Nodding in agreement with her, he returned his attentions back to the two oncoming men to see what he could glean.
In the next few moments, he hoped that something could be learned from the men’s conversation regarding their identity, or the circumstances that Mershad and Erika found themselves in. Enduring a few more tense moments would hopefully secure the knowledge that they needed to make a decision; to portray hostility, or to offer friendship.
LOGAN
“This is completely insane,” Antonio said in a low, tense voice. “We’ll have to figure out food shortly. There’s the stream that we heard. I just hope that it’s water fit for drinking. Last thing we need is to get sick.”
“This is all insane, Antonio. Completely insane,” Logan replied emphatically.
He looked over towards the stream that had just come into sight. It appeared to be ordinary water, but the way that things had been going, Logan feared that nothing could be taken for granted.
“I’m getting a little thirsty, and we do need water,” Logan said. “Do you think there’s anything to worry about? How could we even test it out anyway?”
Antonio shook his head with a nervous grin. “Drinking it straight? Not me. You can be the first.”
Logan chuckled. “Thanks, but you better not be so flippant about this sort of thing. If I suddenly keel over and fall dead, you’ll be in a world of hurt. Maybe we should save the taste testing as a very last resort.”
Antonio stared towards the clear, gently flowing water. He slowed down and sighed, shaking his head.
“Sooner or later, if we are here for a while, we are going to have to take a risk and try it,” Antonio said.
Logan stared down at the water as well, watching a few minnows darting about in its mild depths. He found that he was in a state of sheer disbelief, that something as simple as drinking water could unsettle him to such a tremendous degree.
His mind was getting the best of him in the wake of the dense fog and ensuing turmoil in his life. The realization annoyed him greatly, as he resolved himself to keep his reason intact.
“Well, at least we can keep close, until we absolutely need it. We can follow the course of the stream for a while,” Logan suggested, looking back to Antonio. “And if we are going to be in these woods tonight, we need to begin coming up with some kind of plan.”
“Where are we?” Antonio said, exasperated, in a raised voice that carried farther through the trees. “Can you tell me even that?”
Logan shot his friend an angry glare as he hissed, “Did you forget already what we agreed on when we entered the woods? Keep your voice down, Antonio. Even talking low like we have been might be too much of a risk.”
It was almost as if Antonio was not listening to him. He saw a look of surprise and agitation spread abruptly across Antonio’s face. He swiftly turned his head to share Antonio’s angle of view.
His own heart skipped a beat.
Two human figures stood in plain sight about thirty feet away, almost directly in their path.
One was a young female of around twenty years of age. He was relieved to see that she was dressed simply in dark jeans and a yellow, long-sleeved t-shirt, the familiar attire giving him some hope. He was very thankful for the contemporary look, fathoming that she might possibly have some answers as to their whereabouts.
The other person was a shorter, thinner man with dark, olive-shaded skin. He was also clad in everyday clothing, wearing a collared shirt and jeans. The vestiges of extreme apprehension were stretched all over his face, though his mouth was turned up in the beginnings of a nervous smile.
Though both of them held sturdy branches in their hands, Logan felt no sense of threat coming from either. “Hi there… I didn’t think we would find anyone out here,” Logan said, breaking the momentary impasse. “Who are you?”
The icy tension that had risen upon their appearance quickly melted away in the wake of his words. He could see their postures relaxing just a little.
“My name is Erika, and this is my friend, Mershad,” the woman replied, gesturing towards the male at her side. Her voice was steady and confident, and the look in her eye remained imbued with scrutiny.
There was a little awkwardness to the atmosphere. Logan got the distinct impression that, while both pairs were unsure of exactly how to proceed, they were both greatly relieved to have encountered the other. But, the guarded caution in the others strongly suggested that they were not entirely native to the local area. Their apparent discomfort was not a very encouraging aspect of their demeanors.
“I’m Logan, and this is Antonio,” Logan responded. He ventured a little further with his words, deciding to take some light risks. “I suppose that you are not from around here, am I right?”
“No, and I would bet that you aren’t either, correct?” Erika asked him.
She took a few deliberate steps forward. As if following her cue, the one named Mershad started forward, keeping close by her side.
“No, we aren’t,” Antonio answered, before blurting out, “and do you know anything about where we are right now?”
A discernable flicker of discouragement crossed through Erika’s eyes at that moment, and Logan could see that she had been hoping to ask them the same thing.
“I’m not really sure,” she responded, with a tinge of unease.
“And neither are we,” Logan said, starting to see that the other two shared his and Antonio’s predicament in some way. He then decided to say one more word. “Fog?”
He immediately saw the tidal wave of relief and recognition that hit their faces.
“So, have you two been in this place for very long?” Erika queried, somewhat hesitantly.
“Not really very long at all,” Logan stated. “And we are totally out of place. If you know what I mean.”
“The fog?” Mershad inquired cautiously.
Antonio nodded, as he replied, “Yes. One minute we were in fog, thicker than anything I’ve seen before, and the next minute we were here, just outside this forest. We didn’t plan it.”
“No, we certainly didn’t. And yet here we are,” Logan added, with a bitter edge to his tone.
“What were you all doing when the fog rolled in?” Antonio asked the newcomers.
“Just sitting and talking on our campus, at night, at the University of Lexington,” Erika said. “The fog came in, and then night was day… and here we were.”
“University of Lexington? Both of us are from Lexington,” Logan replied, finding the increasing familiarity a welcome feast to his starved psyche. “Maybe there is something about that, unless you have any idea as to where this place is.”
“No idea. Whatever has happened, we should stay together,” Erika said. After a pause, she continued, “So, have you two discussed any plans for handling all of this?”
“Really… no,” Antonio admitted. “We’ve just been walking for a little while. Haven’t even tried to drink the water. What have you found out?”
“We’ve seen some rather unusual animals. And you already know about the strange color of the sky, but other than that, it seems enough like a normal forest,” Erika remarked.
“There are some open grasslands, back in the direction from which we just came, and it isn’t too far away,” Logan said. “We decided that we definitely didn’t want to stay out in the open, until we learned more about where we are. There are a lot more places to hide in a forest, and there are more possibilities for shelter. It didn’t take us very long to decide to get out of the open and take our chances in here.”
“The open grassland would be something different from what we’ve seen. We’ve just been walking through miles of forest and hills,” Mershad added, gesturing behind and around him.
“As I assume we’ll be staying together, what direction do you think we should try?” asked Logan.
“Maybe follow that. It might lead to a bigger body of water,” Erika said, pointing over towards the nearby creek.