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Chapter 2: The Forest

She doesn't have to pay until after the events of the first day. It's a way for them to be sure everything is set up properly. As Hazel waits for things to start, she watches movies in preparation. The only problem is, movies don't really bother her anymore. The grossest parts are still gross, but they don't scare her so much as make her want to throw up.

Effie's gone and Sadie's resting by her feet, so she decides to entertain herself with a horror game. There's too much excitement bubbling in her stomach for her to go to sleep anytime soon. Not when things are supposed to begin as early as midnight. That's what she'd been told at least.

At some point, Hazel goes to bed, careful not to wake Sadie.

She dreams about the woods. The shadows are long, low, the sky turning to dusk. The breeze is cool on her skin and the smell of warm, wet leaves is her favorite. A staple of both fall and spring.

A cycle of death and rebirth crawls into her mind and manifests in her dream as a creature. It's tall, made of deer bones, the fallen logs and leaves of trees, layered in moss, and fungus, nature in bloom and in decay.

Her body is relaxed, muscles malleable and comfortable on the forest floor. Everything feels soft and it's like she's floating on a cloud. The creature, though scary, touches her and shows her emotions in shades of green. A warm, fuzzy feeling envelopes her chest and she writhes in the leaves until something sharp pricks her in the thigh.

Hazel's eyes snap open and all comfort is gone.

It's dark and there's a rumble in the sky like thunder. Every direction is nothing but endless, ambiguous shapes. Trees, she realizes. She shivers, covered in leaves and mud. Her body feels icky, dirty. Her clothes are wet, a t-shirt and shorts. Not appropriate for the weather or the outside. She looks around for her phone, but it's missing. This must be it, the start of her experience.

Her eyesight goes fuzzy for a moment then comes back, a woozy feeling like she's been drugged. Well, that is definitely extreme. She can't find her keys either and everything in the air suggests a storm is brewing, ready to burst.

She fumbles around, using the trees to keep her balance. She stops to clutch her head. It throbs. Something snaps a twig and her insides clench, her body tenses, and she speedwalks in the opposite direction. Everything is tall shadows moving in around her. She gets to a distinctly building-shaped darkness just as the sky opens up and rain soaks her through.

She shoves her shoulder into the door. The hinges creak loudly, but over the din of the rain, it's hardly a squeak. She shivers and shakes her arms to get the excess water off.

The place looks like a hotel lobby, pristine but for a thin layer of dust coating everything from the plush leather armchairs to the lacquered wooden countertop that sits between the elevators and the gigantic staircase.

The elevator dings and the doors slide open, inviting her inside. She stares at the pristine silver interior as she gets near. It appears brightly lit and very clean. Too clean for an abandoned building, but she guesses it's intentional for the scare package. She gets in and waits. One of the buttons is painted red. The B for basement. So that's the one she chooses, hoping it's where she's supposed to be going.

The doors to the basement open to reveal an active lab with polished metal and glass tanks in tight rows. Some tanks are large enough for multiple 'experiments', human or animal, with tanks that towered massively above the height of a human. Maybe giraffe or elephant-sized.

Most are empty, but a few tanks hold water, plants, or even strange creatures. Hazel expects they are humans in costumes, and she's waiting for the big scare. Creatures as tall as trees even seem to be set up in these tanks. There's a shark-like one and Hazel wonders if some of them might be mechanical, like the shark in Jaws.

She doesn't stop until she reaches a tank with a creature a couple of feet taller than her. Its environment is eye-catching. Fungus blooms all around on giant, fallen logs. It reminds her of a creature in mythology, or maybe from a fantasy book she's read. The same creature from her dream. A deer's skull with a bouquet of antlers, lichen, fungus, and plant rot makes up the whole of its body. It's a costume so well-designed she can smell every bit as she stands there and watches the only barrier between them sliding away.

Her stomach drops as she realizes there's nothing between them. The smell of leaves is pungent, earthy, but not unpleasant. The only strange thing about the creature's design is the modern-looking silver collar with blinking purple lights around its neck. Without that, it would have been a perfect horror monster of nature. But she doesn't have time to point out the critique on the actor's costume.

The creature lunges at her and she steps to the side to avoid its slashing claws. They look pretty sharp, and a curious thought crosses her mind. What if they didn't miss?

The beast puts its head down and she ducks out of the way as antlers smash into the wall, several pieces breaking off.

She picks one up and holds it in defense. Things are getting a little too real. Her heart races as she gets out of her corner and dashes to the elevator. The beast picks up speed once it's out of its daze and sharp points are tilted at her once more. A swipe or two is made as she makes it to the elevator, but the door won't open. She drops her body down, to the side to avoid another attack, takes up the antler piece, and rams it into the unusual collar. It must be an attack point, something to hit. Otherwise, why would such a 'nature-based' creature have it?

The antler shatters the collar to pieces and the creature stops mid-attack as though frozen in time. It pulls back, claws at its throat, and seems to look at her with empty sockets. It reaches out, but this time without malice or aggression.

Her instincts tell her that breaking the collar has changed this creature. That it's safe to touch now. She allows the creature to touch her shoulder. Her mind whirs with energy that isn't hers. Emotions, colors, and a sense of calm all fill her head at once. It feels like she's floating on air once again, only this time she's not dreaming.

The creature gently picks her up.

Her head swirls so much that she feels dizzy like the drugs are still affecting her.

Its arms feel like branches, scratching just a little. It takes her out of the facility where now the clouds and the thunder and the rain are all gone. The night is calm, and the sky is filled with soft moonlight.

Hazel isn't sure whether or not she's tripping.

Its skull glows, too close to her face. She's surrounded by a sweet earthy smell, warm and inviting. It lulls her into a sleepy comfort. Her aches and pains melt away as the creature pulls her closer. Her mind shows her images of another world, alien trees, and a sky the color of amethyst. She hears voices in foreign languages, forgotten and dead.

The creature opens its cloak to wrap around her. Fungi, plants, wood, and dirt all mesh to form the creature's body underneath.

She's too sleepy to pull away as her face is pressed into mushroom flesh and mud. She thinks to herself, this is how it feeds. She sinks into warmth, inhales, and passes out.