In any case, for the remainder of her life, Layla would never know why she did what she did next. Lantern in hand, she took a deep breath, and cautiously stepped forward, further illuminating the inky blackness, allowing for this unseen phantom of a dangerous, unknown jungle to begin to take shape. Layla strained her vision, but could still begin to make out the creature's monstrous form. Enough to see that what is peering at her from the shadows is clearly no jaguar. Rather, it appeared to be a large, black dog.
The stocky, wolf-like animal's eyes remained locked on Layla's, though it didn't seem intimidated by her presence in the slightest. Quite the contrary, it cocked its head to the side, investigating the girl. Just as curious about her actions.
After an unblinking eternity, Layla watched the strange dog turn and began walking back towards the edge of the clearing, and towards the oppressively mysterious darkness once more. The lantern still extended, Layla stretched out her arm, and looked on anxiously, transfixed, tracking the creature's movements, as it slinks along the perimeter, before stopping at an unassuming gap in the treeline. It paused and shifted its gaze back to face Layla, red eyes once again cutting through the darkness. Its hulking, motionless silhouette framed by a backdrop of a dreamy, star-filled sky beyond the clearing.
In a beguiling gesture, the phantom dog, took a moment to shut its glowing red eyes and nod, solemnly, in reverence in Layla's direction. The creature's blood-red eyes flickered open once again, just in time as it turned and disappeared through the opening. Back into the unseen jungle. Leaving Layla gazing, spellbound, on the patch of vacant, celestial vista, framed by vibrant green vines and thick foliage. And on alone, a strange, glowing column of cerulean light. Beckoning. Drawing her inward. Her pulse quickened, and her breathing shallowed, as that familiar warmth slowly started to coil and wrap itself around her frozen, trembling form.
And just like that, Layla was once again that scared little girl lost and alone in an unfamiliar forest.
Chapter 6
Blind Panic
"Where in the hell do you get off with that DRAW 4 bullshit?! James, you can take that card and shove it up yer arse!"
"You got a problem? Tough! Hate the game, not the player!"
"Just... just draw already, so we can all just play?"
"No, that's bullshit! I know for a bloody fact that that goddamn liar's got at least one blue card in his hand, and...!"
The rowdy outbursts produced by her colleagues' heated UNO game, specifically the unmistakably boisterous tone of Becca, instantly succeeded in breaking Layla from her troubling trance. She wasn't sure exactly how long she had been standing there, but it certainly couldn't have been nearly as long as it felt. And Layla couldn't remember the last time the ability sparked that degree of intensity or fear, let alone such vivid hallucinations. Still, in the cool, azure light, cast by the column, Layla still remained transfixed on the gap in the treeline. On that ominous and wondrous vista, seeded with a cascade of stars, each one piercing through the blackness, ever beckoning from beyond a barrier of thick, green vegetation.
Cautiously, Layla stepped towards the direction of the phantom black dog, its blood-red glowing eyes still vividly burning onto her mind's eye. With every step, the rowdy, familiar voices, the world she knew, fell farther and farther away, giving way to the cacophonous ambiance of the jungle itself. Insects chirping loudly. Leaves rustling gently in the tropical breeze. Howler monkeys. Frogs singing out, in their many actives and unique tones. All the while, Layla strained, preparing herself for something--anything--some auditory telltale marker for the beast she just encountered. Something to confirm that, again, she wasn't just going crazy.
Fantastic, you stupid little girl! Here you are, in the goddamn middle of the goddamn jungle... at night... surrounded by deadly snakes, jaguars, and God knows what! And you... do you go back for help? Do you tell anyone? Do you even take one second to think?! No! What do you do?... You go plunging even deeper, don't you? Right into the heart of the goddamn jungle... at night!... You are going to die... you know that?... and for what? Because you got a "feeling"? Or to follow some giant black ghost dog, that probably doesn't even exist?! Sounds about right, you stupid girl... Ack... Dammit!...
As Layla neared the periphery of the clearing, berating herself all the way, the grade proved to be much steeper than it appeared a moment ago, and she found she had to get almost on her hands and knees to brace her ascent over the slick rocks and mud. Even this seemed to even further accentuate the size and nature of the creature Layla had just seen. It certainly did nothing to support the fact that it even existed at all. Layla could find no tracks, no trail, no way of tracking it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, and even that, add he was no longer sure of. No, it was the other part--that familiar warm sensation that was drawing her in, unmistakable and, more importantly, real! Even if this time, it felt even more different than usual.
Layla scrambled up the muddy embankment and, somehow, got to her feet. After readjusting the straps on her pack, she reached out a trembling hand to push aside a few branches and, heart racing slowly stepped through the gap in the trees. Towards... God only knows what! Guided only by an enormous black ghost dog, that by all accounts didn't even exist, a feeling, and her own self presumed loss of sanity.
Though it was July, the damp humidity that hung in the
