The Inauspicious Forest

Chapter two: Road Trip

Warning: Dissociation, Drug Use, And Language

She giggled at her own self wallow. This was a movie-like moment for her. She valued her spot in this college for two years, so much to the point where she wouldn't let herself leave. But she now let herself and she was proud.

The drive would be the same thing over and over, just long roads with endless woodlands on either side. It was beautiful, she had to admit. She loved being in nature, feeling the wing glide swiftly through her hair, the smell of the pine trees, it brought her to peace. The roads felt like they went on forever. She didn't know if she liked it, or if she felt too isolated for her own good. At this point, she could feel the numbness in her feet from pressing on the peddle. She began to dissociate, the trees became distorted and everything became blurred.

This went on for what was now 3 hours. The drive was an unreal loop, the same setting over and over. She fell deep into a leaf pile that was her mind and didn't stop falling. She was knocked back by a bright color, this shook her back into consciousness; A sign read, "Petrol station ahead". She pulled over just in time to notice her tank was about to run on empty. She could see inside the station that had a small bar connected to it. A what seemed to be a drunken man slumped over the bar pleading for more to drink looked over at her and grinned. She become visually uncomfortable and looked down while awkwardly smiling.

A woman wearing a white tank top, a hoodie, and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth approached her. Carmen began to cough. The smell was rancid, the smoke permeated in the air and reminded her of her hatred for cigarettes. she took a deep breath and collected herself.

"Hey, looking for gas?" The woman asked

Carmen nodded her head and kept quiet.

"quiet aren't ya?" The woman said with confidence.

"Yeah, I'm not from around here. Just stopping by and heading to March Town" she explained.

"Wait- March Town? The one with the missing persons? Oh, no honey. You better stay out of there. Wouldn't want you to go missing, would we now sugar?" The woman said in an almost sarcastic and dark way.

Carmen filled up her tank, and while being uncomfortable and unsettled, slammed the money down in the woman's hand.

"I will be fine." She said in a low angry tone.

" Keep the change, Sugar" It was almost unsettling how similar she managed to mirror the woman's energy. The woman looked briefly shocked, the woman was shaken up by Carmen's statement. Carmen felt like what that woman said was almost a territorial threat. She needed to leave. Now.

She entered her car without another word being spoken.

"Good grief, people are scary" she spoke to herself. She grew up with creeps like that woman, so she brushed it off. But, she could see the woman staring sinisterly close, just mere feet behind her. Though, the "Objects may appear closer than they are" motto didn't do jack shit for her sanity. Carmen smashed her foot on the gas and sped off.

Carmen rolled the windows down on her truck and took a deep breath. She turned the radio to play 70's hits. The road was quiet and isolated. Carmen then realized it was not the peace she was feeling, but an off-putting feeling that made her stomach churn. She looked over to her left to see an old beat down street sign reading: "Welcome To March Town"

She was home, but she sure as hell did not feel welcomed. Carmen saw a truck stop on the side of the road that was just a short walk to the entrance of the town. She wanted to get out of the car, immediately. She reached into the car and grabbed her things. She took multiple deep breaths and took in the surreal feeling of being back home. It had been two years. She parked into a small concrete parking lot that was beside a metal car gate. Carmen grabbed her bags and walked down the main street towards a small yellow house with a white picket fence and flower bushes lining the windows. A tear once more built up in her eyes as she sat her things down on the porch and knocked loudly. The door began to open, this unveiled a middle-aged woman with dark hair and a sundress on. It was her mom. She ran into her arms and began to cry. Her mother, Carol, didn't realize it was her, but when she did, she hugged her so tightly she could have killed her. She missed the overbearing and suffocating feeling of her mother's irreplaceable affection.