Thought I would share a little short story - just for fun.
Don't Go Into The Woods.
Don’t go into the woods. Those five words were the first I ever
learnt. All through my early years, the
only words I heard were ‘Don’t go into the woods.’ Nobody ever said why, and I knew
better than to ask.
Growing up I noticed
that every so often, someone from our little town would disappear. I would ask my mother where they went, but
all she would say was, ‘Don’t go into the woods.’ So I never went in there.
One day after school, I
went to the woods, but I didn’t dare go in. My mothers’ words rang clear
inside my head, ‘Don’t go into the woods.’ I stood on the edge and looked
in. just to see what all the fuss was
about. There was nothing special about
it. It was just trees and grass. In fact, it was just the same as any other
woods’ I had seen. As I stood there looking in, I started to
wonder about how quiet it was. There
were no birds twittering, or flying in the trees. Nothing was rustling about in the
undergrowth. It was almost as if the
woods were dead. There was nothing that
appeared to be living in there. I also
noticed the lack of flowers. There were
plenty of weeds. Everything was green or
brown, no colour to be seen anywhere.
I ran home as fast as I
could, and I never went back there again.
People continued to disappear, but still I did not understand. There was nothing special about those woods. Many people did go in there, but every so
often, one or more of them wouldn’t come back. No one ever asked the reason why.
Now I have returned to
the home of my childhood, all grown up, and ready to face my fears. Today, I will go into those woods. Whatever is in there, I will find it. The mystery that had haunted my childhood will
end today. With a deep sigh, and
absolutely no idea what I was doing, I took the first step into the unknown.
Leaves and twigs
crackled under my feet, as I walked slowly through the trees. There was no path to follow, and I had no
idea of the way back, but my heart did not falter. I just kept on walking slowly forwards hoping
to find something, anything. All around
me there was nothing but trees. No signs
of life anywhere. I was starting to feel
a bit foolish, stood alone in the middle of nothing. I turned to find my way back, but soon
realised that it wasn’t there. There was no path I had been following, and
everything looked the same. I was lost.
The minutes turned to
hours, as I desperately searched for a way out of the woods. I felt as though I was walking around in
circles. Onwards and onwards I trudged
for miles, but still I could see nothing but trees. The sun was still shining above me, but I
knew that it wouldn’t be long before
darkness fell. Who knew what sort of
dangers the night could bring.
Finally, just when I
thought that all hope was lost, I saw a sign in the distance. Smoke, from a fire. Maybe someone was out here camping in the
woods. If I found them, then maybe they
could help me find the way out. So, I
walked towards the smoke. As I grew
nearer, I noticed that it was thick and black, and there was a strange, sort of
sweet, smell in the air.
As I walked slowly
towards the fire, I noticed that there was something burning on top of it. At first I couldn’t tell what it was, but as I drew closer I realised,
that they were bones. Human bones. That strange smell in the air, was Human
flesh, burning away to nothing. A
feeling of dread and horror swept through my body, as the feelings of salvation
that I once had, had now turned to despair.
I tried desperately not to make a sound, as I looked all around me,
praying to God that I was alone. There
was nothing. Who, or what had been here
before, they were gone now. I breathed a
sigh of relief, and then I heard a gentle rustle of leaves, not too far from
where I stood.
As quietly as I could
manage, I moved behind the biggest tree I could find. My heart was beating so hard that it was
pounding in my ears. It sounded so loud,
that I was sure it was going to give me away.
I just stood there frozen to the spot, waiting to see what would
emerge. What I saw next, will haunt me
for the rest of my life.
Out from the trees
emerged a woman. At least, that is what
I thought it was at first. It was a
small, bent over figure, dressed from head to toe in a long, black cloak. It stopped to put more wood on the fire, and
I saw its hands. The skin was so pale,
that it was almost translucent. Even
from a distance, I could see the blue veins, like spider webs covering its
arms. On the end of the fingers there
were claws. Long, silver and sharp. A gust of wind ripped through the trees, and
removed its hood. I saw its face, with
the pale skin and pulsating blue veins.
The eyes were as black as its hair.
Whatever this thing was, it was not from this world.
I stood behind my tree,
unable to move. It just stood there by
the fire, almost as though it was waiting for something. Then, out of the blue, my mothers words
suddenly flooded my brain, ‘Don’t go into the woods.’ I had listened to her then. Why did I decide to stop? I looked over at It, and realised that it was
looking at something. It was looking at
me. Those dark, black eyes were staring
right at me. It let out a loud, cackling
laugh, and I saw its teeth, sharp and silver just like its claws.
I turned and ran. I had no idea where I was going, but I knew
that I had to get away. Was it following
me? I did not know, but I was not about
to turn around and look. Night was
falling and it was getting dark. If I
didn’t get out of here soon, then I
was going to end up on that fire. At
least, the bits that were left of me would.
Now I knew what had happened to all those people. They had become lost in the woods, and then
fallen prey to this demonic creature.
At last, I could see a
way out. Just a couple of more minutes
and I would be free. I would be
safe. Then I felt a sharp pain in the
back of my neck. I could feel the blood
start to flow, and then came that cackling laugh. It had caught up with me. Just when I had thought there was hope, It
snatched it away. I fell to the ground,
and I could feel those razor sharp claws, tearing away at the skin of my
back. The pain was excruciating, but I
was not about to die like this. Why did
I not listen to my mother?
The claws were
frantically ripping at my flesh, but somehow, I managed to get to my feet. I kept on willing myself to go forward, and
to my surprise, it worked. My body was
being torn apart, and I was leaving a trail of blood behind me, but I managed
to keep on going. The edge of the woods
grew gradually nearer, as I willed myself to carry on. I could sense the desperation of It, as it
tried desperately to drag me back inside the woods.
The cackling laugh grew
distant and feint, as I made it out onto the road. I looked up at the moon, and screamed. The road was empty, and the small town had
long since been deserted. My strength
and courage had finally deserted me, and I was all alone.
The next thing I
remember, was waking up in the hospital.
Someone had driven past and found me.
Everyone kept saying how lucky I was to be alive. The strange thing was, nobody asked what had
actually happened to me. I was expecting
to be interviewed by the police, but they did not come. Doctors and Nurses came and went. They did their jobs, but never asked a single
question about how I got my injuries.
Later on, when everyone
had gone home, I lay in my bed, puzzled at the lack of interest in my
injuries. A man came round mopping the
floors. As he came closer to my bed, I
saw that he had a hideous scar across his face.
He never said a word, just kept on mopping, silent as a mouse. As he left the room he stopped, he looked
back at me and said, ‘Don’t go into the woods.’ Now I understood, as I closed my
eyes and wept.
