And as soon as Simon leapt out through the cracked open doors onto his stomach, the train tracks gave in. With a final slip, the train dove into the abyss. Simon's chest tightened up, each breath panted with a wheeze. Each breath felt like it took every fiber of his being. The ground supporting his quivering figure brought him back to his senses; his breathing slowed down and he opened his eyes back up."jesus fucking christ."He propped himself up, pushing his hands towards the ground to get him back onto his feet. Running his face through his face to feel the scratches on his face from the jump. Turning around, he walked towards the edge of where the road ends. The curtain of darkness below did not allow him to make out where the remains of what was once a train could be. What would all this be for if he were to be in that train right now?Feeling his pockets, they had nothing but air.Shit... My phone. Simon turned around again to be greeted by a group of trees poking through the dark. With no path elsewhere, Simon walked straight in, a sweat trickling down his temple. Squinting his eyes a couple steps into the crowded trees, a white shine meters from him caught his attention. Simon jogged over to the source of light. A lantern. A lantern in the middle of the forest. Nonetheless, he bent down to pick it up. Its better than nothing, he thought. Locking it with his fist, he could see the bark of the trees. All dead. Not a single forage on these wooden skyscrapers. The whistles of the wind was the only thing audible here besides Simon's footsteps. Simon continued straight, to be greeted with yet another lantern. And another. There was a trail of lanterns seperated far from eachother yet they clearly made up a path. 5 lanterns later, the 6th was suspended on a rock, that had a tree trunk suspended over it. Climbing over that tree trunk, Simon saw a wall boarding up the other side of the forest. Decorated with graffiti tags and dirt. With a jump down he crossed over it. Simon's steps barely left a mark on the ground yet he felt himself becoming heavier as he continued through the dead forest. There hasnt been a lantern on this side of the forest yet. It has been nothing but trees, the smell of dirt, and himself. The beacon inlaid upon Simon's fist lit up what was yet another wall. Just like the other one, full of graffiti tags, but this time there was no tree suspended over it to climb over. Following the wall to the right, it was almost as if it was completely seperating this half of the forest. Comprised up off concrete and grime, a honey gold door stood out to him. The empty skyscrapers of bark stared down at him as Simon turned the knob and walked through. The forest grinned to see him on the other half.Simon scowled, his neck hairs stood up like a soldier on guard. Shivering not from the chill of the wind but from all the questions running through his mind after crossing 2 walls in the middle of nowhere. Taking a step forward after crossing through the door, he stepped on an unfamiliar ground. Felt more solid than the ground. Simon looked down and saw a tape recorder. At this point, Simon was convinced the trees could talk. And they were iggling amongst eachother while watching him wander around. Simon bent down on his knees and clicked the play button of the tape recorder. Subtle static, broken by sudden wheezy moaning. No, not moaning. He couldnt make out what sound was being made. But he knew one thing for sure. Simon punched the button off with his finger before stepping back up and walking. His feet dug deeper into the ground with each step. In the distance, he saw a white light. A lantern, finally. A rush of brief security washed his face and Simon rushed over to it. This time there was a cardboard box below it though. And a round, white metallic object. Human-made. He picked it up, it was a doorknob. A lantern and a doorknob on a cardboard box in the middle of the forest. Stuffing the doorknob into his pocket, he noticed something else.Huh.There was a red arrow pointing straight sprayed onto a 2nd piece of cardboard infront of him. Dusty and faded. Simon swallowed his spit and froze for a moment in an attempt to make sense of this assortment of items before him. Thunder roared through the forest. Oddly close, Simon could feel the vibrations of the thunder nearby. He heard it again. This time he was sure it was not just the sound of lightning. It was the growl of spinning gears and motors. Simon felt his body stiffen. He didnt want to believe was he heard. His eyes were darting in all direction possible around the forest to look for where the motors where weeping. His head felt like it was being submerged in a bucket of ice as he desperately tried to convince himself he was going crazy. Then he knew. A swine-like cry broke the giggling of this cynical crowd of dead trees. This throaty, inhuman cry let out another motor growl, and this time is sustained. It did not stop. Simon's chest skipped several beats, adrenalines flooded his veins. Failing to process the sounds and his fear, the piggish scream broke the silence again. And sprinted towards him. With a heart that forgot to pound, Simon dashed towards where the arrow pointed. It was the only sense of direction he had at this point. The piggish screams kept deafening him, the roars of the spinning blade were judgement bells. His feet were lifting him off the ground, bruteforcing through any dead bush or branch in his way. Broken branches scrapped his face and splinters scratching his arms. Simon has a kettlebell in his lungs and he continuously struggled to lift it up and breathe. The screaming of whatever was chasing him was catching up to him, it felt like he had it's breath down the nape of neck. Grinning gleefully. He couldnt think about where this thing was. He couldnt even focus on where he was running to. The piggish scream slashed it's chainsaw through the air in an attempt to strike this lonely rabbit. Simon could barely scream from how close he knew this monster was. He kicked the ground and kept his head forward, to see a run-down house. Simon sped up and smashed through the door, he couldnt be bothered to reinstall the doorknob to the door. The impact from his speed hitting the thin door, and then falling, kept him stuck on the ground for a second. Scrambling back up he crawled through the corridor and into the hole brokwn below the wall of the same house, crawling to the other side of the room. His jacket was drenched with sweat and his entire body was trembling like a wet cat. He held his head and tried to slow down his breathing while holding his shirt over his mouth. The screaming wasnt happened since he went into the house. Nor could the growls of a chainsaw be heard. Simon knew though, that this "thing" was still in this forest. And through the cracks of the rundown house's wall, the dead trees continued further down. He was far from getting out of this place. And something is after him. Tears swelled up in his eyes. He thought, he might spend forever walking through this forest. But he knows he cant stay in this raggedy house forever. He shoved his face into his knees as he trembled and held back his tears through his clothes. "It's happened again"Simon's head darted up from his knees. His eyes scanned the room he was in then looked through the cracks of the wall again. Still no sign of the thing that chased him. Let alone any other living thing."Hold him still". The trees stopped giggling and the wind abandoned them. The moonlight shined through the cracks of the run-down wall. Simon stared right at the light. The moon stared right back down at him. "You'll be okay."
