The Hathaway

Into the Woods

We followed Ben at a distance, and I tried to listen to the song he was singing, but I could not make out the words. Still, the tune felt familiar but I was not yet awake enough to be able to place it. He led us directly to the ruins, where Helmut was waiting, and the two of them entered the trees, heading for the clearing. They sang as they left us behind, and the words began to be understandable.

“So bright is the home where the loving heart dwelleth, the soul that doth hope, and in peace doth abide, So joyful and happy it all the day telleth, of light so consuming no shadow may hide.”

“Oh my god!” I turned to Andi. “It’s the song the spirits taught to Evelyn and I earlier this evening! "Why would they be singing that?”

Just then we heard voices coming from the house, and saw the disorganized movement of multiple flashlights moving towards us. Above the babble of teenage voices, Beth’s voice rose in protest. “Wait! Come back! It’s too late for you to be wandering around in the dark.”

Sabina was the first to reach us, and was clearly the ringleader. “What are you all doing out at this hour?” I chided. “You should all be in bed!” The other four children were following her closely, and Beth was bringing up the rear.

“Thank you!” she said in exasperation. “I couldn’t stop them, they just came out, grabbed flashlights and walked out the door without a word.”

Andi stepped forward and faced Sabina. “What is it child?”

She calmly faced the older woman and slid her eyes in Beth’s direction, saying, “I am not the child here.”

“Nevertheless…”

“They woke me up.” She pointed to the grove. “They woke all of us up. They need us.”

“Why?” I asked.

“They didn’t say, they just made it clear that we had to come.” The others nodded in agreement but said nothing. With that all five children entered the grove, leaving us no choice but to follow them. Beth looked dubious, but I was beginning to feel the presence of the congregation, and from the look on Andi’s face, I sensed that she could feel them too.

Ben and Helmut were standing on the edge of the small central depression in which the small pool of water had appeared a few days ago. They were repeating the song over and over, and as I watched they stretched out their arms, creating a V shape in front of them. They linked hands on one side, each leaving their second arm stretched into space.

I suddenly knew what I had to do. I stepped into the space between their outstretched arms and raised mine to the same level so we formed a triangle surrounding the small hollow. I closed my eyes and joined in their song. After we had sung it a few times and I was beginning to feel the complex rhythms in my soul, I heard a gasp come from the others, who had drawn closer and were standing behind us. I opened my eyes and saw that the depression was beginning to glow with a blue light. At first it was faint, like an alcohol flame, but it grew in intensity as we sang, and soon the hollow was filled with the swirling blue flames.

Our singing grew to It’s climax and we stopped in perfect synchronicity. From the pool of flame a single blue orb rose and darted quickly off into the woods. Other orbs rose and began to circle our group, hovering over us with calm intensity. Each orb seemed to draw a piece of the flaming pool with it until the final orb extinguished it entirely. I did not have the whole picture yet, but somehow I knew our next step. “Follow me! As quickly as you can!”

The orb that was hovering over me led the way into the woods, offering just enough light for me to find my footing. I looked back and saw that each of the others also had an orb sort of shepherding them along, while a number of orbs flitted between us all, offering illumination in the dark wood.

I turned back to my path and found myself disconnecting. My body continued to move forward but I felt myself being drawn away, back towards the ruins. I could see the beautifully symmetrical building glowing in the moonlight. But that couldn’t be right. The moon had already set and it was only a crescent tonight. I watched as a shadowy figure crept around the structure, and for some reason, I felt dread.

I saw him enter the building stealthily, only to exit a few moments later with a lantern. He gathered up a few twigs from the ground and lit them from the lantern, tossing one onto each of the stairwells that flanked the door. Almost instantly all the windows of the first floor shone with a menacing orange glow. He must have doused the place with lamp oil or some other incendiary material, because the flames were spreading much too fast. The house remained silent except for the crackle of the fire. To all appearances the structure was empty, but I knew it was not. I knew that on the second floor the entire community slept in an unnaturally deep sleep.

I could feel his glee as he remembered secretly adding Valerian to the evening meal and watching as the others stepped into his trap. I could feel his rage as all attempts to sway the brothers had failed and he had to face rejection from yet another community. “This time they will pay,” he thought. “This time I will have my revenge.” He had made all the preparations, hiding the stockpile of lamp oil in the meeting house while the others were out gathering supplies at the shore. He had made an excuse to avoid the evening meal, but had hidden himself in the woods to watch and make sure they grew drowsy and would be deeply asleep when the time came. Finally, he had waited until the wee hours to assure that none of the neighbors might be roused and come to their rescue.

I watched as the flames grew, and could see that even if they awoke, the stairs were fully engulfed, and there would be no exit but through the tiny windows of the second floor. But no one approached the windows, and soon thick black smoke was billowing out of them. I knew it was too late. The entire second floor was filled with toxic burning smoke. By now they must have all been asphyxiated. Not a single cry was heard. Nothing stirred. Even the shadowy figure had settled himself on a large stone to watch the building burn. In the light of the flames, which were now breaking through the roof, I could see the face of Elder Jackson, although, he was changed. His face was twisted and hollow. It was as if the last vestige of humanity had left him and I could see his true form, the beast that he had become, harsh and ugly.