Eve shook her head.
A remote area of dense woods and small ponds, the TNT had once been used to store ammunition during World War II. Eve’s father had taken her there on a few occasions, allowing her to explore the abandoned weapons “igloos.” But ever since the Mothman was first spied in the region, she hadn’t been back. Her father said bad things happened there, and Mrs. Quiggly insisted the place was a haven for UFOs.
“She was visiting Nana and followed Mischief into the Witch Wood.”
A fat orange tabby, Mischief belonged to Maggie’s grandmother, an elderly woman who everyone called Nana. She lived in a sprawling house snuggled up to a thicket of woods at the farthest end of town. Eve and Maggie had dubbed the thicket the “Witch Wood” after discovering a sycamore tree that resembled an old woman with legs.
“But it’s too cold to go into the Witch Wood now,” Sarah protested.
Eve nodded. She, Maggie, and Sara occasionally played there, but usually in the spring and summer when the trees were green with leaves, making it easy to catch caterpillars and grasshoppers.
“Maggie was afraid Mischief would get lost.”
Sarah made a pffing sound. “As if! He’s always getting into trouble and always finds his way home. I wish she hadn’t followed him.”
“Me, too.” Eve bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth. She’d visited her friend for a brief time yesterday, finding Maggie huddled beneath the blankets in her bedroom. She hadn’t been to school for three days. “She’s afraid to go outside.”
They had almost reached the theater. Farther down the street, traffic was lined up at the red light that led to the Silver Bridge. Her father would be home soon, returning from Gallipolis, a neighboring city nestled on the Ohio side of the river. He’d headed there earlier in the afternoon to meet a friend, and like everyone else, would need to cross the Silver Bridge.
“I heard the Mothman’s eyes are red,” Sarah said.
“Maggie thought so. She told me when she couldn’t find Mischief, she got an odd feeling, like something bad had happened. Her skin broke out in goose bumps.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. She rubbed her nose again. “My mom says people get a weird sensation when they see the Mothman. I’ve heard her talking about it to my dad when she thinks I’m not around.”
“My parents do the same thing.” How strange to be focused on something scary when everything around them reflected the festive mood of the coming Christmas holiday. The streetlights on Main were decorated with cheerful ribbons, wreaths, and pinecones, and a lighted Christmas tree brightened the display window of G. C. Murphy, the local five-and-dime. At the store entrance, a man in a Santa Claus suit called out holiday greetings and beckoned shoppers inside. A sense of excitement and seasonal cheer hung in the air.
“Maggie was scared.” Eve wet her lips, remembering what her friend had told her. “She thought she heard a noise. Like scraping, or someone digging.”
“What did she do?”
“She crept closer, but stayed hidden behind the trees. At least, she thought she was.”
There was no mistaking Sarah’s nervousness as she squeezed her mittened hands together. “But she wasn’t?”
Eve shook her head, only then realizing how frightened she was for her friend. A lot of people thought the Mothman was trying to warn the town about something terrible, like a looming disaster, and that’s why it kept reappearing. But Maggie said the creature was awful. A hideous monster with hateful eyes that bored into her soul. Those who’d seen it said its eyes were so ghastly, they couldn’t recall any other feature of its face. Rumored to be at least seven feet tall, it had large wings that allowed it to fly vertically like a helicopter. Most said it was gray in color, and the Mothman’s terrifying eyes glowed scarlet even in the daylight.
“She got close and peered through the trees,” Eve explained. They stopped in front of the theater, but the poster they’d come to see no longer felt important. Someone blew a horn as the light for the Silver Bridge turned green, but traffic remained at a standstill. “That’s when she saw it, crouched on the ground.”
“What was it doing?” Sarah’s eyes filled with fear.
“Maggie didn’t know. It was hunkered down with its wings draped around it like a cape. Then it turned and saw her, and she screamed.”
Sarah looked like she wanted to do the same.
A chorus of horns blared from the stalled traffic, causing Eve to knit her brows. “Why do you think all the cars are backed up like that?”
Sarah appeared too focused on the story to pay attention to the vehicles bottled up at the entrance to the Silver Bridge. “Did she run? Did it chase her?”
“Of course she ran. Wouldn’t you?”
“I would have screamed my head off.”
“Me, too.” Her heart kicked into a prickly rhythm. Was it because of her fear for Maggie, or the cold sensation that crept over her as she stared at the unmoving traffic two blocks away? Instinctively, she headed for the backup, Sarah keeping pace beside her. “Maggie heard it chasing her, but she managed to get away and run to Nana’s home. She didn’t tell anyone about it until two days later. She pretended to be sick so she wouldn’t have to go to school.”
“But Dr. Pullman couldn’t find anything wrong with her.” Sarah’s observation was half question, half statement.
“Nope. And that’s when she had to tell the truth.”
“How awful.” Sarah soaked in the story as they continued walking, seemingly unconcerned they hadn’t stopped to gawk at the poster for The Graduate as planned. The sidewalk was busy with Christmas shoppers heading in and out of G. C. Murphy and the local bank.
Any other time, Eve would have delighted in the festive mood, but something didn’t feel right. Was she the only one who sensed the ominous undercurrent in the air? And why were there so many birds flitting around overhead, as if they couldn’t find a place to rest?
“What happened to Mischief?” Sarah asked.