I ran until my legs burned and my lungs ached, vaulting logs, hurdling rocks, and winding between the thick trunks of old-growth trees as I tried to outrun the ranger, visibility growing poorer by the minute as night set in. Luckily the ground was soft on my bare feet, or I'd have been caught in no time. I led him up hills and through gullies, across streams and clearings, until at last, as I crested a ridge and looked behind me, I felt that I'd put enough distance between us to try to hide. Coming into a stand of massive oaks, the spaces between the trees peppered with sizable boulders, I picked one massive rock at random and ducked behind it, trying to slow my breathing as I listened for my pursuer.
Soon enough I heard the crunch of his footsteps in the leaves as he reached the top of the rise and paused, trying to figure out where I'd gone. His radio crackled, and a woman's voice rang out. "Officer Cato, Officer Cato, what's your current status?"
A moment later I heard him shout into it between gasping breaths. "Cato here...still in pursuit...of obscene behavior suspect...current location...northeast quadrant." A few moments later the woman's voice replied.
"Copy that, Officer Cato. Cease pursuit. Captain is calling all Officers back to HQ for briefing on today's road pursuit that left one patrol vehicle disabled. Perps still at large. I repeat, cease pursuit and return to HQ."
I realized the woman was almost certainly talking about Lucia and Donnie, and it sounded like they had made their escape after all. My train of thought was broken by Officer Cato's angry reply.
"You mean I'm just supposed to let this pervert get away?!" he shouted into his radio.
"Afraid so, Cato. Captain wants all officers back now. Guess it's just the pervert's lucky day." So far, I was inclined to agree with her. About the luck, that is, not about being a pervert.
The ranger sighed with resignation. "Roger that. This is Cato, returning to HQ. Over and out."
I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard the ranger turn and head back the way we'd come, and waited for a while until his footsteps receded into the distance. Then I climbed up onto the boulder and tried to get my bearings. The warmth of the day was fading, and I realized that since I was naked, staying warm might become a real issue. I decided to stay moving, but I needed a direction. Heading back towards the populated areas of the park was out of the question, especially if there were rangers converging there. Cato had said we were in the northeast quadrant, and I knew that there was a campsite in that corner of the park. If I could find it, maybe I could steal some clothes someone had left out on a line and then make my escape. For lack of a better plan, I decided to give it a shot.
I quickly regretted it. I realized I had no idea where I was going, and even had I been able to navigate by the stars, the tree cover was too thick for me to see more than a small patch of sky here and there. I was starting to despair, my mind filling with self-pitying visions of myself dying naked of exposure out in the woods, when I reached the top of a small hill and saw, atop the next rise, the unmistakable glow of a campfire.
Elated, I began running, charging down into the shallow valley, splashing through a trickling stream, and then up the next hill. This strange combination of relief, excitement, and fatigue must have left me somewhat deranged, for I entirely forgot about the fact that I was unclothed, and failed to consider how the fire's owners might react to a crazed, naked man bursting into their campsite. These cautionary thoughts appeared in my mind only as I crashed through a small bush and into the clearing, when they were were quickly replaced by a mixture of confusion and fear as I took in the scene before me.
Standing around the fire were three figures in long black robes. I froze, immediately regretting my decision not to do some surveillance first. The figures turned silently to face me, their heads covered by pointed hoods that shrouded their faces in total shadow. Now you've done it, I thought. You've barged in on some kind of death cult, and now they're going to sacrifice you to appease the bloodlust of their evil god. The massive, newly risen full moon appeared just then and flooded its pale light into the clearing, augmenting the flickering firelight with a ghostly glow. I shivered with fear and decided to play dumb.
"Uh, hey guys," I began, feeling like an idiot as I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender. "Must have gotten your campfire mixed up with my own. Easy to get lost out in these dark woods. I'll just be going..." I started to back away towards the bushes, ready to make a run for it they came for me. What happened next surprised me more than anything.
"You've nothing to fear here, stranger," called a kind, feminine voice, which appeared to be coming from the hooded ghoul on the right. It lifted its arms to its hood and pushed it back, revealing the face of a gorgeous young woman, her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Truly," agreed the shorter ghoul on the left, unshrouding itself and proving to be a lovely young blonde. "The forest belongs to us all."
"Why don't you join us, and warm yourself by our fire?" said the ghoul in the middle, which removed its hood and, sure enough, was no ghoul at all, but another pretty young woman with curly auburn hair.
I dropped my hands over my groin, suddenly self-conscious of my nakedness, and the young women giggled as I reversed my retreat and began walking cautiously forward. "Uh...thanks," I murmured, still uncertain that I wasn't in the midst of some despair-induced hallucination. The fire felt real enough as I approached it, though, its warmth delightful on my skin. "Who are you all, anyway?"
"I am Cassie," said the blonde.
"My name is Judith," added the auburn-haired beauty.
"And I am Vera," the brunette concluded. "We are the witches of the Blue Deer Coven."
"Wow," I said. "I'm Kurt. I don't think I've ever met real witches before. Sorry I'm naked, by the way, it's...kind of a long story."
Cassie laughed. "No need to apologize, Kurt; you are just dressed as nature made you. As for us witches, perhaps you have met some before and never realized it! We are normal people, just like you. But on special nights like tonight, we gather in the sacred space of nature to celebrate the gifts the Horned God and the Earth Goddess have given us. Please, enjoy our fire," she added.
I nodded appreciatively and crouched by the fire, hands still over my groin, and savored its crackling heat as the three women began speaking softly to one another in another language. It sounded unlike anything I had ever heard before, like a creek rippling over rocks or wind rustling through the trees. It seemed like a language older than civilization, perhaps older than time itself...
"Kurt," Judith said suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie. I looked up, startled, and found myself fixated by her piercing green eyes. "We feel that your coming here has not been an accident. Surely the Horned God has sent you as his emissary to celebrate with us, who are made in the image of the Earth Goddess."