22 - The Forest

All this month I tried to avoid the woods that separate my suburbs from my new high school. At first I tried not focus on it as it seemed a little eerie. But after waking up late on chilly Friday morning I decided I would rather take my chances in the woods than get another detention. Approaching the woods, my eyes first darted towards a couple signs saying “KEEP OUT” or  “DANGER”. At first I didn’t think much of it as halloween was approaching and teenagers put them up to keep people away from the woods as they got strung out on whatever was the craze this year. Taking a deep breath I took my first step into what seemed like a meager diversion. At first it seemed like a pleasant walk with the October sun gently shining through the trees reflecting brightly off the multicolored leaves. It seemed like a pleasant place and I began to wonder why I ever felt uneasy about it. Eventually after walking around for what seemed like 30 minutes I soon realized I was lost. Despite this I kept walking and as I continued the sky grew darker and crickets began to chirp as if it was late. Finding a trail I soon came across a pale man staring blankly down the road. I approached him just as his vacuous, soulless eyes turned to mine. I proceeded to ask him the way out, but nothing. Not a word. He just kept staring. Eventually he turned his back and began walking down the path I had just came from. Confused, I kept walking for a little while longer until I finally decided to stop and take a rest. Sitting down I noticed a foul odor coming from somewhere around me. Looking around I soon stumbled upon the deformed, motionless corpse of the man I just saw. Terrified I began to panic. I began to freak out and just wanted to get out of this place. After a few minutes of hyperventilation and freaking out, I would have been better if I hadn’t felt something breathing heavily right behind me. Without thinking I ran. Shouting for help between each breath. That is when I made the worst mistake of my life. I turned to see what was chasing me. Running behind me was a pale, deformed, four legged creature chasing after me. Disgusted at what I just saw I turned around just as I ran into something rock hard. After a while I suddenly stood up only to find myself in a hospital bed. Glancing around the room the only thing that stood out was the date. November 17th. Exactly one month since I entered the forest. After that I decided to never go back into that forest but occasionally I still see a deformed silhouette fade walk around the edge of the forest and then fade beckoning me to come back.