Light in the Darkness (English)

Chapter 9 - The past

Leon

2003

We went on a school trip to the forest. We walked in pairs, led by the teachers. The forest was not very bright; the trees covered the sun, and only occasional rays of light shone through. A gentle breeze blew, and we could hear the birds singing in the area.

After a while, we took a short break. Everyone sat down to have lunch and chatted. Some sat on benches, others on tree stumps, or simply on the ground. I sat down next to a tree, with my back against it. From this spot, I could see all my classmates. My gaze swept across the group, and suddenly, I saw some movement among the trees a bit further away. A deer was standing there alone.

I didn't dare to alert anyone because I was afraid the deer would run away or get scared before anyone else noticed. So, I slowly began to approach it on my own.

No one noticed that I was distancing myself from the group.

The deer, however, noticed me and suddenly started to run. I tried to follow it as best as I could, but it was incredibly fast. Eventually, I lost sight of it, so I turned around and headed back in the direction I came from.

I thought I would easily find my way back to the others, but no matter how much I walked, I couldn't locate them, and I couldn't hear them either. As it kept getting darker, I started to wander through the forest, calling the names of my classmates and teachers, but all my efforts were in vain.

After a long walk, I was utterly exhausted. I slumped to the ground, leaning my back against a tree, and I began to cry. I was filled with dread. I was all alone in a vast forest, and my situation appeared bleak.

I only stopped crying when a sudden sharp pain pierced through my head, followed by blinding light, but it lasted only for a few moments. Instead of light, images appeared. It was as if I were watching a sped-up video.

Dark skies, fog all around, and huge black monsters. There was a lot of blood, and motionless people lay on the ground. My dad turned into one of those monsters and killed my mom. Ana... my sister ran away with a boy, and the boy bravely faced the monsters alone, but tears welled up in his eyes.

These images flashed suddenly and rapidly, then disappeared. With teary eyes, I held my head and stared ahead, only to realize later that there were people standing in front of me. One of them leaned over me, a blonde-haired boy, and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

My whole body was trembling, and I no longer knew why. I was scared because what I had just seen was terrifying. At the same time, I felt relieved because someone had finally found me. I didn't know him, but he was around my age, and he approached me in a friendly manner.

"Why are you crying?" he asked as he reached out his hand toward me. When our eyes met, he smiled.

"Why are you alone in the woods, dear?" asked a woman who stood behind the boy, holding a baby in her arms. The baby played with the woman's blond hair, and beside them, there was another younger boy with brown hair.

The boy couldn't have been much older than Ana.

"I got lost..." I said, while getting up with the boy's help. "I didn't go far, but I couldn't find them anywhere... so..."

The blonde boy suddenly hugged me tightly, almost making it hard to breathe.

"There's nothing to worry about! We'll help you."

"Mark is the leader of the group," the woman said, smiling. "Come with us. We're also heading out, and we'll get you home to your parents."

"Thank you," I said gratefully.