Chapter Five
Lulled by the heat, the glow of the fire, and the lateness of the hour, Pip fell asleep before the man returned, and when he awoke, he found himself on the forest floor instead of in a nest of furs. Where he expected to find the fire pit that had kept him warm and lulled him back to sleep, he found nothing more than a rotted tree stump. The edge of the bed frame was actually the body of a fallen tree, which had mossed over with the passage of time.
Pip picked himself up and looked around, wondering if he hadn’t sleepwalked, but he saw no signs of a hut.
Had it all been a hallucination? A dream?
It didn’t explain how he’d escaped from being tied to the tree, or what happened to nighttime as some hazy sunlight made its way through the tree canopy. And a dream wouldn't account for the carefully packed cloth bag with bread and cheese that sat right beside him.
He pulled out his phone to check the time and the Maps App, and to connect with something familiar. He held down one button after another when the thing didn't light up, sure he'd had plenty of charge the last time he'd used it, when on his way to see Alex. The damn thing had either run out of juice or somehow broke, whichever, it remain dead in his hands. Pip pocketed it again.
In no mood for eating and eager to get to civilization, he picked up the bag and shouldered it, before turning full circle, wondering which way home.
He had no idea where he was. He couldn't even see much sky. The way the light filtered through the trees made it difficult to access the location of the rising sun—at least then he'd know east. He made an uncertain guess and set of in the direction he hoped was home.
While he made his way through the woods, he recalled everything he’d been through. The wolf-dogs, the man, and the hut—they must’ve been real. How else could he have gotten out of the ropes? And what other explanation was there for the picnic bag?
As he walked, the snap of a branch turned his head, and Pip came to a sudden stop. He squinted through the trees, looking for one of the dogs he’d seen the night before. It never materialized. A squirrel darted across the forest floor, scampered up a tree, and chattered at him from a branch far out of his reach.
Alone again, Pip dug his hands into his pockets and shook his head. The surreal and magical happenings of last night would never happen again. He’d had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and one he didn’t think he could rationally explain to anyone. One he couldn’t explain to himself, even after way too much thought.
A naked man with skin like bark and massive antlers had deployed his pack of trained wolves to save Pip from a tree, and then made Pip fall asleep. Already, it pushed at the limits of credibility. But then to say when he’d woken up, the man’s bark-like skin and antlers were gone?
As for the nudity…
No.
If he told someone, who'd believe him? Pip wasn’t sure he believed it himself.
Strangely, the whole magical episode with the antler man had made the earlier terrifying ordeal pale in significance; pushed to the back of his mind but not forgotten. The abduction wasn’t a school prank gone too far. He’d been left. For all they knew or cared, Pip could have died while bound to a tree. Pip didn’t know what he should do about it or who he’d tell. Or, indeed, how he’d tell the story, because it seemed too far-fetched for belief without any corroborating evidence. He didn’t have any bruises or rope burns. Perhaps the photographs would turn up on social media and then Pip would have confirmation.
If so, then he’d know it’d really happened, and he’d deal with it then. Meanwhile…well, the night had been high school graduation, after all. Maybe someone had spiked the sparkling grape juice with something psychedelic.
Yeah, that must’ve been it. When he fell asleep, or while he hallucinated, the pranksters had cut him down from the tree. And they’d left food.
Hell, maybe he’d never even been tethered to a tree.
But no matter how hard he tried to sell himself this line, his heart insisted otherwise, the events all too real to him.
They had acted like it was a prank, but Oli and his goons had left him for dead, and they hadn’t returned.
Antler man and the wolves—they were real, too.
Time passed. Pip wandered the woods, unsure whether he headed in the right direction or was traveling in circles. In daylight and with the mist gone, the trees he passed didn’t look half as ancient as they had the night before. Then again, with just Jason’s phone to light the way, and Oli dragging him along, Pip hadn’t had a good look at anything in detail.
Eventually, the trees grew sparser.
Hearing the noise of distant traffic, Pip brightened and headed toward it. So long as he found a street, he could get home.
Pip crossed out of the woods and stepped onto a slope, and with joy and relief, he recognized the town in the distance. Still making its assent, the early morning sun cast a cheerful orange glow over Beaumont, making it appear magical. At least one thing turned out well over the past few hours—he’d been walking through the woods in the right direction. He still had a long walk ahead, but better a long walk than never seeing home again.
Hope renewed, Pip let memories of what happened in the woods roll off his shoulders as he made his way down the hill. He wanted to put the past behind him and optimistically embrace the future. His freedom.
No matter how far he went in life, or how much time passed, he didn’t think he could ever forget the way the man had looked at him the whole time they were together. That kiss, those looks, they should be the treasured memories of graduation night. For the first time in his life, Pip had felt wanted, in a very adult way. Loved, even.
As for the moment before the man slipped out through the door, Pip couldn’t make sense of it. The déjà vu he experienced. The look in the stranger's eyes. How full Pip’s heart had felt when saying words his heart knew, but his brain couldn’t place.
Reflecting on what it all meant, he walked, and the distance passed by quickly with so much on his mind. When he passed the gas station on the edge of town, the large clock inside told him it was eight-thirty already. He was still a little over thirty minutes from home. He couldn't figure how come he'd been so far into the woods, as he certainly hadn't walked for hours with Oli and company the night before.
When he arrived outside Uncle Joe and Aunt Lauren’s house, the morning sun was hot and high. Uncle Joe would’ve already left for work, but Aunt Lauren was most likely sleeping after her night shift. Pip eyed the house from the sidewalk, trying to decide the best way to do this.
The backdoor led into the kitchen. From there, he could sneak up to the front and climb the staircase to his bedroom. It wasn’t ideal, but with any luck, it would keep Aunt Lauren from hearing him. Sleeping at the front of the house, she was far more likely to hear the front door open than the back.
Decision made, Pip set his jaw, squared his shoulders, and cut across the side of the house for the backdoor.
With a steady hand, he placed the key in the lock, careful not to scrape it or let his other keys jingle. He turned the key and then the doorknob before slowly inching the door open. He stepped inside and closed it just as carefully. Just inside the door, he took off his shoes and then crept barefoot across the kitchen. He successfully dodged the squeaky part of the floor, headed down the hall, and…
Came face-to-face with Aunt Lauren as she stepped out of the living room, an empty cup in hand. By the look of her fuzzy pink robe and the curlers in her hair, she was ready for bed, but had waited up for him.
Pip froze.
“Well, it’s about time you made it home,” Aunt Lauren remarked in a strained voice. She wasn’t happy. He dropped his gaze. “It’s not like you to disobey house rules, Pip.”
“I know,” Pip murmured. “I’m sorry.”
No matter how he put it, he couldn’t hope to explain what had happened last night. Aunt Lauren would never believe him. He’d gone over and over it in his mind and wasn’t sure what to believe himself. A man with antlers who ran with wolves. A cozy hut, which felt more like home than Pip had ever felt before. A sense of fulfillment.
All of it seemed insane, even to him.
If he told her about the bullies who strung him up, it would unduly worry her, but as he couldn’t explain how he came to be free, he didn’t want to tell any of the tale at all. The earlier part was an ordeal he wanted to forget, not to relive in the retelling of it.
He had yet to come up with a cover story for the night, which he could share with other people.
“You weren’t with that Stevens boy, were you?” she asked.
“No!” Pip stepped back with surprise, wondering what prompted the question. He’d never choose to voluntarily hang out with Oli.
“Let me smell your breath.” Despite the sound of discipline in her voice, he also knew she struggled with it. Aunt Lauren and Uncle Joe seldom punished him—they weren't natural disciplinarians—and Pip did his best to never give them cause to dish out punishments or rein him in.
“Aunt Lauren!” Pip protested, eyes widening.
“Tell me you weren’t with them,” she repeated. “I want to know, Pip. Don’t you lie to me.”
“I wasn’t, Aunt Lauren.” He rubbed his arm and wondered why she’d ask such a thing. “I’m sorry to worry you. What did they do, anyway?”
“They were drinking. And then for some unknown reason, the Stevens boy decided they should go for a drive. They were out on 88 when they hit something and totaled the car, injuring everyone inside.”
“Then, of course I wasn’t with them.” Feeling uneasy, Pip shrugged and held out his arms. “I’m not hurt.” He paused long enough to separate emotion from what he said next. “What did they hit?”
“The police are saying a buck.” Aunt Lauren sighed, shaking her head. “The boys were so drunk, they were insisting the car hit a man, but there was no way it could have been, based on the damage.”
“And the police found no body?” Wondering if they were on their way back to release him via car instead of on foot, Pip’s blood ran cold. Could the body of a man have flown into the air and even now be near the edge of the road, but not on it?
She shook her head. “No. The buck must have run away. It’s surprising what animals can withstand, isn’t it? It totaled the car and walked away to live another day.” Aunt Lauren frowned at him. “But that doesn’t excuse you from staying out all night without calling. Uncle Joe said you told him you were going to Alex’s place, but Alex’s mother said you weren’t there.”
“I… wasn’t.” Pip wasn’t going to try to lie, but he couldn’t tell the truth, either. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Aunt Lauren gave him a look somewhere between hopeful and worried. She crossed her arms and sighed, then shook her head and smiled. “All right.”
“All right?” Pip asked.
“You’re eighteen, which makes you an adult. And it was graduation night. I’m not going to ask what you did if you don’t want to share. I’ll accept it’s probably best I don’t know. I’ll just have to pray you were safe.”
Pip’s cheeks burned as he realized what she thought. Yes, he'd been with a naked man. Yes, he thought about things going further than they ever should with a stranger who must have been at least ten years older than him.
Pip shook his head quickly. “No! No, it wasn’t like that.”
“Well, whatever it was…” Aunt Lauren exhaled slowly, like the words pained her. “I love you, and Jesus loves you more. I know He’s got big plans for you, Pip. You take yourself upstairs and think for a little about how you made me and your Uncle Joe worry, then you come back down here and have breakfast.”
“Really?” Pip wasn’t expecting to be let off so easily. He didn’t ever really get in trouble, but he'd have understood if this was one of those times.
“Really. And if you ever stay out all night again, could you at least use your phone to let us know where you are? You have no idea how worried we’ve been. Especially after what happened to the other boys.”
“Are they going to be okay?” Pip didn’t honestly know what answer he hoped for, after what they’d done to him.
“I don’t know, but I think so.” Aunt Lauren nodded toward the stairs. “Now let’s go, mister.”
Pip beamed. He bobbed his head and ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time.
The first day after graduation and things were already looking up. If this was a taste of what the next chapter of his life was going to be like, he felt excited about what the future held.
Karma, wreaking revenge on bullies, and the strange, antlered man.