The Forest

The hiking trip to the forest had once seemed like a great idea–a dare–but now, it felt horribly wrong. 

The forest seemed rather bleak with the tall trees blocking out the sunlight completely. The air was heavy and sounds felt muted somehow, until all we could hear was our own heartbeat. Even the birds that were chirping outside seemed to have deserted the forest in search of happier places. Our otherwise rambunctious group was now too silent. The crunching sound our feet made on the forest floor felt like an open invitation to…

Something…

Something sinister…

Though we couldn’t be sure of what.

Turning back felt like a wise decision though nobody wanted to say it out loud. It would be admitting defeat. So we all walked along, no longer cracking jokes and too aware of our surroundings. There was a feeling of being followed the moment we stepped in, and as we went deeper, the feeling became stronger, until it was so overpowering like a serpent sitting on our chest. We walked in a tight group and kept sneaking glancing behind us.

And that’s when a twig cracked behind us. A flock of birds took off. And suddenly, everybody started screaming and running in all directions.

A stag walked out of the bushes behind us, looking scandalized.