distorted dreams

chapter eight;

Jay glanced up at the sky, though it was barely visible through the thick swath of tree branches and leaves.

"You'd think more trees would be dead, since it's like..winter." Hope commented, sighing quietly to herself.

"Stupid Evergreens-" Maxwell muttered, sitting down on a large rock and kicking at the dirt.

Jay shook their head, squinting in attempts to see the sky better. The only thing they could see though was stray patches of deep blue. The stars weren't even visible, which was definitely a letdown for Jay.

Hope pointed her flashlight up, examining the leaves with a bored frown. "I don't think anything is out here." She said flatly.

Maxwell shifted, his eyes searching the tree line nervously. "There has to be something though, right?" He murmured.

Jay sat down, sighing. "No, maybe Hope's right. This was probably just a waste of time.."

Hope and Maxwell exchanged a glance, both of them frowning softly. Maxwell stood, pulling Jay up by their arm.

"I think we should keep searching though. I mean, it's still dark out so there could still be something out there-" Maxwell never thought he'd be saying those words with such a positive tone.

Hope nodded, pointing her flashlight ahead. "Yeah! C'mon Jay-" She said, smiling weakly.

Jay picked their flashlight up off the ground, nodding slowly. "Okay. Let's get this show on the road."

The party moved forward, stepping over low bushes and cracking fallen twigs under their feet. They were mostly silent as they moved along, searching every tree or log for some kind of hiding place. Yet, as they walked further and further, they couldn't find anything that lead to signs of life.

"Do animals not even live here..?" Hope whispered. She'd observed that they hadn't found any kind of burrow or nest, and there weren't even any other noises in the forest besides the rustling of leaves in the breeze.

Maxwell shrugged, remaining silent. He shone his flashlight down, looking between the thick roots of the tree before him. Nothing was hiding there, just clumps of grass and leaves.

Jay shifted their weight. "That's really weird actually.." They whispered.

The other two turned, raising their eyebrows in a way that said, "Go on."

Jay looked around. "When me and Amelia would come here, we'd always see animals. I remember we used to try and catch things, it was like a collection kind of game."

Hope blinked slowly. "So..where are they now..?" Her voice seemed to echo in the empty area.

The three grew quiet, listening for something- anything. No sounds came. Not even the wind seemed to be blowing.

Jay felt an uneasy feeling settle in their stomach. "I have a very bad feeling about this." They whispered.

Maxwell nodded, his hands trembling as he glanced around frantically. Hope stepped forward, pointing her flashlight down into the tree roots as well. She began following something, her breathing quickening.

Jay looked at Maxwell, then followed quickly, holding his flashlight down as well. Hope stopped abruptly, slowly moving her light up.

Upon the sight, she gasped. "Holy.." She whispered.

Illuminated by the light was a large, black hole in one of the sturdy tree trunks. It looked like a huge tear, and there were other smaller tears edged around it. You couldn't even light up the inside of them, it was just pure black expanding through the tree.