Spooky Short Story in a Forest
"This is as far as I can take you." The man driving the taxi said as he placed the car into park on the outskirts of a lush forest. A forest that very clearly has a path wide enough for a car to drive on.
"What do you mean? Can't you drive through?" The man was looking out the car's windshield, he looked like he didn't want to deal with customers anymore.
"No. Cash or card?" He says it with a finality that makes me give up on my curiosity enough to dig out the needed cash and hand it to him. I pushed the car door open and as soon as I stepped out and shut the door, he started zooming away. I turn my head to look at the forest. Hiking my bag higher up on my shoulder, I start walking towards its entrance. When there's a will, there's a way, and I need to get to my hotel at some point today. With each step that takes me farther into the forest, my footfalls get heavier and the impact my feet have on the ground makes bigger and bigger clouds of dirt on the path. With each step, I feel a greater need to go deeper into the forest. The dense fog of leaves over the tops of the trees block the light of the sun, clouding the interior of the forest in a kind of darkness that usually only comes at night. I pull out my phone and use it as a flashlight, which doesn't prevent me from getting my foot caught in a root that grew in the middle of the path. As I lay sprawled on the dirty ground, I feel my resentment for the taxi driver grow, and now, with a bruised ego and a skinned knee, I decide to take a break. I pick myself up, walk over to a tree off to the side of the path, and drop to the floor with my bag. With my back leaning against the hard surface of the tree's trunk, I take a deep breath in. I let my eyes slip closed as I take a few more deep breaths.
"Help!" My eyes shoot open. There are quick footsteps pounding against the forest floor. A young man came from the direction of the scream. "Help!" I scrambled up off the ground, briefly forgetting how to use my legs. Following closely behind the young man is a larger man dressed in black. I quickly looked around for something I could use to defend myself, the only feasible option being a branch that had broken off of the tree I was resting at. It was about the same length and width of my arm, and when I picked it up it seemed to be as sturdy as a baseball bat. During my search, the larger man had knocked the young man to the ground, pinning him with black clad limbs. The young man was struggling to get away, moving this way and that like a mouse caught in a trap. I move as quickly and quietly as I can, stopping just behind the larger man. I raise the branch up high over my head and bring it down with every ounce of force in my body. There is no impact. The branch falls straight through the man's body, hitting and creating a dent in the ground.
"What?" I gasped, forgetting about being quiet. It doesn't take long after that for the young man's screams of terror to turn into screams of agony. All I could do was watch as a knife was plunged into the young man over and over again, creating a pool of blood that just got bigger and bigger. As the man's screams die out, both men start to become translucent. My mouth hangs open as they become more and more transparent until they're completely gone. Slowly, I turn my back and head back to the tree to grab my bag. There's a jack rabbit in my chest as a bend down. At the base of the tree, there's a name. Adam.
