“MAP” An Inktober Short Story

Written and Illustrated by Luis Roding
Reading Time: 6 minutes.

Our sweaty clothes started to cool us down at last after eight hours of walking. Even Joe, who had been complaining during the whole trip, became silent and began to smile more often. The cherry on top was hearing Mike say, “I found it. It should be this way.”

He was pointing at a small dark entrance where the trees were high and dense, making it look like a cave. Joe crouched and gazed at it, breathing out loud.

“Whatever you say, it’s fine with me, but keep in mind we should be able to camp sometime in the next two hours.”

Sandra and I looked at each other.

“It looks fantastic,” she whispered while she dried some sweat from her forehead.

“It looks creepy,” I said.

“You got signal?” Joe asked.

Mike took his mobile device from his front pocket, touched the screen, then shook his head and put it away. “But I know where we are,” he said, unfolding a laminated map he had in his back pocket.

Sandra and I approached Mike, but Joe did not move.

“How can you tell?” she said. “I don’t see any trails there.”

Mike looked at her and smiled. He pointed to a mountain on the map in the north. Then he stood up and looked to the hill at our left. “That peak is this one,” a rocky summit, warm-colored by the evening sun, stood as if looking at us, while some eagles screeched in the distance. “We must be around here,” Mike said, describing a small circle on the map.

“So, this trail is not registered?” Sandra said, frowning.

“We parted from the tourist trail a long time ago. This is only used by the locals.”

“The locals?” I said. “And what’s up with them? They don’t go out on Sundays?”

“This trail is safe, trust me,” he nodded.

“And which of those is the clearing?” Sandra was pointing at two small brown spots on the map.

“None.”

“Nice. And the obelisk?”

“Trust me, I will take us there.” And he put his arm around her shoulder, smirking.

“Can we camp in the next two hours? That’s all I care,” Joe said, standing up.

“We can, as long as you do as I say.”

“Come on, we can follow orders,” Joe said.

“Just saying. But you all need to know that once we get in there, we must be as quiet as possible.”

“We can be quiet, too.”

The three of us nodded. Mike entered the dark, Sandra followed him, and Joe and I were the last.

We walked on a thick carpet of tiny little leaves and dark crumbs. Each step felt like our boots sank into cereal. But despite that, it was clear Mike was taking us through a known path; the undergrowth looked thicker to our sides.

Tiny drops of water entered my nose with each breath as if they had been sprayed out in the cool air. The smell was strong, too, a scent of rotting leaves and bugs’ waste, but not with their usual stink. Every plant and tree had its own fragrance as we passed by.

The soundscape also changed. Buzzing and cricket-like songs softened our ears with a smooth background. We heard animals sprinting away from us every now and then, but we couldn’t see any.

The sunlight could not make it inside, just a few thin streams of dim light here and there, illuminating our way with dark blue and green tones. Thanks to this, small white dots could be seen floating everywhere, but not like fog, more like an underwater scene.

At some point, Sandra turned back at me. She was smiling and extending her arms all around, her face screaming in a mute gesture. “What is this wonderful place?”

I smiled back at her. She was right, I thought places like that could only exist on a movie set, but I was so wrong. Being there was way better than any crafted place made by humans.

After some time, which I failed to estimate, Mike stopped and pointed to his right. “From here on, we deviate from the explorers’ trail. I will make the path, and you will follow. This is virgin undergrowth, so we’ll keep it as much as possible. Ok?”

Everyone agreed, even Joe, who had been staring around as much as we were. Our pace slowed a bit, and the noise of our steps was like walking on eggs now. We were breaking something sacred, as we soon found out. It had been less than a mile when we saw a brighter spot ahead. Mike pointed at it. “That is the place.”

As we got closer, we saw the light entering a clean, small area the size of a old telephone cabin or maybe two. “Hey Mike, that’s not a clearing,” I said.

“The skylight enters full there, so I call it a clearing,” he said while still walking towards it.

Lots of plants and moss grew there, like a massive bump of green life fighting to drink the sunlight that sneaked there. In the middle was what Mike called the obelisk stone, which looked more like a tall and flat surfboard buried in the middle of the forest. The stone looked clean and stood out among all the green below as if somebody had the task of keeping it that way. It was not a clearing, but the place had some magical aura.

“Is that the obelisk?” – Sandra said.

“That’s the one,” Mike said, and he smiled, posing next to it.

“Looks more like a surfboard,” Sandra said. I couldn’t help but giggle.

Mike blushed a bit, and on a quick move, he pointed to the carving over the surface of the stone. It was like some giant ants had eaten their way on it, describing some strange symbols and lines. It was like nothing I’ve seen before.

“Wow, I can’t believe it” She said, walking towards the base of the stone.

“That is why I didn’t want to tell you too much about it. I wouldn’t have been able to describe it anyway. Not for your standards.”

“So, it is an actual map!” she said.

Mike stepped next to her, “I thought it was more like a mural type of work, but you are the expert.”

“I need to take a picture first.”

“Sure, just remember… no flashes.”

“Don’t need one, not with all this light.”

Sandra took pictures with her mobile device and then took out her notebook.

“Mike, can I talk to you for a minute?” Joe said.

“Sure.” Mike stood up, and both moved a little far from the clearing, keeping their feet on the path. I heard them talking about the budget and the stuff Joe was paying for.

Sandra peeked at me and winked. “Come Terry, sit,” she said.

“Will you try to decipher it now?” I said.

“Of course I will,” her face glowed. “I want to take advantage of having it before me,” she said, dimples appearing on her cheeks. That gesture was enough to keep me going: The veins of her hands standing out over her skin as she wrote notes on the pad, the wabble of her earrings with every movement of her head, her ponytail coming out of her cap. But then, all my contemplation was interrupted by a noise, like a slight rock bouncing. It was an oversized, pale acorn with a bite on it.

“Squirrels?” and after a quick scan of the ground, it was the only one around.

“What do you mean?” Sandra said without looking.

“Can squirrels be on trees like these?”

“Squirrels on trees?” She giggled. But she kept taking notes.

Covering my forehead with my hand, I looked at the foliage above, when something came out of the branches. Another small thing bounced on the stone and landed to a side closer to us. It was another acorn, looking the same as the previous one. When the third one landed very close to Sandra’s boot. I stood up, and she turned to me.

“Hey, what’s that?” She said.

“I told you, acorns.”

I looked back up, and goosebumps flowed through my spine. “Hey, I think I see something,” at that moment, a shadow bigger than a squirrel moved fast. It had arms and a torso, but it vanished in the leaves before my eyes could grasp a more precise image of it.

“Guys, I think we should not linger too much in here,” I said.

“Is Sandra done? “Mike said behind us.

“Nope, I am not.” She said, standing up and holding one of the acorns. “But I also think we should get moving,” she looked at me and whispered, “I saw it, too.”