What Lies Beneath The Clearing

15.3

Lennox waited until nightfall before leaving. As hard as Jay had tried to change her mind, she knew she'd have to go back if she wanted to protect him. She'd convinced Jay to go back to work on the promise that he'd see her again, and once he was gone she packed a bag ready for when she could go. After classes, Skye and Caleb came to visit Lennox, so she enjoyed the evening with them knowing that she probably wouldn't see them again. Telling them would've been the right thing to do, but she knew they'd try and stop her. That night, after her friends had left and her father was asleep, Lennox took her bag and headed out towards Evergreen forest. As she walked through the town she could feel the energy of the house pulling towards it whatever was inside of her, and the closer she got the more she felt like a magnet being drawn into a massive electromagnetic field. An hour later she was standing just passed the threshold between the tree line and the field, looking out at the manor house which she could only just see in the darkness. Navigating the forest when it was blacker than the night sky was difficult, but nothing she hadn't done before. As she stood thinking about what to do next, the thoughts about what she was leaving behind began to creep in and cause an internal panic. But the thought that convinced her to turn around was of Jay. She wasn't scared because she wasn't ready to give everything up yet. She wasn't ready to give up Jay. 

Maybe he was right, maybe he could help, maybe nothing would happen to him. But after changing her mind and deciding to go back, her throat suddenly closed without warning as she walked back towards the tree line. Her bag dropped to the ground as she grabbed at her neck, gasping for air that just couldn't seem to make it passed her tonsils. Lennox stumbled backwards. Whatever was inside of her travelled up her veins into her neck, constricting her airflow until she'd backed far enough into the field. Her airways cleared and Lennox dropped to her knees, gripping the ground beneath her as she coughed until tears streamed from her eyes. It took her a few minutes to finally look up, but when she did she was disappointed to realise that the thing that had choked her wasn't around her, but inside of her. The terror began to set in as Lennox looked around the edge of the field in front of her, knowing somehow that now she had arrived, there was very little chance of her leaving. She worked up the courage to try again, pulling herself to her feet, slowly shifting closer to the trees. With every step forward she felt her throat tighten and her body stiffen, as if something were physically trying to pull her away from the edge. A few moments more and Lennox had no choice but to step back, taking a deep breath of relief as her airways cleared again.