In the woods, the wind whispers among the trees. The whispers are of different people. Some are whispers of children giggling and loud talking. Some are of women crying and talking quietly. Sometimes men talk but that is rare; they usually keep quiet. Sometimes you can hear the voices of old people telling the horrors that happened in the woods.
I walk silently on the trail in the woods. The wind that is usually chatty was eerily silent. It was strange but I kept walking. I walk deeper and deeper into the woods and the voices in the wind are still silent. Deeper and deeper I go through the woods. Darker and darker the sky becomes. Closer and closer the trees get to me. Smaller and smaller the trail becomes. Stop. Look. Down. The wind says in a hushed tone. It was a quick gust of wind but not strong. I look down at my feet. My eyes widened in shock. The trail is gone.
I look around. I’m surrounded by trees. How did this happen? I-I was sure I was on the trail. How did I lose the trail? Why are they so quiet? What was that?
Remember the rules. Do I remember them? Uhhh there are five, I think. One: Don’t whistle or sing. Two: Never look too hard at the trees. Three: Don’t leave the marked trail. It’s marked for a reason. Crap! I broke rule three. Four: If you hear voices close to you they are far from you. If you hear voices far away from you they are near. There is another one I know there is. But what is it?
Voices of children are asking for help. They sound right behind me. I turn my head quickly. I look around. Was that a person? The figure sprints towards me. The wind comes out of nowhere. It is a strong enough force to almost push me over. Don’t. Move. The wind spoke in a stern shout. I try to pretend I don’t notice the figure quickly approaching. My body was shaking as the figure stood right in front of me. From afar voices of children ask for help once more. The figure stood there. It would move slightly. It knows I saw it. The voices of the children tell me to look but it isn’t there anymore. I look and just as I look the wind shouts: Don’t Look! No! Run!
I run. I go as far as I can. Now it knows I saw it and that I am running from it. Run! Run! Run! Faster! Faster! Faster! My feet ache as I run further and further.
THUMP
I fell. Face first. I couldn’t get up. My legs would not move. They were so sore they were numb. Closer and closer it approached. Faster and faster it ran. Then it lunged at me. It was heavy and cold like it was dead. I couldn’t see the figure, but I knew it wasn’t human. Then something warm was gushing out of my back. There was a sharp pain coursing through my body. I looked up and there they stood. The ghosts whose voices belong to the wind. They whispered how they knew I wouldn’t listen and how I was like every other person they tried to warn. I tried to raise my body up to move but the figure was pressing onto my body hard. I was shaking. Darker and darker my vision grew. Colder and colder my body grew. When I look, I see that the figure looks just like me. Did it copy me? But it was more disfigured.
Rule number five: If you see something, no you didn’t.