Lure To The Woods

III

"Cameron?" A voice called from just outside my bedroom door.

I unlocked the door and beckoned for Heather to come inside quickly. She looked around the room cautiously, eyeing the pen that I had jammed into the broken lock of my window to stop it from sliding open. She pinched her nose, kicking some stray dirty clothes out of her path.

"Are you okay? When I said to get a lock on your window, I meant a real one. It's probably nothing, anyway, so I didn't mean to panic you further." Heather tried to convince me that everything was okay.

I put a finger to my lips, heading to my computer and throwing a top over the camera. I wasn't sure what I could trust, so we had to keep our voices low until I find out if they'd tampered with anything while they were inside of my room. They could be listening, after all.

"Okay, this is literally ridiculous. If you're that worried, then just go to the police station and report it." Heather had resorted to whisper yelling, gesturing wildly to the shirt covering the camera.

"What will the police do? There's nothing they can do because I'm not even sure about what exactly has happened. I'm just being cautious." I whispered back, feeling defensive of my paranoia, "Plus, they'd know if I went to the police. They're watching."

"I still think you should report it, but whatever." Heather shrugged, "You said you needed to go to the store because you're out of cigarettes, right? I'll come with you. You'll feel safer if you're not alone."

Nodding, I thanked her for coming over to help me out. I had texted her in a bit of a panic after I had woken up and found out that somebody had closed my window while I slept. Since then, I had just been deteriorating in my frenzy of panic. I've never even considered that sleeping with them open wasn't a safe thing to; we live in such a small town that I had never even worried about break-ins.

Double checking my window was jammed shut as best as it could be, I locked the door behind me and gave Heather a wary smile, ready to head off. The second we left the safety of the house, I felt that sickening, familiar feeling return to my chest and stomach. I was being watched again. Pulling my hood up, I put my head down and walked silently beside Heather. I debated going back inside, but opted for just sticking to busy roads instead.

"It's so much quicker down the tree line route. We don't have to actually go into the forest, if that makes you feel better." Heather groaned, following me down the long route to the shops.

"The tree line makes me uncomfortable. I don't trust it." I mumbled, keeping my voice low, just in case.

"You're actually off your rocker. I feel obliged to tell somebody about this because it just can't be good."

"I'm fine. I know something's going on and it's not just me being paranoid. I'm certain."

Just like last time, the feeling subsided just as quickly as it came on and the relief was instant. I could finally relax, knowing the eyes were gone, but I looked around anyway to see if anything was out of the usual. It wasn't, of course, but that only irked me further. I wanted to know who was watching me and why. The feelings were so sudden to start and end so it was obvious to me that they had left quickly. Despite my irritation, I breathed a sigh of relief; at least I could enjoy my temporary freedom.

"They're gone." I muttered, giving Heather a grave smile.

"You've definitely lost your sanity. Are you feeling okay?" Heather asked, placing her hand to my forehead, "You haven't got a temperature, either."

"I'm not making this up." I protested, "If they're gone, there's nothing to worry about right this second. I'm fine for the time being."

"Whatever you say." Heather sighed, that worried look still on her face.