Short Horror Story. Screaming Trees.
WARNING: Gore, horror, body horror, bad language.
When I was little my older sibling use to scare me, saying our woods had a monster that lurked in the woods waiting for me to come into the woods during the night. And if caught me I wouldn't be coming home. I love to explore, disappearing for hours during the day, so it was a way to keep me from going out at night and possibly doing something stupid. But that big sibling's teasing scare inspired this story. Originally it was a script but I revised it into a short story.
A small one story house with faded white panelling, a brown wooden door and a dark roof. The front of the house has a driveway with a red beat up car, a grassy yard, a little garden and a tall tree with swaying branches.
Just inside is chaos, a small dirty kitchen with dirty dishes piled in the sink. A pot on the stove is boiling over with water. A petite woman rushes in, taking the pot off the stove and setting it aside. She drains the water in the sink and begins to serve lunch. A frustrated yell comes from another room in the house. The woman spills some apple sauce on her waitress uniform and name tag. She sighs wiping off the mess, her name tag reads, "Aliza". She looks young yet aged with stress, her black hair up in a messy bun and makeup that barely covers the bags under her sky blue eyes.
While Aliza sets one plate of lunch on the table, the news plays on a tiny TV. “Once again another person goes missing in our little town of Rockshel. Investigators are on the case. However, the chief of police highly advises everyone to go home before nightfall, travel in pairs and tell others of your whereabouts.” The man dressed in a nice suit in front of a blue screen says on the tv. “In other news this weekend is the Blooming Festival. Saturday and Sunday our local vendor and community-” Aliza turns off the tv moving around the kitchen in a rush.
"Evan, lunch is ready!" She calls out loudly.
After a few seconds a boy with chubby cheeks, blue eyes, black messy hair, a spaceship t-shirt and gym shorts enters the kitchen staring at a DS. He sits at the table without paying much attention.
Aliza pours him a glass of water with his spaghetti and apple sauce. Evans leans forward DS in one hand, grabbing the fork with the other as he starts shoving saucy noodles in his mouth.
Aliza sighs, shaking her head. "Sweetie. I got a call from your teacher this morning."
Evan says nothing and shoves more food into his mouth.
She waits a few moments but still gets no response, she plops down on the empty chair across from him. "You said you would do better."
"It wasn't that bad though, she was just over reacting." Evan rolls his eyes and groans
"You destroyed the school's garden, took the plants, clogged all the boy's toilets and flooded the first floor!" Aliza leans forward with strained frustration.
Evan snickers looking away from his mother.
"Evan! This is not funny." Her tone is firm.
"A little bit funny." He mumbles.
Aliza rubs her forehead letting out a heavy sigh. "What am I doing wrong?" She is quiet for a few moments, Evan peeks over seeing her wipe her face, wiping away a few tears then quickly looks back at his DS. "If you keep this up you're going to be expelled. We're lucky I managed to convince your principal to keep you enrolled."
"Whatever." Evan mumbles looking away.
"Evan, you are ten. You are old enough to be aware that your actions hurt others.” Aliza stands up. “I’ve given you too many chances so…” She pauses with an uncertain expression then sighs. “This weekend you are going to clean the school’s cafeteria."
"What?!” Evan shouts angry and flabbergasted.
"And…I'm taking your DS privileges away for a month."
Evan screams angry and stomps his foot on the tile, he shoves his plate of food across the table, it falls off and splats spaghetti down on the floor. "I hate you! You don't even care about me!"
Aliza tenses like his words hurt her physically and blinks her glossy eyes. "Sweetie, I do care. I'm just trying to make sure you have a good future." she frowns, her hand grips her shirt.
"I don't care about my future! I hate you!"
"I love you. I’m sad you hate me. I’m try-"
An alarm goes off startling Aliza.
"Oh! Oh no, I'm going to be late for work!" Aliza gets up and runs around the room grabbing her keys, purse and phone. She stops by Evan's side pausing.
"I know things have been hard on you lately, I’m doing my best to be both parents. I’m sorry… I'm trying my best, I know you can too. I love you very, very much." Her voice wavers.
Aliza leans in to kiss Evan's cheek but he turns away in a huff. She blinks her glossy eyes and kisses the top of his head.
"I'm closing again so I'll be home late, dinner is in the fridge. Text me if you go anywhere after school. And please be home before sunset.” She sighs giving a soft smile. “Things will get better, we just need time and trust in each other."
Evan's back is to her but he nods.
Aliza smiles. "Bye sweetie, I love you."
She turns and runs out the door.
Silence settles in the grimy kitchen apart from the soft tick of the clock on the wall. Evan turns to the table looking at the empty chair across him. After a moment he huffs through his nose and gets up, grabs paper towels and cleans up his mess throwing it in the trash. Gripping the dirty plate he goes to the sink and does a few dishes.
Later that day, after a boring school session, lectures and a few pranks Evan goes off on an adventure. On the outskirts of the small town, by the thick forest and flowing river Evan is skipping rocks with two other boys.
One of the boys skips a rock five times.
"Oh nice Jake! Come on Rin you can beat that can't you?" Evan smirks.
"Yeah Rin try to beat me!" Jake laughs.
Jake stands cocky on the river bank, he's a stockier boy with a smug confidence. He nudges Rin a short skinny boy, with a bit too much energy. He stumbles, messes up his skipping making the rock plop into the water. “Jake!” he glares up at Jake who shrugs laughing.
Evan chuckles at his friends then pauses looking down at his reflection in the water. He grits his teeth and picks up a large rock and throws it into the creek with a splash."RAAAHHHH!"
Everything goes quiet for a few beats. "Why are you mad this time Ev?" Rin asks then punches Jake in the shoulder.
"My mom got another call from our teacher."
"Are you finally expelled?" Rin laughs
"No." Evan rolls his eyes.
"Cause your mom saved your ass?" Jake rubs his shoulder
"Mad at her boyfriend?" Rin teases skipping another rock only twice.
"Mr. Davidson right, the art teacher." Jake snickers
Evan groans frowning annoyed.
"Hey if you and Mr. Davidson get cool, we could get away with a lot at school!"
"Whatever man." Rin elbows Evan who looks annoyed and elbows back but Rin dodges sticking out his tongue.
"Oh fuck, it's getting pretty late, I should head home." Jake drops the rock in his hand before turning away.
Rin looks up at the sky. "Me too."
The sun begins to set Rin and Jake grab their bags and begin to head back towards the neighborhood.
Jake turns back to Evan. "Aren't you coming? You know what all the adults say about staying out after sunset."
"Sun goes down...you're definitely...gonna…uh get grounded." Unsure Rin scratches his head.
"Dumbass. It's about the news and all those missing people. I ain’t interested in getting murdered. So I'm out." Jake rolls his eyes.
Rin shrugs as the two boys begin to walk away again.
Evan frowns and panics a little, he quickly says, "It's not night yet though, besides I have something cool to show you guys!"
The two boys stop, Rin turns around smiling as Jake looks over his shoulder with a sly smile.
A relieved wide grin spreads across Evan’s face as he guides his friends into the woods, finding a big rock he marked and picks up an old wooden axe behind it. He holds it up posing.
"Yeeeah! Chop stuff!" Rin screams.
Jake laughs, "Hell yeah! Now show me what you got!"
"Follow me!" Evan puffs out his chest.
Then leads them down a dirt path through a field, over a small creek to a camouflage tarp draped over something big underneath.
Evan pulls back a camouflaged tarp to reveal a red oil canister sitting on top of an old stump, with sticks in the stump’s sappy decaying holes, soda cans on top and mud smeared on the oil canister looking like an angry face. Like a wood and trash snowman.
Evan lifts the axe high in the air and slams it into the trash-woodman, not doing much damage. A crushed soda can on top falls to the leaves. Evan picks up the can, throws it into the air and swings the axe at it, missing it. Rin and Jake laugh at him. Evan huffs blushing embarrassed.
Rin and Jake both yell, "I'm next!"
Evan hands the axe to Jake who steps away from the trash man. He takes a running start, jumps and chops down, cutting into the gas canister. Oil spills out.
The boys hold their noses.
"You broke it!" Evan shoves Jake.
"Great job Jake, I didn't even get a turn!" Rin whines.
The colorful oil pools on the dirt.
"Oh that stuff looks really cool in water!" Excitingly proclaims Evan.
Evan grabs the chopped canister still leaking oil and jogs to a nearby creek with the other two boys right behind. The three boys stand on the edge of a clear creak. Little fish swim around in the deeper parts.
"Does it really look cool?" Rin asks skeptically.
"Yeah!" Evan throws the canister into the creek without hesitation. The oil flows out into the water, quickly spreading.
The oil reflects multiple swirling colors. The fish swim quickly away.
Evan turns and grabs the axe out of Jake's hands, jogging a few feet away.
The three boys play with the axe swinging it at anything and everything, trees, flowers, plants, trash, rocks and the ground. While they play they slowly travel deeper and deeper into the woods.
The boys approach a huge, tall tree. It must have lived undisturbed for decades. Evan raises the axe and slams it into the side of the tree over and over again, the other boys laugh asking for turns. Sticky dark liquid seeps down the tree’s side from each chop.
"Wait, it's getting dark, we have to go back or we'll be lost." Looking up at the sky Jake notes.
"But, we're already lost. Aren't we?" Rin shrugs.
"No way. We'll just go back the way we came."
The boys turn around walking back, they follow the cut sappy marks on the trees.
Rin laughs. "Have you guys heard of the Wood Lurker?"
"What is this a cliche campfire horror story?" Jake rolls his eyes.
"Does he kill people with axes?" Evan chuckles.
"Evan you haven't heard of it?” Rin asks in disbelief.
"Oh that's right, he's his momma's little baby!" Jake squeezes Evan’s cheek while laughing.
Evan punches Jake in the side. "Shut the fuck up. Like you're any different, you still can't ride a bike."
Jake and Evan glare at each other.
"Well I'm going to tell the story because it's fun and I'm bored of walking and I'm going crazy hearing you guys talk." Rin groans.
"Yeah cool." Jake scoffs, turning away from Evan.
"Well, um. There's this really creepy guy that lives in the woods."
"He lurks in the woods?" Evan chuckles.
"Ha yeah. He turns people into trees."
"Yeah it’s like irony or something. You hurt plants and trees and nature and the Wood Lurker turns you into a tree!" Rin says in a low voice trying to sound creepy.
"So basically stinky, money guzzling, fat guys." Adds Jake.
"Well yes but, no. But also anyone. He will chase you down, catch you and turn you into a tree if you've been a jerk to nature and stuff."
"We've been chopping trees. So are we going to be trees?" Jake smirks.
The three boys look at each other then burst into laughter.
"That's a stupid story." Evan playfully slaps Rin’s back.
After a few minutes of walking the sun is lower down getting harder to see, Evan takes out his phone using it as a flashlight.
Then the boys come across a huge, tall tree.
"That's the same tree." Jake squints his eyes.
"What no it's not Jake! There are big trees everywhere." Evan frowns in annoyance.
"Guys, it is." Rin says, stepping closer to the tree.
Jake and Evan walk around to the other side of the tree where Rin is standing and see giant slash marks and oozing dark sap that doesn’t look like sap anymore. The bark patterns on the tree start to look less like swirling shapes and more like…faces. Many scared, terrified faces. They look at each other, eyes wide with uncertainty as their minds race and night falls around them.
It is very dark, the three are walking close together, trembling. They jump when they hear an owl hoo. They laugh at each other trying to ease the tension and continue forward, not speaking about the sap or that tree blaming it on their fear and the darkness. Evan checks his phone for time seeing it's about ten pm. He misplaces his step but manages to catch himself on a branch. It squishes in his fingers making his skin crawl.
"Ew, what the fuck am I touching? It feels squishy."
He stands and shines a light on the tree he caught himself on. Evan gasps and Rin lets out a scream. “Oh fuck! This ain’t real! It's a prank or some shit!” Jake backs away, his voice trembling.
The light reveals a tree, bark embedded in a person’s face, and slowly growing more through. Their skin ripped, bloody, exposing some bone, one eye dangling as their socket is mostly covered by a bark piece. A woman they’ve seen on tv, her grey eyes stare at them pleadingly. Bark through their jaw, piercing her tongue. “Hel…m..ehh..” She struggles to speak.
The boys scream scrambling away. Rin backs into another tree, a hand grabs Rin's shirt. Rin screams and yanks away. The person is an older man, bark piecing his stomach, blood and organs exposed as the bark continues to grow through him. “It hurts…please kill me! I can’t take the pain!”
Evan shines his light on more and more trees around them revealing more and more missing people they’ve seen on tv. Bloody, crying reaching for them trapped in their forever bark grave.
Multiple voices plead at once along with agonizing screams.
The boys run without direction. Panicked Evan trips over a root and falls down in the dirt and leaves. Evan pants heavily. His phone falls to the ground below him shining up. Rin and Jake stand at the top of the hill looking down.
"Are you okay? Wait there, we'll get you u-" Jake’s words catch in his throat.
The root Evan tripped on begins to move then something grabs him from the back of his shirt, rough claws dig into his neck lifting him higher and higher in the air. Jake and Rin scream sprinting away, Evan’s heart drops to his stomach as stares eyes wide into the face of the Wood Lurker.
Two impossibly long lanky arms, wood claws, two legs thick like stumps. It is about twelve feet tall, it has branches, twigs and leaves coming out of its limbs, torso and head. Through the cracks all over its body oozes a black sticky liquid, and all over his torso looks like the same shapes on trees, like people screaming in terror and agony. Its face is wooden, cracked, jaw hanging open, eye sockets empty black voids. It turns its head to the side, a creaking sound echoes hollow and eerie.
Evan finally screams as he kicks the creature in the head cracking its neck to the side but it doesn't let Evan go. It cracks its neck back and turns it to the side. Its arm suddenly falls and Evan hits the ground hard, he groans dazed then the Wood Lurker starts walking, taking a long strides. Evan shouts in pain as the claws pierce his skin dragging him along, over rocks, branches and dirt. It effortlessly walks up the hill back to the center of the woods.
Evan screams, “PLEASE!” Tears roll out of his eyes. “Momma! Momma!” He tries to grab onto anything finger grip onto a rough rock but the Wood Lurker yanks him, Evan’s fingers snap from the force. “AHH!” Evan screams in more pain. “Please! Please! I’m sorry! Please let me go! Momma! Momma!”
Nearing an empty hill near the center of the woods the Wood Lurker brings Evan back up to its face. With its free hand it wipes some of the oozing black liquid that comes out of its body with its lanky finger. It raises its hand, forces Evan's mouth open. Evan squirms with terror in his eyes as the liquid is shoved down his throat. The ooze sticks to his tongue and throat, tasting like ash and clay.
The Wood Lurker finally drops Evan. Quickly Evan gets to his feet running the other direction. Looking back, the Wood Lurker stands watching him, its head tilted unnaturally to the side.
Evan weaves through the trees, gets caught in a few bushes but keeps pushing through. He trips again, landing in a clearing next to asphalt.
A happy giggle is heard slicing through Evan’s panic. Evan gasps, his head snapping up. A car sits a few yards up the road, a couple is making out on top of the hood.
"Hel-" A giant wooden hand encases Evan's entire face muffling his scream.
Evan grabs the arm, kicking and clawing as hard as he can. Evan watches the couple smile and kiss talking about some upcoming dance. Evan is dragged back into darkness, the hand crushing his face. Helplessness fills his gut with heavy pressure, but the pain of the hand crushing his face keeps him in reality. His screams are muffled as the Wood Lurker walks into the woods. Back at the center the Wood Lurker drops Evan to the ground. Evan gets to his feet again but this time he falls forward landing on his knees. He tries again but his body won't budge, he can't move. His hands tremble as he pulls on his right leg. Nothing moves.
The Wood Lurker tilts his head, a hollow creak cuts through the panic. An eerie feeling of finality hangs heavy in the air. It turns and lurks back into the dark forest.
Evan breathes heavily, he looks around in the pitch void. Then searing pain rips through his feet, “Ahhh!” He screams. He reaches down to his feet feeling rough bark sticking out of his shoes. He freezes, eyes wide, “Nahahhh!” he screams again, he feels the bark piercing into his ankle, through flesh then bone, weaving through his body like he's nothing more than a soft fleshy obstacle in the way of its goal. He tries to wiggle his toes and nothing, he feels bloody sticky bark fully covering where his feet were. He screams in pain again feeling the bark tear up his calves. He sinks his fingers into the dirt digging trying to find something, maybe an end of this but his finger grabs onto thick roots going deeper and deeper into the ground.
A horrific stillness sets into Evan’s gut. Tears edge his eyes, his face still, his hands tremble as his situation sinks in. “AHH!” Ripping pain as the bark pushes its way up his calves. His hands close into fists as tears flow down his face. “Momma…”
Warm sunlight floods the forest, birds chirp, toads croak and a gentle breeze flows through the branches of trees.
Weak pained whimpers are heard from one tree standing tall with fresh new leaves already growing from its branches. Thick dark blood like sap sticks to the tree, near the middle is Evan’s face. Red puffy eye, the other bloody breached by a small branch with leaves. His skin torn, exposing bone. Evan whines a weak scream as the bark pieces through his chin and cheek.
“H..Heh…” Evan chuckles briefly. He smiles slightly. "Well…momma won’t have…to deal…with my…shit now.” his voice weak and horse. “She won’t…have to work so hard…maybe…she can save money… I was so…horrible….” Tears roll from his eye. “Why didn't I kiss her goodbye… Momma… Momma… I’m sorry."
"Evan!?" A voice yells for him.
His eye shoots open. “M-Momma!?”
"Evan!? Baby where are you?" Aliza calls for him, her voice panicked.
His breath hitches, “M-Momma!” He screams, horse and hopeful.
“Gah!” Evan groans in pain, knocking his breath from him. The bark rips through his bottom lip, splitting through his teeth, shredding his tongue. “MMMH!” tears roll down his eye with his mouth covered.
“Evan!” Aliza calls. Then he sees her… Pulling her petite frame up the hill, hair messy and in her face. Evan tries to make a sound, more tears roll from his eye. The bark rips through his remaining eye, and up his forehead covering him completely.
Aliza walks forward panting. "Evan?"
She is wearing her waitress uniform, dirty with grass and leaves, her hair is messier than usual and her face red. A man in a police uniform follows after her, slipping in the mud.
"Those two boys said he was out here. But, he mustn't have gone this far. My men can find your boy, why don't you come back with me to the station, rest. Please, don't push yourself." The heavy cop is heaving in his sweaty state.
"No.” Aliza says firmly. “You heard it too! My baby screamed for me, he is up here somewhere. I know it. I heard him!" She grabs onto a nearby tree to steady herself. Her hand touches the bark, it's a bit wet, maybe from the rain despite it being a sunny day. She wipes her hand dry on her uniform. She leans back on the tree, in some areas the bark has dark drying sap, fresh leaves flow in the gentle breeze. She holds her face and cries, “My baby is out here somewhere, scared and alone!” Her hand grips the bark. “I should have been a better mom! I let Evan get hurt because of me. I neglected him, I yelled at him too much. I worked too much, I should have been there more. I should have loved him more. An-and now my baby is gone!" Sobs shake her body.
The cop straightens up and walks over pulling Aliza into an embrace, trying to calm her down. "Let's keep moving, Evan must be close. You did hear him after all."
Aliza nods, “You’re right. We’ll find him.” She stands up, taking a deep determined breath, pushing off the tree and heads deeper into the woods. “Evan!” She calls out.
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