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Suddenly, I heard a whisper and whipped my face around in startlement. No one was there, making me nervous, and I quickly left my area to make my way back.
I gasped when a faint blue glow appeared before me, flying around my head. Light laughter from afar floated in the air but the voice sounded small and otherworldly.
A whisper came again and I could have sworn I heard my name. I shook my head, my nervousness growing.Was I losing my mind?Walking away from the area, my heart stopped when I heard my name being called in my father’s voice.
I didn’t know what came over me but I turned and ran toward the sound, wanting to believe in the lie. I knew he wasn’t there, butwhat if he was?What if I could see my father one last time? If it was my mind going insane, then I wanted to thank it for giving me this last gift that I desperately needed—closure.
The light blue glow flickered in and out, appearing at sporadic times with no particular pattern. The cool wind in my face felt like cold slices against my cheek as I followed the hushed voices until I came to an abrupt stop. Before me were dried bones scattered on the ground.
Fear took over.Did these woods house bears or some other creature?I didn’t want to be caught near its den if that was the case. Turning around, I trekked back but suddenly, all of the paths and trees looked different.
“How can this be possible?”
I wasn’t a novice around trails and tracking my way back on one. These trees and that rock wasnothere before.
The flying glow zipped quickly around me and I turned to try and swat it away. It giggled and laughed and my eyes widened.Were these…faeries?
Shaking my head in disbelief, I chose a path and began walking. I knew my sense of direction was pretty good and went on faith that I would find my way back to my aunt who was probably worried by now.
Crossing a fallen log, the sound of a crunch froze me. I slowed my breathing, hoping it was just a random creature in the forest that broke a twig on its walk but I was sorely mistaken when the sound of a loud crunch came again.
“Please don’t let me get eaten on this trip. Please don’t let me get eaten,” I whispered under my breath.
Slowly, I looked over my shoulder. There was nothing there. My heart began to race in fear of the unknown. The little glow now had a companion as it came around again.
“We’ll lead you back home.”
“Yes! Follow us!”
I was stuck between the lesser of two evils because whatever was making that loud crunch was much larger than these two little gnats around my head.
I chose to follow them. They flew so quickly, I had to run to catch up. Jumping over rocks and weaving around trees, I felt like they were taking me in circles until finally, I stopped and let them disappear.
There was no way this was the path back. I softly growled in frustration over the fact that I trusted something I shouldn’t have. Their laughter faded in and out and it churned my gut that they were taking advantage of me.
Crossing my arms to keep my body warm, I slowly walked around the large tree beside me and came to a dead stop in my tracks at the sight before me.
A blood trail laid on the ground right at my feet. My breath stuttered. It looked fresh. When I lifted my head to follow the crimson line, a stooped figure began to distort and stretch, each movement gave way to the crunching of bones as it morphed into a tall humanoid figure that stood up from the top of a mound.
Fen
My breath caughtin my throat as I ran and held in my screams. I didn’t want it to hear me and where I was going. I needed to get out of these woods!
Twisting through the trees, I tried to throw some random rocks in a different direction to distract the thing that was chasing behind me. I left off my trail a few times, but soon enough it was right behind me again on all fours. The sound of broken twigs and rustling of leaves made my feet move faster for fear of my life.
But that wasn’t the only sound that spurred me forth.
Bones clacking against bones with each of its movements sent a chill down my spine because this time, it wasn’t a sound from within but on the outside like armor.
In a streak of ghastly white it leaped at me but I dodged it with a scream, falling to my hands and knees. Scrambling to get back up, I ran again, my heart beating out of my chest.
The ground began ascending uphill, slowing me down but my adrenaline kept me moving despite the pain in my muscles.
A scream lodged in my throat when it landed on top of me, pinning me to the ground on my stomach. I trembled in terror, not wanting to make a sound. The irrational belief that I wouldn’t smell good crossed my mind, hoping it would leave me alone—and alive.
I shut my eyes and silently prayed until something touched my face. When I snapped my lids open, what I saw baffled me. White braids hung before my eyes, fastened by some sort of earthly twine.
The beast growled and began rooting his nose in my curls.
