The Forest

Forests, such a serene environment. However, what if forests hid something much more sinister, something which has nefarious intent, something which can only be heard if you listen through the persistent cry of crows. Something which can only be seen if you find a way through the thick, near impenetrable walls of tangled branches. What if that something, was you?

The haunting figure in the forest was yourself. You are the something which made no one dare venture into the dark abyss of the forest. Hours and hours of running and hearing the persistent crunching of yellow, orange and faded green leaves underfoot, from your foot colliding with them. Yet you could also hear something else, something only you could hear. The low, husky snarls of a creature which has stalked you for what feels like years.

Occasionally the two sounds could be disrupted by crows taking flight from the trees above. Strangely, the sound of crows became calming, it was a sign that you were still alive, that you shouldn't give up on trying to stay alive. Every step you take it feels like dark memories which were buried deep into your brain was resurfacing, like ghosts from the past were finally coming back to haunt you.

As the snarls became louder and louder and the creature came closer and closer an indescribable fear grew inside you it felt like death was about to take you in its clutches and crush the life from your bod. Leaving you as a husk of the person you once were.

At the end of the long path ahead, you could see something, rays of light beaming through the gaps of the canopy above. The dark greens of the thousands of leaves were illuminated by the light; everything felt warm and comforting. Only a few more steps until you reached what felt like safety. For one last time you could hear another croak from, the crows flying overhead, adrenaline pulsating through your body, giving you the energy to take the final step into the light, allowing you to collapse on the rough terrain underfoot, as your eyelids grow heavy from exhaustion. You gathered enough energy to see what had been chasing you for so long. The final thing you saw before your eyelids fell shut was a ghostly figure, a ghostly figure of yourself. Yet as your eyelids shut, and your body fell backwards into endless inky darkness.

You could hear something highly familiar, the erratic beeping of a heart rate monitor yet eventually the beeping finally stopped.