be our enemy. We must go our own way as soon as possible.”
Emma bit her lip, refraining from saying anything at all. She needed time to think. She was seventeen years old, to be eighteen by tomorrow, but she had never felt terrified as she was now. First, it was the county where she had found out that paranormals like werewolves and witches were real, and now this. She had no idea what to think again.
Even though she thought that Annabel was so delirious to the extent of referring to her as her daughter, she couldn’t help the feeling that there might be a hint of truth in what the latter had said. Her instincts were never wrong. But it scared her the most. Evil in the mountains?? What mountain and what is the evil?
She wished she could turn back time. She wouldn’t have offended her father to warrant him throwing her far off to England for her studies. That way, she wouldn’t have been meshed in all these strange happenings. Or was that false? She wondered, remembering that Margo had followed her here, even spied on her. If Margo could do that, who says there weren’t others?
She shouldn’t keep avoiding the obvious. Emma mused to herself. She wasn’t normal. She might as well start believing in certain rumours. She now hoped Annabel would be awake before the plane touches down at the tarmac, they had to discuss about the things she had said after been bitten by the insects.
Emma dropped the sheet in place as soon as her friend appeared to be drifting off and went out onto the next chair. One of the hostess glanced at her and looked quickly away, clearly uncomfortable with the presence of the people in this compartment. Probably because of the strange happening that had just occurred.
As she sat in the seat, goosebumps rose on her arms. She rubbed them away, standing up again and choosing to walk along the craft to try to put some distance between her and the rest of the passengers. She just needed a little space.
There wasn’t enough room on the compartment to find a quiet corner. Jubal and Gary, the two researchers, sat together in one of the few secluded spots, and judging from the expressions on their faces, they weren’t very happy. She gave them a wide berth, but in doing so ended up beside Ben, the third engineer, the one she couldn’t quite make up her mind about. He was always courteous to both women and, like Jubal and Gary, seemed to be developing a protective streak toward them.
Ben nodded at her. “Is your friend all right?”
Emma flashed him a tentative smile. “I think so. I gave her an antihistamine. Hopefully, between that and the gel Gary gave us, the itch won’t make her crazy. Those are nasty little bugs.”
“She must have been wearing something that attracted them,” Ben ventured, half stating, half asking. “Maybe a perfume?”
Emma knew her friend didn’t wear a perfume, but it was a good explanation. She nodded slowly. “I didn’t think of that. The attack was so bizarre.”
Ben studied her face intently, his eyes so watchful, she found his gaze disturbing. “Have this ever happened to you before?”
Emma shook her head, grateful she could tell the truth. “Never.”
“Why are you alone in a plane though? Are you up to eighteen?” Ben asked curiously. Again he didn’t blink, or take his eyes from her face. He stared at her with the eyes of an interrogator. “It’s my understanding that no matter how rich you are, you should be with someone since you are technically a minor.”
Emma gave him a vague smile. “I’m eighteen, Ben.” She said, before turning away for him for a second. “So tell me about the rainforest y’all are going to?” She asked, changing the topic. “What pushed you into this line of work?”
“Mother’s work as a horticulturist and advocate for the protection of rain forests had taken me to many places while growing up. But we come here also because we’re descendents of the Cloud People and my mother wants us to learn as much as possible so the people aren’t forgotten.”
Emma pressed her lips together and put a defensive hand on her throat. What was this about cloud people again? Annabel had mentioned it sometime. And here she was thinking that the moonway county was the only place filled with weird people.
“That sounded mean. I love the rain forest, and I enjoy the trips with my mother. I was actually born in the cloud forest, so I think my mother thought it would be a good tradition to carry on, coming every few years. She is dead. But I carry on the tradition.” Ben finished.
Emma glanced toward the guide and lowered her voice. “So, are you certain these men actually knew the way?” She asked, wanting to know if Annabel would be in safe hands.
“I don’t know. I’ve traveled around many rain forests, but not to this particular mountain. I don’t know why Miles said we all had been here before. He likes to think he knows everything about everything.”
“Is the forest as dangerous as everyone says?” Emma asked Ben.
He nodded. “Very few people have ever traveled to this peak. It’s a volcano and, although it hasn’t erupted in well over five hundred years, I’m suspicious sometimes that it’s waking up, although mostly because of the way the locals talk about it. There’s some story handed down through the various local tribes about that mountain, so most avoid it. It’s difficult to actually find a guide willing to travel to it.”
Emma frowned.
“Truly, it has an off-putting feeling. You find yourself growing uneasy the higher you climb.”
Ben ran both hands through his hair, almost as if he was agitated. “This entire side of the rain forest seems infested with legends and myths. No one wants to talk about them to outsiders, and all of them seem to involve some creature that preys on the lives and blood of the living.”