We made our way across the street, towards the spot in the woods from which the glow was emanating most strongly. It was dizzying—the sharp changes in color across the spectrum of the rainbow—but somehow serene.

Once we got amongst the trees, Marie and I started to move as silently as we could, doing our best to use the trunks to cover our advance—but from what, we didn’t know.

“Remember that time we went hiking,” Marie whispered towards me. “And we saw that bear.”

“Yup,” I whispered back, breaking into my best Elmer Fudd. “Must be veewwy qwwwiiiettt.”

“Hopefully this is just a rabbit, then,” she said, and we grinned that old grin to each other again.

We passed from tree to tree, each step forward increasing the intensity of the light.

“Do you feel it getting warmer?” Marie asked me.

I nodded. “Fucking weird.”

I started fumbling to undo the buttons of my coat. Marie grabbed my arm and pulled me back behind a tree.

“Are you watching where you’re going?” she was doing her best scream-whisper. “Jesus Christ.”

I poked my head around the trunk. A few paces away was the source of the glowing light: a split in the ground that ran through the middle of a small clearing. Around the hole stood six figures, all wearing black, hooded cloaks. I could hear them chanting something, but I couldn’t make out what it was.

“What should we do?” Marie asked me.