Lure To The Woods

XVI

I followed him in silence out of the park, refusing his offer of the umbrella. We crossed the wet, green field and arrived at the path that leads you past the tree line and deep into the forest. He passed it without a second thought, but I stopped dead in my tracks. Was this a good idea? I really wanted to know, but this seemed pretty dangerous- regardless of whether my gut told me that he was safe or not. 

"Cameron, you know that I would never hurt you." Xavier frowned, looking slightly hurt that I could even think that.

I breathed in deeply, passing the tree line shakily. Xavier nodded, leading me down the dark path into the woods. It was hard to keep up with him at times, since he was a lot taller than me and took much longer strides; I would have to almost jog in order to keep up with his normal walking pace. Plus, my pace was a bit more hesitant. I was following Xavier into the woods, after all. 

The forest became more and more dense the further we strayed from the tree line. It was so dark, so I'm not sure how Xavier could see so clearly. I stumbled on a tree root, my knees hitting the dark floor hard. I skidded slightly, but Xavier catching me before I tumbled any further. 

He helped me to my feet, my body tingling wherever he touched me. I loved the feeling of his hands on my skin and it was one of the first times he'd touched areas other than just my hands. I ignored it, trying to brush the mud off of my jeans with no luck. 

"Shit, I'm sorry. Are you okay? I forgot how dark it can be when you're not used to it. Just hold my hand- I'll guide you." Xavier apologised, offering me his hand. 

I hesitated, but took it purely just to avoid falling again... definitely not because I liked the way it felt to have tingles vibrating up my arm. Practical reasons only. 

He lead me down the dark path, warning me when it became a bit steep or extra muddy and slippery with the rain. It was a lot drier in the woods than it was in the park- the canopy of trees above us was acting as a shelter, but the odd raindrop leaked through as it found a crack in the ceiling. The sound of the rain drops hitting the leaves above our head was amazing, but it was so loud in the silence. Deafening. 

I spotted a singular light in the distance, shining brightly between the tree branches. I presumed that was where we were heading, since Xavier seemed to be heading straight for it. Once we were a bit closer, I realised that as far as the eye could see there was a wall. It was unbelievably tall, made of brick and covered in moss. There's no way you could climb it, but even if you did (using a ladder or something), the top had what looked like barbed wire curled over every inch. 

I guess Heather wasn't exaggerating her story about this place. The wall must go around the whole of their property, sectioning it off from the rest of the forest. I was curious to know how long the wall was and how large the section of the forest inside was. It screamed authority and the secretive aura was intriguing to me.

Xavier approached where the singular light was, a small metal door seeming out of place on the ever stretching brick wall. I looked along the wall again, seeing security cameras lining every inch of the thing. Whatever was inside, they certainly didn't want outsiders coming in- or knowing what lay behind these walls.

He suddenly let go of my hand, pressing a small metal button on the side the wall. A camera was right above us and he looked up, staring at the camera. A loud buzzing sound erupted from the door and it swung open, allowing me to finally see what was inside of the walls... More woods?

I looked at Xavier, confused by this. Why was this part of the woods sectioned off if there were only more woods inside? I was expecting to be met with the path to a street full of houses, not more woodlands for as far as the eye could see. I hesitated, feeling nervous to step beyond the large brick wall.