"Go ahead, then."
"You don't want to go first? Alice yelped as I smacked her upper arm. "Sarah! Ouch!" She lifted a pale hand to cover her smile.
"Please, Alice, walk! I really do wish to go home, but I know you won't let it happen. So just get on with this childish idea of yours!" Fog curled around the forest before us. Squinting, I tried to find the dirt path my friend insisted lead to our destination. I readjusted my handle on my lantern and sighed. Even after having our twenty-fourth birthdays the month previous, Alice still was like a girl. She got into a mood around harvest time, insisting we try to spot spirits wandering the hills. She even made strange charms to hang around her neck to keep evil ones away from her. I would much prefer to stay beside the fire and get some chores done. But she was strong-willed, and I was the opposite, and so she always managed to entice me.
"Sarah? What do you think it is?"
"I believe it's only a story. Something mothers make up to frighten their children into keeping away from this place."
"Oh, but I've heard the screams myself!" She didn't see me roll my eyes at her as she continued marching down the sparse path. For as long as I could remember, people in our village shared legends of these woods. The Screaming Trees. Some guessed it was a place for ghosts of distraught women to gather and mourn the lives they were cursed to live before death. Others said the horrifying moans came from witches carrying out dark sacrifices. My father believed that the sounds originated from some creature- not of this earth- who imitated people in distress to attract unsuspecting villagers near to help. He refused to speak of what the creature did with the poor, good-natured souls.
"How much farther?" Alice turned to answer me, but stopped abruptly, mouth hanging open dumbly. A long, low moan had begun to drift on the cold wind. Hurriedly, I stumbled forward and grasped Alice's arm. Shakily, I whispered to her: "Alright, I believe you now! That is proof enough! Please, we have to get back to the entrance! Run!" I turned and kept hold of my friend, attempting to drag her along. She stayed stubbornly in place.
"Shh! It sounds close, doesn't it?" She began to cautiously follow the trail deeper.
"No! Come-" A second moan, higher this time, made my blood run cold. For a moment, I considered leaving Alice and escaping on my own. But she laced her fingers into mine and pulled. I had no choice but to follow. On our tip-toes we snuck into the trees, eyes wide with fear. Alice could finally end the argument of the source of the wailing once and for all, an opportunity she wouldn't easily give up. A woman's voice continued to cry out. Sometimes high and breathless, and other times a long lasting, almost pained groan. Shortly we came to a clearing just off the path. We could tell the voice was coming from inside it. Alice motioned to a large boulder that would conceal us if we stood behind it, and we moved quietly to take cover there.
I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. I sensed my friend beside me move. She must be peeking from behind the rock, attempting to view the source. For what seemed like eternity, she said nothing. All I could hear were the terrible sounds. I jumped out of my skin when a hand laid itself on my shoulder.
"Sarah! Look! It's only...human people. Two women. But- I don't know what they're doing. The screams are coming from just the one. She's on her back, and the other woman- well, just see for yourself."
"Is she hurting her?"
"No, I don't think so. She's not trying to run from her."
Slowly, I shuffled to the other side of the boulder and looked to the clearing. Alice was right. A woman with brunette hair was laying on a large cloth, her legs splayed. Between her thighs was another woman, wearing a strange garment. It shimmered in the moonlight, translucent fabric doing little to conceal her body. Her long, elegant fingers dug into the other woman's flesh. Her face was hidden between the brunette's legs. She made strange motions with her head. Above the ethereal person, the woman on her back furrowed her brow. She was the one letting out the strange noises. They sprang from her throat louder and faster as we watched. After a moment, the woman began to scream in earnest, and her entire body quivered. I gasped, fearing she had been injured. The one making this woman react so strangely flicked her eyes toward the rock.Her piercing eyes locked with mine. I pulled myself back and slid to the ground, terrified.
"You can come out. We're finished up here now." A clear voice rang out from somewhere very close. Alice's breathing was shaky as she, too, sat frozen in fear. I said a prayer and hoped she'd leave us alone. "I've already seen you, and you know it." The woman walked from behind the boulder to stand in front of us. A scream ripped out of my throat. Vaguely, I was aware of Alice doing the same. She had made no footsteps we could hear to travel to us.
