I cringe at the bone-chilling wind that collides with my body. My eyes trace the trees as I wander along the forest's edge in a peaceful, dazed state. Millions of sounds from the forest capture my attention and draw me closer to the forbidden world. Deafening noises echo through the long stretch of woodland in front of me.
None of them, though, can contract my attention as the trees themselves seem to put me in a trance as I move closer to the uncharted woods so many have warned me from entering. My pace halts as I hear the hushed sounds of grass and bushes rustling from an entity yet to be seen. My eyes are quick to catch sight of an odd silhouette lurking just inside the treeline.
The sounds and shadows don't startle me yet, as the determination for the truth lures me deep into the dark forest. As I trek deeper into the unexplored domain, I begin to finally take notice of the predicament I'm in.
My surroundings have completely changed from the equipment littered construction site to the dim and dingy woodlands. My father had asked me to help check on the progress his company has accomplished for the day. I look back to the treeline, only now realizing that I had abandoned the one task I was given.
I continue my stroll through the eerie brush slowly growing more on edge. The sound of a branch snapping not far behind me startles me enough to make me jump slightly and snap my head around to inspect the cause of the sound. To my dismay, I only catch a short glance of a dark figure disappearing behind the shadows cast from the trees.
Cold terror starts to seep into my stomach as I begin to grasp the situation I'm in. My body acts on its own accord as I break off into a full out sprint in a nameless direction, in a dire attempt to escape the creeping creature my mind has begun to twist into the worst imaginable horrors.
As my eyes begin to become clouded with tears of pure panic, I call out into the darkness for anyone who would listen to come to aid me. My desperate attempts were, sadly, to no avail. My sprint becomes more frantic as grim thoughts start to circle in my mind. Petrified, my clouded mind begins to remind me of an incident that occurred so long ago that I tried so vigorously to erase from my mind.
**********
Bitter tears of fear streamed down my face as I ran in endless circles in futile attempts to find it. I suddenly dropped to my knees, causing them to gain slight cuts and bruises, as I pushed leaves and blades of grass away from a tree I thought that looked familiar. Heavy sobs racked my whole body as my vision became blurred by the abundant tears, making my search attempts next to impossible.
I hugged my legs to my chest as my whole body shook. The trinket I lost, a gorgeous necklace, had been gifted to me by my mother, who had passed away not too long ago. My father said that she had died of a fatal illness that had no known cure.
It's only been a week since we were left to grieve. In a feeble attempt to distract himself from his endless pit of sorrow, my father closed himself off from everything and focused primarily on his work. He even began to block out and lose touch to the daughter he loved so dearly.
Blood-chilling screams rang in my ears- if you could even call them screams. The sound was not conjured up by any known creature to walk the Earth. It sounded more like an unnatural and scarred growl from a large hungry beast from fairytales. I ignored the terrifying sound as I wiped the tears from my eyes to continue my quest for the small piece of jewelry.
The commotion grew louder as whatever unknown being made the sound drew closer to me. I continued to toss stray leaves and push tall patches of grass and sticks out of my way. A deep breath got hitched in my throat as I was just about to lose all hope in finding my mother's necklace. I stood up and brushed off my legs from all the dirt I'd accumulated. As I slowly turned to begin my trudge to leave the forest my eyes caught glimpses of something shimmering in the tall grass.
I focused my gaze towards the shining item and my salty tears of sorrow turned to tears of utter joy. Sitting on top of a small pile of bright green leaves was the gorgeous necklace with a single small deep azure blue gem in the middle. All of my attention was now diverted to the jewelry and I was ecstatic to have finally found it.
I spun on my heel and dashed forward tripping along the short way to my newfound charm. My mind was fixated on the idea of having my necklace back in my possession. The necklace was the only thing to remember my mother by, and I had finally found it. I missed her dearly and the necklace makes me feel closer to her. My body abruptly collides with the ground with my arms outstretched to grab the necklace.
A low roar boomed behind me, finally catching my attention, causing cold panic to rise in me. I shakingly sit up on my knees and gently cup the necklace in my palms. I hugged it to my chest and wiped away my tears with a shaky smile on my face.
I struggled for a minute to hook the necklace around my neck before I pushed myself up off the ground. I stood there dusting myself off unaware of the danger that lurked behind me. An enormous grey wolf stood mere feet behind me.
He towered over my form, almost three times my size. He stood still and quiet and just observed the tiny human who had stumbled into the forest unaware of the dangers within. He stood defensively as he studied my every move. Patiently waiting to see what had drawn me into the woods. The fur on his back blowing in the slight breeze similar to my blond hair.
I spotted the large wolf beside the excessive greenery and wondered forward. Unaware of his known presence, the wolf did not falter but attempted to growl at me. I slowly reached for the large creature, oblivious to my newfound danger.
Hurried rustles in the bushes near the opening of the forest catch both the wolf's and my attention. A man, most likely a worker for my father, emerged from the brush in a state of panic. Before the man could catch sight of the wolf, it ran off deep into the forest never to be seen again.
"Ab- oh, there you are," the man sighed in relief of finally finding me. "Come on, everyone has been worried about you." He held out a hand for me to take, as he eyed the glowing jewelry around my neck. "You found it," he mumbled, incoherent to me.
"Okay," I smiled brightly and gripped the gem with one hand as the other outstretched for the man.
**********
With my heart pounding in my chest, I race through the dense forest. My medium length blonde and tempo teal hair blew in the wind I created with my quick speed. I kept up my fast pace, occasionally glancing behind me, terrified of the mere thought of encountering another vicious creature out to get me.
I glance behind me one final time but in my frantic attempt to outrun the beast my mind convinces me is there, I trip over a large old tree root poking out of the ground. I closed my eyes tight for the harsh impact of the cold ground.
Face planting into a pile of leaves with a dull rock hidden under its surface I let out a loud groan of pain. I lift my head before immediately letting it fall back down in a more comfortable position on the rock, as I begin to feel myself lose consciousness.
The impact, combined with the exhaustion and terror, causes my body to become dysfunctional and my eyes to grow heavy. I slowly feel my body go numb as I let my eyes flutter shut, but my mind is still fully active.
A male, who appeared to be human, emerged from the shadows not too far from me. He walks over to me and crouches down beside me, waving a hand in front of my face. He mumbles something inaudible to me before shifting his position slightly to be facing my unconscious corpse.
Unable to resist, I feel the man lift me from the terrain and hold me in a bridal style position. He sighs before beginning his walk-off to a nameless location deeper in the forest. My look remains calm and unconscious, but right before I completely fade off into a deep sleep my thoughts and heart race at unimaginable speeds with pure panic. After I completely lost consciousness I'm left a limp helpless body in the arms of a complete stranger in an unknown woodland area.