They were standing close enough together while leaning slightly against each other that Bobby felt completely comfortable simply remaining silent as Karen gazed out across the treetops for several minutes without saying anything further: It wasn’t until Bobby decided he’d had enough time alone with her on this peaceful evening when he started to notice something strange about the sky above them: There seemed to be an odd black shadow moving from side-to-side above them in a very peculiar manner. He noticed a few moments later after glancing over towards the ground beneath them for a brief instant and then immediately looking away—or perhaps not bothering to look directly upward—that it appeared as though there was someone standing a short distance behind them who was also watching them carefully but trying hard not to let them realize they were being observed.
It was almost like the person or persons up there knew they shouldn’t be seen, yet they just couldn’t seem to help themselves any longer: The way they continued shifting their weight back and forth just enough in order to remain perfectly still before quickly peering up into the air just long enough to catch another glimpse of them before hastily stepping backward again made it easy for him to guess why whoever it was didn’t want to attract attention at all costs; otherwise he might have already tried to do something about whatever was causing him concern by now. But no one spoke to him even once during the entire walk through the woods with her; so instead he focused entirely upon Karen’s voice while she finally turned around suddenly with a hint of nervousness in her eyes as she whispered urgently, “I’m going to turn my head slowly toward the tree right behind us. Try not to make any sudden movements before you can see what is happening… please.”
Bobby nodded slowly while remaining motionless: He glanced down toward the ground momentarily as well before focusing his gaze once more upon the treetops before nodding his approval several times to himself under his breath: It looked exactly like it did when he’d first spotted the strange figure above them a few moments earlier. He stared intently at it for several seconds before noticing something else that seemed far less important at the time: He could also hear a soft rustling sound coming from somewhere in front and behind them. The noise had grown steadily louder for some reason—perhaps because the wind had picked up? Or perhaps the same mysterious black shadow had been making a different kind of sound while hiding in the trees behind him too and was getting closer while doing so?
Karen stepped away slightly from Bobby after taking a deep breath then held out both hands tightly together towards him while staring directly into his face, which caused him to notice her shaking nervously as she asked quietly, “…Do you trust me?”
“Do you trust me?”
He shook his head silently as he lowered his own eyes briefly to look directly over toward where the dark shape appeared to be moving about. Then he took another deep breath before glancing back at Karen and replying simply: “Yes. Of course I do…”
“Then take my hand,” she suggested softly. “And follow along closely in step with me. Do not speak unless spoken to and don’t move at all until we reach the others waiting for us outside of The Lodge again… no matter how much they may appear like they’re trying to hide something.” She paused briefly once again as her lips curled upward into an anxious smile just long enough for him to see the anxiety inside of her eyes disappear before she continued, “I know you probably want to say something right now—and maybe even ask a couple questions—but if I allow you to do so, we’ll never make it there safely without attracting unwanted attention: So please, just go along with this one time. Okay…?”
He nodded quickly in response while looking around slowly through half-closed eyes in order to find a large fallen tree trunk nearby. When he located one he immediately set his sights on the tree and began walking slowly toward the very spot he was hoping to use for shelter later tonight when he realized the way ahead of him suddenly vanished almost instantly: There wasn’t anything at all left behind where the path used to continue past the massive boulder that had been standing near their backs only moments earlier.
“Oh come on! That’s ridiculous!” He finally complained loudly as he stopped abruptly after realizing that they’d completely lost any sense of direction; however, Karen had already started heading farther northward off the beaten trail.
“We won’t need these anymore anyway after we get closer to The Lodge…” she replied quietly after glancing back over her shoulder briefly. Then she added more quietly, “Just try your best to stay close enough that you can feel me reaching out for you every now and then whenever I stop moving: We have to walk all the way around this clearing before going into the woods again so don’t wander too far away from me once we reach the trees.”
Bobby let out another deep breath before replying: “You were watching us from above just like before weren’t you? Was there some reason for why you did that? You’re making it sound like someone or something might be following us—so is it really safe for us to be walking together like this?”
She turned her head slightly toward him for a brief moment as she glanced up toward a cluster of branches high overhead where several of them appeared to be waving gently in the air as though they wanted to catch a glimpse of what was happening just beyond her shoulders. However, she didn’t seem to notice anything unusual in the area, which made Bobby think they probably hadn’t been watched by anyone other than themselves.
“Yes,” She answered softly: “…But not everyone who works here wants to keep an eye on both of us at all times: Some of them prefer keeping track of each of us individually. So we must make sure that no one catches sight of the person or persons trying hard to remain hidden while they move around the same way we are now, but much closer… I’ll know exactly how far apart we should begin getting once we see Alvaro’s mother standing next to him inside the building while looking directly at us with her own eyes for about two seconds after we’ve entered and approached her carefully without saying a single word until then.”