I almost thought I was going crazy two days ago and almost decided to return home until I discovered a plane ticket in his old emails. A ticket to Lund, the nearest airport to Evigt Forest, the same one I had landed in. Had Erik been here? Had he entered the forest or the mansion? The guard had confirmed no one lived here in seventeen years, but knowing my brother’s ability to sneak around, I would not be surprised if he had surpassed security and came here. The question was, what for?
As I traced a new path, the forest became alive, like it found its spirit overnight; the foliage seemed to dance with the light breeze; it felt as the gleaming leaves performed a celebratory chant of some sort. Even the trees seemed to move, their branches lingering wider and more proud while the insects and birds crooned and hummed. The symphony tickled my senses and made me soar deeper into the forest, not taking precautions to mark my path. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the woodland had caught a life of its own and it attracted me into its structure.
On this fresh path, I found unusual steps, marked by soles that were not mine, movements that did not belong to me. I shuddered. The place was presumably uninhabited. I’d heard a few noises during my trek and decided to not pay attention, thinking it might be caused by the new trainers making a fuss in the fallen leaves, but now I was not so sure. The ground fizzled. Somewhere from the trees the sounds of another person made their presence known. Someone had been following me, it seemed. To what end, I did not know.Calm down, Anwen, it’s probably nothing.Another step came from behind a big old willow, this time a shape slightly crept from its branches.
“Who’s there?” I pushed. Nothing. Only the wind rustling between the deeply contorted branches.
“Show yourself,” I demanded, this time slowly spinning to gain a better visual. I forced my sight to pierce as deep as it could.
My breath deepened, heart pulsating at a higher pace. No one should be in the woods, I was the only one allowed in here. None of the soldiers in the Forest Guard could take morning strolls, yet I sensed someone here. I looked around once more, unable to see or hear anything, but I found my feet burrowed deep into the ground, heels ready to push for a sprint should I need to run for dear life. My calves shook with tension, holding for the signal. I had nothing on me; I realised. Nothing to protect myself with in case of an attack.
“Reveal yourself, I order you,” I tried as if the potential serial killer lurking in the woods would just jump out because I asked them to. It was such a silly thing to say. Yet, within a mere moment, the wide trunk of the willow turned darker and more steps sounded from inside.
“How dare you order anything in this forest,” a heavy voice resonated.
It startled me to the point of a heart attack. I’d been right, there was something, someone out there, following me.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I demanded, trying to keep my composure as much as possible. I could start running, but my curiosity spiked, and I needed to know who the man was. I felt attracted to that voice, something deep inside me twisting with need, an urgency to know it, to know of it. As though some kind of connection linked us.
“Do not concern yourself with my name, or my desires,” the man responded from the willow bark. Dark clouds covered the roots of the tree and hovered over the moss at its base.
“Why are you here?” I questioned.
“I am playing a game,” the voice whispered. “And I seem to be winning,” it added.
My breath caught. I sensed danger coming from that voice and wanted to take a step back, when I realised my ankles were caught in the mud, keeping my feet grounded with unnatural force. I tried to twitch and pull one of my legs out, but the dirt kept clawing at me with heavy pressure. It felt like someone’s arms were pulling me down, keeping my soles forcefully docked.
“Release me!” I demanded. “Let me go!” I cried as the panic overwhelmed me, grabbing one of my knees from behind and trying to pull my right foot up.
“And what would be the point in that? What predator would release their prey?” the voice purred with wickedness.
“Please!” I cried again, trying desperately to get myself out. “Please, I beg you, just let me go!” The pressure in my ankles was causing so much pain, like if I tried to move even an inch, the tension could snap my bones like a straw.
“Just a doe in a snare,” the voice echoed, pleased with my entrapment. “The more you struggle, the more you will hurt yourself,” he announced.
With tears running down my face, I stopped pulling. The stranger was right. The more I moved, the deeper my legs sank into the mud. And he seemed to take a psychotic pleasure from my situation, as though causing me pain just made his morning.
“I don’t even know you. Just let me go back home,” I tried. My brain pulled out the information from somewhere. I knew I had a higher chance to be released if I didn’t recognise my attacker.
“You are my pawn, dearest. I am waiting for someone else to join this party, and when they do, you will have to fulfil a purpose. Do not bore me with your frivolous begging and crying, I do not care for it,” he replied with contempt.
“Just tell me what you need me to do and I’ll do it. I’ll help. Just please let me go.” I sobbed, trying to bargain for what was at stake, which at this point seemed to be my own life. Heaven my ass…this forest of wonders might become my burial place.
The voice fell quiet for a few seconds, seeming to contemplate my offer.
“There is something you could do for me. It would save us both some precious time.”
“Yes, I’ll do it. Anything,” I agreed.
“I need you to scream,” the voice whispered.
“What?” I froze.
“Scream,” the whisper commanded.
Instantly, intense pain poured into my body, the sharpness of a thousand blades penetrating into me. I howled in agony, like a wounded animal that gasped its last breaths. In mere seconds, it stopped as abruptly as it appeared. He was doing this to me.
“Very good,” the stranger echoed from the tree. “Again,” he said, and the blades pierced once more, my throat broadcasting wails into the atmosphere.
