A Series Of Short Stories (Complete ✓)

Dendrophile

The forest hides society’s deepest regrets.
-
Holt Silas-

Wilk was where the demons laid. If you desired to enter that forest, you would never come out being the same. My best friend Luca disappeared in there in junior year. I never saw him again, but I had the eerie feeling he was still in there.

We had played Dare 2 Dare. You were given two dares to choose from, and he picked the one no one had before.

We sat around the campfire. Holland's house backed up to Wilk, but he had never dared to tread near it.

“Alright Lukey, have sex with Amanda or go into Wilk.” Amanda was known as, not the school slut, but she did mingle around a lot. She was at the time hanging around Holland but he knew better.

Luca knew better than to say no to both. Rumours of people who chickened out spread like wildfire in the school. Pranked, wedgies, and worse.

Luca took one look at me before grabbing his phone and standing up. “I really hate you Tyler,” he said before he started to walk. I immediately got up to follow him, but he turned around.

“I'll be right back.” He ruffled my hair, but I still followed him to the edge. Holland was right behind me, but Tyler and Amanda didn't budge. I saw him take one step, and he was gone. He disappeared into thin air.

“Tyler! What the hell is wrong with you?!” I yelled, running up to him. Holland held me back. “He was our friend!”

Tyler just stood there, shocked. “I thought he would just kiss A-”

“You idiot! You know that Amanda’s his step-sister right?” He didn't answer, and looked away. Holland rolled his eyes and I continued to fight him. Luca was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

School was over, senior graduation happened. Caps were thrown and tears melting the makeup off girl’s faces. My family was crying for different reasons.

The day Luca disappeared, I told them I was going in after graduation. No one believed me, until it dawned on them as the days drew closer to today.

My younger brother ran up to me, hugging my thigh. At eight years old, he was a real shortie. I smiled and picked him up, I rubbed noses with him. My parents were running towards us, taking much longer than their youngest.

By the time they got there little Skeeter was squirming and sitting on my shoulders. My father came over and picked him up. I hugged my parents.

That night was a celebration and a goodbye. The graduation party was held, until 10 at night. By the time it was over and we had cleaned up my parents were passed out on the couch.

Putting little Skeeter to bed was hard enough, but wearing hiking gear made him even more excited.

“Ooh where are you going Holty? Mhmm going to go out back and chase the scary rabbits away?” He giggled, squishing a stuffed wolf to his chest. I smiled and kissed his head.

“Of course I am, but it's going to take me awhile. I'll be back, get a good night's rest. Love you.” I ruffled his hair and tucked him in. Before I turned off the light I looked back. Little Skeeter was already asleep in his duckie onesie. I smiled and flicked off the light, knowing this was the last time I was going to see him.

Writing the goodbye letter, instead of waking up my parents, was much harder than I had planned. Once I had everything I needed I grabbed a watch. It read 11:48, much later than I wanted to leave.

I turned off most of the lights, closing the back door behind me. I fumbled for my flashlight, hearing a wolf’s howl. My feet continued to crush twigs under me, making me jump with each step. I took deep breaths, but it was hard with my jumbled nerves.

The moon was bright, the full moon only a night away. The trees left menacing shadows in their wake. I smelled dew from this night’s rain. The mud made my shoes sink into the ground. Taking a food out led to mud splatters and deep footprints following me.

As I neared Wilk it only got worse. I felt the need to run back home but I couldn't. My lifelong friend was in there, and I needed to make sure that he just wasn't gone. I didn't care if he was dead, I just wanted to know that he didn't leave us.

His family was devastated when he was gone. Even to this day, Tyler’s family was not treated the same by Luca’s.

The time has come. I leaned against a tree, needing a mental break. The words carved in the tree burned into my brain. You are now entering Wilk, you now welcome death. I felt my breath hitch.

Then I took the step, and everything went black.

I felt like I was floating, but I couldn't see anything. I felt light as a feather. My arms stretched out, my eyes wide open as I looked around. Then I started to hear voices.

“No! I want him, I mean Lucky was right about him.” A rough voice echoed in my mind. Then appeared appeared, soft and inviting.

“Honey you're scaring him. He won't handle that shift.” That voice went silent and I gasped, my back arching.

I felt something entering my lungs, veins, and whole body. I felt myself hit the ground. My body ached, and I was gasping for air. I tried to look around, but I couldn't. My eyes felt glued shut.

“Hey, you alright?” It was hard, but I opened my eyes. Cross-eyed made it difficult to make out whomever was talking to me. I rubbed my eyes quickly and blinked. My vision cleared, and everything was cleared than before. I noticed there was a hand extended to me, and I took it. It felt inhumanely warm, and I felt off balance when I stood up.

I felt like I was swimming, but my mind was slowly clearing. I heard a bird in the distance and felt my ear twitch. My ears didn't twitch before, weird. Finally, my mind cleared.

My eyes widened,”No-” my voice cracked as I covered my mouth. Tears came to my eyes and I embraced Luca in a hug. I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he held me close.

“It's been a long time Holt.” He smiled and ruffled my hair. I grinned and felt something move behind me. I spun around but saw nothing.

“Luca! Our families are waiting! Let's go back home.” I smiled, pulling on his wrist. He didn't budge, and I stumbled back. His arms wrapped around me again as I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

“Holt, we can't go back. I told you to wait, but you still followed me. Why?” He asked. I could tell he was struggling, his voice was strained. His eyes were glassy with tears, but he bit them back.

“I couldn't leave my best friend behind. We're not meant to leave each other's sides.” He chuckled softly at my remark. His hand landed on my hips as he held me close in a protective manner.

“You really have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, have you?” I shyly blushed, but didn't answer. Luca sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. I noticed two little red points in his hair.

I reached up, parting his hair. My eyes widened, there were horns on his head. Luca immediately took a step back to give me space. We were standing next to a lake. Nothing was registering in my head.

He sighed softly before taking a step forward. He took my hands and looked me dead in the eyes. “Wilk is magical Holt, and now you've got some of that magic.” Luca winked with a soft smile. He motioned for me to look into the lake.

I did and my head spun.

I'm no longer a human, no.