Whispers Beyond the Forest

Chapter 12

As they talked, Emily managed to let go of her fears more and more. Syl wasn't so bad. He was just a boy. Her friend. Yes, he had powers, but that in itself wasn't anything to be afraid of.

Syl showed her how his powers worked, how the energy flowed through the tattoos on his arm, into the palms of his hands. From there, he could direct it outside of his body and into the world. Once Emily started trusting him, she couldn't stop asking questions about his powers. She could still hardly believe she'd ended up in a world with actual magic.

He told her more about their friendship as well. Just like with Maya and Dennis, her friendship with Syl had had its ups and downs over the years. But eventually, they always came back here and talked things out. Always.

"I have to go," said Syl suddenly, jumping up from the log as if it had burned him.

"Oh," was all Emily could think to say. "But... I still have so many questions."

Syl smiled his sad smile down at her. "Another time." Without another word, he turned and walked off, disappearing in the shadows of the trees.

Emily sat there staring after him for a few moments, trying to understand what had just happened. Had she said something wrong? She didn't think she had...

Suddenly a light went on in her head and she jumped up, her heart leaping into her throat with the movement. "Syl, wait!"

When no sound came back, she followed after him, into the woods. How could they have been so stupid? Syl hadn't told her when they'd meet again!

"Hey, Syl! Come back!"

Emily all but ran past the trees, stumbling several times when she failed to spot a fallen branch or upturned root.

"Syl!"

Eventually, she paused, leaning over with her hands on her knees, panting. "Damnit..." She kicked a stray twig away in frustration.

For the first time since she'd left the clearing, Emily had a look at her surroundings. All around her, darkness stretched on. The many trees seemed to block everything else from view. She turned a few times, uncomfortable in the eerie silence all around her. A bird chirped far in the distance. The only other sound she could hear was that of the wind rustling leaves.

The emptiness around her slowly settled into her stomach, too, when she realised she had no idea where she was. Which way is the clearing again?

She turned a few more times, searching for something, anything, familiar. But the trees all looked the same. Dark and gloomy.

"Oh nooo..." she muttered under her breath, glancing around desperately. Now what?

She couldn't stay here, she knew that much. Picking a random direction, she forced her feet to move.

Emily walked further and further into the forest, unsure entirely of whether she was getting nearer or farther away from town. Not knowing where to go, she'd decided to follow the chirping of the birds up ahead, but their songs seemed to come from different directions sometimes.

She regretted going after Syl, but it was much too late now. Without a doubt, Emily was completely and utterly lost.

"Now what do we have here?"

A teasing voice grabbed her attention and she whirled around. A boy with flaming red hair stood in front of her, a smirk on his freckled face.

"Who are you?" she breathed wide-eyed.

"I am someone who belongs here," said the boy, taking a threatening step forward. "You, on the other hand, are not."

Emily gasped when her eyes flicked towards the boy's arms, where the same black lines curled around his skin that Syl had, too. Oh no... I must've gone the wrong way after all. I must've ended up on the wrong side of the forest!