The Forest

Stop! I mentally yelled at myself, my fight-or-flight response forcing my body to a jerking halt.

I searched the darkness.

What am I even looking for?

Goddammit.

Breathe, I remind myself, as air enters in short, painful gasps.

It burns as it fills my lungs. The scent of old leaves, musky soil, and the sour tinge of death floods me. My body trembles in fear. Shivers race along my skin—constant reminders that I’m being hunted.

The forest is silent.

But somehow, it feels like it’s begging. Begging for blood. For the taste of flesh.

A light mist curls in the moonlight that manages to slip between the tree branches.

And there—

Not far from me, I see him.

He’s hiding too, his eyes wide with the same terror I feel inside.

His soft whimper echoes across the eerie stillness of the forest.

Hush.

I signal him, praying he sees me through the thick dark.

Then we hear it—

A snap.

So soft that no one would notice it... unless they were as alert, as desperate, as we are.

My heartbeat pounds in my ears—so loud, I swear it can hear it.

Smell it.

Smell me.

I dig my nails into my palms, trying to ground myself. I shake my head at him—Don’t run.

But he doesn’t listen.

He runs.

He runs straight into it.

The grotesque figure looms over him, its clicking noise piercing the sky like glass breaking inside your skull.

Beady, hollow eyes lock onto him, promising death.

Tentacles reach out—slowly. Oh, so slowly, they begin to wrap around his body.

It reeks of rot and decay.

The scream never comes.

Its tongue slithers down his throat, gorging itself on his insides.

My vision blurs as tears stream down my cheeks, silent and helpless.

Now. Run.

My muscles burn from exhaustion, but I force my legs to keep moving.

A slope—

Then a creek—

I fall.

Pain screams through me, but I push it aside. I force myself up.

I turn.

Fin.