Copycat (Caitlin's Birthday)

https://rumble.com/v5c5w4t-copycat-by-ray-bush.html

 Copycat

By Ray Bush

“It shouldn’t take much longer to get there,” Stacia was so excited to be here. It was not just the excitement  of the treasure hunt, Stacia loved being in nature. She had never been to Box Death Hollow so she was a bit extra excited. Caitlin was excited as well but her excitement was sprinkled with a pinch of fear. The two had become very close since that night that Stacia summoned the demons. Beings as powerful as demons had been very effective bodyguards. “I’m pretty sure we’re about to find this treasure, all the clues point here.”

It would be nice to find the twenty five grand but this adventure with Stacia was the real treasure for Caitlin. Stacia and Caitlin were nearly inseparable since the incident with Chase. The whole ordeal was a mess but that April Fool’s Day Caitlin found a new respect for Stacia and Stacia for her. They worked in the same office, hung out with each other after work, Caitlin had even moved into the Ouija house that Stacia once shared with Chase. The two women had found comfort with the beings that handed out Stacia’s justice.

Box Death Hollow was Caitlin’s least favorite name for any place she had ever been, which included some pretty freaky places in Europe. However these two women felt invincible by each other's side and the demons watching their backs. For some reason their invisible protectors were absent since the two entered The Echo Forest. That was okay though, Box Death Hollow was just a name. It was probably like a place where an outlaw hid his lute and the name was to scare people away. He added the scary backstory to really freak people out. There was obviously nothing in these woods called copycats. 

“That would be crazy,” Caitlin said then did one of her signature Caitlin shimmies then both ladies giggled. “We could definitely use the money.”

Stacia agreed then asked, “Where do you think Bawa and Bazon went?” Caitlin didn’t know and was also a bit worried. “I’d feel so much better if they were here.” Caitlin agreed also, they were absent since the moment they entered the border of these woods. They also felt the eyes on them. It had to be an animal, hopefully not a big one. 

Caitlin thought she heard a low growl just off the right side of the trail. Both Stacia and Caitlin agreed that it sounded like something in the K-9 family,  just a little deeper and more powerful. It was most likely a wolf but that growl sounded like a massive wolf. 

“What do you think that was?” Caitlin asked with a little more fear in her voice. “Do you think you could get them here?” She was obviously talking about Bawa and Bazon.

“Should we go back?” Stacia was staring into the dark woods that were getting darker by the minute. Neither could see what was responsible for the growl.

The sound of footsteps came from the direction that the ladies had just come from. Who could be following them? The footsteps were heavy like they were coming from a very large man. The girls froze from fear and anticipation. With each step Caitlin’s pulse increased just a little. Stacia unsheathed her eight inch hunting knife then nodded to Caitlin who pulled the hand ax from her belt then removed the blade cover. Stacia was ready to fight, Caitlin would do anything to protect her friend which made her also ready to fight. He continued towards them with no intention of hiding his position. He either didn’t know exactly where the ladies were or he didn’t consider them a threat. 

“I have a knife and I’m not afraid to bury it in your face,” Stacia threatened. The footsteps stopped.

Both girls forgot about whatever had been growling at them from the treeline. It didn’t matter whatever it was, it had already darted off into the woods. It seemed like a long time before anything happened. The footsteps resumed and the girls’ hearts continued to pound. 

“I have no desire to harm you,” Of course it was a male voice. He sounded powerful, handsome, and also surprisingly intelligent. “In fact it’s quite the opposite, I’m here to protect you. I really don’t think the two of you realize where you are and what you have gotten yourself into.” The footsteps stopped just on the other side of the bend the girls recently rounded. He remained out of sight. “If you lower your weapons I can get the two of you out of here safely. You’ve come to one of the most dangerous places in all the worlds.”

“How about this asshole?” Stacia’s threats were much bigger than the actual girl, “You get the fuck out of here and you can go on living.”

“I will not force my companionship on you,” The voice said calmly, “But I strongly suggest that you go no further alone. There are dangers in these woods that are extremely dangerous.” The man paused to let that sink in. “There are some dangerous creatures in these woods,” He repeated but it had little effect this time either. “But I promise you I’m not one of those. I need to get you out of here.”

Caitlin looked at Stacia, both girls were worried. “Get out of here,” Caitlin ordered. “We don’t need your help ya fuckin holagen. You fuckin loser.”

The man around the corner laughed hard, “You are in the middle of The Echo Forest armed with a knife and a small ax.” The voice did sound concerned. “You may not know this but the two of you are in desperate need of help. There are things here that are more hideous than the most hideous thing that’s haunted your worst nightmare. My name is Slevin, please let me help you. The copycats already know you are here.”

“Thanks,” Stacia snapped, even though the man did sound sincere, “We don’t believe in copycats. Just go on your way and we will go ours, we don’t need your help. Nobody needs to get hurt.” Nothing happened. “Please just go.” Stacia thought she figured it out, the man must have figured out the location of the treasure and was trying to scare the girls away. It wouldn’t work.

Still nothing happened. “I don’t know that I can do that. Do you realize what will happen when they catch you? And they will catch you. They have a hundred percent success rate hunting. They always get their prey.” The voice paused again, Caitlin thought he was giving them a chance to let his information sink in. “Are you absolutely positive that you want me to leave? I promise you that you’re not safe.” 

Caitlin mouthed the word, “copycats?’ Stacia shrugged but only looked mildly concerned. “We don’t trust you dickhead.” Stacia said. Caitlin was grateful that Stacia was doing all the talking. “Just get the hell out of here.” 

“Alright,” The voice said, “But you are making the worst mistake in your, now short lives.” The footsteps walked away and were just as heavy as when they approached. 

Both ladies breathed out heavily in complete relief that whoever it was left. Now the two had another problem. It was far too late to get back to the car before dark and now they had what sounded like a large man stalking them. Maybe they really hadn’t thought things through. 

“Should we go back to the car?” Caitlin asked. She was clearly shaken but not completely convinced she was ready to leave. Caitlin also thought the man could be a fellow treasure hunter but there had been the growl also. 

“It’s up to you,” Stacia answered, “He did leave with no problems when we asked him to. He didn’t try to sneak up on us and didn’t try to force us to travel with him.”

“Do you really think there’s copycats?” Stacia had done a bunch of research since she figured out the last clue. “Do you think they’re real?”

Stacia immediately responded, “No they’re myths for sure, I think he’s tryin to scare us away so he can get the treasure. But I will leave it up to you. Should we leave and come back in the morning?” Caitlin thought about it. She could see on Stacia’s face that her friend wanted to continue on this adventure. Caitlin decided Stacia was right, the man most likely trying to scare them. If they went back to the car, their treasure would be gone well before morning came. 

He also made no threats nor had he forced them to let him stay. As a matter of fact he was the opposite, the man had been calm and helpful. Caitlin understood why Stacia wanted to keep going. For people working forty hour a week jobs twenty five thousand would be life changing. It’s nowhere near enough to retire on, but Caitlin would be able to pay off most of her bills. 

“Watch out for the scavengers and copycats,” The man’s voice was distant but clear. “They’ll both get you and make your life a living hell.”

That made Caitlin’s heart do a loop de loop and gasp to herself. “Do you think we should stay?” Caitlin couldn’t decide if she was too scared to stay or too scared of losing the money. 

“There hasn’t been a reported copycat sighting in well over a hundred years,” Stacia always liked to know everything about where she was going. “It’s just the same as bigfoot or the rake. It’s just stories passed down through the generations. For some reason some of the stories just stick for centuries sometimes. I don’t believe in copycats, I truly believe he was trying to scare us away for the treasure.”

Caitlin was not nearly as confident as Stacia but she did trust Stacia with every bit of her heart and soul. Caitlin agreed to proceed but she would do so with extreme caution. The light would be gone in thirty minutes and the hollow was only twenty minutes further according to Stacia’s calculations. Of course Stacia was right, Caitlin silently kept track, the walk took nineteen minutes and thirty two seconds. 

They set up their hammocks, the temperature in the forest was perfect for a restful night under the stars. Caitlin was sitting in her chair snacking on some popcorn and drinking a bottled water. Stacia wandered off into the woods to look for animal bones, antlers, or even cool rocks she could use for her crafts. But after April Fool’s,, Caitlin knew Stacia could use those things with a much more powerful purpose. 

“Caitlin,” Stacia spoke quietly from just inside the treeline. Caitlin’s main concern is her friend’s voice was coming from the opposite side of the clearing where Stacia entered the woods. She guessed Stacia had been gone long enough to circle around behind Caitlin. 

Caitlin was nervous as she picked up her electric lantern and walked towards Stacia’s voice. She walked slowly, things didn’t feel right. She looked like an old timey minor walking into the darkness of a deep mine. The woods were dark and ominous, not to mention Stacia had said nothing else.

“Stacia,” Caitlin called softly, “Where are you?” Caitlin was squinting hard  trying to see Stacia’s shape. Caitlin really had no desire to go into the woods.

“I’m over here,” Stacia called from behind Caitlin, Stacia sounded amused. Caitlin spun one eighty with eyes the size of dinner plates. Stacia also looked like an old timey miner with the lantern before her. “Didn’t you see me walk down this trail?” Stacia was still wearing a smile but it was a slightly confused smile. “Duuude are you ok?”

“Weird bro,” Caitlin said, she was a little embarrassed for being so scared and didn’t want Stacia to know. “I thought I heard something walking over back there, it must’ve been an animal.”

The two enjoyed star gazing, chatting, and munching on snacks until midnight. Thankfully the strange man hadn’t come back. The plan was to stay the night under the stars then locate the treasure in the morning. Hopefully that asshole would stay away. So far so good but who was to say he wouldn’t show up in the middle of the night. Caitlin knew that she and Stacia would have dispatched the man with little effort. This deep in the forest hiding the body wouldn’t be hard either. But this trip was supposed to be about relaxing. Other than the man and Stacia’s mimicked voice, this trip had been extremely relaxing. 

“You ready to get some sleep?” Stacia asked, stood up, then walked to her hammock. Caitlin was ready for bed also. Caitlin also went to her bed for the night then they both clicked off their electric lanterns. “Tomorrow we find a treasure.” Caitlin knew that it was not just the money for Stacia, her friend would be so proud if she was able to solve the riddle. 

Caitlin had butterflies in her stomach. She was fifty percent excited for the money and fifty percent excited that Stacia brought her here. Even if they didn’t find the treasure this would still be a fun trip. “Do you really think it’s here?” 

“I really do,” That launched a fresh flutter of a thousand butterflies in both girls' stomachs. “I’ve spent so much time researching, I’m like ninety five percent sure that we will find it tomorrow.” 

Caitlin covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. They told each other good night despite neither of the women expecting to sleep. Surprisingly both girls fell into a deep sleep quickly. Not long after the two drifted to dream land under the full moon Caitlin began to hear noises. She tried to ignore them, it was just an animal, nothing she should worry about. She fought to stay in dreamland but lost the battle quickly. Something was walking towards their camp from the same direction Stacia’s copycat voice had come from. Caitlin was far from an outdoors expert but she could tell whatever it was out there walked on two legs. She couldn’t believe that loser came back.

Caitlin looked to Stacia’s bed, because of the bright moonlight she could see that Stacia was not in her hammock. She must have needed to use the restroom. Caitlin let herself drift back into a light sleep until her friend came back. A branch broke close from the opposite side of the clearing which made Caitlin nervous. That man could be anywhere. He could have watched the camp until Stacia woke up and walked into the woods then pounce on Caitlin while Stacia was gone. Another broke in a completely different direction, then another, then another. That was five different directions. What the hell was going on here?

“Caitlin,” A voice whispered from a trail to the left, in the direction of the last breaking branch. “Caitlin, over here. We gotta get the hell out of here.” Somehow it didn’t sound exactly like Stacia, but Caitlin only realized that in the deepest part of her mind. Then another Stacia laughed from the direction of the third branch break. 

Caitlin could hear her pulse in her ear and felt it pounding in her neck. Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around what was happening. Stacia seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. Suddenly the forest came to life. The trees shook like they were being shaken by a powerful earthquake. Every bird in the forest took flight all at once. Caitlin scanned her surroundings, she needed to find a way out of here. She had to figure out where Stacia was as well. The trees were not shaking around the trail exiting the clearing to the southeast. Caitlin decided that was her best chance to get away, then she would be able to find Stacia. She quickly decided that was her best hope. Caitlin rolled awkwardly out of her hammock then stood up after falling  to the ground like a panda. It was only seconds before Caitlin was on that trail and heading deeper into the woods. She hoped she was hidden in the trees from whatever was out there. 

The sound of the Stacia’s running filled the night air, still Caitlin couldn’t see anything. Caitlin ducked behind a bush and closed her eyes tight. She was breathing hard and her heart was pounding despite her using every ounce of her will to calm down. Everything stopped and Stacias began to whisper from everywhere. 

“Caitlin,” Her friend whispered, Caitlin could now tell for sure the voice was not the real Stacia. “Hahahaha Caitlin you can’t hide forever. Hehe Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin.” 

Caitlin pushed her hands against her ears and somehow closed her eyes even tighter. Her eyes burned from the effort of fighting back tears. Caitlin continued to try to slow her heart and breathing. Maybe this was a dream, it had to be a dream. Caitlin tried to force herself to wake up with zero success. She pinched her arm then slapped her cheek. Still nothing was working. She would keep trying. 

Caitlin opened her eyes to look directly into the face of a terrifying Stacia. They were mere inches apart. Caitlin wanted to scream and run but how could she be scared of such a great friend. They had spenyt a lot of time together in the last several months. The iris of Stacia’s eyes were nearly white and glowed with a slight blue tint. Her hair was as black as ink, that blackness leaked from her hair and covered Stacia’s forehead down then surrounded her eyes. It was like her best friend was wearing a mask over the top half of her face. 

“Boo,” Stacia whispered into Caitlin’s face. Caitlin jumped up and took off deeper into the woods. Stacia’s laugh chased after her. 

Caitlin could hear things running through the woods on all sides of her and one weird Stacia on the trail behind her. They must be extremely agile and be able to see very well in the darkness to move that fast through a thickish forest. Luckily the trail was wide yet it was still uneven so Caitlin wasn’t able to run as fast as she would like. Caitlin stumbled a couple times but luckily kept her feet. The trail forked. Caitlin’s heart sank when she saw another Stacia down the left fork. This one had an orange forehead with black covering most of her eyebrows and down between her nose. Her eyes glowed the same whitish blue. Caitlin took off as fast as she could down the right branch. 

Caitlin ran until her lungs burned with the things keeping pace with her every step of the way. She was beginning to think this was it for her. She would die never knowing what happened to Stacia, why there were at least two copycats of her friend. She stumbled clumsily into a clearing. She had to find a place to hide. There was nothing in the clearing, not a bush or even a large rock. Her eyes landed on the only other trailhead in the clearing. Stacia laid there and appeared to be unconscious. She looked closer and this was not just a trailhead, it was an entrance to somewhere judging by the beautifully decorated archway. Caitlin wondered where it went briefly then ran across the clearing to her friend. She could tell that this was for sure the real Stacia. Those things must be the copycats the strange man was talking about. Caitlin wished he was here now.

“Stacia,” Cailin’s voice was soft but covered in urgency. She shook Stacia softly, her friend stirred weakly. “Stacia wake up, we gotta get out of here.” Her eyes fluttered, in the full moonlight Caitlin could tell they were really Stacia’s eyes. “Stacia please get up.”

The Stacia with the black forehead stepped into the clearing from the trail Caitlin used only moments before. The orange face Stacia stepped in the clearing from the woods to the left. Caitlin shook Stacia harder. They approached slowly still in the shadows of the forest. Three more entered, two from the right and one to the left. The one to the left had a partially black partially goth white face highlighted in gold. The one closest to Stacia on the right had eyes surrounded in red and black. The last had ashy white skin with tannish and black highlights. 

Caitlin looked at the sign on the archway, it read “Old Jericho.” What the hell was that? The Stacia’s were closing in slowly. The original Stacia with the black forehead stepped out of the shadows into the moonlight. The thing changed instantly. It grew two feet and its face turned into that of a decaying german shepard with deer antlers. The thing's body was also decomposing, Caitlin could see the trail behind it through the beast's ribs. The thing had to be at least seven feet tall. Caitlin was crying and shaking Stacia wildly and begged for her friend to wake up. The orange Stacia stepped into the moonlight and sent through a similar transformation. The beasts weren’t identical but they were very indistinguishable. 

Caitlin was shaking Stacia hard now. “Stacia get up,” Caitlin begged, “Stacia they’re coming.” Stacia opened her eyes and tried weakly to get to her feet. “Stacia please get up.” Stacia mumbled something. 

The other three were no longer Stacia’s, Caitlin was looking at five monsters in the moonlight. Caitlin grabbed Stacia by the arm and pulled her hard. Stacia was able to get to her knees. The beasts approached slowly with snarling smiles on their decomposing mouths. The things were no more than ten feet from the girls. Caitlin could smell the stink of them. The front beast, the Stacia with the black around her eyes, was drooling a thick ooze down the front of its skinny chest. 

She screamed loud when a hand touched her softly on the shoulder. Before she had a chance to think she swung as hard as she could. Her hand connected hard with the stone like abs of a giant man dressed like a viking. The handsome blonde man had no reaction, he may not have even felt the punch. He said nothing, the beasts stopped and the lead one screamed like a banshee. He firmly but gently moved Caitlin towards the trail to Old Jericho. She fought at first but could not have stopped him if she fought as hard as he could. He picked up Stacia as easily as a father picks up his infant then tossed her over his shoulder. 

He shoved Caitlin under the archway, this time not near as gentle. The air changed the second she stepped though. It was like the air was thick like water. The forest now looked like looking underwater with goggles on, it was wavy and shimmering. She looked back and the viking was right behind her with Stacia over his shoulder. That convinced her that the man was here to help. Thankfully there were no more snarling beasts. Caitlin ran for a good minute before the trail opened up to a large clearing. Off in the distance Caitlin could see the outline of a wild west looking ghost town. She felt like she was in a different world.The big guy set Stacia down on her feet. Luckily she was strong enough to stand. 

“Where are we?” Caitlin asked, “Why was everything blurry in that tunnel? Who are you? Where are we?”

“Don’t fret younglady,” The man was trying to be as comforting as possible. It was obvious he was urgent to get out of her. “You are in the world next door to your own. This country is called Jericho but more important is that town. They will take you in and help you get settled. They are good people.”

Caitlin saw the silhouette of a small woman walking towards them. She must have known they were coming judging by how close she was. “Who are you?” Cailtlin asked.

“My name is Slevin,” He answered, “That is Lois and she will take you to Elwood.” Then he was gone, back down the tunnel between worlds.