Terror Forest

Things were starting to get worse. It began with a text. Leo awoke to his phone buzzing by his head.

“Hm?” he mumbled. The boy pawed around for the phone. Who was texting him this late in the night? Leo looked at the screen. One new text? He didn’t recognize the number. Against common sense, he tapped them the screen. A confused look came over his face.

Huh? What the hell is this? So many weird characters. Not even Kanji or Japanese standard writing. Leo was looking at emoji and circle-like font. This wasn’t just one line. Line after line of strange characters. Leo scrolled through the text. What was all of this?

Another text popped up. Same blocked number.

“Huh?” Leo asked. He opened that text too. More of the same strange text. By now, Leo started to wake up.

“What the hell?” he asked. This time, a new call came in. Leo raised his eyebrow.

“Kagome?” he whispered.

“Are you getting them?” she asked. Another text came through. Same as the first two. Then another one.

“You too?” Leo asked. Another one came in. The boy clinched his teeth.

“What the hell is this?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Kagome said. Another text came in. Leo clicked his tongue.

“Want to meet up in the morning?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Kagome said. By now, Leo started to ignore the texts.

“Alright,” he said. “Thanks. Bye.” Leo hung up his phone. He ignored the latest text.

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Two golden eyes opened. Heavy breathing filled the air. They were here. The air felt so clean and clear.

Hm? What is that? They turn and look around. A small squirrel ran across a tree. The smell. Oh that smell. Oh that smell. So hungry…

Step. Pant. Step. Pant. Step. Step. Step. Pant.

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Leo stared at his phone. It still hadn’t stopped. He rolled his eyes. Who the hell was this? He tried to block the number. How the hell were they doing this?

“Leo?” he heard in front of him. He looked up to see Kagome standing inches away.

“Oh,” he said. He shoved his phone into his pockets.

“Are they still coming?” he asked. Kagome held out her phone. Another text popped up on her screen.

“Why does this keep happening?” Leo asked. Kagome was about to speak when their phones buzzed. The looked at their screens. Another text. But this was different. The message had one line of text.

“Come and find me.”

Leo and Kagome looked at each other. A child’s voice giggled through the air. The duo looked up to see a pair of golden eyes staring at them.

“What the hell?” Leo asked. This “child” seemed to be floating off the ground. It could be a boy or girl. A little child with golden eyes, wearing a flowy white gown. Leo waved his hand.

“Hello?” he asked. The child had no emotion on their face. Was that… blood?

“He’s killed something,” Leo said. The child opened its mouth as if to laugh. Then they just vanished. Leo turned to Kagome. He tried to speak, but no words came out. Instead, the boy moved his lips. Another giggle ripped through the air. On instinct, Leo and Kagome took off running in the direction of the child’s laugh.

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All of the running led them to a strange destination.

“Where did this forest come from?” Leo asked. Kagome clutched her backpack.

“Why did they lead us here?” she asked. Leo turned his head.

“I don’t know,” he said. “A trap or something?” Suddenly, their phones buzzed. They pulled them out. Another new text.

“Let’s play!”

Leo and Kagome turned to each other.

“What should we do?” she asked.

“Looks like we have no choice,” Leo said. “I just want to stop these texts.” Leo walked towards the forest.

“Leo, wait!” Kagome shouted. She ran after him. To the naked eye, the teenagers disappeared into thin air.

Leo paused and turned around. “Kagome?”

Pitch black all around. The only thing that stood out was the trees. (If that’s what they could be called.) Something about them seemed… rather… off. Leo shivered.

“Hello?” he asked. His echo got swallowed up in the void. I don’t like this… His mind went into dark places.

Oh no…

His throat felt like it was closing up. Leo’s heart pounded against his chest. He started to breathe heavily. The darkness swan before his eyes. Leo reached out to grab anything.

I can’t breathe.

His mind went back to his younger years. Leo could barely keep himself balanced. His heart started pounding faster. Sweat broke out all over his skin.

Leo sank to his knees. He gasped for air. Help… me… Please! His eardrums started pounding. Leo thought he was going to choke. The boy sank down to the non-existent ground.

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Drip. Drip. Drip.

Leo winced awake to drips falling on his face. His vision blurred at first. A figure sat over him.

“Mama?” Leo asked. When his vision cleared, Kana came into focus.

“Are you okay?” she asked. The rebel blinked at first.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I had to pull you out,” she said. “Are you okay?” Leo wrinkled his nose.

“Of course I am!” he snapped, pushing off her hands.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked.

“I saw your memories,” Kana said. Leo glared at her.

“Stay out of my head!” he said.

“I couldn’t,” Kana said. “You said, ‘mama’.” His cheeks turned bright red.

“Shut up,” Leo said. “I did not.” He pushed himself to his feet.

“Now where is Kagome?” he asked.

“Leo? Leo?” they heard. Leo and Kana turned their heads. Kagome ran over to them when she saw them.

“You alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know,” Leo said. Suddenly, their phones started to buzz.

“Hm?” they asked. The teenagers took out their phones. Another new text. Both of the colors drained from their faces.

“I win! Let’s play again!”