If You Go Down in the Woods Today...

Lisa followed Kurt, the older blonde teen leading her downhill, along the winding path that supposedly led to the waterfall. Lisa’s father owned a cabin in this same park and she recognised many of its features but not the trail. Never before had she come through the forest from the Ravers cabin. So this was almost akin to seeing the forest for the first time, through new eyes. It was unfortunate then that the situation didn’t allow her to appreciate more of her surroundings, instead spending much of her trek, glancing one way and then the other, keeping her eyes peeled for any evidence that Victoria had been this way.

Not that she really knew what she was looking for. She knew she was searching for a tall blonde, but having been busy getting ready that morning, Lisa had no idea what Victoria had been wearing or carrying. Without this vital information, she chose simply to look out for any colour that stood out among the greens and browns of the forest, even in the orange hue of the sinking light. It seemed rather fruitless…until Lisa caught a glimpse of something red, moving between the leaves and trees.

Her eyes widened as her heart beat faster, hopeful. She chose not to say anything until they got closer, so she could confirm what she saw. She watched for the red colour again. She caught it with her eye and noted that it didn’t seem to be moving away. It was just flapping back and forth and suddenly Lisa’s thoughts were struck with worry. She imagined Victoria, hurt and lame, waving a piece of cloth to signal for help.

Without a word to Kurt, Lisa dashed off, keeping to the path but maintaining eye contact with the red shape. She sped towards the source, willing herself to get there in time. As she drew near, she suddenly stopped and her expression of worry turned to puzzlement. Behind her, she heard Kurt chuckle as he approached, seeing the piece of red cloth tied to the tree that had caused the Latino such alarm.

“It still might mean something,” Lisa said, trying to salvage some dignity from her embarrassment. “Do you think she came this way?”

“No, because I set that up earlier to show the way to the waterfall,” Kurt revealed, turning down the opposite path at the split.

“If that way goes to the waterfall, then why are we going this way?” Lisa asked, rushing to keep up with Kurt’s longer strides.

“Because I need to make a detour,” Kurt explained, cryptically. “There’s somewhere else I need to check first.”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you mention it to anyone else back at the cabin when we were planning the routes?” Lisa thought aloud.

“It’s of a rather…sensitive nature.” And then stopping and turning to the girl just behind him with a frown, he admitted, “I don’t even know if I should be bringing you.”

“What are you hiding?” Lisa glared up at him.

“I’m not hiding anything,” Kurt turned away from Lisa and resumed walking. “But I gave someone my word that I’d look out for them and I’m sort of breaking that by bringing you to them…”

“So, why are you then?” Lisa fell in step with him, trying in her mind to think of what he could possibly be talking about.

“Given the situation, I think they’ll understand,” Kurt insisted, and then with a finger to his lips, hushed her as they moved through some dense overgrowth.

Immediately following the bushes, the wilderness gave way to a clearing; an open, short grassed area, usually empty but at this time was occupied by a tent and some blankets surrounding a fire built in the middle. On the blankets, Lisa immediately noticed a naked woman, head bowed, her long, messy brown hair veiling her face. The woman was in a sitting position, her legs spread open though Lisa couldn’t actually see to her intimate centre. A man’s head blocked the view, her thighs held against his shoulders while his hands held the small of her back. Though Lisa also couldn’t see what the man was doing between her legs, the wet slurping and supping sounds made it quite clear. Obviously he was rather good at it too, because the woman threw back her head, moaning and revealing herself to be Madison Cole.

Lisa saw her but didn’t quite understand. Her mind raced through the possibilities, trying to unify the image before her with the facts she knew in her head. Madison was a close friend of hers, and hot, so there was no end of suitors chasing after her. And while Madison liked to tease and flirt, she wasn’t the type of girl to sneak off into the woods with a stranger. Yet, here she was. And judging by the camping gear, they either had been here a while or intended to be there for a long period. It just didn’t make sense, but, of course, she was missing one vital piece of information; the identity of the man between her legs.

Thankfully, Kurt stepped forward and cleared his throat. Gasping and whimpering Madison looked over in his direction, as did Brandon, lifting his head from between his sister’s legs. He looked first at Kurt, puzzled by the older teen’s return, and then, his eyes looked past Kurt and saw Lisa standing just beyond the edge of the clearing, with terrified eyes, her hands covering her mouth.