Forest Story - Chapter 2

Instructions

Tonight is the night. I have prepared for weeks, or more accurately, seventeen years. It feels as though my whole life has been building up to this moment, and the noises are louder than they ever have been before. High-pitched, melodic vibrations echo my head, and my veins are filled with adrenaline. I should not be doing this, and at the same time I should. Pulling my backpack onto my shoulder, I exit my bedroom and slink down the hall. My footsteps are nearly silent as I retrieve my jacket from the coat-closet and unlock the front door. The moment I crack the door open, the chill of the night rushes into my home. I slip outside and close the door behind me, locking it with a spare key. If my parents don't discover my absence until morning, at least our home will be protected from thieves. I slink through the village, moving around houses and buildings. The cold sends goosebumps along my arms and down my spine, but I don't want to stop to put on my jacket until I have reached the trees. The moon is bright tonight, a full circle in the sky. Navigating only by moonlight, I reach the fence that surrounds the village. It is only a simple wooden fence, and yet it serves as a reminder: Do not leave the village, do not venture into the woods. "So much for following the rules," I think to myself before clambering over. Dry grass crunches beneath my feet as I begin sprinting towards the forest. If anybody is awake at this hour, I don't want them to see me. If I am caught, I would be arrested and put behind bars for life. If I thought the noises were loud before, now they are screaming, filling my entire head to the point I can barely think. They pull me towards the forest, and I feel like I'm running at an almost inhuman speed. When I am only ten feet away, I force myself to stop moving. The noises are deafening, and the urge to enter the forest is overpowering, yet a small ounce of apprehension burrows into my head. I stare into the woods, so close now. Branches block out most of the moonlight, and all I can make out is shadows. The sounds urge me forwards, and with a final glance back at the village sleeping peacefully, I step into the forest. The noises stop. I jolt, my step faltering. This is the first time I can remember not hearing the sounds. My mind feels silent, eerily empty. Without the sounds, I feel oddly disoriented. I realize I have reached my right hand out, as if I am subconsciously trying to grab onto the sounds and pull them back. Taking another few steps, I look around the trees. The canopy of branches effectively renders my vision useless, so I take a moment to place my backpack on the ground and retrieve my flashlight. I also pull on my coat, immediately grateful for the barrier between my skin and the cold. Flicking on my flashlight, I begin walking through the forest. The trees are all dead, no leaves decorating their bare branches. I wonder for the first time if this was a mistake. I thought the noises were guiding me here for a reason, but now even they have abandoned me. My footsteps are quiet on the dry earth, and the woods are silent. The lack of noise puts me on edge, my muscles tense as I maneuver around the corpses of trees. After what I gauge to be around twenty minutes, I lose my nerve and decide to head back. However, when I turn around, I realize all the trees look the same. I can't tell which direction is the right way, and I know in my heart that I am lost. Just as I'm giving up hope, I remember the compass I packed. "How foolish of me to forget!" I chide myself. "I could have found my way much faster!" I place the compass on a patch of flat ground and watch the needle spin. "How strange," I notice. "The needle keeps spinning randomly!" I watch as the needle moves erratically, never coming to rest. "Could it be the forest?" I wonder. "There is something strange going on. First the noises fell silent, and now my compass isn't working. What in the world is going on?" To be continued...