Day 4:
Radio
Something woke him up. For a moment, he thought it was simply because the day had started but when he pushed himself up, night was still thick inside the tent. He rubbed at his face. Exhaustion pulled at him as annoyance curled in his chest. Whatever dream he had been in was long gone from his memory and it felt more like he hadn’t dreamt at all.
His head came up, confusion and adrenaline shooting through him as he looked towards the tent entrance. The tent wasn’t quiet. Dean was snoring slightly at the back of the tent, both Orlean and Sam’s soft breathing filling the air. Orlean shifted, muttering something incoherent but there was something there in the darkness that he couldn’t quite here.
He carefully crawled out from between Sam and Orlean. Sam shifted closer to Dean and he took it as the only disturbance he caused.
He let out the breath he had been holding, standing. Shoes were quickly shoved on and a sweater pulled over his head before he moved to the tent’s entrance. He slipped his fingers around the zipper of the entrance and muted the noise as best he could till there was a gap big enough for him to slip out. The air outside the tent was crisp, sharp, and he quickly replaced the flap and zipper to keep the draft at a minimum. The night wasn’t silent. At minimum the river made enough noise to make that impossible. There were other sounds but none of them had been what he had heard. Or thought he heard. It was like the noise was on the edge of his hearing, making it nearly impossible to discern what it actually was.
The zipper opening on the other tent made him jump. He turned, watching as a figure stepped out holding something. The zipper was replaced before there was a click accompanied by light. The stream of light landed on his chest.
“Everything alright, Tye?”
He smiled, finding himself relaxing at Cole’s voice. “Yeah. Just got woken up by something. Figured I could at least make sure it wasn’t something to be worried about before going back to sleep.”
“Something you can half hear, right?”
The smile fell from his face. “Y-yeah. Did it wake you too?”
“No. Lora woke me up. She wanted me to go check on the vehicles to see if it was anything there.”
He nodded, stepping towards Cole. “I’ll go with you so you’re not out there alone.”
“Thanks,” carried Cole’s smile before the other turned.
He fell into step at Cole’s side for as long as the trail permitted. The trek to the vehicles was quiet but short. When they stepped onto the gravel drive, not even the river could be heard anymore. He frowned as he followed Cole towards the familiar vehicles, gaze wandering the empty camping lot. “Wow. It really is deserted over here.”
“More than when we had arrived. Not sure why people didn’t stick around.” Cole fished out a set of keys and unlocked the larger camper first. “Let me go pee since we’re here and then we’ll do a sweep around the vehicles.”
“Alright.”
Light filled the camper as Cole hit the light switch on his way in. Artemis followed after, closing and locking the door out of habit. Cole beelined for the bathroom and for a moment Artemis stood in the middle of the room at a loss. He rotated slowly before starting for the driver’s seat. He moved the blackout curtain enough to slip into the small space beyond. As it fell shut behind him, he was cast in darkness. His hand found the back of both seats and he settled into the passenger waiting for his eyes to adjust.
The river was somewhere in front of him through the trees but the forest was too thick for him to even get a glint of moonlight off of water. Still, despite the waning moon overhead barely giving the night any light, his gaze wandered the trees curious if there was any wildlife awake.
Something moved off to his left. At first he didn’t really reacted. He was in the camper, he was safe, and so when he looked over, he expected it to be a play of shadows out of the corner of his eye from the trees dancing in a light breeze.
Adrenaline shot through him and he leapt to his feet, right hand finding the dash to keep himself steady. The memory of the thing in the smoke nipped at the back of his mind as he started at the now empty spot. There had been…something in the spot at the other end of the row but it had vanished before he could focus on it properly. The rest of the lot looked empty but he didn’t dare move more in case he drew whatever it had been’s attention.
“Tye?”
Artemis jumped, turning sharply as the curtain was drawn back, filling the small space with light. What grin had started to cross Cole’s face fell to be replaced by concern. “You alright?” Cole’s gaze went out the windows. “Did you see something?”
He shook his head, not sure he had even seen anything in the first place. “Just spooking myself with shadows.” Cole’s concerned gaze fell on him again but he pulled himself into a relaxed stance. “Let’s do our check and head back. I’m sure Lora’s getting worried by now.”
“Ah, you’re probably right. Come on.”
Cole let him exit the camper first before shutting off the lights and following. The other vehicle was a smaller camper in the next spot over. They did a lap around both vehicles and while they found nothing around the vehicles, Artemis couldn’t help but took towards the spot at the far end of the row when it came into view.
Nothing was there and he didn’t see the thing again.
“Alright. Looks like we’re all clear.” Cole shifted the flashlight to his other hand. “Have you heard the noise since we’ve been here?”
Artemis shook his head. “I haven’t really heard it since it woke me up.”
“Hmmm. Must have been from the lake, then.”
“You truly think Lora and I had heard something, then?”
Cole looked at him but the shadows made it hard to see his expression, let alone his eyes. “I hadn’t really thought much about Lora’s concern till I saw you outside the tent. I don’t have the best hearing. Lora’s always had really good ears. I bet if I had woken Kit, they would have heard whatever it was too. They’ve got really good ears too.”
Cole started for the trail head and he fell into step beside him. “Is it possible for the sound to carry that far across the lake?”
“I don’t know.” They both knew the area meaning Cole knew exactly which spot Artemis was referring to. The only other camper lot was on the far side of the very large lake and, outside the beach he and the others had started fishing on, there weren’t very many camping spots to pitch a tent - legally or otherwise. “If you hear it when we get back, we can always follow the river back to the lake and see if it’s on the beach. Otherwise I don’t think it’s anything we can worry about.”
Silence settled between them. Only the sound of their footfall and their own breath kept it from being absolute. After a while, the sounds of the river joined in, filling the silence.
Cole’s demeanor changed. “Cole?”
“I think the others are up?”
Artemis had been too lost in thought to pay much attention to the trail itself so when he brought his gaze up, he was surprised to see light through the trees. “They looking for us?”
“No, I don’t think so. They’re not pointing the flashlights at us.” Cole picked up the pace. “Come on.”
Even with it being a tended trail, the jog Cole settled at was still dangerous in the limited light. Artemis had to trust that if anything was on the trail, Cole would find it first. Fortunately the trail opened up onto the stretch of riverbank where the tents were at without either of them hurting themselves. The flashlights were in the hands of their companions but something seemed off.
Cole went straight to Lora. “Is everything alright?”
Apprehension filled Artemis’s chest. Why was everyone up?
“Did you find anything?” Lora asked, taking Cole’s offered hand when they were close enough.
“Other than the two campers alone in the lot, no. Why is everyone awake?”
“Shhh,” Beckett encouraged softly from somewhere between the two tents. “Listen.”
Artemis stilled, eyes focused on Beckett’s outline. The loudest noise was his own heartbeat in his ears followed closely by the sounds of the river but as his pulse slowed down, he started to think there was nothing to hear.
Until there was a tone that drew his attention to the trees behind the tents.
Every hair stood on end as he stared at the tree line. The tone changed, shifted, and danced around but it was faint enough that despite being able to hear it, he couldn’t tell what it was.
“Is that…” Dean started so quietly that Artemis barely made out the words. It took a stretch before he could pick out the shifting tone again.
“It sounds like an old radio,” Orlean offered. Orlean shifted the flashlight to the trees where Artemis had been looking but didn’t seem to find anything in the slow sweep. It passed over the others, though, and Artemis caught them all looking at the trees. “Do we…go check it out?”
“Have you never watched a horror movie?” Sam interjected, her voice a fair pitch higher than normal. He realized she was clinging to Dean and it looked like Dean was clinging right back. “No. Best thing to do is grab what we need and walk back to the campers.”
“And leave the tents behind?” Cole interjected, the frown evident in his words.
“You can buy those when we get back,” Sam snapped back. “I don’t want to get murdered out in the middle of nowhere.”
“She’s right, Cole,” Lora interjected before Cole could get going. “We’re not planning on camping again anytime soon so we can save up for new mattresses and tents. It’ll be fine.”
“I know but-” There was a snap of wood in the trees beyond the tents cutting Cole’s words off. If anyone in the group wasn’t already panicking, that would have done it. Artemis froze on the spot as every flashlight turned to the trees. Cole’s harsh whisper wrapped around the camp, drawing all of their attention. “Everyone, towards Artemis. Make a break for the camper when I tell you to. Lora has the keys.”
Sam and Dean didn’t waste time hurrying to his side. Orlean followed after them keeping his flashlight steadily pointed where Cole’s and Lora’s were. Lora walked over to Artemis, Cole following slowly behind only to stop two steps in. “Beckett.” Beckett hadn’t moved. They were still standing there looking at the forest and Artemis didn’t understand why. “Beckett, come on.”
Cole started for Beckett but there was another snap accompanied by more noise. The sound had been steadily growing and now it was crystal clear. It was a classical piece - something like Beethoven or Bach - playing over an old radio. It was turned down as a body stepped into one of the beams of light.
Despite the uniform, no one relaxed, and by the sheepish look on the park ranger’s face, it seemed the ranger didn’t take any offense. “Sorry about that, folks. That must of startled all of you.”
“What were you doing hiking off trail?” Cole all but demanded. Artemis glanced at him. There was still distance between Cole and Beckett.
Again, it seemed the ranger took no offense. “There’s a clearing a couple hundred yards back where people like to illegally camp. Hadn’t been informed folks had settled here for the night and figured I’d make my rounds.” The ranger frowned. “Good I did, too. It best you folk pack up and head out soon. We’ve got word from the weather station a nasty storm’s coming in that’ll most likely block off the pass by noon.”
Cole’s stance shifted slightly. “Alright. We’ll start packing up and heading out. Thanks for letting us know.”
The ranger nodded. “Safe travels, folks.”
Artemis felt the group shift as the ranger started to walk towards the trail head Artemis was standing close to and Artemis took the initiative to break it. He started for the tents like he was following the ranger’s words and the others followed. He glanced back but the ranger didn’t. Instead, the man turned the radio back on and continued on his merry way down the trail. He looked to the others.
“Start letting the air out of the mattresses and empty the tents,” Cole softly directed the group, eyes still on the ranger’s retreating back even though the darkness had swallowed the stranger. “We’ll leave as soon as we can get everything broken down and packed.”
His head came up, confusion and adrenaline shooting through him as he looked towards the tent entrance. The tent wasn’t quiet. Dean was snoring slightly at the back of the tent, both Orlean and Sam’s soft breathing filling the air. Orlean shifted, muttering something incoherent but there was something there in the darkness that he couldn’t quite here.
He carefully crawled out from between Sam and Orlean. Sam shifted closer to Dean and he took it as the only disturbance he caused.
He let out the breath he had been holding, standing. Shoes were quickly shoved on and a sweater pulled over his head before he moved to the tent’s entrance. He slipped his fingers around the zipper of the entrance and muted the noise as best he could till there was a gap big enough for him to slip out. The air outside the tent was crisp, sharp, and he quickly replaced the flap and zipper to keep the draft at a minimum. The night wasn’t silent. At minimum the river made enough noise to make that impossible. There were other sounds but none of them had been what he had heard. Or thought he heard. It was like the noise was on the edge of his hearing, making it nearly impossible to discern what it actually was.
The zipper opening on the other tent made him jump. He turned, watching as a figure stepped out holding something. The zipper was replaced before there was a click accompanied by light. The stream of light landed on his chest.
“Everything alright, Tye?”
He smiled, finding himself relaxing at Cole’s voice. “Yeah. Just got woken up by something. Figured I could at least make sure it wasn’t something to be worried about before going back to sleep.”
“Something you can half hear, right?”
The smile fell from his face. “Y-yeah. Did it wake you too?”
“No. Lora woke me up. She wanted me to go check on the vehicles to see if it was anything there.”
He nodded, stepping towards Cole. “I’ll go with you so you’re not out there alone.”
“Thanks,” carried Cole’s smile before the other turned.
He fell into step at Cole’s side for as long as the trail permitted. The trek to the vehicles was quiet but short. When they stepped onto the gravel drive, not even the river could be heard anymore. He frowned as he followed Cole towards the familiar vehicles, gaze wandering the empty camping lot. “Wow. It really is deserted over here.”
“More than when we had arrived. Not sure why people didn’t stick around.” Cole fished out a set of keys and unlocked the larger camper first. “Let me go pee since we’re here and then we’ll do a sweep around the vehicles.”
“Alright.”
Light filled the camper as Cole hit the light switch on his way in. Artemis followed after, closing and locking the door out of habit. Cole beelined for the bathroom and for a moment Artemis stood in the middle of the room at a loss. He rotated slowly before starting for the driver’s seat. He moved the blackout curtain enough to slip into the small space beyond. As it fell shut behind him, he was cast in darkness. His hand found the back of both seats and he settled into the passenger waiting for his eyes to adjust.
The river was somewhere in front of him through the trees but the forest was too thick for him to even get a glint of moonlight off of water. Still, despite the waning moon overhead barely giving the night any light, his gaze wandered the trees curious if there was any wildlife awake.
Something moved off to his left. At first he didn’t really reacted. He was in the camper, he was safe, and so when he looked over, he expected it to be a play of shadows out of the corner of his eye from the trees dancing in a light breeze.
Adrenaline shot through him and he leapt to his feet, right hand finding the dash to keep himself steady. The memory of the thing in the smoke nipped at the back of his mind as he started at the now empty spot. There had been…something in the spot at the other end of the row but it had vanished before he could focus on it properly. The rest of the lot looked empty but he didn’t dare move more in case he drew whatever it had been’s attention.
“Tye?”
Artemis jumped, turning sharply as the curtain was drawn back, filling the small space with light. What grin had started to cross Cole’s face fell to be replaced by concern. “You alright?” Cole’s gaze went out the windows. “Did you see something?”
He shook his head, not sure he had even seen anything in the first place. “Just spooking myself with shadows.” Cole’s concerned gaze fell on him again but he pulled himself into a relaxed stance. “Let’s do our check and head back. I’m sure Lora’s getting worried by now.”
“Ah, you’re probably right. Come on.”
Cole let him exit the camper first before shutting off the lights and following. The other vehicle was a smaller camper in the next spot over. They did a lap around both vehicles and while they found nothing around the vehicles, Artemis couldn’t help but took towards the spot at the far end of the row when it came into view.
Nothing was there and he didn’t see the thing again.
“Alright. Looks like we’re all clear.” Cole shifted the flashlight to his other hand. “Have you heard the noise since we’ve been here?”
Artemis shook his head. “I haven’t really heard it since it woke me up.”
“Hmmm. Must have been from the lake, then.”
“You truly think Lora and I had heard something, then?”
Cole looked at him but the shadows made it hard to see his expression, let alone his eyes. “I hadn’t really thought much about Lora’s concern till I saw you outside the tent. I don’t have the best hearing. Lora’s always had really good ears. I bet if I had woken Kit, they would have heard whatever it was too. They’ve got really good ears too.”
Cole started for the trail head and he fell into step beside him. “Is it possible for the sound to carry that far across the lake?”
“I don’t know.” They both knew the area meaning Cole knew exactly which spot Artemis was referring to. The only other camper lot was on the far side of the very large lake and, outside the beach he and the others had started fishing on, there weren’t very many camping spots to pitch a tent - legally or otherwise. “If you hear it when we get back, we can always follow the river back to the lake and see if it’s on the beach. Otherwise I don’t think it’s anything we can worry about.”
Silence settled between them. Only the sound of their footfall and their own breath kept it from being absolute. After a while, the sounds of the river joined in, filling the silence.
Cole’s demeanor changed. “Cole?”
“I think the others are up?”
Artemis had been too lost in thought to pay much attention to the trail itself so when he brought his gaze up, he was surprised to see light through the trees. “They looking for us?”
“No, I don’t think so. They’re not pointing the flashlights at us.” Cole picked up the pace. “Come on.”
Even with it being a tended trail, the jog Cole settled at was still dangerous in the limited light. Artemis had to trust that if anything was on the trail, Cole would find it first. Fortunately the trail opened up onto the stretch of riverbank where the tents were at without either of them hurting themselves. The flashlights were in the hands of their companions but something seemed off.
Cole went straight to Lora. “Is everything alright?”
Apprehension filled Artemis’s chest. Why was everyone up?
“Did you find anything?” Lora asked, taking Cole’s offered hand when they were close enough.
“Other than the two campers alone in the lot, no. Why is everyone awake?”
“Shhh,” Beckett encouraged softly from somewhere between the two tents. “Listen.”
Artemis stilled, eyes focused on Beckett’s outline. The loudest noise was his own heartbeat in his ears followed closely by the sounds of the river but as his pulse slowed down, he started to think there was nothing to hear.
Until there was a tone that drew his attention to the trees behind the tents.
Every hair stood on end as he stared at the tree line. The tone changed, shifted, and danced around but it was faint enough that despite being able to hear it, he couldn’t tell what it was.
“Is that…” Dean started so quietly that Artemis barely made out the words. It took a stretch before he could pick out the shifting tone again.
“It sounds like an old radio,” Orlean offered. Orlean shifted the flashlight to the trees where Artemis had been looking but didn’t seem to find anything in the slow sweep. It passed over the others, though, and Artemis caught them all looking at the trees. “Do we…go check it out?”
“Have you never watched a horror movie?” Sam interjected, her voice a fair pitch higher than normal. He realized she was clinging to Dean and it looked like Dean was clinging right back. “No. Best thing to do is grab what we need and walk back to the campers.”
“And leave the tents behind?” Cole interjected, the frown evident in his words.
“You can buy those when we get back,” Sam snapped back. “I don’t want to get murdered out in the middle of nowhere.”
“She’s right, Cole,” Lora interjected before Cole could get going. “We’re not planning on camping again anytime soon so we can save up for new mattresses and tents. It’ll be fine.”
“I know but-” There was a snap of wood in the trees beyond the tents cutting Cole’s words off. If anyone in the group wasn’t already panicking, that would have done it. Artemis froze on the spot as every flashlight turned to the trees. Cole’s harsh whisper wrapped around the camp, drawing all of their attention. “Everyone, towards Artemis. Make a break for the camper when I tell you to. Lora has the keys.”
Sam and Dean didn’t waste time hurrying to his side. Orlean followed after them keeping his flashlight steadily pointed where Cole’s and Lora’s were. Lora walked over to Artemis, Cole following slowly behind only to stop two steps in. “Beckett.” Beckett hadn’t moved. They were still standing there looking at the forest and Artemis didn’t understand why. “Beckett, come on.”
Cole started for Beckett but there was another snap accompanied by more noise. The sound had been steadily growing and now it was crystal clear. It was a classical piece - something like Beethoven or Bach - playing over an old radio. It was turned down as a body stepped into one of the beams of light.
Despite the uniform, no one relaxed, and by the sheepish look on the park ranger’s face, it seemed the ranger didn’t take any offense. “Sorry about that, folks. That must of startled all of you.”
“What were you doing hiking off trail?” Cole all but demanded. Artemis glanced at him. There was still distance between Cole and Beckett.
Again, it seemed the ranger took no offense. “There’s a clearing a couple hundred yards back where people like to illegally camp. Hadn’t been informed folks had settled here for the night and figured I’d make my rounds.” The ranger frowned. “Good I did, too. It best you folk pack up and head out soon. We’ve got word from the weather station a nasty storm’s coming in that’ll most likely block off the pass by noon.”
Cole’s stance shifted slightly. “Alright. We’ll start packing up and heading out. Thanks for letting us know.”
The ranger nodded. “Safe travels, folks.”
Artemis felt the group shift as the ranger started to walk towards the trail head Artemis was standing close to and Artemis took the initiative to break it. He started for the tents like he was following the ranger’s words and the others followed. He glanced back but the ranger didn’t. Instead, the man turned the radio back on and continued on his merry way down the trail. He looked to the others.
“Start letting the air out of the mattresses and empty the tents,” Cole softly directed the group, eyes still on the ranger’s retreating back even though the darkness had swallowed the stranger. “We’ll leave as soon as we can get everything broken down and packed.”