The wind didn’t feel as strong as it looked—or maybe Emily had just gotten used to it. She turned toward the trees as they shook violently, answering her question for her. She sighed. When would I stop looking for people in the trees?
“It’s just the wind,” she whisper-laughed to herself.
She had been doing this for as long as she could remember, though she didn’t understand why. Maybe it was all those books she read when she was young, planting seeds of imagination that now refused to leave. She barely remembered any of them, yet their influence lingered. When the trees thrashed around again, she tsked under her breath.
“I won’t look,” she muttered, wrapping her arms tightly around herself.
A breeze teased her skin, and she shivered, pulling her scarf closer in a futile attempt to preserve warmth. The fragile material felt useless against the cold’s persistent grasp.
“Join us!” Bea called from the water, her voice carrying over the short distance between them.
Emily shook her head in self-reproach. How could I let Bea talk me into coming here?
Bea, standing waist-deep in the lukewarm water, smiled softly at her friend. She knew Emily couldn’t swim and wouldn’t jump in, but she also knew that leaving Em alone at the apartment after such a dreary week wasn’t an option. So, Bea insisted. Emily had relented in the end, but now she sat hunched on a bench, shrinking from the breeze like it was her mortal enemy.
“At least dip your legs in, Em,” Bea called again.
Emily shook her head more resolutely this time. Before Bea could protest further, Emily stood abruptly, declaring, “I’m going for a walk.”
Bea scowled. “It’ll be fun, I promise!”
Emily smiled, cutting off the argument. “And I’ll be fine.” She turned and began walking away.
“If I scream, come running,” she called over her shoulder, her tone half-playful, half-serious.
“We won’t!” Janice shouted back, and Emily smirked. At least they heard her.
She wasn’t entirely sure about Janice’s reply, though. They weren’t close friends, and while Janice had her moments, the odd smile she sent Emily’s way before she entered the forest stirred a flicker of doubt. Shaking her head, Emily dismissed the thought, focusing instead on the greenery surrounding her.
The trees danced wildly in the wind, and she found herself smiling at the notion of tiny people hiding among the branches. The trail beneath her feet was clear, almost unnaturally so. Of course, it’s manmade, she reminded herself. How else would we have accessed the beach?
The farther she ventured, the colder it grew. The trees towered above her, so tall they seemed to brush the sun. Behind her, the sunlight still kissed the edge of the trail, but it felt impossibly distant.
Emily couldn’t deny the real reason she had entered the forest. It wasn’t just to avoid Bea. She needed to confront her fear—to prove to herself that they weren’t real. She had done well staying away from this place for over a decade.
What is it now? Twelve years?
And yet, here she was, throwing years of caution to the wind because her friend had said, “Please.”
The trees suddenly whipped into a frenzy, the wind roaring around her. Emily startled but quickly brushed it off.
“Stupid wind,” she muttered, pulling her scarf tighter and trudging forward.
“I don’t think it’s the wind that’s stupid,” a voice murmured.
Emily’s heart stopped. She lost her footing, sinking to the ground as her eyes darted from tree to tree, searching for the source of the voice. Minutes passed, the silence broken only by rustling leaves and bird calls. Slowly, Emily started to laugh, tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m leaving now,” she declared shakily, forcing herself to stand.
“This place is as creepy as it was back then,” she whispered, hoping the forest wouldn’t reply again.
She quickened her pace, but the feeling of being watched gnawed at her. Her unease grew until it morphed into panic. She broke into a run, heart pounding as she pushed forward, desperate to find the light at the edge of the forest.
But the trail ahead remained dark.
You walked in a straight line. How could you be lost?
Tears blurred her vision as the trees seemed to swirl around her. She stumbled and collapsed, sobbing into the ground.
“No. No. No!” she wailed.
Something brushed against her lips, and she froze. The realization hit her slowly—it was a hand, painted with streaks of blue and white. Her eyes widened in terror.
It wasn’t a dream.
She tried to see her captor, but a gruff voice cut through her fear. “Keep your face straight!”
She complied, trembling, knowing she was at their mercy. Darkness swallowed her as consciousness slipped away. She hadn’t even felt the tranquilizer.
How…?
But the question could wait.
Her thoughts dissolved into nothingness.
