Dark

The trees moan against the harsh winds, leaves dancing by us. “I don’t like this.” Elise grabs her flashlight tighter, “Oh come on Elli! Don’t be a wimp.” Shanay teases her. “You know she’s not the only one who’s not loving this idea.” My eyes send daggers her way as I speak, “You guys can’t be serious! These woods are ancient, no one has ever actually been killed in these woods. They would’ve found a body.” Shanay defends. “Are you high?! Just because no one finds a body doesn’t mean that they’re not dead!” I throw my hands up in the air.

“Look, it’s simple, we tie our strings to the street sign, we go in for an hour. Catch some spooky footage and then we go home. Simple.” I can see Elise shaking under the moon’s light, she never was a fan of anything to do with the paranormal. “I can’t believe we let you talk us into this.” I grumble, “Oh please, does it kill you guys to be a little deranged once in a while? Or, are you always this scared?” She challenges, I stare back at her, her eyebrow arched.

“One hour. And then we’re leaving.” I’m strict with my words, “And no, splitting up.” I stab my finger into her chest. “Fine.” Shanay whines, twigs crumble and snap under our feet. Elise grabs my hand, looking around frantically. We shine our flashlights back and forth, scaring off birds or small critters. But nothing out of the ordinary for creepy woods, “Hey guys, check this out.” Shanay holds up a small shoe, it’s battered with holes and covered in dirt. “That’s a kid’s shoe.” Elise’s voice ripples with fear.

“Why the hell is there a kid’s shoe in the middle of the woods?” I hiss, “I don’t know, but I bet if we keep going we’ll find more. Shanay’s smile is demonic under the moon, but we keep moving forward. Shanay crouches down to the ground, “What is it?” I question. “Not sure, some odd print, Ellie, you’re good at tracks right?” Shanay looks back at us and shoots up from her spot on the ground. “Ellie?” I turn around, there’s nothing but forest. I hadn’t even realized she had let go of my hand, “Elise?!” I call out.

There’s a scream, it rips my ears apart. “ELLIE!” Shanay takes off into the sea of branches, “Shanay!” I follow after her. She stops abruptly, looking down at the ground. A light blue piece of yarn is woven in between fallen leaves. “This is where that scream came from. I know it.” Shanay insists, we both begin to look around for any sign of Elise. Something warm and thick drops on my forehead, then again, and a third time. I place my hand to my forehead, a line of crimson decorates my palm. 

I look up hesitantly, I fall to the ground, a scream slicing my throat. Elise’s body hangs from the trees, a branch cuts through her stomach. Blood running down to her feet and painting leaves below her, the vines wrapped around her ache and moan against her weight as she sways. Black hair sticks to her face, and her once tone skin is pale and purple. Like she had been there for hours, cat-like scratches sit on her skin like a garnish. Her eyes whited over, staring down at me.

Shanay drops to the ground, a Waverly sob slips past, mixing with her scream. “W-We need to leave. Now.” I pull Shanay up and we run back the way we came, but we quickly lose ourselves, “Our rope, where the hell is our rope!” Shanay cries out. I pull on the rope tied to my belt loop, only to find it loose, and barely a foot long. “What do we do?!” Shanay is hysterical. “Run.” We both take off in a random direction, branches scraping at my face. We come to a clearing of the forest, “Oh my god, OH MY GOD!” Shanay tears at her hair. “This is all your fault.” I get angry.

“Oh SURE Blame me.” Shanay fights back, “Oh come on! It was your stupid idea to go into the stupid woods and if it weren’t Ellie wouldn’t be dead.” I shove a finger into her chest. Shanay pushes me back, “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT!” She screams. There’s a warm substance all over my face, Shanay’s mouth hangs open. A pitch-black hook is sticking through her stomach, I cover my mouth.

“Oh my god!!” she falls like a rag doll, it towers over me, like a leaning Jenga game. Nail like fingers come to press themselves to my cheek, “Please…”