Vera stretched her arms over her head, eyes still closed, and heaved a heavy sigh laced with the fog of sleep. As she lowered her arms onto what should have been the soft cotton of her sheets she felt something extremely foreign. It was wet, cold, and felt... prickly and yet somehow soft. Startled, she sat bolt upright and looked down frantically to see on what she was reclined.

Moss?

Where did moss come from?

---

---

As she shook the disorientation of sleep from her mind, she began to realize that she wasn't in her room at all. Nor was she dreaming. She swept the area around her hesitantly with startled darts of her eyes.

She was in a damp, dark, silent forest, nestled into the undergrowth. The chilling stillness only broken by small rustles of leaves as tiny creatures scampered in the shadows around her, stirring up wilted, soggy greenery.

The word "danger" echoed in her mind as she rose to her feet and looked up at the towering trees shielding her from the sky. It was impossible to tell if it was dawn, dusk, or midday as the woods were cast in the light of perpetual twilight.

She shook out her mousey brown hair and wiped her wet hands on the front of her shirt.

crinkle

Paper?

She looked down curiously to see a piece of parchment pinned to the center of her blouse. It instantly transported her to memories of grade school and the notes her teacher would send home on her clothes so they wouldn't be misplaced.

"Vera does not get along with others. Parent/teacher meeting needed."

She ripped the note free and turned it over in her hands. There, in the familiar scrawl of her mother's handwriting were the words:

"Stay on the path and trust no one."

Her mother had been dead for 5 years.

A cold trickle of fear ran from her crown and stopped at her tailbone. Instinctively, she retreated backward, flight-or-fight becoming only "FLIGHTFLIGHTFLIGHT!". She stumbled over a log and toppled once more into the springy and forgiving moss, landing with a soft thud.

She rolled onto her back with a small groan and looked once more into the trees aimlessly, struck with confusion. In the jar from the fall, she could have sworn she saw a face peer out from a limb of a pine and melt back into the shadows. With a gasp, she scampered backward on her hands and twisted to her feet, breaking into a sprint.

Path!

Find the path!

As she skid over slick leaves and twigs she could feel something right behind her, running a finger down her spine. Teasing her. Feeding on her fear. She knew if she turned to look she would see the embodiment of nightmares that called these woods it's home.

Faster.

Faster.

FASTER.

Her panic now palpable, her ragged breath rustling like foliage, and her heart drumming so loud that it reverberated off the bark of every mighty pine and oak she flew past.

Does death use echolocation?

She felt a hot breath in her ear, sudden and inexplicable. It was sweet and lilting, almost enticing...

"Vera, come back."

Despite herself, she began to slow, feeling a strange comfort begin to wash over her. She found herself ready to oblige, to turn into its arms, whatever IT was. Thoughts of freshly baked cookies, warm blankets, and the sensation of slipping into a newly drawn bath. Homey and safe.

Her foot fell on a twig and the crack, that of bones breaking, sparked the instinctive flight she almost abandoned. She shook the spell and drew her knees high, breaking into a more feverish pace.

She was racing with a Siren.

Covered in sweat and dew, her clothes clung to her, her brow furrowed as she forced the tempting voice desperately whispering reassurances from her eardrums, it turning into white noise in time with her footfalls. As her body screamed for reprieve, the sounds of her urgency becoming a Symphony of Survival, she saw a break in the endless woodland. A spot where the mist hung a little less thick.

Was that sunlight?

As she drew closer the voice that was so calm and filled with love began to morph into grotesque shrieks and threats.

KILL YOU

EAT YOU WHOLE

TEETH AND NAILS

LITTLE BITCH

SNAP YOUR BONES

SNAPSNAPSNAP

She broke through the unearthly fog, feeling a resistance as she struggled. It felt thick, like cream, slowing her as she pushed it away with her hands. Swimming to the other side, she found herself screaming for the first time. She could see the path right in front of her, but the air itself was holding her prisoner. Hot tears splashed down her cheeks as she inched closer and closer.

Time was running out.

To be continued...

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Me and my ghost writing companion had a great time creating this piece for you!

I hope you have a fantastic day and look forward to your feedback regarding the story we lovingly crafted from the oddest of places, a creative writing prompt from reddit. I hope you find it worthy and again look forward to your comments in the section below.

Much love, @SammoSK and Company. <3