Lost In The Woods

A rock and a hard place

The emotions inside Emma's chest would not be released. The tears were looming, around her dark grey eyes. They refused to fall, out of pure stubbornness.

20-year-old Emma Wright, who was recently separated from her on again off again partner, Logan Marcus.

Emma took tiny, light steps down the side of the dark street. Her mind kept busy wondering what she ever saw in Logan. Her long brunette hair, tied up neatly in a ponytail, swayed back and forth with each step. Despite the situation, Emma kept her composure. She knew that no amount of anger or worry would solve this dilemma that she had willingly leapt into.

Emma thought back to the look of satisfaction on Logan's face when he pulled his BMW over to the side of the road, he turned to her still sporting a smug look when he asked her to get out of the car. Emma's jaw dropped at his request, she didn't feel the need to argue; he wasn't worth the effort, so she opened the door. She dragged herself up from the extremely low riding car. She had barely closed the door when he sped off into the distance.

She was alone, in the dark, walking in a direction that she hoped was toward home. She had begun to hold her breath without noticing. She listened intently to every noise that resonated through the tall thick trees.

After living her whole life in the city, the scenery around her now was foreign, medium sized leaves coating the trees that lined the roads. Bushes popping out randomly, it was all so different from what she was used to. The only place she had ever seen that was this covered in trees was the park they had lived next to in the city she came from.

Being from a big city, Emma twitched with every noise that echoed through the woods. Even though she lived on the edge of the park, she rarely spent more time in the densely wooded area than it took to cross through it.

This was a completely different world than she was used to. As though Logan had launched her into space and bailed at the last moment. He knew she wasn't used to the outdoors; her hobbies had always included shopping and hanging out in the food court with her school friends.

Emma's mind raced with possible outcomes, being attacked, either by animals or deranged folks that lurked in the woods.

If the woods that lined the town were anything like the woods in her home town, the scariest monsters were waiting in the shadows. The very idea sent a shudder down her back.

She debated running, deciding against it, realizing it would make unnecessary noise. Her hands gravitated to her sides, tugging and twisting at her shirt, her nerves not allowing her to do much else.

The noise of her feet scraping the dirt, mixed with the multiple thoughts bouncing about in her mind, became the only noises she could hear. She wanted to stay vigilant of the woods and anything that might come for her, but the internal turmoil eventually overtook her.

A dark, shadowy figure approached her from the bushes, but she was oblivious to the extra crackles and crunches as she leapt into an ill-fated daydream of sorts.

The leaves crinkled. Emma calmed her nerves by reassuring herself that everything was going to be fine. Normally, she would have pulled out her cell phone and called to have her father pick her up, but since they left the city, there had been no discussion about getting new cell phone plans. She would make it home by foot and her father would be waiting for her, relieved that she was alright.

The wind blew leaves across the road; the tree branches clacked together. Emma's heart pounded against her chest, her hands constantly fidgeting with her shirt. The excess noise from the mysterious figure still unnoticed, her mind was too cluttered to allow for any common sense.

The figure stalked Emma, studying her movements. It's breath slow and raspy; Its footsteps swooshing through the grassy area, each step powerful enough to blow the debris away from its feet.

Finally, the shadowy figure nodded and throwing its weight toward Emma; it grabbed her arm and pulled her into the woods.