The small village was surrounded by thick, dark forest in all directions, and the villagers knew better than to go into the woods, especially during the night.
The forest was alive with strange creatures, and dangerous men were said to lurk in the shadows, waiting to catch unwary prey.
But one late evening, almost dark outside, a young girl who was known to be particularly curious decided to break the rules.
She crept out of her family's cottage, and quietly made her way to the edge of the forest.
The village was small, with no more than a dozen homes dotting the landscape. The homes were small, made of rough-cut logs and filled with the few modest possessions of the villagers.
The people of the village were primarily farmers and hunters, the men going out into the forest every day to trap game animals and bring back meat for the village's meals.
The women stayed in the village, taking care of the houses and working the land to grow the crops that sustained them.
She was a delicate and petite girl, with soft, fair skin and long, Brown hair that fell almost down to her waist.
Her features were sweet and beautiful, with wide brown eyes that held an expression of innocence and an air of guilelessness about her. Her name was Evangeline Christopher, an orphan who lived with her mother and her old grandmother in a small cottage.
As the young girl moved silently towards the forest, her bare feet made a quiet crunching noise on the dry leaves that lay in piles at the foot of the trees.
Each step was made carefully and quietly, her legs and feet moving gracefully as she made her way towards the trees.
She tried not to make too much noise, not wanting to attract the attention of the creatures or men that lived within the forest's darkness.
Evangeline then heads strange noises coming from deep in the woods as she goes further,
Her curiosity piqued, Evangeline ignored the knot of fear in her stomach and ventured deeper into the forest. The sounds grew louder and more distinct, a cacophony of snaps and murmurs that seemed almost human.
As she approached, she heard painful moans and screams of a girl, and the cruel laughter of several men echoed through the trees. Her heart racing, she ducked behind a large oak, peering through the underbrush to get a glimpse of what was happening.
Bead of sweats formed around her temple as she slowly walked following the painful sounds.
She continued to hear clapping of skin, moans, cries, and laughter. She understood some men were sexually assaulting a girl, which scared her even more, but she felt like she had to do something. She had to help her.
When she finally arrived at the location where all of that cruelty was taking place in the moonlight, she took care to remain silent.
She was horrified to see a bunch of big men centred around a young girl who looked no older than herself, their faces concealed by hoods.
A large man who was one of them was holding the girl down and violently pushing into her while she sobbed and begged them to release her. "Please, s...s..stop, please!!!" Still, they didn't seem to care and rather seemed to be relishing her suffering.
Evangeline opened her mouth to gasp, but she held herself back, covering it with her hands.
It was difficult for her to see their faces because some of them had hoodies on. But she identified one of them-one of the men from her town, Kevin, who worked on the farm-because he wasn't hiding his face. She was stunned.
The young girl watched the event play out in front of her, motionless, glued to the spot in disbelief and horror.
She was filled with a sense of betrayal and bewilderment as she laid eyes on the man who worked at the farm. How could a person she'd known her entire life be engaged in such a horrific act of violence? She wanted to escape this awful scene to get away.
The little girl stumbled across a fallen tree branch as she turned to leave slowly, and the branch cracked loudly in the stillness of the night.
The sudden noise startled the men, who instantly froze and jerked their heads in the direction of the sound. Their eyes darted across the shadows, looking for the source of the noise.
The men immediately stiffened when they saw the small girl's skinny form standing close to the tree.
They were all looking at her, and the one who was raping the girl, got up and swiftly freed her.
For a brief period, the girl was paralysed with terror as one man-whom she identified as Kevin-yelled to the others, "Hey, it's a girl! I know her!! We need to catch her!"
Evangeline felt terror sweep over her as the men's yells echoed behind her. She knew she had to get away from them, even though she had no idea what they would do if they found her.
As she dashed through the dense forest, tripping over stones and roots in her frazzled hurry, her mind raced.
At night, the jungle seemed weird and foreign, and she was afraid she would lose her way or encounter something much more terrifying than the guys after her.
Although she was unsure of what would happen to the other girl with those men, she was certain that she would suffer the same fate as the other disappeared young girls from her community.
She also felt as if she knew her, but couldn't recognise her at that moment as her brain wasn't functioning properly due being terrified.
Evangeline heard the guys behind her breaking through the branches as she hurried into the darkness; every second, their footsteps became closer and louder.
Despite her fear, she forced herself to move more quickly, stumbling over fallen timber and avoiding trees in her hasty attempt to get away.
Her lungs hurt from the force of running for such a long time, and her heart was racing in her chest. She could feel an exhaustion setting in, but she had to press on. She decided to keep them at bay.
She escaped from the deep woods by some miracle.
The sky above her opened up as she staggered into the clearing.
Gasping for air, she stopped running and collapsed against a tree, her legs trembling from pure physical exertion.
Knowing that these men would follow her, she turned to face the woods in the back. But there was nothing except silence and the eerie trees.
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