Whispers Of The Woods

Chapter 1

My heart pounded in my chest, aching for relief. With trembling fingers I clutched onto my camera bag that was slung over my shoulder. There was no one in this area of the forest. No one ever dared to enter it. Ever.

I was beginning to believe they were right all along.

The trees swayed to the wind as though they were snakes dancing to the tune of a flute. They began to blur in among each other as I trekked deeper down the cobbled path. The sun was beginning to drop, I feared I wouldn't be able to make it out of here before sunset. Darkness was far more dangerous than anything the forest offered to give. Or so I thought.

My other hand tightly gripped my camera that I'd brought along with me. I was assigned to this area to discover wildlife and unique flora native to the land. It was all to be documented for my school project. However,  this weird feeling in my stomach made me feel as though my project will never be completed because I'll forever be stuck here.

My phone had lost signal and its battery not long ago. It was the only thing that brought me a sense of sanity. Now I feared that I'll either be stuck here and eaten by spiders or I'll die out from my own fear.

Not even a week ago my biggest concern was how I'd start my assignment and if I would be able to hand it in on time. Now, all I want is for nothing but to escape this mad maze.

Branches cracked under my white sneakers as I walked deeper into a pit of more plants and trees. If I'm here I might as well click a couple of shots. I can't lose hope that quickly.

Pausing in the middle of nowhere, I put my camera up to an angle. There were large tall trees each with different patterned leaves. The bushes were sporting all sorts of colourful flowers. Facing a large tree, I snapped a couple of pictures. As I trekked down further, an eerie sensation crawled up my spine. I felt like I wasn't alone.

Oh lord, please help me. I silently begged. It's nothing, I tried comforting myself.

To distract myself from my paranoia, I took pictures of my surroundings again. It wasn't until I began swiping through the countless images that I'd clicked, I noticed something. In the background of one of the photos was a massive brown body of fur. My stomach dropped as I glanced around with wide eyes.

Breathe, I told myself. There can't be wolves in the forest, it's just a myth. Wolves in Australia? That's just ridiculous. I feel as though I'm officially losing it.

Swallowing deeply, I quickly broke out into a run. That sensation I felt earlier became all too real when I heard the sound of feet hitting the forest ground. Feet that did not belong to me, but several others.

"Oh god, please don't let me die. I'm too young for this," I cried out as I pushed my legs forward.

Adrenaline soared through my veins as I ran down the different trees, bumping onto branches that scraped my arms. I felt the heat of a foreign body radiating from behind me as I ran further. It was so close I was afraid I was imagining it until it touched me, throwing me to the ground. My feet got caught up between themselves as a warm furry body pushed me to the hard soiled ground.

A cry left my body as I landed on top of my arm, my camera falling out of my hands to land in a place a few feet away from me. My body shook in fear as I felt the animal push me further into the ground.

This is it. This is my last day on Earth. I would try to fight it if hadn't put its paws on my shoulders. This was gonna end up like a tragic version of little red riding hood.

Maybe if I play dead it'll get off of me. I froze as I felt its snout sniffing my neck and the rest of my body. Please, save me.

It wasn't until the creature got off of me that I became more aware of the excruciating pain radiating off my wrist that I'd landed on. There was a sound of crackling behind me, causing me to turn my head around. My eyes widened as I witnessed a man emerge out of fur. He had no clothes on as he stood in all his glory.

Holy mother of cows. I must be dreaming. This has to be some kind of sick joke. Or maybe this man is a witch.

With wide eyes I scrambled away from the man towering above me. My body shook in fear as I pushed myself into a tree, eyes screwed shut as I willed the man to go away. I was hallucinating, that was the most possible explanation to this. I tried pinching myself but nothing changed.

My eyes snapped open at the sound of the feet moving, the man was moving towards my camera. What was he going to do? I cried out when he stepped on the device aggressively, shattering it into pieces. That's when I lost my resolve. My body started shaking with sobs as I held onto myself.

I was going to die at the hands of a naked man wolf.

He not only shattered my entire camera but destroyed all my chances at making it out of here alive.

"Stop crying," he grumbled, his voice deep and rough as though he hadn't used it in a while.

What was going on? The need to escape this place made me cry even more.

"What...what are you?" I whispered under my breath, afraid of his answer.

He ignored me as he picked up the broken pieces of my camera, hurling them into a bush far away. That was when I noticed the other wolves in the distance, all standing tall behind trees. This has to be some sort of dream.

"Get up," he ordered as he glared down at my trembling figure.

I shook my head as tears blurred my vision. I was not going anywhere with this naked creature. He would have to drag my dead body before I agreed to this. With a plan in my head, I decided to stand up on shaky legs. He didn't bother looking at me as I stood. Without a glance his way I quickly broke out into a run in the opposite direction.

I had taken one step before a menacing growl froze me in place. A large hand had grabbed my upper arm, pulling me back to face them. The man was glaring down at me, his jaw clenched.

"If you even think about running away, you're as good as dead. Do you understand?" He growled out. His voice was extremely dominating to the point I had no choice but to nod.

My body felt like it had lost control over itself as I began to follow the lead of the man. I felt as though I was in a trance of some sort. As we walked, the rest of the wolves began to surround us. Some following while others lead.

"Where are we going?" I questioned.

He didn't answer. I felt another wave of tears pool in my eyes as my body shook from fear. His grip on me hadn't loosened, causing me to tremble even further.

"Stop shaking," he growled. He looked down at me, his previous brown eyes were now a striking yellow.

That was my last straw. I couldn't control my body as legs gave out from under me.

"What are you doing?"

That was the last thing I heard before the darkness pulled me into its clutches. Maybe this was all a dream. It had to be, right?

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