Private detective Marcus Black ventures into the gloomy and mysterious town of Woodberry, a place shrouded in mist and full of dark secrets. Hired to investigate the disappearance of Anna and her partner, filmmaker Evan Woods, Marcus must face a hos...
Woodberry National Park seemed to stretch endlessly in front of Marcus. The trees formed such a dense canopy that sunlight barely filtered through the branches, giving the impression that the day had never begun. As he walked along the path covered in leaves and moss, the feeling of being watched persisted, as if the forest itself had eyes. Marcus had learned to trust his instincts, and something inside him told him he wasn't alone.
The fog swirled among the tree trunks, creating ephemeral figures that disappeared before Marcus could focus on them with his flashlight. Every step he took felt like a test, a challenge that the forest imposed to see if he was worthy of continuing. As he ventured further, the air grew colder, and the silence more oppressive. Even the wind seemed to have stopped, leaving only the sound of his own footsteps as the only constant in that place.
Marcus stopped abruptly when he heard something. At first, he thought it was the murmur of the wind among the trees, but soon he realized it was something else. A whisper, low and almost imperceptible, that seemed to come from all directions. He turned on his heels, his flashlight sweeping the area, but there was nothing there. Just shadows. Shadow after shadow, that seemed to watch him from a distance. Marcus swallowed, trying to ignore the shiver running down his spine.
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It was then that he saw them. Three figures standing among the trees, not far from where he was. They wore long white hooded coats, which contrasted strangely with the gloom of the forest, and their faces were hidden behind white masks that covered their faces. Their gazes were piercing, and each eye had black spirals that seemed to hypnotize. The masks had long noses, similar to those used by plague doctors. Marcus felt his heart stop for a moment as he met those unsettling gazes.
The figures did not move. They remained there, motionless, watching him in silence. Marcus pointed his flashlight at them, but the light barely seemed to affect them, as if the fog enveloped them, protecting them from being fully seen. He took a few steps back, never taking his eyes off the figures. It was then that, with adrenaline pumping, he drew his weapon and shouted, "WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
The figures, without making a sound, turned around with an eerie calm and began to walk away. They slowly moved into the fog, partially dissipating, but could still be seen in the distance, as if they wanted Marcus to follow them. Marcus felt the tension remain in his body, but the urgency to discover more pushed him to move forward.
Marcus decided to follow the shadows cautiously, with his weapon in hand, looking in all directions. He wasn't nervous, but adrenaline coursed through him. The fog seemed to wrap around him, making him feel like he was crossing a threshold into the unknown. Each time he moved forward, the figures' white coats blurred into the mist, but he could always see them just enough not to lose track. He kept walking, with the flashlight in one hand and the weapon in the other, making sure he was ready for whatever might happen.
The figures led him to a cabin in the middle of the forest, a place that wasn't marked on any of the park's maps. Marcus hid behind a tree, watching from a distance. The figures entered the cabin without a word. He waited for a few minutes, until the fog thickened even more, partially obscuring the cabin. He decided it was time to approach.
The cabin was in ruins, with the roof half collapsed and the windows broken. Marcus pushed the door, which was barely hanging on its hinges, and entered cautiously. Inside, the air was damp, and the smell of rotten wood filled his nostrils. The interior was small and dark, but large enough to see a table in the center, on which rested an old camera. The walls were covered in strange symbols: red spirals, so red they looked like blood, with a white dot at their center. Marcus was stunned to notice that there was no trace of the people in white coats; they had entered, but he hadn't seen them leave.
Marcus approached the table, his eyes fixed on the camera. It seemed old, something that Evan and Anna might have brought for a simple recording, perhaps? He picked it up and saw that underneath it was a tape that looked like it had been used recently. He took the tape and placed it in the camera to play its contents. The first video showed Evan and Anna inside the same cabin. Evan held the camera while Anna spoke, explaining their intent. They wanted to create an authentic horror film, an experience that felt real and close, with no professional cameras. Everything would be homemade, improvised, to convey genuine fear to whoever watched it, without filters. They themselves would be the main actors, which explained why they were there without a crew, alone, in the middle of the forest.
In one part of the video, Anna mentioned that they were going to climb the path to a nearby cliff to film an important scene. Evan filmed her as she described how the goal was to capture the feeling of vulnerability and isolation, a scene in which they would pretend to be chased, filming everything handheld to convey the terror in an intimate and authentic way. Marcus felt a chill hearing that, as if the risk they spoke of had become very real.
The feeling of being watched hadn't disappeared, and the atmosphere in the cabin was becoming more and more suffocating. He knew that recording was important, that it contained clues about Evan and Anna's motives, but also something else, something he still couldn't understand. He finished reviewing the camera and turned it off. There were more questions than answers, but at least now he had an idea of why they were there.
Marcus left the cabin, his gaze scanning the surroundings, looking for any sign of movement, any indication that the figures in the fog were nearby. But there was nothing, just silence, a silence that seemed to grow with each passing second. The mention of the cliff in the recording echoed in his mind, and Marcus knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity to investigate. With the camera turned off and stored carefully, he headed toward the path that led up to the cliff. The fog seemed to grow even thicker, and the feeling of being watched didn't leave him. With each step he took, the darkness of the forest seemed to close in around him, but Marcus was determined. He had to reach the cliff, he had to know what had happened there. No matter what he found, he was ready to face it.
