As I left Allison in the bungalow, confident that she would be safe for the time being, trusting my inner alarm system - and my own gut feeling - I paused just outside the door.
As rain battered me, I decided to change plans, at least for the time being.
Instead of talking to Tara, I hung a right and headed back into the forest, and found a side trail that I had seen from high above the night before. The trail, wide at first, soon narrowed considerably. I didn't know much about forests or hiking or even trails, but I figured this to be a game trail.
I continued on, pushing through massive ferns that seemed almost prehistoric. Thorny blackberry bushes were in abundance as well, all filled with juicy berries that probably tasted heavenly. The trail angled up, as I knew it would.
Stinging nettles snagged my jeans as I carefully stepped over fat banana slugs - and even the occasional toadstool. I marveled at the mushrooms that clung to moist tree trunks. Nature at its weirdest.
Water dripped seemingly everywhere.
Lightning suddenly flashed above, zigzagging through the treetops, followed by an angry grumbling of thunder.