Chapter 3
The settlement was twenty minutes outside of town, but the greenery looked like it belonged to another time.
Once the gravel underneath my truck tires turned to dirt, it wasn’t long before the overgrowth ahead cut off the road completely.
I considered plowing through, knowing my truck could handle it.
But that also meant local authorities would find evidence when they did their nightly rounds.
So I pulled off to the side of the road, clasped my tool belt and backpack on, then trekked forward on foot.
The rising sun filled the eastern sky. It was a beautiful backdrop as I drank a cup of coffee that tasted like regret and bad decisions.
Birds singing their songs and the chittering of bugs was soothing in a way morning chatter never would be.
The scent of wildflowers filled the air and made me hold out my hand to let it graze the tall grass.
I estimated it was about eight o’clock when I finally came across a thicket of trees, curving in an oval shape around the remnants of the long abandoned road.
The shape of the entrance to the forest formed too deliberately to be a coincidence. Never walk through natural portals, my aunt’s cautious voice echoed in my memory.
It didn’t help that glimmers sparkled randomly flashed, as if to beckon outsiders in. Or that despite the sun’s position the pathway showed how dark it was inside.
The shadows were overgrown too.
It reminded me of the hotel during the night before. Around three thirty all the disturbances in my room stopped, but this was where the problem lived. There wouldn’t be reprieve here.
The Dark Entry Forest was a fitting name.
I took a deep breath to center my energy as I approached the opening. Every nerve rejected walking through the perfect entryway, but this would be how those kids entered the forest. So that’s how I had to enter, too.
I slowed my steps as I got closer. Shadows moved in the corner of my eyes, but when I turned to catch them they vanished.
The more you see, the more they see you.
My feet stopped in front of the invisible border between the trees. Everything in my body screamed to turn back, that death was uncomfortably close. A prey’s instinct to survive.
My body resisted the motion of taking a simple step to cross the invisible border of the forest. I grunted with forceful effort.
Come on, bitch. You’ve been in worse places than this.
It was like a hundred-pound weights latched around my ankles, but once I got a foot in the rest slid forward like butter.
Each inch of my body grew colder as I stepped in.
The chill in the air made me shiver and curled into a place I could only call my soul.
It reminded me of the aftermath of an argument at two in the morning, where sleeping on the couch is the only comfort.
The kind of cold the sun can’t warm. Something I was all too familiar with now.
I twisted, looking back without thinking. A real part of me wanted to leave, despite my best attempts to ignore it.
Only to find my shadow was still on the other side of the entrance. Farther back than it should be. Its head tilted to the side as if it was as confused as I was on the matter.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I’d seen a lot in my time as a hunter. I’d never seen that before. If your shadow can’t enter, what does that mean?
Probably nothing good.
With a deep breath to steady myself, the scent of dirt and green, along with a hint of stagnant air, hit my nose. The hair on my arms stood on end, and I stood in place, trying to figure out exactly what was off.
Other than my shadow being rejected at the door. That wasn’t the only thing that had me on edge.
What was I missing?
It took too long to realize what it was: deafening silence.
No locusts, birds, or frogs. No rushing water from a nearby river.
Like the forest was holding its breath.
A few more steps inward, and I couldn’t see more than a couple feet ahead of me. The flickering mica in the soil was the only source of light. The trees were the deepest green I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t argue that there was an eerie beauty to the place.
If I could ignore the humanoid shapes lurking from behind each and every tree, that is.
The energy was oddly familiar.
It was the same brittle tension in the psych ward I left yesterday, like something would snap without warning. A distant scream, that I almost couldn’t hear, bounced off the trees, making it impossible to tell which direction it came from.
They followed me as I ventured deeper and deeper, whispering to each other. Probably wondering what the fuck I was doing here.
I should have spoken my intentions, but since I wasn’t sure which one, or how many, I would have to kill, I decided against it.
Something grabbed my arm, making my throat drop to my stomach.
I gasped and whirled around, ready to take on whatever spirit was ballsy enough to touch me. Only to find branches extended over the road, grabbing me.
I barked out a forced laugh to settle the bile rising in my throat. Maybe I was shakier than I thought.
The whispering stopped, filling me with unease. Stay calm.
I disentangled the bush from my shirt, sighing in relief when the whispering started up again.
I finally pulled out my flashlight, realizing the road was swallowed by the vine growth taking over the path. Hedges on each side grew thicker and closer, like fingers tugging me away from what I knew was hidden here.
The branches tightened their grip to a bruising level that sent my heart lurching in my throat. I pushed forward, fighting the restraining grasp.
The desperation was pungent in the air, and I found myself fighting even harder against them. I yanked free with sweat dripping down my temple.
I aimed the flashlight at my arms to confirm what I already suspected. Finger-shaped bruises littered every visible piece of skin. I counted each bruise and came to an unsettling conclusion.
This place wasn’t just haunted. It was a hotspot.
Heat pierced through the cold I’d grown accustomed to while traversing the deep woods. A familiar sensation, like when someone across the bar has locked you in their sights.
Eyes.
I tilted my flashlight up, looking for the source.
Through the thinning woods, the crumbling ruins of the abandoned settlement hovered at the top of the hill.
The stone entrance slumped, as if it couldn’t handle another day of waiting for someone to enter.
Welcome to Dudleytown.
The large shadows of the entrance shifted, but I couldn’t see any clear shapes inside them.
One thing was for sure.
Whatever was responsible for this was in there.
And it already knew I’d arrived.