A Plagued Winter

Chapter 16

In this forest, there lurks an evil beyond any vivid imagination. An evil that strives to shut out the light of humanity and feeds on the flesh of our weak bodies. In this forest, I encounter something that shouldn't exist.

Andre

The further into the trees I got, the louder Carlee's voice became. I picked up on what she was shouting as my feet crunched upon the sticks of the forest floor.

"What are you even doing out here?" She sounded irritated.

"Gotta live that party life Anderson. Could ask the same of you, thought you were too chicken to come out into the woods." I overheard another voice, one which clearly belonged to some dude.

I walked faster, despite not being able to see much ahead of me. To my left, distant music and small chattering filled my ear. Who the fuck? Branches and leaves pulled at my hair but I pushed forward.

"I'm not chicken, I just have respect. Clearly you don't remember what happened here." Carlee said again, her voice sharp.

"My god, Anderson! will you just drop it already? Trey ran away. Why can't you just accept that?" His voice was beginning to irritate me to my core.

"You were there too, I just think you're incredibly stupid and can't comprehend what happened back here."

"Look, I'm not here to argue with you, okay? Even if he was killed out here, this isn't the spot where it happened. I'm not disrespecting anything."

"Shut up." Carlee whispered venomously. "Do you hear that?"

"Carlee I think you should just wander back to where you came from because there's nothing..." The guy paused. He now sounded unsure. "Can you hear that?"

"I just said that." Carlee hissed.

Now as I got closer, I could see the dark silhouettes of two people a few feet in front of me. I turned on the flashlight of my phone and faced it towards them just to confirm if it was Carlee I was in front of. Sure enough, Carlee and some Asian looking guy were standing in front of me staring in my direction like deer caught in headlights.

They both relaxed when they registered that I was the source of the sound but I could only find myself glaring at the guy in front of me. I was certainly a few inches taller than him but he had the build of a brick wall and I wondered how he would react to a fight with me.

"The parties back there bud." The guy said.
I stepped towards Carlee.

"I'm not here for the party." I spoke with my eyes on her, trying to get her to give me an understanding of the situation.

As she looked at me, Carlee's face started to drain of it's natural color.

"What are you doing here Andre? you shouldn't be here." Her voice quivered. Carlee crossed the distance to me and grabbed a hold of my arm.

The guy raised an eyebrow at the two of us.
"Well this is interesting." He smirked. I turned to face him as Carlee tried to pull me with her out of the forest.

"What's so interesting about this?" I crossed my arms and raised my eyebrow at him, daring him to make a move that'll set me off.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just surprised Carlee has found a new thing to occupy her time after all these years." He pointed at Carlee."She's had a traumatic experience." He whispered mockingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I stepped towards him and shook Carlee off my shoulder.

"Would you shut up, Mikey?! Andre, none of this is important right now, we need to get you out of here." Carlee tried to grab me again and I looked at her.