Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Once

silence.An excruciating silence.I don't know what Dodge was thinking, but only one thought kept flashing through my mind. What if the brooch is an antiquity?What if it came from ancient times? What if ghosts lurk behind it, and ghosts haunt that secluded cairn?The cairn had been in a state of tranquility until Dodge broke its tranquility by digging where he should not have dug.It sounded so ridiculous that I couldn't even force myself to say it a second time. However, the idea just lingers. The darkness is ruthless and terrifying. At this moment, it brings boundless fear to people-this cognition has already been deeply rooted in my heart.What lurks in the night?I couldn't help but add negativity to Emma's messy story.Now, every gust of wind that blows toward us makes an ethereal sound.There was a soft whistling sound, a high-pitched call sign, and a neat rustling sound.The wind blew through my hair like fingertips, so despite my thick sweatshirt, my arms were covered with goosebumps.

Before that, the flame had always been a consolation, but now it has become an indispensable thing.The firewood we used for the fire was neatly stacked by the fire.I never thought of collecting firewood on my two visits to the cove, so there is very little firewood in the pile at the moment.I hated to go on consuming more firewood, but all that was left in the fire pit was a pile of smoking ashes.The embers still radiated heat, but the light had begun to fade, and darkness gradually invaded. Even Emma's outline was difficult to see a few feet away.I opened my mouth and was just about to propose using a little more of the dwindling reserves when Dodge reached out and pulled out two rather thick twigs.

"It won't light up after a while." He said, throwing a branch into the center of the fire, and picked up a thinner branch, and poked the smoldering fire. After a while, the flames burst into flames, hungry Thirst burning with fresh fuel.Having made the fire, he threw the slender branch into the fire, and leaned back, looking satisfied.It's just that the expression on his face is very dignified.I know why. "How long do you think these will last?" I asked, pointing to the remaining firewood.There were only four or five logs left, and a few handfuls of dried seaweed and leaves.

Dodge shrugged, frowning.This is not a reassuring move. "Is it enough until tomorrow morning?" I pressed. "Are we going to sit here all night?" Yes.Or at least that's how I planned it.I will never be huddled in a tent in the dark.The thin and light tent material is not enough to resist the wind and rain, so how can it resist the evil spirits who come to revenge? Dodge seemed to read my mind. "We can go in the car and lock the doors," he suggested. Steel and glass are more protective than canvas, but... "I like to be where there is light," I said.

After a long silence, Dodge said softly, "Me too." "Does that mean more firewood?" I asked. Dodge thought for a moment, then nodded.I sigh.I think so.Dodge was too ill to gather wood, and Emma was still mad.There is only one way... "Okay." I stood up resolutely, "I'll get some firewood and come back." "What?" Dodge looked up at me, raising his eyebrows. "Are you going alone? No, Heather." "Never mind," I said. "I'm not going too far, not even off the beach. I think I saw some driftwood on the sand in the distance. Maybe it was left by another camper."

"Heather—" "Just five minutes," I said firmly. "Give me the flashlight. It should last five minutes." In fact, I was only acting brave, but my heart was uneasy, and there was no way I would go into the dark empty-handed.The flashlight was dying, but the dim light at least kept me from being completely surrounded by suffocating darkness. Dodge was upset, I could tell, but he handed me the flashlight instead of complaining.I turned on the flashlight, and a thin beam of light projected out of the range of the firelight. At this moment, I saw Emma also stand up.

"Me too," she said. I was surprised, but I didn't ask her why.Finally, I didn't have to find firewood alone, so I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. We hadn't spoken during our tentative departure from the safety of the fire.My hands trembled so badly that the flashlight also shook.I tried to tell myself that I was just too cold, that I was shivering without a warm fire, but the truth was that I was terrified.Whether or not I believe my brooch ghost theory, my heart keeps beating.At this moment, I am in the dark, away from other people, and the disappearance of two of my friends is enough to scare me deeply.

The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, and we were not far away, and the bright fire seemed to be only a memory.In contrast, the faint light of the flashlight looks cold, and under its light, the whole world becomes full of shadows.There is no color at all, like a scene in a nightmare.My teeth chattered.To drown out the grinding of my teeth, I stepped forward more determinedly, towards the distant sand where I thought I had seen firewood before. "You know, there's no way we're going to get out of here," Emma whispered as we walked on. I glanced at her, surprised by the stern tone in which she said this.

"What? Of course we can get out of here, Emma. We'll be leaving at first light tomorrow." "No, I can't." She disagreed with me, but her voice was too soft to hear without listening carefully.I choose not to listen to her words.Emma kept saying weird things, which didn't help me keep the flashlight steady. "Look," I said, with an easy smile, "firewood." They're where I thought they were. I tucked the flashlight under my arm, and with both hands free, grabbed the bundles of firewood.Emma didn't help, just stood there, staring at the rocks at the edge of the cliff, the water lapping at the path Martin had walked the last time we saw him.I firmly turned my back there and concentrated on doing the work in hand.I've been watching the bonfire Dodge lit, and I'm about to head back there in about four minutes.From here, the campfire was just a small cluster, and I could just make out the faint silhouette of him curled up in a chair.

"Emma, ​​can you come and help me?" I asked impatiently.I would love to be back by the warm fire as soon as possible.No one responded.I turned around angrily.If she doesn't want to help, what is she doing? "Emma?" I asked sharply again. Still not looking at me, she stood motionless, her hands hanging at her sides. "Heather," she whispered, "Heather, do you feel it?" what do you feel?I couldn't help but shivered. "What? Emma, ​​I can't feel anything. Come here and get me some firewood." She turned to face me.I shone a flashlight on her face, and she smiled sadly.

"Wind," she said, "it's not blowing." I knew she didn't mean the weather.I looked at her for a moment, then hurriedly started picking up wood. "Now we have to hurry back to Dodge," I said, tucking the last piece of wood under my chin.It has to be done. "Too late," she murmured.There was no wind at the moment, so her voice could be heard clearly. "Do you hear the waves?" "The waves are still there," I snapped, denying the fact that I couldn't hear the water lapping gently on the sand. "hurry up." She still didn't move. "Emma!" I walked towards the fire and where Dodge was, but I knew without turning around that she wasn't following.I took six steps and had to stop. She was still where she had been, staring intently at the rock. "Emma!" She didn't even bat an eye when she heard me call her name.I stood where I was, waiting, hoping, and after a while I had to succumb to reality: she wasn't coming, and I couldn't leave her. "Damn!" I said through gritted teeth angrily.I put the firewood on the ground and half walked and half ran across the sand. "Emma!" I yelled again as I reached her.I grabbed her arm and pulled her sweater tightly, "Come on, we're going back to Dodge now." No response. "Emma!" I was impatient and afraid that things would soon be out of my control, so I took three more steps and came to her, within her field of vision.She was still staring straight ahead, as if her gaze could penetrate my body.My heart began to sink.I thought she was recovering, and her sanity was slowly coming back, but unfortunately she didn't make any progress. She opened her mouth. "I told you we couldn't get out of here." I was surprised, but I quickly calmed down. "Of course we can! Come on, Emma!" I grabbed her by the shoulders with both hands and pushed her back.She didn't resist, but she still didn't want to move on her own.I just slowly pushed her back to the edge of the log.At this moment, I have to let go, after all, I came out this time to collect firewood. "Hold on," I warned her as I let go. She looked at me in astonishment.This time she really saw me.Just seeing the look on her face, I couldn't bend down to pick up the wood anymore. "Here it comes," she said. No matter how skeptical I was about her story, whether or not I believed the "ghost" she was talking about existed, all my doubts disappeared when I was overwhelmed by her words.My brain stopped thinking, my lungs stopped working.I couldn't move my body, not even trembling.I was immobilized by panic and fear.I was a little confused because Emma didn't look scared at all.She seemed... very calm, as if she had been pardoned. However, in the next second, she seemed to be a different person. Emma looked up at the sky above me.In the blink of an eye, she widened her eyes and opened her mouth, as if wearing a screaming mask. I turned sharply and searched the dark night sky, hoping to see what frightened her so much.I didn't see anything, but Emma started screaming. Her screams lasted longer than Emma needed to breathe, and I realized that it wasn't Emma's screams I was hearing.It's that monster.It is howling at us. Then, I saw it. A dark mass.No face, no shape, just a black shadow, blacker and more sinister than the clouds behind it.Blacker than crows and charcoal.I couldn't make out its outline, it seemed to blend into the inky black sky.However, I can see it moving.high speed.It rushed towards us, silently, but screaming.It has no eyes, but it stares at me intently, and the deep depression in the center wants to suck me in. I subconsciously backed away and fell several times, but I didn't dare to take my eyes off it.I bumped into Emma so hard our shoulders touched.Fumbling around, my fingers came across her soft cardigan.I groped down her arm and grabbed her wrist tightly.Hold tight.Then, I turned, and together we ran toward the fire. "Dodge!" I yelled, "Dodge!" Now it's windy again.The whirlwind whistling around us scattered my voice, and I knew he didn't hear me.I couldn't even hear my own wheezing, or that of Emma running beside me.At least she's running wild with me.I held her arm tightly, determined not to be separated from her. I stare straight ahead, drawn to the dying flames of the bonfire.There was no point in looking at my feet; the ground was pitch black, and I left the flashlight beside the firewood.Besides, there's nothing but smooth sand underfoot.Nothing will trip us up. Then why am I still falling down?Why did I fall to the ground, why was gravity pulling me down so fast?Instinctively, I flailed my arms to stop the fall, and I had to let go of Emma as I fell hard on the silky sand. "Emma?" Did she fall with me?I look to my left, where she should be, but I can't see anything.The night was thicker, and the surroundings seemed to be shrouded in a dark mist.The wind howled in my ears, and the night and the wind intertwined, taking away my sensory functions. "Emma!" I reached out and groped forward, hoping to touch her. Two hands grabbed me, fingers intertwined with mine.Emma's hands are cold, but they convey warmth to me.I pulled myself in her direction, we were so close, almost cheek to cheek, her terrified face emerged in the darkness, pale as paper. "Where's that thing?" I yelled.My shouts could have been deafening to her ears, but now my voice barely reached her ears. She shook her head.Her eyes fell behind me, searching back and forth, but I don't think she could see anything clearly.I know I can't see clearly either. Fortunately, my lungs began to expand again, and my breathing gradually resumed.I opened my mouth wide and breathed hard. "We've got to get back to Dodge," I called. What did he encounter less than a hundred meters away?For some reason, it felt like Emma and I were trapped in a bubble, like an evil storm was blowing only where we were. Emma stood up and nodded at me.She was still holding my hand, and with a little effort, she pulled me to stand up. "I can't see it anymore," she screamed in my ear, "I can't see anything." The wind was getting stronger, blowing towards us from all directions, as if pushing us, making us unable to move.My hair danced wildly in front of me, and I had to suck in my breath or I'd be out of breath.I turned to look at the place where I thought the camp was, looking for the fire, but I was completely lost at this time. "Is that over there?" I asked, pointing with one finger.I couldn't lift my arms at all at this point. I saw Emma shrug her shoulders.She let go of my hand.Raise your arms.Put your arms around your shoulders.He opened his mouth and moved his lips, as if asking a question, and frowned in bewilderment. Then she moved.Float up.Get away from me gradually.Float up. She realized what was going on, and at the same time, so did I.I reached out to her and she reached out to me.I screamed and she screamed too.We groped for each other's fingers and pulled together tightly.Emma's nails dug into my knuckles so hard it felt like my skin was scratched.When she was swept away, my hand was pulled out of a deep blood hole. "No!" I threw myself forward, grabbing her cardigan and jeans tightly.But she was still pulled away from me.At the last moment, still trying to grab her, I tucked her feet under my arms and hugged her legs tightly.She floated higher and higher until at the end, I just landed on my toes.Then, I was also pulled into the air, and I couldn't help hugging her even tighter, but Emma twisted her body crazily, it was almost impossible to hug her. Then, something warm and moist fell on my face.Surprised, I tilted my head back, and as soon as I let go of my hand, Emma's kicking foot slipped out of my hand and fell right behind me.I fell to the ground, but she was swept into the air against the laws of nature.