Page 81 of The Woods

In the split second before the thing connects with her body, before it passes through her, filling her nose with the stench of wet earth, rotting leaves, and sulfur, and filling her mouth with the taste of soil, before knocking her back over the log and onto the ground, she hears her own scream echo through the woods.

Quinn

Polly arrived home an hour ago, but his mom is still out there. He texted her, but it came back undelivered. He’s trying not to freak out. Seems that everyone who goes into the woods comes out eventually. He’s just not sure what they come out as. From a distance, he thought it was Polly who emerged from the trees, soaked right through but seemingly unharmed, even with a smile on her face.

He was wrong.

“Hey little man,” she’d said when he stepped out on the back deck to greet her. As if nothing had happened. As if she hadn’t been in her room for days sleeping and crying, having a nervous breakdown.

“You’ve been gone for hours!” Quinn exclaimed. “What the fuck were you doing out there?”

Looking confused, she pulled out her phone to check the time. “Oh my God,” he heard her say under her breath. “I didn’t even realize I’d been gone that long. It felt like half an hour, tops.”

“What were you doing in there?” he asked, circling her as surreptitiously as possible. Looking for signs of a change.

She shrugged. “Walking?”

“Is that a question, or is that what you were doing?”

She put a hand to her forehead. It had a streak of dirt across it but the rest of her was pristine. “Honestly, I don’t really remember anything other than coming out of the woods right now and seeing you at the window.”

“Mom went in there looking for you.”

Polly glanced back at the woods as though she’d forgotten they were there. “She’ll be fine,” she answered. “There’s nothing in there that will hurt you.”

“You sure about that?” Quinn said, cocking his head to the side. “Did you forget the night of the séance when the ghosts of Justine Gordon’s family came out to play? Her murder victims. Murders that she blames on those woods.”

Polly dismisses him with a wave of her hand. “That night was such bullshit. Don’t even give it a second thought. I’m sure Sierra orchestrated the whole thing.” She started toward the back door. “Is dinner ready? I’m starving.”

He stayed out on the back deck for a few minutes, hoping it was his mom he’d see next coming out of the trees, but there was only darkness. Back inside he found his dad, nana, and sister laughing about something. They all turned when he came back into the room.

“Polly tells us that you think there’s something scary in the woods,” his dad said. Quinn gave a half shrug in response. “There’s nothing out there that can hurt you, bud. I promise.”

“Whatever,” Quinn said. Hating the way everyone was looking at him.

“The sooner this family embraces those woods and sees them for the blessing they are, the happier we’ll all be,” his nana suddenly said with so much enthusiasm it reminded him of a pulpit preacher.

“Seriously, Quinn,” Polly chimed in. “I swear you have nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m going to my room,” he said.

“But dinner’s ready,” his dad called after him.

“I’m not hungry,” he replied without turning back. When he got to his room he locked the door behind him.

He pulled out his phone to check for his mom’s location again, but it still said unavailable. He tried calling her, but it went straight to voicemail. Then he got out his computer and started deep-diving into human possession, demons in the woods, anything he could think of to try to figure out what the hell kept happening to his family members when they went into those woods. Terrified that his mom would be next, and he’d be the only one left, he was starting to understand why Justine Gordon killed her own family.

He does his best to ignore the talking and laughing coming from the kitchen while his dad, nana, and sister eat dinner together, acting as though his mom wasn’t out there, alone in the dark. He also tries to ignore the rumbling of his empty stomach and the smell of the food that his dad made. He’s debating whether to sneak out the front door and go to his friend Jason’s when Panda starts barking at the window.

Quinn jumps up. It could be his mom. He unlocks his bedroom door and goes out to the kitchen with Panda right on his heels. Nobody asks what he’s doing when he pulls on his shoes and opens the back door. It’s colder now; he can see his breath. The rain has stopped, but it feels like it could snow at any moment.

“Mom?” he calls out at the edge of the woods. Panda barks in response and he snaps at her to be quiet.

“Quinn?” His mom’s voice reaches him from beyond the trees. “I’m hurt.”

“Where are you?” Quinn calls back.

“Not far from the path, but I’ve twisted my ankle and can’t walk anymore. I need your help.”