Whispers in the Woods: Chapter 1

This story contains dark themes, a long with gun violence and blood.

Part 1: The Day Of

Helina Crawford, January 16, 2009-March 31, 2023. May she rest in peace forever.

:

As I was staring at the ugly rock, I had more questions than answers. Why was she dead? How was she dead? What did she do to receive this fate? Still, I had no answer. Helina couldn't answer the questions, and what bothered me was that she was the only one who could.

;

Mom and Dad argued in the car. I had my eyes closed, trying to forget everything because I felt like my whole life had been swept away by the wind. My best friend was dead, so what else could I do? I guess my parents thought I was asleep.

“Don’t you dare!” Mom whisper-yelled.

Dad stared forward into the night, saying quietly “She can’t just wallow in her sadness. She has to move on.”

Mom fired back angrily, saying "Well, how would you feel if your best friend died?"

"I would move on!" Dad said, a little too loud for Mom's liking.

“Shhh! Do you want to wake her up?!” Dad rolled his eyes and continued driving as Mom whispered angrily into his ear.

I stared at my window as city lights passed. Passed. That’s what mom said when she got off that freaking phone call.

“Sweetie, um, something’s happened.”

“What is it, Mom?”

“Um, well, Helina has…passed.”

I remember just kinda staring at her. It took me a second to realize what she was saying. Then it hit me. Helina’s dead.

Nobody knew what happened to her. She was missing for a few days; she never came home after school. Her parents looked up and down. They said, almost feverishly, "We'll find her". But everyone, even me, knew they were lying.

It was when an old farmer found her dead in his field that everyone got scared. It wasn’t the very hopeful parents of Helina that sent people home, grasping their children like they could disappear into thin air; it was the thought that someone could and would and did kill a 14 year old.

That was the reason everyone in town got investigated. That was the reason the farmer went to court and was found guilty. That was the reason for the funeral. And, lastly, that was the reason for the events that followed.

:

Part 2: Monday

Mom let me stay home from school on Monday. She knew I was grieving. While she binge-watched shows on the TV, I sat in my room. At first, I slept for a while. I kind of moped, too, almost wishing for my phone to light up with a text from her, but it never happened.

Eventually, I laid back down again. I was half asleep when I heard something.

Ha, you can't catch me!

Did I dream it? I thought to myself.

Come get me!

It sounded like laughing.

Helina’s laughing.

I got off my bed and walked to my window. It overlooked Lamton Woods, the huge forest surrounding Lemon Lake. Me and Helina used to play there. We would explore the bushes and climb the trees, all the while making up games and telling stories. We hadn't been there in months, or, at least, I hadn't..

As I looked through my window, something caught my eye. A girl with brown hair in a ponytail stood outside the woods. She was wearing a pink hoodie and blue jeans. With a breath, she stepped into the group of giant trees, which seemed to swallow her whole.

Helina.

I ran down the stairs. Throwing on my hoodie, I shouted “Going to the gas station!” Mom did a small grunt, her speckled with stray pieces of mayo from her sandwich.

She eats when she's sad.

I rushed out the door and behind the house, but I wasn’t fast enough. She was gone.

I sighed. I was about to walk away, tired and not wanting to get my hopes up, but I heard a voice.

“Evie! Come on!”

Evie. Only one person called me Evie. Can you guess who that is?

Helina.

That was when I spotted it. A bag of chips was on the ground. It was Helina’s favorite: sour cream and onion, gross. I walked up to it and I noticed that there was a line of chips leading into the woods. That was when I followed it.

:

I trampled through the grass and pushed back ferns. My shoes crunched on the onion potato chips that were sprinkled on the forest floor. Rain fell on my shoulders. It didn’t matter, in that moment, that rain was pelting my head. I just needed to find Helina.

I had been running for what felt like forever when I came across a…well, I wasn’t really sure what it was. But, I found a green chip bag, sitting trampled on the floor.

The chips stopped and soggy blankets and pillows laid in the grass. I walked around. It was a small clearing. It looked familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it. I circled it like a vulture for a while, until I spotted something.

Blood. It was sprinkled on the ground and on top of a colorful book.

I picked up the book. Swiping away the blood, I read the title. “Gargoyles and other Monsters: Upside-down Fairy tales”. Despite the strange appearance of blood, I smiled. I hadn’t read this book in a while. But, I heard a noise. It sounded like a gun being loaded.

I threw the book down and started running. But, before I could get too far, a girl appeared in front of me. She looked like the girl I saw earlier. She was running toward me. I felt strange. I watched her. She ran through me and slowed as she got to the campsite. I watched as she walked toward the book and picked it up, opening it and smiling. The blood that had been on the book was gone.

Then, a random person showed up. They walked out from the trees. They were wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. Who was this person? They walked closer and closer to the girl. She didn’t notice him, though. She just kept staring at the book.

Suddenly, the man pulled out a gun. He pointed it at her and pushed the hammer back. She turned at the sound, the small click. My first thought was to run, but then I thought about the girl. “Run!” I yelled. The girl turned around and looked at me. She said “Evelyn?” but it was too late. The person fired the shot and the girl fell to the ground. I held my breath as the person grabbed her feet and dragged her into the trees. The book fell out of her limp hands and right into the spot I had first found it. I walked over to it. The splatter of blood was back on the cover. Breathing heavily, I turned around and I went back to the house. My mom didn’t even notice the little bit of blood on my jacket.

;

The boy paced his room. He wasn't sure why he had done it, but now Farmer Jones was going to jail.

When he glanced down, the guy saw the black hoodie. You could barely see the red stain splattered across. His mom hadn't even washed the hoodie, and he was glad. If she saw the stain, he would be in big trouble.

A knock. The boy panicked and dived onto his bed, grabbing his phone and starting to scroll. His mom walked in and said "Hey honey, just coming to get the laundry." She grabbed the pile, a little blood from the jacket smearing on her t-shirt.