Heart of the Woods

Without thinking, as the youth so often do, Jamie curiously placed a foot on the ground that glowed before them. The light lit up her golden curls as if she was unearthly and the glow reflected off her eyes, making the irises look like little flames of fire.

Not knowing what else to do, Jeremy followed her, feeling the need to protect his sister from any dangers. Samuel, Merrick, and Amy stepped onto the path right behind them.

Bending down, Merrick ran his fingers against the light, picking up a golden stick. It burned like a glowing candle, only there was no heat. As he held the twig, its light began to fade until it was back to the color of any normal branch.

Before anyone could comment on the puzzling phenomena, they heard a voice. It was quiet, yet firm: a man’s voice that seemed to wrap itself around their bodies. Jeremy shivered as he felt the hairs on his neck start to rise in warning.

“Greetings, children. It is my honour to welcome you onto the path. It has been many decades since we have had newcomers arrive,” it said.

Jamie, automatically becoming frightened, took a pace backwards. “I wouldn’t do that,” it spoke sharply in a patronizing voice. “Let me explain the situation you have been brought into. Now, there are very few things I have to say to you, other than to take these rules to heart and never, at any cost, forget them.

1. Do not stray from the path. One step off and you cease to find your way back.
2. Never touch the plants.
3. Make no eye contact with the beings outside of the path.
4. Answer all riddles asked. If answered wrong, one must leave the group and step into the forest.
5. Show no fear.”

The reaction was pure silence. Jamie began to quiver and Jeremy put his arm supportively around her shoulders. This could not be happening. He looked around in search for a figure hiding behind the trees, playing him and his friends. There was no one. How could this be? Never one to believe in fantasies, Jeremy struggled to accept he was in actual danger. I should just walk off the path and prove the guy wrong, he thought defiantly. But then his conscience whispered, ‘what if this isn’t a prank? What if what’s happening is real?’ He didn’t want to take the chance.

Amy was the first to compose herself, “Who are you?” she asked, voice faint from fear.

“Who I am changes nothing. I will be referred to as Puck and Puck only. If there comes a time when you need my help, I will answer you in the only ways I am capable of doing so without giving you a solution. I suggest you start walking; you have a long journey in front of you.” His voice seemed to fade into the distance until it was apparent that he was gone. They were alone, stuck on a pathway filled with unknowns, with no one to really guide them.

The golden light had first been engaging and beautiful, but after hours of walking, everyone’s eyes were irritated from it. Jeremy slowed to a halt. It was a shame they had left their tents and a few backpacks where they had camped out. He couldn’t believe it had only been a few hours ago.

“Guys, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. I think we should get the sleep while we can,” he suggested. No one complained. The moment all of them stopped walking, a sound like that of a balloon popping made Jeremy jump. Looking ahead of him, his jaw dropped. The tents were there! Filling the couple of paces it took to reach them, he unzipped one of the flaps to find the remaining backpacks leaning against a corner. I’ve got to be dreaming, he thought amazed.

Too worn out to think anymore of the unusual events cascading around them, they all quietly headed off to their tents. This time, Jeremy allowed his mind to tune out all his worries. He feared he would need this rest. The moment his head hit the pillow, sleep obscured all chance of thought.

What woke Jeremy in the morning was not the chirp of birds. Nor was it the glow of the sun. The complete and utter silence that had filled the night was replaced with a rustling of branches. Preparing to ignore it and go back to sleep, the sudden recollection of the events from last night slammed into his chest. He sat up with a start.

Jamie and Amy too, had woken up from the sounds; this was no ordinary wind. Nervously, Jeremy unzipped the upper corner of the tent, peering tentatively out. What he saw caused him to hastily collect his things.

“Hurry up, we need to get on the move NOW,” he yelled. Fold the sleeping bags, restock the backpacks, fold the tent- it was too much to do in so little time. Agonizingly, Jeremy ushered Amy and Jamie out of the tent and checked to make sure Samuel and Merrick were awake. Part of him hoped that what he had seen from his peek into the dangers of outside his tent was gone, but he knew better.

The trees were moving. Long, arm-like branches whacked around, trying to grasp the group who had settled in the middle of the path. Cruel cracks in the trunks of the trees revealed wicked smiles as they searched for their victims. Jamie squealed as one came close to reaching her. Jeremy didn’t have much time.

Samuel and Merrick fortunately had heard the noises too, and were putting up their own tent the way Jeremy had showed them to the previous morning. Jeremy rushed to catch up to their halfway done work.

Right as he finished, a scream pervaded the air. Amy’s backpack had been grabbed by a branch. He didn’t think as he jumped over to her. Kicking the branch, it recoiled in a snake-like fashion, ready to strike at the culprit. Not giving it the chance, he grabbed Amy and Jamie’s’ wrists and took off. He could hear the frantic thudding of footsteps behind him- didn’t dare to risk looking back. Branches were all around them as they stuck to the center of the trail. It was a wide path, nearly two roads wide, but it was not wide enough to keep the abnormally long branches from reaching them.

Merrick was the next person to stumble. Pausing to look back, Jeremy saw that a root jutting up from the ground had tripped him. Samuel was there just in time. He pulled him up, frantically yanking his arm to tug him along. Crack. A branch slammed into the ground right where his body had been seconds before.

Gasping for breath, Jeremy didn’t think he could run any further. He could feel himself slowing down- feel himself so close to death- and then it stopped. Slipping into an exhausted trailing of the feet, he turned around.

There was a rush of relief in discovering his friends had all been spared from the horrific nightmare. They accepted that the event was over and Jeremy threw off his backpack carelessly. They needed to stop to regain their energy.

“These trees are pine like the ones in the forest we were in. The ones that just tried to kill us were gigantic oak trees and willows,” Merrick confirmed, studying the surrounding terrain. Sure enough, there were only narrow trees covering both sides of them now. That wasn’t the only interesting observation to make.

“The path isn’t golden anymore,” Samuel added, looking down. None of this was making any sense. Why were they put out here? What was the point of all this? Someone sighed, but Jeremy was too distraught to care who. He must be hallucinating. There was no other explanation for what was going on. Yet, to hallucinate all of his friends and his sister, who were experiencing the exact same events as he was? No. This was real.

A cackling erupted from the depths of the forest. “I hope you enjoyed your wakeup call!” a voice called out. The group huddled together, forming a circle, as a gaunt figure stumbled out from behind the shadows of a tree.

“Don’t make eye contact,” Merrick whispered, reminding everyone just in time.

It was an old lady. The first thing that came to Jeremy’s mind was that she looked like the witch from Snow White who tried to feed her the apple. Avoiding her eyes, he chose to stare at her neck. She hobbled up to the edge of the forest, only five feet away from him.

Cackling again, the hag laughed at their fearful expressions. “Oh, I can’t hurt you, children,” she breathed in a sickeningly sweet voice, “at least not physically if you stay on your little path.” Her cackling reminded him of a lone black crow, crying in the distance.

“Come on guys, let’s get going,” Jeremy said, turning away from the wicked woman. He refused to allow the fear to show any longer. He would ignore what could not affect him.

“You can run, but you can’t hide little ones,” she cried, disappearing into the woods like black mist. It was time to do the only thing they could do. Walk.

And walk they did. Climbing over fallen logs, grey slabs of rock, and avoiding roots made feet burn, but to stop was not an option. They would continue on, the hope of getting out of such a terrible nightmare the one reason persistence existed, for to lose was to die.

It was not long before the forest around them changed yet again. The sky grew grey, casting the woods in somber darkness, explaining why it was a while before anyone noticed the subtle shift in atmosphere.

“Did I just go color blind or is something else going on?” Samuel asked, looking around. It, of course, was not just him. The woods had turned shades of black and grey, as if death had made its most unwelcome presence. Trees were a charred black, no leaf to quiver in the slight chilled breeze; the sun’s warm embrace had vanished, leaving only the wide expanse of nothingness as the sky. The only things that had not been altered were the five weary travelers.

“I’m not even going to question it,” Amy stiffly spoke. Questioning would get them nowhere. They continued on, pausing only to drink reserved amounts of their water or relieve themselves behind the rest of the group.

Jeremy soon figured out the purpose for there being no colors or living things other than themselves. The walk had become nearly intolerable. A silence hung over the entire woods for as far as the ear could hear. Not a bird, nor creature to engage their minds in limited amusement. What had felt like a long journey to begin with now felt short-lived as the group progressed in unnoticeable ways. Before, the road had felt like a vacuum cleaner, stilling the air and walkers inside of it. At least the forest had been alive with nature. But now? Now, the whole forest was an endless void, bereaved of its beautiful life.

The gloom tugged at Jeremy’s will power to continue. Just as he was about to ask everyone else what they were thinking, he spotted a black line in the distance. Pointing, everyone picked up speed to see what it could be.

As they approached, the realization of what it was caused them to groan with dismay. What lay in front of the trail before them was a black river. It oozed like tar, coursing sluggishly over a slight dip in the ground to the right.

“How on earth are we supposed to cross this?” Samuel sighed. The width across was at least five feet and the riverbank made it even wider. Picking up a long stick, he reached over to see how deep the water was.

With a shout, Samuel was propelled towards the river. Jamie squealed in terror as Jeremy and Merrick both dove to grab his shirt in attempt to pull him back before he plunged face in.
“There’s a hand!” Amy screamed, pointing at the stick. A greenish hand covered in the oil-like substance was yanking the stick, trying to pull them in. Samuel immediately released it, sending the three of them sprawling backwards.

Mouth dry, Jeremy looked at the river with a newfound fear. He didn’t want to know what kinds of creatures dwelled in its depths.

“We have to find a way across,” Merrick said as if it were a street with high traffic on it and not a disturbing enigma of a river. He walked from one end of the path to the other, inspecting the way the water slowly traveled across. Picking up a rock, he tossed it, curious as to see what would happen. With a sickening plop it landed on top of the water for a second before gradually sinking down.

“Amy and I could go search for a log that we could use as a bridge,” Samuel offered, just now recovering from the shock of nearly being pulled into the water of death.

“That’s a good idea,” Jeremy said. “Merrick and I will try to figure out some other way to get across it ‘til you get back while Jamie can keep watch.” He didn’t want to make his little sister feel as if she wasn’t useful.

After ten minutes of mindless inspection, something told him that there was nothing him or Merrick could find that would help them get across. It was best to just wait and hope that Amy and Samuel could find something of use.

Sitting down next to Jamie, he began to throw rocks into the river. Toss, plop, sink. Toss, plop, sink. Being entranced by the pattern he was making as he threw the rocks, he almost didn’t notice when one didn’t sink. It had landed in thin air, hovering about a foot above the surface.

“Merrick!” he exclaimed, “I think I found our way across.” By tossing more rocks, it became clear that there was an invisible bridge raised above the water. It was only a foot wide, if they weren’t mistaken. “We’d better go get Amy and Samuel.”

Merrick, Jeremy, and Jamie hadn’t gone far before they could see Amy and Samuel heading back empty handed. Once they met half way, he quickly filled them in on the good news. If you want to call it ‘good’, Jeremy thought darkly.

Going back to the river, Jeremy volunteered to be the first to cross. Kicking out, he felt his foot hit something sturdy like a brick. He had to step onto it as if it was a stool before he got fully on to the bridge. Shuffling slowly across, Jeremy forced himself to look down. He had to see where the rocks he and Merrick had thrown lay in order to walk safely over the river. The black muck under his feet gave the impression that it consumed all that made contact with it. Too thick to swim to the surface, the thought of one misstep made Jeremy’s heart pound in his chest.

He felt the pressure of crossing leave his shoulders as he triumphantly jumped off the end and landed on the other side. It quickly returned when he anxiously waited for everyone else to cross. Amy and Merrick threw their bags over the river and pursued Jeremy. They agreed that Jamie would go second to last, giving her the chance to see how everyone else made it across.

“It’s not so bad,” Merrick called out to Jamie. She was standing petrified on the edge of the invisible bridge. Beads of sweat developed on Jeremy’s forehead as he helplessly watched his sister feebly progress across.

Making it to the other side, Jamie threw her arms around her brother. He hugged her back, never realizing how much she had grown since he was at college. With a thump, Samuel landed next to them, smiling dryly at their success.

No words were exchanged as the group collected their bags and headed in the direction of the next unknown horrors.