Fallen

That night, I slept better than the previous one. Hannah, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have had a good night as she was grumpy. I noticed she was disturbed.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I slipped a white blouse over my head.

“Mr. Morgenstern does not want me to renovate the resort. He thinks it’s not a good idea.”

“Why?” I was one of those who did not approve of her idea but seeing her so down made me feel concerned. I would have been the happiest if she, on her own, abandoned the idea. But, being forced to abandon by some other people was not fair.

“There are things I have not yet told you about the resort.”

“Yeah, I suspected so. Let me guess, they’re not good things.”

Hannah shook her head. “That’s right, but I need this. This is the only thing that connects us to our father.”

I sighed. “What’s wrong with that resort? Why was it closed all those years ago? Were people killed in it? Those bones, were they human?”

“I will tell you,” she said, standing up. “I will narrate everything to you and Emmett at the same time. Let me first shower. I’m hungry.”

“Fine,” I said and left the room. Emmett and Zach were setting up the TV while waiting for us. We were not yet in a position to cook.

“So, Emmett, what do you know about this town?” I plonked onto the sofa, leaning back comfortably. “You seem to know so many people here.”

“I know it has its own mysteries, which I will not try to find out. Curiosity killed the cat.”

“Are you saying that the secrets are deadly?”

“So, I have been told.”

Zach grabbed Emmett’s wrist. “So, those were human bones?”

Emmett placed the remote on the table before coming to sit where I was, Zach following suit. “Like Mr. Morgenstern said, those were animal bones.”

“But they looked like human bones,” Zach insisted. “I have seen the ones in Uncle Ian’s office and the museum.”

Ian, a brother to my mother was an anthropologist. He and Zach had been quite close over the years. My father died when my mother was pregnant, so Ian become Zach’s most reliable father figure. They spent a lot of time together, which explained why Zach knew a lot about bones.

I sighed, staring at Emmett, eager to see how he would handle the situation. It seemed Emmett had no plans to let this issue go until someone agreed with him that those bones were human. As for me, a person who had a zero interest in science, I didn’t even have an idea.

“There are some gigantic animals around here that have bones as long as those of humans,” Zach said. Sounded reasonable. “Those may have been animal bones. If not, they were human bones. There have been so many animal attacks around these parts over the years. It is possible that those animals killed people when they were left to roam around. Those bones are probably ancient. The resort has been closed for many decades. You need to know that the woods are still very dangerous. Never go there alone.”

“Okay, I think they were human.”

“Okay,” Emmett said.

“What have you been telling him?” Hannah asked as she walked in, freshly showered. That was fast.

“He was telling him about those bones we found in the resort. Were there more in other rooms?”

Hannah offered me a death glare. “Let’s go.”

“Were there more?” Zach asked.

“No,” Hannah answered him. From her expression, I was pretty sure she was lying, which was okay. Zach was too young to get to know whatever mess our elder sister was involving us in. However, if Zach got hurt because of the move, Hannah was going to face my wrath. The good thing I would be eighteen in a few months.

Hannah would still not let us go to the resort site that day. Emmett said he was going hiking with his friends and they left me on babysitting duty. I took to the internet to find if there was any child-friendly thing worth doing in this town. I could handle being bored, but Zach was something else when he was bored.

After failing to agree on what to do because of so many options, we cast lots and decided to go and see the lake. We had to go through the woods, but there was a route that was closer to the road. Since I was not yet sure what lay behind those trees, I used that route. If anything happened, we could just run to the road. The blog post I read had warned us it was advisable to move into the woods with a local tour guide. However, since we were not going that far, there was no need. Besides, this was my father’s hometown. He had not been a murderer, so I assumed the town wasn’t so bad.

After branching off the road, we took a wide path leading into the forest. I was appreciating the quietness, fresh air we had had little of. The air smelled fresh, with the woody smell of trees and leaves. We posed for a few tree-hugging pictures while Zach kept asking me for the names of trees.

The trees were exceptionally tall; ground lined by short vegetation. The path was clear, with a few fresh leaves on it.

Zach ran downhill when he saw the lake while I continued to take selfies and short videos. I was describing the area while shooting. Lately, I had not been on social media because of bullying. However, I was planning to create new accounts and figured the shots would be really helpful. 

“Emmy, I see flowers over there,” Zach shouted. Instead of heading to the lake, he went sideways to check out the flowers. When I reached the mesmerizing lake, I took some cool pictures, chastising myself for not dressing better. When I was done with photos, I put my phone in the bag and removed my flip-flops to test the temperature of the water. I withdrew my leg immediately. The water turned out to be colder than I assumed.

Then I heard a scream.

“Zach,” I yelled, running in the direction of the scream, leaving my flip-flops and bag behind. A thorn or two pricked me as I ran while calling Zach’s name.

“Down here,” he said.

“Where?” I asked, looking around a clearing a few meters away from the flowers that had attracted Zach’s attention.

“Be careful,” Zach said from behind me. Just as I turned, I fell and found myself at the bottom of a pit that contained dried grass. There was no Zach.

“Zach,” I called.

“Where are you?”

“I fell.”

“Me too.”

I remembered my phone was at the lake just as Zach started wailing.

“Don’t cry, Zach. Someone will come for us.”

It was a lie. I had told no one about our whereabouts.

We were stuck, and I could do nothing about it because the pit was quite high.