Glamoured: A Modern Fairy Tale

1: A Girl Walks Into The Woods...

Eleanor leaned into the bushes and threw up her granola snack. She hadn't intended to lose her lunch today, but she hadn't expected to find a dead body, either.

The day started normal enough. Eleanor put down her book and stared up at the ceiling fan, the restlessness of sitting in her bedroom all day finally getting to her. She loved her new corner bedroom—it had the most windows and light in the house. It was the only thing she liked about this new house. She hated the small lawn and gave zero shits about how close to the community college their new house was. It wasn't home, but her room here was bigger. It was her mom's ploy, a last ditch attempt to make up for letting Nana sell their real home. Eleanor didn't understand why they just couldn't keep living out on the farm; she missed the old oak that she knew a million ways to climb and the pond where she loved to ice skate in the winter. They were the first two things she saw every morning from her bedroom window, and now, she kept the blinds drawn all day because she didn't want to see the stupid, little trees and the neighbors houses, which felt like they were boxing her in, caging her in this new house that was entirely too manicured for her tastes.

She got up and threw her camera into her backpack. To hell with sitting around here, she thought. She slipped on a fleece jacket, her trail runners, filled her water bottle, and swiped the keys to her Tracker off her desk.

She pulled out of the little, paved drive, which felt like cheating to her. Their old driveway had been a dirt road that was a quarter mile long. Her friends who lived in town always had trouble getting their automatic cars up and down the first, steep hill, but it never gave her Tracker any problems. Grandpa taught her how to drive stick and bought her the used Tracker for her birthday several years ago. No back road was too hairy for it.

Eleanor didn't go into the little New England town of Guilliford, but shifted the car into gear and headed half an hour outside of town on the state highway. Pinnacle Rock loomed in the distance, its jagged, multi-colored sandstone face visible right before she took the exit. It made her smile, and on a crisp, clear fall day, the foliage gave it an extra pop of color.

She parked at the nature preserve because she could take the trails from there into the state park and not have to pay the entrance fee. It was a little cheap, yes, but it was off season now, and she wanted to walk around and take some pictures. No harm, no foul.

There weren't a lot of people around, and she nodded as she passed two women running down the road. She ate the two fateful granola bars while on the blue blazed trail, which led to the crest of Pinnacle Rock. The oaks were so golden Midas himself would've been jealous, and Eleanor stood underneath the trees and snapped pictures of the leaves shining with their own photosynthetic light. She meandered to the top of Pinnacle Rock, taking her time and utilizing the October day for all it was worth.

The green blazed ridgeline trail ran several miles along the rim of Pinnacle Rock. The blue blazed trail bisected it, and Eleanor took the left side, which took her to the main lookout point, which was open to cars in the summer. The roads were closed now, so it was blessedly silent on the trail. So quiet that the noise of a dozen screeching crows should've tipped her off. She saw them circling, which got her attention, so she stepped off trail to investigate.

She smelled it before she saw it. The stench of rotten meat and innards made her gag, and when she looked down into the little hollow and saw the body, she threw up. She had her cell phone with her, and after getting to the lookout point, where she had reception, she called the police.

That's how she ended up sitting across from Police Chief Tim Higgins, who waited for her to finish taking a drink of water.

"These roads are closed," he muttered. "But however that poor bastard got here, no one tried to hide the body."