Part 1 of 3.
Thump...thump....thump. Agatha heard the steady heartbeat in the distance. Calm. Unafraid. She darted to the lookout point to see if she could get a closer look at the hiker closing in on her. In the dimming twilight, she could see his flashlight bobbing up and down with his step, about forty yards below her. One heartbeat. Soon his musty scent filled her nostrils and she shuddered with anticipation. He would come to the clearing on his way up the trail, where she waited for him to find her.
While the sky had gotten dark, the night had not fully formed. Nonetheless, Agatha did not want to frighten her mark by catching him off guard, so she lit her small gas lamp and started humming her mountain song before adding words.
"Under the starlit sky,
I wait for you.
Through trees and summer breeze,
I ache for you."
She paused to perk her ears and heard a soft rustling in the distance, growing closer.
"Don't let the shadows,
Take you away from me."
Agatha had an enchanting voice, with crickets and locusts as her orchestra.
The flashlight came into her line of view, and she stopped singing. "Ahoy," Agatha yelled down the path. "Hello," a deep voice bellowed back. The hiker approached and sent rocks scurrying down the side of the mountain as he climbed to where Agatha sat above. "I didn't think I'd see anyone up here after dark," the hiker breathed as he caught his breath from his steep incline. "I could say the same. Sit down and rest," Agatha said.
She laid a large blanket over a flat area, and she sat on the corner as she patted the big empty spot in the middle for him to sit on. A minute of silence passed, aside from the hiker guzzling water from his canteen and stuffing a food bar in his mouth. The weary hiker did not notice Agatha intently staring at him. He had not shaved in a week, and sandy-colored hair covered most of his face. His gray eyes reflected the lamp and sparkled. He had been wearing a cap, but now his thick hair stuck out in different directions.
When he finally looked up, he blurted out, "what are you doing out here alone at night?" Agatha leaned in and smiled at him, causing the lantern to illuminate her dark features. The hiker felt an eeriness under the circumstances, but Agatha's beauty distracted his brain. "What are you doing here?" Agatha playfully said to the hiker.
"I slacked off in Roanoke yesterday to watch a music festival, and I was hoping to make up a few miles at dark today. Back to you--"
"My camp is set up at the lean-to down the trail," she quickly offered.
"And you feel safe enough to camp alone," said the hiker.
"Why are you planning to take advantage of me?" Agatha chuckled.