Forest of the Angels

Teenagers are idiots

The three girls trudged further through the forest. One about a hundred metres ahead of the other two, Their shoes were caked in mud and they were soaked to the skin from the endless drizzle of rain.

"What are we even looking for, Rachel" one muttered, barely audible to the girl up ahead. Her shoulder length hair clung to the side of her face as she glared up at the crooked trees.

"Six people have gone missing this year, and if I'm correct..." Rachel shone her torch through the gloom. A shattered window glinted in the distance. "Ah-Ha, there it is. That house is where Grandma used to live. She always said that there's something in the woods. If we can find her notes, we could try to figure out what's going on."

"Brilliant. Could we do this tomorrow, I'm freezing." Ellie shivered, gripping on to her coat as though it was her saviour.

"Where's the fun in that."

"Oh, yeah, because getting murdered in a creepy old house is tremendously fun. Sorry I forgot what we class as entertainment these days." Ellie glared at Rachel. If looks could kill, a nuclear bomb would've detonated Rachel right there and then. Rachel sighed, and she continued to haul herself forward through the endless muck, regretting her decision to wear converse and jeans.

"Rachel, El has a point." The third girl added, her voice muffled by the Cruchie she was eating. Her large brown eyes glittered in the dark. "It's cold, dark and wet. I'm not even supposed to be out here, it's past 10pm."

"Yeah, and do you know what else starts with three girls in an abandoned house in the dark?" Ellie added.

"A terrible porno?"

Ellie stopped and stared at Rachel. Her eyes conveying her inner struggle on whether to laugh, cry or whack her over the head with a shoe. "A horror movie, you tosser"

"Well, if you two are scared, why don't you both run your British asses back to the airport?" Rachel sighed, hauling herself through the broken window, hissing a little as she felt a splinter dig into her skin. The sarcasm was slowly draining her - spending the night with one angry Brit was hard; two was like trying to tie shoelaces with chopsticks.

"Oh, piss off. Can we go now?" Ellie whined, hoping that Rachel would get fed up with her attitude and come home.

"I'm staying because I want to find out what's going on." Rachel snapped, dumping her bag on the floor and heading deeper into the building. Ellie's frown dropped further into a sulk at how frustratingly stubborn Rachel was being.

"Something that could easily be done at any other time than the LITERAL WITCHING HOUR!" Ellie said,  "I'm not scared, I just value my sleep."

"Guys. Please shut up."

"What is it Jess?"

Jess was staring into the trees. She and Ellie were right outside the house now. It loomed over them. The blood red bricks were worn and crumbling. Each window was dusty and cracked; the walls were shrouded in layers of poison ivy. The leaves had fallen to the floor, decaying, leaving the bare branches to twist around the house. Bugs crawled up the rotting wooden frames. The huge ornate door was slammed aside like it was nothing; splinters were flung back into the shadowy corridor.

Jess' breathing grew heavy. Each sharp breath blew swirling mist out of her gaping mouth. Her face was pale, twisted into a look of pure terror. Despite the ice, sweat began to run through her dark hair.

"Jess?"

Whimpering, Jess raised her arm to point into the dark abyss between the deep red trunks.