If you go into the woods tonight...

The warnings are there for a reason. They keep people away from that dreaded place. Every community has a spot like it. The river; that alley way; the old abandoned house; the circle of stones on the lonely hill; the wild and overgrown woodland. Its the place where several children have disapeared.
It is thought that the warnings are there to keep children from hurting themselves or being taken by that shifty old man in the trench coat. The real reason is long forgotten.
Elskin Lilyduck had alsways been a curious child. She was drawn to the places which her grandmother warned against. Her words echoed in her mind. "Don't go into the woods"
Why wasn't she allowed into the woods? There must be something really interesting and exciting in there for her grandmother to ban such a place. Usually, she was allowed to roam free throughout the village, however this was not enough. Forbidden fruit always tastes that much sweeter.
She sat at the edge of the little stream on the outskirts of the woodland, dipping her bare feet into the water.
Over the other side of the water, a little way away on a grass verge, there was a group of older children playing some kind of ball game.
The other children never asked Elskin to play. They said she was weird; she had a weird name, and weird pigtails and a weird dress. They said she had a weird grandmother warnings are there for a reason. They keep people away from that dreaded place. Every community has a spot like it. The river; that alley way; the old abandoned house; the circle of stones on the lonely hill; the wild and overgrown woodland. Its the place where several children have disappeared.
It is thought that the warnings are there to keep children from hurting themselves or being taken by that shifty old man in the trench coat. The real reason is long forgotten.
Elskin Lilyduck had always been a curious child. She was drawn to the places which her grandmother warned against. Her words echoed in her mind. "Don't go into the woods"
ther.
Elskin's grandmother was very old, she was barely able to look after herself anymore, never mind Elskin. Elskin didn't mind. She took it as her duty to look after her grandmother. She felt she owed it to her.
Elskin could not remember her parents. She knew that she had a mother and father, but one night they had just not come back from a night time stroll. Her grandmother, being her only relative, took her in and brought her up, however a few years ago, she had fallen ill and was now confined to the limits of her moth eaten armchair.
The other girls of the village said she was a witch. Elskin didn't believe them. Her grandmother was perfectly normal. Just because she had a black cat, no teeth and a crooked nose, did not mean she was any different. Just because she muttered cusses at the children when they ran on her garden, does not mean she was casting a spell.
Elskin did not mind that the other children didn't want to play. It gave her time to think. Anyway, she thought they were the ones that were strange. She knew she was ordinary.
She'd read all the fairy tales. She knew there was nothing interesting about her. There were none about little girls called Elskin Lilyduck. None about boring little girls with boring brown pigtails and boring brown eyes. Nothing good ever happened to them.
Everything interesting happened to the pretty girls. The blonde girls with shining blue eyes. The redheads with emeralds for eyes. Girls like Eliza Webb.

Eliza Webb was one of the older children on the other side. She was the only girl in the group, and seemed to be feeding off of the male attentions. Her dark red hair streamed out behind her as she chased after the ball, tripping up over her green dress. She missed the ball and it rolled away. She gathered up the dress, exposing black netting underneath and milky while legs before running as fast as she could down the hill after the ball, which bounced leisurely just out of reach. The boys jeered as the ball reaches the bottom of the hill and bounced into the water, splattering Elskin, and making Eliza giggle.
Eliza picked up the ball, turned to walk away, but swiveled around again, throwing the ball at Elskin's head. It made a dull thud, as Elskin fell backwards, the ball rolled off into the woodland.
The younger girl, sat there silently. She had learned not to respond to the other children's torment. She fought back the urge to cry, attempting to show Eliza that she was unphased.
"Elskin Lilyduck, you made me lose my ball!" Eliza shrieked.
Elskin remained silent and drew her knees up into her chest.
"You are a freak, Elskin Lilyduck, nobody likes you Elskin Lilyduck, why do you come here to watch us? You are a creep. No one wants you here. Go back home to your witch grandmother!"
Elskin didn't move. She didn't like the insults, but if she didn't respond, Eliza would get bored and go back to the other children.
Eliza splashed the water up into Elskin's face. "Go home and make potions with your wicked grandmother Elskin Lilyduck! Or do you need me to make you?" Eliza was now only millimeters from Elskins face. Both girls tried not to blink, to out stare the other.
Elskin's eyes were watering now, from the strain of keeping them open, and she loosing the battle with her tears. Eliza laughed. She spat into Elskin's face before cackling wildly.
Elskin squeezed her eyes tight, wiping away the spit from her cheek. She felt Eliza grab hold of one of her pigtails and yank and hard as possible.
"Get of me!" Elskin was unable to contain herself any longer. She screamed and took a swipe at the older girl.
"You've had it now," Eliza growled. Elskin saw this as the point to run, thinking Eliza would remain seated.
She turned and bolted into the safety of the trees. Eliza followed "Get back here freak, I'm not done!"
There was no time to turn back. Eliza had longer legs than Elskin, meaning she'd catch up quicker. She leaped over rocks, slipping on slimy patches of moss and dead leaves. Her feet and legs were bleeding, shredded by brambles. She could hear Eliza breathing not far behind her.
She weaved in and out of trees.
There was no longer any sunlight, the branches of the trees filtered it out.
"Got you!" Elskin felt a pair of hands push her. She lost her footing and slipped down a steep embankment. She let out a high pitched scream, reaching out for something to grab onto. She caught the hem of Eliza's dress. Both girls tumbled further into the darkness. Elskin smashed her head on a rock. Eliza screamed at the sight of the blood. And then nothing.